- The humble pie edition! Good match report:
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/welsh/7017637.stm
- What a game! If I were more arrogant, I’d think the Fiji team read my blog before the game. What a performance.
- In my defence (and there is no defence), I did state that Wales could not start as slowly as they did against Canada and Australia. But that is precisely what they did. Fiji were fired up, as could be expected, but Wales appeared unready for the sheer physicality of their opposition.
- Wales came back and made use of the one man advantage to lead after 50mins. However this was a different Fiji side to the one scripted by everybody outside Fiji. At this point, instead of wilting and succumbing to a 20 point defeat (not unlike Tonga against England), Fiji stood firm, and chipped away at Wales’ lead.
- For me the match was lost in the second quarter by Wales. They were in shock and badly down and spent 15mins with barely a return as they went for the tries at penalties when I felt they should have taken the points. Compare this to Fiji who kicked two penalties when given the opportunity rather than running it.
- But let’s give credit to Fiji. Wales didn’t lose it. Fiji won it. They were excellent at the breakdown. Their ‘on shoulder’ support play was brilliant. Wales were much better at the set pieces but Fiji out-powered Wales over every centimetre (metric, as we’re in France) of the pitch.
- Man of the Match: Special mention goes to Delasau, Rabeni and Nicky Little. But my award goes to Koyamaibole. Strong running all day epitomised the strength of running of his team.
- Wales: Gareth Thomas (capt); Mark Jones, Tom Shanklin, James Hook, Shane Williams; Stephen Jones, Dwayne Peel; Gethin Jenkins, Matthew Rees, Chris Horsman, Alun Wyn Jones, Ian Evans, Colin Charvis, Martyn Williams, Alix Popham.
- Replacements: Thomas Rhys Thomas, Duncan Jones, Ian Gough, Michael Owen, Mike Phillips, Jamie Robinson, Dafydd James.
- Fiji: Kameli Ratuvou; Vilimoni Delasau, Seru Rabeni, Seremaia Bai, Isoa Neivua; Nicky Little, Mosese Rauluni (capt); Graham Dewes, Sunia Koto, Jone Railomo, Kele Leawere, Ifereimi Rawaqa, Semisi Naevo, Akapusi Qera, Sisa Koyamaibole.
- Replacements: Vereniki Sauturaga, Henry Qiodravu, Wame Lewaravu, Aca Ratuva, Jone Daunivucu, Norman Ligairi, Sireli Bobo.
Filed under: Rugby
England stepped up a gear, to beat Tonga quite convincingly.
Things gone right:
The set pieces were excellent! The front 8 were always proficient, even against South Africa, but what was noticeable was the good work on second phase ball. Every tackle situation was strongly contested. Equally the reaction to ball turned against England was excellent, with quick formation of defences (again by the front 8).
The general tactic of dominating territory was boring but effective.
Things gone wrong:
The front up tackling in the backs was poor. Mortlock and Latham will be licking their lips at the idea of running up against this midfield.
Some of the kicking out of hand early on was just aimless, poorly placed and poorly placed. This must be picked up.
Serious synopsis:
England have stepped up a gear and are on the correct upward curve. Australia will find this England team tough but eminently beatable. England will need to find one more gear to beat the Aussies. Larkham’s unfortunate situation has reeled in the distance between the two.
Emotional synopsis:
At last I’m looking forward to looking my Aussie mates in the eye next weekend. I would donate body parts to beat the buggers. I can’t wait!
Man of the Match:
It’s very easy to hand the gong to the likes of Wilko, Tait or Sackey but in fact I would award it to a man who totally undermined the Tongan scrum and was excellent in defence at the breakdown. To a strong 80mins at the coal face, MOTM =
Matt Stevens
The scorers:
England:
Tries: Sackey 2, Tait, Farrell
Pens: Wilkinson 2
Cons: Wilkinson 2
Drop goals: Wilkinson 2
For Tonga:
Tries: Hufanga, T Pole
Cons: Hola 2
Pens: Hola 2
England: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Olly Barkley, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry (c), 5 Ben Kay, 4 Steve Borthwick, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 George Chuter, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements: 16 Lee Mears, 17 Phil Vickery, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Andy Farrell, 22 Dan Hipkiss.
Tonga: 15 Vungakoto Lilo, 14 Tevita Tu’ifua, 13 Sukanaivalu Hufanga, 12 Epeli Taione, 11 Joseph Vaka, 10 Pierre Hola, 9 Sione Tu’ipulotu, 8 Finau Maka, 7 Nili Latu (c), 6 Hale T Pole, 5 Lisiate Fa’aoso, 4 Viliami Vaki, 3 Kisi Pulu, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga’uiha.
Replacements: 16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Taufa’ao Filise, 18 Maama Molitika, 19 Inoke Afeaki, 20 Soane Havea, 21 Hudson Tonga’uiha, 22 Aisea Havili.
Referee: Alain Rolland
Filed under: Rugby | Tags: argentina, gambling, Ireland, O'Gara, Rugby world cup
Don’t cry for me Argentina!
In June 2006, I watched as Ireland pushed the All Blacks losing by 10 and 11 points. At times, they played so well, I was certain that they would have reversed the match at Dublin. All this at the end of a long season. How times have changed. We were flattered by a demolition of a transitory England side at Croke Park this winter , but the pre world cup friendlies began to show the cracks.
This has been followed by a whirlwind of unsubstantiated rumours about a player’s family life, gambling debts, north-south divide, a senior player being restrained from walking out, dissatisfaction with the accomodation…
I’m not going to go into the details or name names but this can only be unsettling for the team. This is a chicken and egg situation. When teams are winning, these rumours never surface until well after the champagne corks have dropped to the floor. I do not believe that grievances affect performances, but performances do magnify grievances hugely.
The Irish will start this game as if they’re on fire and the Pumas will do well to quell the early storm. But once the passion has dissipated, is there enough rugby brain left to unpick the Pumas? I don’t think so. Ireland need to score four tries against a team yet to concede one in three matches!
But teams do not disintegrate overnight and the French have always been a bogey team for the men in green, so that result can almost be discounted in terms of direct comparison. Argentina feed off errors but Ireland are a well rounded unit and with G.Murphy in the team (at last), I believe that the back line, given good quick ball will be hard to stop on the gain line.
Argentina make only one change from their strongest side with Longo coming in for the injured Leguizamon at #8. Hernandez has recovered from injury to reinstate his partnership with Pichot at half back. Why change a winning outfit?
So, although I am a betting man, I shall go against the bookies and predict an Irish victory tonight.
But the score will not be enough to take the Irish through to the quarter finals, who lost this tournament well before this game.
Prediction: Ireland 20 Argentina 15
Ireland: 15 Geordan Murphy, 14 Shane Horgan, 13 Brian O’Driscoll (c), 12 Gordon D’Arcy, 11 Denis Hickie, 10 Ronan O’Gara, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 Denis Leamy, 7 David Wallace, 6 Simon Easterby, 5 Paul O’Connell, 4 Donnacha O’Callaghan, 3 John Hayes, 2 Jerry Flannery, 1 Marcus Horan,
Replacement: 16 Rory Best, 17 Bryan Young, 18 Malcolm O’Kelly, 19 Neil Best, 20 Isaac Boss, 21 Paddy Wallace.
Argentina: 15 Ignacio Corleto, 14 Lucas Borges, 13 Manuel Contepomi, 12 Felipe Contepomi, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Juan Martín Hernández, 9 Agustín Pichot (c), 8 Gonzalo Longo, 7 Juan Martín Fernandez Lobbe, 6 Lucas Ostiglia, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernandez Lobbe, 3 Juan Martín Scelzo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacement: 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo, 17 Omar Hasan, 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis, 19 Martín Durand, 20 Nicolás Fernandez Miranda, 21 Federico Todeschini, 22 Hernán Senillosa
Date: Sunday, September 30
Kick-off: 17:00 (16:00 BST; 15:00 GMT)
Venue: Parc des Princes, Paris
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
Filed under: Rugby
Well it’s no surprise that the Scotland team is totally changed to the side who were crushed by New Zealand.
The Scotland team has no suprises but the Italy team have lost a powerhouse in Bortolami (hamstring, neck). Dellape has recovered from injury so will replace him, Troncon is named skipper.
Second only to Ireland of the european nations in under-performing, it is hard to see how Italy can unseat Scotland. They failed to gain bonus points against either Romania or Portugal and were an embarrassment against Italy on the first weekend.
Scotland chose a team and squad specifically based on this match with size everywhere around the park. They will bully the Azzurri and trump them at their own rolling maul game. I expect a reverse of the 37-17 beating dished out to Scotland in the winter at Murrayfield.
How fortunes change.
Prediction: Scotland to win by 20.
Scotland: 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Sean Lamont, 13 Simon Webster, 12 Rob Dewey, 11 Chris Paterson, 10 Dan Parks, 9 Mike Blair, 8 Simon Taylor, 7 Allister Hogg, 6 Jason White, 5 Jim Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Gavin Kerr.
Replacements: 16 Scott Lawson, 17 Craig Smith, 18 Scott MacLeod, 19 Kelly Brown, 20 Chris Cusiter, 21 Andrew Henderson, 22 Hugo Southwell.
Italy: 15 David Bortolussi, 14 Kaine Robertson, 13 Gonzalo Canale, 12 Mirco Bergamasco, 11 Andrea Masi, 10 Ramiro Pez, 9 Alessandro Troncon (c), 8 Sergio Parisse, 7 Mauro Bergamasco, 6 Josh Sole, 5 Carlo Del Fava, 4 Santiago Dellapè, 3 Martin Castrogiovanni, 2 Carlo Festuccia, 1 Salvatore Perugini.
Replacements: 16 Fabio Ongaro, 17 Andrea Lo Cicero, 18 Valerio Bernabò, 19 Leonardo Ghiraldini, 20 Paul Griffen, 21 Roland de Marigny, 22 Ezio Galon.
Date: Saturday September 29, 2007
Kick off: 21:00 (20:00 BST; 19:00 GMT)
Venue: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint Etienne
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Filed under: Rugby
Am I the only person outside of Fiji who cannot envisage an upset in this match?
Granted, Wales will need to bring their A game and a quicker start to the match then their previous matches would be required to quell nerves. However this is a Fiji side which failed to put Canada to the sword and just held out against the Japanese!
Hook and Shanks will break the Fijian line with good second phase ball. With Hook and Jones on the pitch, they also have an excellent kicking game and can be relied on to play a simple territorial game.
Wales’ natural instinct to attack from wide will lead to turnovers and Fji are excellent at converting quick turnover possessioninto points.
No complacency for the Celts and a quarter final against the Boks await. The welsh World Cup will go on for another 7 days.
Prediction: Wales to win by 15.
Get ready to rumble!
The Barbarians are at the gates!
Wales, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa… Will Tonga be added to that list?
In a word – no.
This is not an easy game but it is a step too high for the Tongans. They’ve beaten an under-performing Samoan side and pushed a second string Bok side.
The factors are as follows:
- England’s forwards. The Tongans are big but this is a game of brain and brawn not just bash. England will keep this tight, setting up rolling mauls of the set piece and England’s is one of the best, until there is clear daylight between them and Tonga. Do not expect a similar game to Samoa, not one for the purists.
- The weather. As per Samoa and South Africa, I could see handling errors being quickly turned over against England. But the 12 degrees and rain predicted for Paris will lead England to be even less adventurous than previously. There will certainly be no need for wide angle shots for the cameraman.
- Johnny Wilkinson. It’s going to be a whistle heavy day at the ruck for the ref and Wilko’s kicking will settle early England nerves. Expect the odd drop goal attempt from slow ruck ball as every inch of territory will be fought over.
The barbarians are at the gates, but it’s not quite time for invitations.
Filed under: Rugby | Tags: Georgia, Namibia, Rugby world cup 2007, Samoa, USA
Georgia 30 Namibia 0
Apparently it was the first time in 30 years that Namibia had played in rain. It looked like the first time they’d played rugby in 30 years. Georgia outplayed Namibia in every element of the game in registering their first win at the rugby world cup.
For Namibia, a disappointment, but they had additional coaching for 3-6 months before the world cup started and by all accounts are a much improved team. Perhaps a cry for the qualification to be over by a full year before the world cup starts?
Georgia still have a game against the French to look forward to. Given the implications for Ireland and Argentina, one hopes they’ll be fielding a full strength side though I doubt it will affect the outcome.
Samoa 25 USA 21
Will someone please explain? The score is 25 to 13 against you and there are less than five mins on the clock. Why would you kick a penalty awarded to you. This will still leave you requiring a further two scores as the USA did when they kicked the penalty to leave themselves trailing 25-16. Surely the kick to touch followed by the catch and drive was the best option? But I digress.
The real talking point must be Samoa’s demise as a rugby nation. 2007 has been a serious step back. Losing to Tonga and barely scraping past the USA was surely not on the agenda for a side who must have viewed a wounded England as a suitable victim for an upset. It’s quite feasible that Samoa didn’t take Tonga seriously enough and went into the game at a mental disadvantage. Certainly they played much better against England (despite the scoreline) whom they would have targeted before the world cup began and because the match suddenly became an eliminator.
A lesson learned in the cliche (and they’re cliches for a reason): “take each game as it comes”
Australia’s match against Canada wasn’t going to be top of the most neutral’s cup highlights but suddenly England’s management should be sitting down with the players to watch it live then again as Berrick Barnes’ actions will be carefully studied.
In a dramatic twist for the Aussies, Larkham was seen one day happily walking through the local town square seemingly pain free and without trouble then he’s suddenly out for two games. I don’t know what to make of Barnes. I caught a few games of him in Super 14 and barely recalled significant contributions by him.
Whilst anyone receiving the ball from Gregan and passing on to a back combination containing Giteau, Mortlock and Latham will always be a threat, the absence of the colussus that is Larkham cannot be overplayed. Only Mortlock can compare in terms of contribution to the team in both ability under pressure and leadership.
Watch this space!
Filed under: Rugby | Tags: Canada, Japan, Portugal, Romania, Rugby world cup 2007
Japan 12 Canada 12
Romania 14 Portugal 10
Two very different games ushered in the exit of the minnows from the rugby world cup.
Japan and Canada gave us an error strewn though highly entertaining game in which both sides went for an open game and ended with a creditable draw.
Both sides can draw some comfort from the campaign. Japan pushed Fiji to the limit for a pulsating last ten minutes. Canada led Wales for a considerable time before tiring in the last quarter. For both sides the gap has narrowed but it cannot get any less unless funds are channelled into their efforts to enable high class specialist coaches for a longer period of time than just the last two months before the world cup, to encourage ‘camp’ annually to exchange ideas and spread knowledge throughout the club’s system, thus raising the standards of individuals to the point of a more competitive league (not necessarily full time) and/or the migration of talent (as in the case of Argentina) to Europe.
I was more disappointed with the lack of ambition with Romania and Portugal. Romania seemed intent on leaving their centres with nothing to do and Portugal lacked the self belief to go wide. On more than one occasion Portugal turned over good ball and kicked when the overlaps were there to run the ball. Whilst they do not possess big country skill levels, they can only make the jump to true competitiveness when they gamble on their chances. They will lose on occasion but they must lose the fear of losing before a breakthrough can be made.
For the smaller nations, this has mostly been a world cup of tactical damage limitation. They have advanced as far as they can with this method.
“To dare is to do”
Filed under: Rugby | Tags: England, Rugby world cup 2007, Tonga, Vickery
In comes:
Borthwick (Shaw)
Moody (Worsley)
I guess the big news is Vickery is on the bench and I say aye to that as do many I have canvassed.
Shaw is reputedly ‘rested’ which is fair enough.
Given the lack of back row cover (Rees is injured), I can see why Dallaglio remains on the bench.
The back line is unchanged, so it seems that my wish to give Tait another chance has been granted. I am certainly of the opinion that we do not have the #12 to suit his game but a Barkley/Tait combination is the best we have. Wilko and Barkley will have watched the Samoa game intently and will not make the same mistakes re alignment again.
I even see the logic in Farrell on the bench instead of Catt against a very physical outfit.
I’m not sure if Brian Ashton has worn me down or if it was just nice to see England get quick ball last week but i am very optimistic of making the quarter finals.
Aussies beware!
