Rugby World Cup 2012

Wales are my underdogs, and no body is ratings them as they don't know the players. Best of luck Wales
 
Not a bad game last night, full credit to france for holding of an aggresive Wales attacl in the last half of the game.
I think the outcome would have been very different if Wales hadn't lost their Captain and that huge hairy fellow at the start!!!
Now for the Australia NZ match...................
 
I think the game was ruined by an officious decision (I wont say bad as the offence was a red card offence but I am not sure he needed to apply it) and it concerns me that a large number of games are being decided by the referees now.

As for the NZ/Aus match my call remains the same Australia to win by less than 10 as much as I would love New Zealand to get up and win it (which they can) I just don't think they have the gas left in the tank to do so, too many injuries through out the cup that have prevented the team from being able to gel properly.

There is however a a bit of me that really hopes NZ hammer Australia in this game that did not exist at the start of this tournament and it has been encouraged by this sort of idiocy...

Why All Blacks will choke at Rugby World Cup
Mike Colman News Limited newspapers October 12, 2011 12:00am

THE All Blacks had lunch yesterday with the New Zealand team that won the 1987 World Cup. Ambulances stood by in case any of the current lot of players choked.

Well why not? Over the past 24 years the Kiwis' pursuit of the game's most prestigious trophy has been like a Wonderbra. Plenty of support but no visible cup.

Every four years since that first and last victory the country has held its collective breath as the All Blacks have approached the World Cup finals, and every four years the team, and the country, has fallen over in a dead faint.

They're the biggest chokers since the Boston Strangler.

There was 1991, when the Wallabies carved them up in the semi-final in Dublin, 1995 when South Africa rolled them in the final in Johannesburg and four years later at Twickenham the French took a turn, running them ragged 43-31 in the semi.

In 2003 the Wallabies made it two from two with a semi-final win in Sydney and four years ago, in the darkest day in New Zealand's World Cup history, the Graham Henry-coached All Blacks didn't even make the final four, going down 20-18 to France at Cardiff.

The Kiwis went into national mourning. The gag writers had a field day.

What's the difference between a tea-bag and the All Blacks? A tea bag stays in the cup longer.

What do you call 15 guys sitting around the TV watching the Rugby World Cup final? The All Blacks.

What's the difference between Graham Henry and Viagra? At least Viagra gives you a semi.

Why did Graham Henry go to the ball dressed as a pumpkin? Because he hoped when the clock struck 12 he would turn into a coach.

Did you hear NZ Post has just recalled their latest batch of stamps? They had photos of All Blacks on them and people couldn't figure out which side to spit on.

And those were the nice ones. Now it's on again. The All Blacks are in the finals and the wheels are falling off.

It's like that movie The Perfect Storm. In a combination of freak occurrences and un-natural phenomena, the Kiwis have gone from a well-oiled machine to a rusty trike.

In the lead-up to this tournament all little New Zealanders went to bed with the same prayer, "God bliss Mum and Did, and don't lit anything hippen to Dan Carter or Ruchie McCaw, eh men."

Well, Somebody upstairs obviously wasn't listening. Dan's gone, and Ruchie ain't much better.

With Carter's replacement Colin Slade limping off into the distance never to return on Sunday night, insurance premiums for five-eighths in New Zealand have gone through the roof.

Fullback Mils Muliaina has done his shoulder and the selectors have sent a search party trawling the bars of Auckland trying to find his back-up Israel Dagg who was last seen heading off on a pub crawl with winger Cory Jane.

When those two had to be dragged out of a pub before last weekend's uninspiring quarter-final win over Argentina, an official was overhead telling a journalist, "Oh he drinks to get over having that name."

"Who does?" asked the journalist - "Both of them."

And with every injury, indiscretion and exploding five-eighth, the pressure has increased. This country doesn't just want the All Blacks to win the World Cup, they expect it.

Every second house, car, shop, stroller, wheelchair (I kid you not) has an All Blacks flag attached.

There's a Westfield shopping centre two blocks from the team hotel. Along its two-street frontage is an enormous advertising banner, bearing individual pictures of the players in action.

The poor buggers can't even open the curtains in their rooms without seeing 10m high photos of themselves in heroic poses.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...-rugby-world-cup/story-fn8ti7yn-1226164311405
 
New Zealand 20
Australia 6

Well I didn't see that one coming, clearly the coaching staff had put a lot of thought into that game and the plan came off well although the amount of blood spilt by both sides indicates a very hard fought match.

I really have no idea why Australia didnt replace Cooper with Barnes early on either.

Now to wait and see what French team shows up next week, part of me hopes it is the bloody awful one that played Wales but I suspect it will be the one that causes us grief every 4 years.

Either way my number 1 and 2 choices made the finals so I will be happpy with any result.
 
New Zealand 20
Australia 6

Well I didn't see that one coming, clearly the coaching staff had put a lot of thought into that game and the plan came off well although the amount of blood spilt by both sides indicates a very hard fought match.

I really have no idea why Australia didnt replace Cooper with Barnes early on either.

Now to wait and see what French team shows up next week, part of me hopes it is the bloody awful one that played Wales but I suspect it will be the one that causes us grief every 4 years.

Either way my number 1 and 2 choices made the finals so I will be happpy with any result.

Hate to say I told so mate,...but "TOLD YA SO"! :-D

And as a bonus, odds here are 100-1 we get our ass totally kicked next week.
 
Hate to say I told so mate,...but "TOLD YA SO"! :-D

And as a bonus, odds here are 100-1 we get our ass totally kicked next week.

Yeah maybe you did but I am not prepared to write of France yet, they can be an awesome team if they choose to play well the problem is that getting them to play well is one of the worlds most random events.

I honestly hope the game is close and as a Kiwi I hope we win of course but I would not be disappointed to lose in a good game to France and in many ways seeing the cup go to a team that hasn't won it before would have many advantages for the game world wide.

Something to remember France has beaten us twice in world cups when we were "destined" to win it so nothing is certain until the ref blows the final whistle.


Some Stats...

New Zealand v France
Games played:50
Games won by New Zealand:37 74.00%
Games lost by New Zealand: 12 24.00%
Games drawn:1 2.00%

Total points for New Zealand:1,234
Total points against New Zealand: 665
Average points for New Zealand per game:24.68
Average points against New Zealand per game:13.30
Average points difference per game between New Zealand and France:11.38

So while New Zealand has run up a fairly good record against France the games are always fairly close and by no means a sure thing.
 
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Pretty shocking game......................... and have no idea why Quade Cooper is put on a pedestal!!!!
What a shocking first half of kicking by him......
Well..... good luck Kiwis you've certainly earned your spot, now put the icing on the cake!!!
 
Yeah maybe you did but I am not prepared to write of France yet, they can be an awesome team if they choose to play well the problem is that getting them to play well is one of the worlds most random events.

I honestly hope the game is close and as a Kiwi I hope we win of course but I would not be disappointed to lose in a good game to France and in many ways seeing the cup go to a team that hasn't won it before would have many advantages for the game world wide.

Something to remember France has beaten us twice in world cups when we were "destined" to win it so nothing is certain until the ref blows the final whistle.


Some Stats...

New Zealand v France
Games played:50
Games won by New Zealand:37 74.00%
Games lost by New Zealand: 12 24.00%
Games drawn:1 2.00%

Total points for New Zealand:1,234
Total points against New Zealand: 665
Average points for New Zealand per game:24.68
Average points against New Zealand per game:13.30
Average points difference per game between New Zealand and France:11.38

So while New Zealand has run up a fairly good record against France the games are always fairly close and by no means a sure thing.

You're in luck, this is not the team that has faced NZ in the past. For f**ks sake we had a 1 man advantage throughout most of the match against Wales and still couldn't score. Just How sad is that? (The Defense did a good job though). If it wasn't for terrible Welsh kicking we would have lost.

Yes France might still win, but ONLY if the All Blacks let them, or if someone they manage to get back to the level of play they were at BEFORE the tournament started.
 
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You're in luck, this is not the team that has faced NZ in the past. For f**ks sake we had a 1 man advantage throughout most of the match against Wales and still couldn't score. Just How sad is that? (The Defense did a good job though). If it wasn't for terrible Welsh kicking we would have lost.

Yes France might still win, but ONLY if the All Blacks let them, or if someone they manage to get back to the level of play they were at BEFORE the tournament started.

One of the problems we face is that the NZ team were fired up for the game against Australia and we rarely see that level of intensity from the All Blacks so I am not sure they will have it in them to repeat that performance unless of course Quade Cooper discovers a French Grandparent.

My guess will be 25-15 to New Zealand unless of course France pulls one of its famous Houdini acts (as they have done a couple of times in recent years) then 30-20 to France.

I do not believe France will win as long as New Zealand plays well but there is no guarantee they will.


Pretty shocking game......................... and have no idea why Quade Cooper is put on a pedestal!!!!
What a shocking first half of kicking by him......
Well..... good luck Kiwis you've certainly earned your spot, now put the icing on the cake!!!

I wouldn't call it shocking Australia were never allowed to get into the game but outside of Cooper I can't name one player that played badly.

Cooper on the other hand is a victim of his own making, oddly enough no one would have cared about his cheap shot on Richie McCaw but once he started selling himself as "public enemy number 1" he became it and then to wander around telling everyone he loved the attention seriously what was he expecting?
I will leave the last word on him to Nick Farr Jones, "Quade Cooper a 'boofhead' and says the first five-eighths apparent lack of respect for All Blacks captain Richie McCaw could come back to bite Australia."


I tend to rate him along the same lines as Sonny Bill Williams, they are talented at a level below international level and can not really step up but most of their "fame" is mass produced and not based on any tangible skill basically they are like the Kardashian's of world rugby, famous for being famous.

But that being said Australia has an excellent back line just replace Cooper with Barnes and it becomes world class, you would have to rate Genia and Beale as the best half back and full back in the game at the moment.

Pocock on the other hand could be a weakness as he is very much a one trick pony, he is great as slowing up the opposition ball and securing turnovers but is easily nullified by being forced into becoming the tackler at which point he cant touch the ball and if he does without first releasing and getting to his feet then he gets penalised as was demonstrated during the semifinal.

It will be interesting to see who makes the World XV in a couple of weeks.
 
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Here is a very good write up from a local paper...

Let's hope All Blacks can avoid final euphoria
TOBY ROBSON Last updated 05:00 18/10/2011

FERVENT SUPPORT: The 20-6 semifinal victory over the Wallabies has sent confidence levels of All Blacks fans sky-rocketing ahead of the World Cup final against France.

OPINION: What short memories we all have.

How quickly we have forgotten that only a week or two ago we were a nation of basket cases, fretting that the World Cup wheels had fallen off with the same agonising rip as Dan Carter's groin.

Forget trying to remember the fact that France is the nemesis of our World Cup past, or that they famously threw out the form book and put one of the great All Blacks sides out on their backside in the 1999 semifinal.

Oh how irrelevant that the current French captain Thierry Dusautoir outplayed an entire All Blacks XV on his own just four years ago in Cardiff, or that six of those players remain ahead of Sunday's final.

In 80 minutes against the Wallabies, the last shreds of anxiety appear to have been erased from many memory banks.

So in the interests of adding some sanity to those who have swamped social media and talkback radio with a new future tense that is already referring to the All Blacks cup win, here is a sobering reminder.

There was a recent and highly relevant French revolution that involved a large number of players and coaches from each of the two sides that will line up at Eden Park in five days time.

Try, for a second to climb out from under Sunday's 20-6 semifinal security blanket and into a cold Carisbrook night just 28 months ago.

France 27, All Blacks 22.

Thirteen of Marc Lievremont's French World Cup squad lined up against an All Black team containing 13 players from Graham Henry's current 30-man squad that night.

Those of us present will recall the positivity that pervaded the All Blacks camp in the buildup to the first test of the season.

We will remember too that when Liam Messam scored an early try it seemed France were not in the same ball park as the men in black.

And we will not forget that familiar sinking feeling as France eased into the match on the back of a Maxime Medard intercept and an iron-curtain defence.

Nor that without Carter, who was ruled out of the match with an Achilles injury suffered during a stint with Perpignan, Stephen Donald struggled with the playmaking duties behind a pack that could not get on the front foot.

The French must laugh at us over their red wine as our confidence levels spike yet again.

Even with the cautionary tale of that three tries to two loss the All Blacks could only just overcome the Tricolores in Wellington a week later.

The New Zealand public has done its bit to get their side this far, but here's hoping the euphoric optimism that has swept the country since the end of the semifinal does not affect the squad.

World sport is riddled with upsets, many of which seem unfathomable till they happen.

Think James "Buster" Douglas' 10th round knockout of Mike Tyson in 1990.

Think Bangladesh's famous win over Ricky Ponting's Australia in a 2005 ODI, or Ireland chasing down 327 to beat England at the last Cricket World Cup.

Americans will tell you the United States ice hockey team's 4-3 win over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics, "The Miracle on Ice", is the greatest sporting upset of all time. They might throw in their 1-0 win over England at the 1950 football World Cup for good measure. Or the 2004 Boston Red Sox, who came back from a 3-0 series deficit to beat the New York Yankees and end an 86-year World Series 'curse'.

There was a famous American racehorse named Man o' War. The horse lost only once during his illustrious career, to a rival he had beaten in their six previous meetings.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/our-experts/5803248/Lets-hope-All-Blacks-can-avoid-final-euphoria
That horse was appropriately named Upset.

- Stuff
 
Another one from the New Zealand coach...

France 'best in the world on their day' - Henry
MARC HINTON IN AUCKLAND Last updated 05:00 18/10/2011

GRAHAM HENRY: ''Although they didn't play particularly well in their semifinal we know they've got the ability to play outstanding rugby. They will have nothing to lose and will play well."

Contrary to popular opinion, this is a very good French rugby team. Or at least they have the capability to be very good.

That was the view of All Blacks coach Graham Henry who yesterday described Marc Lievremont's band of dysfunctional winners and occasional grinners as a side that could be "the best in the world on their day".

Clearly the All Blacks coach, who admitted to being somewhat stressed out before and during Sunday's semifinal victory over the Wallabies, is a little concerned about the hype - or lack of it - around this final.

The bookies give the French next to no chance. The pundits have an only slightly more generous view of Les Bleus' prospects.

The All Blacks simply can't afford to share that viewpoint, never mind the evidence before their eyes.

Asked his view on French rugby in general, Henry described their domestic competition as "very physical" but one where that physicality perhaps dominated skill. In terms of the French team, "well they can be the best in the world on their day.

''Although they didn't play particularly well in their semifinal we know they've got the ability to play outstanding rugby.

"They will have nothing to lose and will play well."

These could be interpreted as hollow words, as a coach just using a motivational ploy to keep his men on edge ahead of a defining game. But Henry, of course, knows what it's like to be ambushed by the French on a big occasion.

Four years ago no-one gave the French much chance in their quarterfinal in Cardiff either. But with barely 30 percent of the pill they caused one of the great World Cup upsets.

Over his eight years in charge Henry has only lost twice to the French - that night in Cardiff, and in Dunedin a couple of years ago. He calls the Cardiff defeat "the most bizarre game I've ever been involved in ... the boys respect the French team, they've got a lot of very talented players, so it will be a big final..

"We don't underestimate the ability of the French."

Henry reported "nothing serious" on the injury front, with Ma'a Nonu nursing a stinger on his shoulder and Cory Jane and Andy Ellis both copping blows on their beaks. Piri Weepu was also coming off a virus that tested his resolve on Sunday night.

And, for the record, Henry is over the moon about the appointment of South Africa's Craig Joubert to referee the final.

"He's a very good referee, relates well to the players, is very clear in his instruction, has got a lot of composure and has developed as one of the top refs in the world. It's pleasing because the players enjoy playing when he's referee, and that's a sign of a good ref."

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- Stuff

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/5803438/France-best-in-the-world-on-their-day-Henry
 
If it wasn't for terrible Welsh kicking we would have lost.

I watched the Wales V South Africa, the goal kick that was not allowed, from what I saw went through the posts, not by much, but it should have been allowed. Quite frankly I was disgusted, Wales in my opinion won.
 
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I watched the Wales V South Africa, the goal kick that was not allowed, from what I saw went through the posts, not by much, but it should have been allowed. Quite frankly I was disgusted, Wales in my opinion won.

Here is the thing about that for me, 2 touch judges and 1 referee said it didn't go over, had either linesman thought it had he would have raised his flag and they would have gone to the match referee for confirmation.

I am sure we can sit here and look at it from 1000000000 camera angles and swear it went over but that is neither here nor there as the result stands.

I think no matter what the outcome of this tournament it is clear that teams who practice running/entertaining rugby (Australia, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Wales) are leading the the rugby world and that bodes well for the future of the game.
 
Here is the thing about that for me, 2 touch judges and 1 referee said it didn't go over, had either linesman thought it had he would have raised his flag and they would have gone to the match referee for confirmation.

I am sure we can sit here and look at it from 1000000000 camera angles and swear it went over but that is neither here nor there as the result stands.

I think no matter what the outcome of this tournament it is clear that teams who practice running/entertaining rugby (Australia, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Wales) are leading the the rugby world and that bodes well for the future of the game.

Yea, but that doesn't stop me from having an opinion, however right or wrong it is
 
Well for anyone interested here are the stats for Australia v Wales.

Games played: 30
Games won by Australia:19 63.33%
Games lost by Australia:10 33.33%
Games drawn:1 3.33%
Most wins in a row for Australia over Wales:9
Most losses in a row for Australia to Wales:3
Largest points for Australia:63 63 - 6
Largest points against Australia:29 29 - 29
Largest winning margin for Australia:57 63 - 6
Largest losing margin for Australia:25 28 - 3
Total points for Australia:703
Total points against Australia:427
Average points for Australia per game:23.43
Average points against Australia per game:14.23
Average points difference per game between Australia and Wales:9.20

I am picking a fairly angry Aussie team to win this one.
 
Im going to party central saturday-sunday night, picking a pretty awesome atmosphere!

Should be a great place Friday and Saturday but should we lose this thing I wouldn't want to be North of the Bombay hills for at least a week.

I was tempted to go to the Aussie v Wales game as I have access to a couple of box seats but you wouldn't get me to the final for anyone, hell I probably wont even watch the game or will be forking out for a new TV on Monday.

:)
 
I'm backing the wallabies over Wales............. but plan on being very drunk in case we stuff it all up.
Shall make the pain a little less.
 
I always wanted to be in the movie the warriors- this could be my chance! I very much doubt party central will be a family atmosphere for long if the all blacks falter.
If we do well though I'm sure the country will party all night. The final coincided very well with labour day!
It should be quite an experience.

My friend reckons he saw the black eyed peas in auckland yesterday so my pick is they are one of the international bands playing. Could be worth a look.
 
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