ruggerblogger

RWC2011 Stats ... all of ’em

2012-01-24T20:48:00.000+13:00

It’s all over now ... but here’s one last gift for RWC2011, from us to you.

Here’s a link to download a PDF compiling all Ruggerblogger’s infographics for the games, all 48 of them.

Enjoy. Now let’s get cracking on 2012.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing

2012-01-20T11:59:00.000+13:00

The IRB’s Big Kahuna, Mike Miller, today announced that the heavily criticised RWC2011 schedule that placed such short turnaround times on the so-called ‘minnows’ will be reviewed ... but not at a cost to the Tournament’s sworn main objective: to milk as much f*cking cash out of this cow as we can.

We all remember how Namibia, Samoa and Georgia had 3-4 days between games while the All Blacks, Boks, France etc got a week. Japan had to play three times in 11 days, and fielded a weakened team against New Zealand in Pool play because of this.

Scheduling demands will have to be “balanced with what works for all the teams, the fans, the broadcasters and our commercial partners because we need to use to World Cup to maximise exposure and revenue to help grow the game around the world", said Miller. Though we all know his priorities won’t be in that order.

There remains no commitment to give these nations a fairer go. They may throw more development cash at them for the four years in between RWCs, but its the best (and only) chance for countries like Samoa & Tonga to assemble all their Northern Hemisphere players, so what is the point if they simply get railroaded into a schedule that no big union would ever agree to?

Miller also said: "Also there is the local culture. In New Zealand they don't play midweek matches, we had some but not big matches during the pool phase. In England there is a culture of big midweek matches, particularly with European football, so we will be able to construct a schedule to include big matches in midweek and so there will be more equality."

Ass. Its The World Cup, Mike. A midweek big game might adversely affect bar takings, but not bums on seats - what revisionist tripe.

England in 2015 will make a filthy amount of lucre because of bigger stadiums (all borrowed from Premiership Football clubs and the Welsh Rugby Union) and the much larger population in Europe and the UK. Japan in 2019 will be funded by banks.

And this constant talk of ‘growing the game is bollocks’. I am not so readily convinced that having Sevens at the Olympics will spread 15s beyond rugby’s current footprint. I think the IRB should be hurling the cash at the very teams most likely to qualify for RWC. Russia, Georgia, Romania, USA, Canada, the Pacific nations ... China even ... they deserve the most attention. Strengthen them into a competitive and appreciated component of international rugby, not a derisory Second Tier, and the game will spread out from them. And that goes for womens’ rugby too.

The IRB should not be scattering money across the whole globe willy nilly.

Miller says “There was a huge surge of interest in England after they won in 2003 but they didn’t have the capacity to deal with that.” I'd say their administrators did not have the mental capacity, and they are only now trying to clean house after 8 years of malpractice. The biggest potential market blew it.

We need England to be strong, we need Tonga and Russia to be strong. We need ALL those 20 nations who came to New Zealand last year to be competitive, and to be treated fairly ... especially at the IRB voting table.

Time for Miller and Lapasset to go. Time to break up the Old Farts Club.

ENGLAND WORLD CUP REMEDY

2011-11-24T19:32:00.001+13:00

A young James Haskell?

Couldn’t help it. These were on sale in the Wellington RWC shop the other day, as was everything, in the fittingly named ‘Victory Sale’.

Only $6.90 ... so I might send a pack or two to Twickers. I think the use by date is just before 2015.

RWC2011 ALL 48 GAMES STAT GRAPHICS

2011-10-29T17:00:00.000+13:00

Quarter Final 1: Ireland v Wales

Quarter Final 2: England v France

Quarter Final 3: South Africa v Australia

Quarter Final 4: New Zealand v Argentina

Semi Final 1: Wales v France
Semi Final 2: New Zealand v Australia

Bronze Final: Wales v Australia

Final: New Zealand v France

The Crystal Ball (4 months out)

2011-10-28T10:44:00.001+13:00

Looking back thorough my folders, I found this draft post I wrote in June before the international season had started. Now, not all of it is right, and indeed it was just as a disastrous Hurricanes Super season had finished ... but I am surprised how assured and calm I seemed about the World Cup four months out:

Why has Stephen Donald always been so roughly treated by the armchair champions? Sure, he may not have ever grabbed the 10 spot dominantly with both hands, but a lot of the stuff said about him has been bloody nasty. I remember being actually embarrassed by NZ fans here in Wellington during the 2009 Bledisloe Cup match - their abuse was out of control. Good luck to him in Bath.
HE WON THE CUP FOR US!!!!

Why has all the focus been on Nonu and Hore as the public face of questioning the coaches? Under both Cooper and Hammett, Corey Jane repeatedly criticized 'the game plan', and this year his lack of on field focus may have cost him a World Cup spot. A fantastic player, but think carefully, Corey ... Perth would mean a complete end to All Black selection.
HE STAYED. HE DONNED THE BLACK JERSEY. HE HAD A BLINDER (AND A BENDER).

Why hasn't someone told both Ma’a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams to get their bloody arms up in the tackle? I am having nightmares about one of our 12s getting carded in big game for some shoddy NRL-style Big Hit.
SBW SEMI-FINAL? LUCKY WE HAD IT WON.

Why do England keep capping our cast offs? No disrespect to Waldrom, Flutey and Hape, but it seems pretty easy for an ex-pat to stand out enough in Aviva Premiership to get an invite to Twickers. Are they simply blossoming in a different environment or just illustrating how much better our players are? If it is the latter, then at this rate in 12 months, Stephen Donald will be the best player in England! (see point 1, sorry Stephen).
AND HE WILL.

Why do Kiwi crowds boo so much? The Crusaders vs Hurricanes game in Wellington last weekend was a shocker. Are we so bored with the product here that we just go negative 35 minutes into a game? This lack of any atmosphere is why I am so looking forward to the World Cup and the overseas fans it will bring.
THE ATMOSPHERE DID COME AND WE DID JOIN IN ... SORRY, QUADE.

What with the global economic coma, earthquakes, volcanic ash clouds, and the (possible) collapse of the eurozone, does this Rugby World Cup even stand chance? Yes. And we'll win it.
WE WON IT!!

Is the New Zealand Conference the hardest of the three in Super Rugby? It is no surprise that the Crusaders and Blues have got through, but the other three teams on our table are closer together than in Australia or South Africa. With no easy beats like the Lions or Rebels around, will it ever be possible for an NZ team to get enough points to top the pool rounds? I guess that depends on the 2012 Hurricanes squad and whether or not they become the 'easybeats' next year.
ONCE AGAIN SUPER FORM MEANT NOTHING FOR INTERNATIONAL SEASON.

Is there anyone else you’d rather have as All Black coach than Graham Henry? Not me. I love him doing the media rounds, as he has done lately. Ted has a twinkle in his eye at the moment, and his sense of humour slices through - his succinct tone shows real focus this year. He is hungry for that trophy.
TED ... YOU BEAUTY.

It’s a shame I am so rubbish at picking individual results and Fantasy Teams :-(

All Black World Cup Parade Wellington

2011-10-26T19:03:00.003+13:00

Ma’a Nonu (holding Bill), Graham Henry, Brad Torn and Wayne Smith

Piri Weepu and his daughter Kiera

Smiling Keven Mealamu

Hosea Gear, Cory Jane, Zac Guldford, Isaiah Toeava and Andy Ellis

Ma’a Nonu (holding Bill), Graham Henry, Brad Torn and Wayne Smith

Andrew Hore, Israel Dagg, Dan Carter and Adam Thomson

Anthony Boric (in back), Richard Kahui and Kieran Read

RWC 2011 FINAL: From the not so cheap seats.

2011-10-25T17:53:00.002+13:00

Me, Bale ... and 61,077 of our closest friends.

That is the most tense, frightening, exciting, cacaphonous, clock-defying, tightest game of Test rugby I have ever had to sit through ... but my seat at Eden Park was a bloody fantastic one, so I survived.

History, baby! And after 24 years, New Zealand has not only regained the Rugby World Cup ... but we have replaced the Kiwi as our national animal with the Beaver.

So much has been written already that I don’t feel I have to go over the game in depth, we have all seen it, had it burned on our retinas, but there are things that stood out for me. Things I will NEVER forget about October 23 2011.

On the free bus to Eden Park, everyone we saw in their front yards, or walking to friends’ houses or pubs to watch the game was waving at us, like they were acknowledging ticket holders had a bigger role to play in the game. They were encouraging us to do our bit, to lift the All Blacks in person. It was incredible.

Eden Park was stunning, again ... humming with the expectation of not only those headed inside to watch the Final live, but due to being surrounded by informal residents’ shindigs. The RWC volunteers (who have made this Cup) were working overtime to welcome and explain everything to the visitors. My compadre, Bale, and I walked a lap of the ground to check out the scenes before going in, as if to cast some anti-French hex on the turf by encircling it. We saw buskers, BBQs, French fans mingling with All Black fans ... all taking turns in front of both the Michael Jones and Dave Gallagher statues for photos. Festivale!

Heading to our seats ... no upgrade required.

Inside, the seats were worth the Category A price tag: top tier, front row, on the All Blacks’ starting 22 line. Our vista rivalled that of the TV cameras; we were looking down on SpiderCam! Our location also gave us full aural and visual 360 for the game; the rise and fall of collective emotions in the crowd, the shared sense of elation that seemed for a brief period in the second half that it would take a parabolic dive into ashen-faced despair. Again. Quadrenially by appointment.

Not this time though. The French fans could not maintain any real presence vocally. Right from anthems, the All Black fans never gave up. Last week for the semi-final I had never heard a louder anthem sung by New Zealand fans ... and on Sunday night it went up another notch. We’d not beat the Welsh for pitch perfectness ... but for volume and pride we blew out to a new benchmark. Stunning.

I loved the French response to the haka: they get it. It is not disrespectful to challenge it back at all, and they, alone, keep coming up with their own way to gain an edge against it. Any IRB fine for crossing halfway is just petty.

There was no hesitation to cheer Stephen Donald when he strode forward to take THAT penalty. Everyone knew he was the man for the job, everyone screamed him on. And the cheer that followed that was titanic.

After that, things got blurry ... not due to booze at all, but to adrenaline? Stress? Live, I felt it was a lot more one-sided to France after their try than I think it actually was (having watched a replay now). One millisecond of madness by Weepu to chip pass the ball at the base of a ruck led to a French advance, an All Black scramble, and Dusautoir’s try. However, that closing up of the score to a one point margin produced an amazing last half hour.

Man France were good. Hold up a black jersey in front of Les Bleus and you get a primal, Pavlovian response. Their loose trio of Harinordoquy, Dusautoir and Bonnaire are brilliant, they kept France in it during the first half.

8-7 belies the quality of that game. There was as much to please the old school purists and enough intent to entertain the expansive rugby fans. It may not have all come off, but I think it was a great exhibition of finals rugby that I think did justice to the rules as they stand, and to a ref that interpreted them to allow a game to flow.

We saw two sets of brilliant tight fives, the World’s two best loose trios, and an assemblage of some of rugby’s most talented backs. I loved that there were rucks, then counter-rucks ... then counter-counter-rucks. It was a competition for the ball, and that is the entire basis of rugby isn’t it?

I was in Cardiff in 2007, and the tangible anger that surged through AB fans as that game slipped away from us was not present this year, even as things looked grim at 8-7 ... there was creeping disbelief and stress, but I never felt it was gone or hopeless this time. That hope rumbled and surged back in the last 10 and when we got the ball back, and ran the clock down with those pick and gos from the 76th minute on, the crowd began to party.

And we all stayed there for another hour. Last one out turn out the lights.

Other gems: Jock Hobbs’ cheer was 3x bigger than John Keys’; the appreciative roar given to France when they got their medals; the din when the All Blacks went up to get their medals; Andrew Hore immediately checking if the Cup’s lid came off; Brad Thorn’s fist pumping; Ma’a Nonu demanding Vito surrender his coat to keep his son Mercury warm.

My moment of the night? After the Cup was lifted, when we spotted Cory Jane and Israel Dagg breaking away from the group, running like ratbags (to a Takapuna Bar perhaps?) to lie in the the fallen silver confetti to do snow angels. Awesome.

I will never, ever forget that night.

“Those last Jäger Bombs really messed me up”

We knocked the bastard off! France V New Zealand RWC 2011 final

2011-10-25T09:38:00.001+13:00

And when I say bastard, I mean the big RWC monkey off our backs....not France (who were simply magnificent).

New Zealand 8 - France 7
8-7.... 87? Spooky

What can I say about this match. It was the most traumatic, harrowing 80 minutes of rugby I have ever had to endure and I swear to God that at half time, my heart beating hard in my chest, sweat dripping off my red face, I had to go and put my head under a cold tap. "What would I rather?" I thought to myself as I looked at the wheezing female staring back at me in the mirror."Death from a rugby induced stroke? Or the All Blacks losing this thing..once again to our nemesis."

When France lined themselves up in a v for victory formation, hands tightly clasped with each other as they approached Kapa o Pango, flirting with an IRB fine, but more importantly responding to the haka in a thrilling challenge, all New Zealand supporters took a big gulp. Without a single ball being kicked, we knew that the mythical A game that France manages to produce every so often (mainly when their backs are against the wall and they are playing the All Blacks in a world cup knockout) were going to turn up today.

And man, did they what! Every French player on that field equalled or shaded their opposite number, led by their inspirational and fearless back row, Harinordoquay, Dusatoir (a man of the match performance) and Bonnaire. They were mighty, effectively shutting down All Black stars, and in the second half, they grew in confidence as they felt the wind at their backs, the warm Auckland night air on their faces and the sniff of victory. They had silenced the 16th man. They were gearing up for yet another dramatic (and entirely typical) French upset.

How the heck did the All Blacks manage to hold on? Through sheer dogged will power and the fear of losing? Or as Wayne Smith said - through the heart that beats under the fern. Also through a magnificent captain who fought on one foot to the bitter end. While others were losing their heads, feeling the hands of history tightening across their collective throats, as they fell off tackles, missed goal kicks and just generally went missing, inspirational McCaw, the heart and soul of this great team led his men bravely up onto Hilary's step, onto the summit of his own personal Everest. He was not going to die on the cliff. He was not having any of it. (My only criticism of McCaw is that he did not acknowledge the French immediately after the game in his speech on the pitch. I wish that he would have done this).

I live in London and after reading the British papers this morning, the northern hemisphere is distinctly poo pooey about this wonderful, long awaited and deserved world cup victory for the All Blacks (the only team unbeaten in this tournament and the top try scorers by quite some way and playing with our 4th choice fly half). "Joubert had a shocker" the pompous Surrey soaked Daily Telegraph readers screamed. I could taste the stench of their sour grapes at the back of my throat. Whatever paper you picked up, it was all the same. The French deserved to win this one, they were robbed. By the ref. By New Zealand passion and desperation. By our cheating number 7. It was a fix, it was this, it was that. The media were different to the people I met on the streets yesterday and the lovely people in my office today (yes, it's a miracle, I did manage to drag myself into work this morning) who have been very kind and congratulatory these last few days. Maybe it is only morons (like me) that go onto these message boards.....

The fact was, this game was not pretty. But it was riveting and absorbing. Some are daring to say the greatest World Cup final ever. How fitting that it should be after one of the greatest rugby world cup tournaments.

Then, thirty six minutes into the final, and one of the great stories of rugby redemption in the tournament. When Aaron Cruden limped off after crumbling to the ground after an encounter with a French washing machine, Stephen Donald started his warm up stretches on the sideline. Mr Average, Donald Duck they have called him in the (god awful) NZ rugby media and on the streets from Kaitaia all the way to Invercargill. In Babel (the New Zealand supporter filled pub I was sitting watching the game in Clapham) a collective groan richocheted around the walls as Donald ran onto the field. But then we started clapping for the man, encouraging him on, willing him on 20,000 kilometres away. He was our final hope.

And in what could have been our darkest hour, he surprised us all. A searing little line break, a kick into French territory when the All Blacks were defending yet again in the dangerous red zone, and finally a penalty that almost missed, but didn't. The man that made his world cup debut in the world cup final, in 50 minutes had transformed from zero to hero.

And so what of us, the fans? I have imagined for many years what it would feel like to see an All Black team lift the Webb Ellis trophy after 1987. And when that final whistle came, the feeling was strange. For me, it was as if I had experienced a huge shock and I wasn't quite sure how to take it. Then the relief began to surge through my veins and as Richie held that cup aloft his head and kissed it ever so sweetly, finally the realisation that the dream of our stadium of four million, the dream that we thought we might never live to see, had finally come true.

Is Tom Scott psychic? This cartoon appeared in Saturday's paper - a day before the final

This is the land that rumbles - now is our time

2011-10-23T07:41:00.004+13:00

Kapa o pango

Let us become one with the land, hi aue hi!
This is the land that rumbles
And it's my time! It's my moment!
This defines us as All Blacks
It's my time! It's my moment! I ahaha!
Our dominance, our supremacy will triumph
And will be placed on high
Silver fern! All Blacks!
Silver fern! All Blacks!

Kapa o pango kia whakawhenua au i ahau! I ahau! Hi aue, hi!
Ko Aotearoa e ngunguru nei! au, au, aue ha!
Ko kapa o Pango e ngunguru nei! au, au, aue ha!
I ahaha!
Ka tu te ihiihi Ka tu te wanawana
Ki runga ki te rangi e tu iho nei, tu iho nei, hi!
Ponga ra! Kapa o Pango, aue hi!
Ponga ra! Kapa o Pango, aue hi, ha!

Bronze Final: Wales v Australia

2011-10-21T12:18:00.001+13:00

When Punditry Goes Wrong

I watched this episode of Reunion last week and I laughed at the time. Barnes started the tournament off reasonably sensible, perhaps wanting to be made welcome by saying flattering things about the All Blacks ... but as the Cup progressed he got more and more looney, talking up Quade Cooper at every chance.

And Greg Martin? Well, he knows feck all – its proved every time he opens his mouth on a commentary in Super or the Tri Nations match. Martin & Phil Kearns constitute two thirds of the World's Corst Commentary Triumvirate ... and I can only theorise that Greg Clark (the other rugby head on Australia’s Fox network) did something unspeakably cruel to rabbits as a child, and is stuck in that commentary box with Dumb & Dumber as some kind of Earth-bound purgatorial sentence.

Poor Willy Lose and TJ - they did well to contain themselves.

The long road to goodbye

2011-10-19T10:20:00.012+13:00

The lone ranger
Graham Henry - All Black coach 2004 - 2011

Four more days to go until the RWC 2011 is done and dusted. What are we going to do with ourselves? We've got a final to get through first but in the lull before the storm, let's spare a thought for the many influential people in the All Black set up (Brad Thorne and Wayne Smith being two particuarly) who we will be saying goodbye to on Sunday. I blog this with a slightly heavy heart (but not too heavy, because for once since 1995, we've made it to the final waa-hey!)

Graham 'Ted' Henry born 8 June 1946, Christchurch, NZ

The great redeemer. The All Black coach since 2004. The hard man with the droll humour, the raised eyebrows and cynical smile. Love him or hate him (and we have always loved him here at ruggerblogger), he is without a doubt, the greatest All Black coach New Zealand has produced. A win record of over 80%, the most successful coach in any team in any sport in the world. Any team Ted has coached has succeeded, if not at world cups, at least in their own backyards. He brought Wales back from the pits of despair and coached Auckland to numerous NPC and Super 12 (I think it was in those days) wins.

'That's sport, Sport!' Graham Henry 2007

I remember (through my tears) how Ted faced the press the day of the All Black defeat against France in 2007. He knew he was going to be in for it when he got back home (one only has to read the stories of what poor old John Hart had to endure in kiwi redneck country). But with the knowledge of a zen master, an emotional Ted shrugged his shoulders in that post match interview, 'Well, that's sport,' he said. He lives and breathes rugby, but you always got the feeling that it isn't the be all and end all for him. And he wasn't afraid to try again when many others would have cowered away, knowing what mountain they would have had to climb.

Meatheads I encountered in Queenstown (not a true likeness)

Two years ago I got into a heated debate with a group of men in a pub in Queenstown. Being a woman in her mid 30s, they weren't too pleased with me, a mere female who doesn't deserve to think she knows anything about rugby, sticking up for Graham Henry in Deans country. I actually felt a bit frightened as they rounded on me in that debate, but I stuck to my guns (even though I was quaking inside). Maybe I was silly to debate with them, telling them that Graham Henry was the man and that he was going to prove them all wrong, every test over. I mean, most of them were a bunch of psychotic meatheads. After Sunday's semi-final, I thought of those awful men and felt quite vindicated.

Actually, with Ted at the helm, I've always felt vindicated. We've won so many more than we've lost. He is an exceptional coach with an exceptional rugby mind. Of course, he has made mistakes. Sometimes he doesn't say sorry (the 'speargate' affair with Brian O'Driscoll could have been handled better) and there have of course been other times when he's riled the world rugby press. Nobody's perfect after all.

But with his headmaster ways, he is a rare old breed who has been able to manage and understand his players, as well as getting the best out of them on the field. 'Express yourself' has been his mantra. 'Play what is in front of you'. He has inspired hundreds in his long and illustrrious career. And I have no doubt that he will inspire thousands more.

Ted 1 - Deans 0

I have enjoyed every moment (apart from that 2007 quarter-final) in this All Black era with him at the helm (and I don't blame him or rotation or Wayne Barnes for that BTW). This very blog started with him Ted ruling the roost, and I've rarely said a word against him. I'm going to bloody miss him. I wish he would stay for another four years. I think you're great Ted. Thank you so much. Good luck for the final, no matter what, you will always be one of the greats in my eyes. We're going to miss you.

Remembering Ted on ruggerblogger:

Ted's gameplan against the Wallabies

Inside the All Black jersey documentary - Graham Henry

Ted's comedy gold - Graham Henry doesn't think much of twitter

A rare bleak moment for ruggerblogger/Ted relations

Semifinal 2: New Zealand v Australia

2011-10-17T20:55:00.001+13:00

Winners are grinners.

Slugso’s Report:

Straight off, I have never experienced an All Black game like this. The revamped Eden Park is a stunner and was an amazing setting for this epic battle to decide who would meet France in the final.

All week the Aussie media and players had been banging on about how all the pressure was on the All Blacks, and it was a line that proved to be as ill conceived and poorly executed as the Wallaby game plan. I regard New Zealand as 12 points better than the Wallabies on a normal day. Man for man they are weaker, yet the Reds Super win, and the Test wins against a weak Bok side and a less than fit All Black side led them to believe they were on track to seriously challenge for RWC.

Last night our All Blacks stood up and monstered the Wallabies, sending them packing 20-6. And they are lucky Gilbert has produced a new standard of Flying Pig ball this year, because had Piri Weepu been on target the Green and Golds could have been staring down the barrel of a 35-6 loss or something.

From Cooper’s first blunder at kick-off, through our early charges into their 22 that led to Nonu’s try, it was obvious the New Zealanders were there for 2003 and 2007 payback (and 1999, 1995, yadda yadda yadda).

I am watching another replay of this on the Rugby Channel as I type this rubbish in, and the highlight reel really does need to be 80 minutes long. Aaron Cruden tackled 120% and was sublimely confident, Piri Weepu’s legend continues to grow. Cory Jane was velcro-gloved under the pointless high balls, Dagg a constant threat, Nonu a handful as usual.

Kieran Read made huge tackles, as did Owen Franks. Brad Thorn was everywhere, and along with Mealamu and, later on, Andrew Hore, just seemed to relish in and grin at contact. And Jerome Kaino? What can I say? He has been the granite in this team all tournament, every game so far, but for me his first half clean and jerk on Digby Ioane to deny a certain try will be an enduring memory.

And Sir Richie of McCaw? Well, he bettered the supposedly best 7 in the world. Again. A flanker is nothing without a dominant pack, and Australia never got to go forward last night, they stood deep and could not get to the gain line. Pocock was lined up by our ball carriers and nullified. Brilliant to watch.

McCaw has beaten off not only human opponents in his 101 Tests, but also law changes that have constantly sought to deny his type of game ... and every time he has learned, changed and grown.

Australia: Outplayed, outgunned, out thought. I could park two HQ Holdens in midfield and they would create more than any combination of Ashley-Cooper/Faingaa/Horne/McCabe. These players might tackle, but they do not attack.

And Quade? Well, let’s just say he reaped better than he played. The NRL beckons.

As for Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith, I appreciate we are 80 very hard and nervous minutes against a quality French side away from possibly getting Bill back ... but that game was a vindication for them, their progress and their supporters, among who both Ferdy and I always counted ourselves.

We never wanted Deans, and laughed when the ARU grabbed him and crowned him saviour. The chickens have been tallied and they are now roosting comfortably in Sydney.

We know what its like to lose to at RWC, to be knocked out in a semi (and earlier) .. hell, Deans was even our coach when it happened in 2003! Yet, as the clock hit 78 minutes last night, my mate Jimmy and I launched into our “Four more years!” chant, as naturally as everyone else around Eden Park who did ... it was a kind of mass catharsis that just manifested itself and was joyfully directed at the lads in yellow.

Not clever. Certainly not original, no. But bloody priceless.

All Blacks book their place into the RWC 2011 final (it's been a long time coming)

2011-10-16T23:19:00.001+13:00

Ted 1 - Deans 0

I'll write a few words later when I have calmed down and stopped crying tears of joy. Well done you mighty All Blacks. Bloody well done!

What Stephen Jones said...

Is this our time?

2011-10-16T11:05:00.000+13:00

Richie

As an All Black supporter I have danced the highs and lows following my great team for many, many years. On the eve of our biggest world cup game this tournament, I feel nervous and I am ashamed to admit, I am preparing myself for the worst. Not because I think the All Blacks deserve to or should lose. Just because we have been here so many times before. As we saw today with Wales, sometimes the best team does not win in this awful yet exhilerating tournament.

But still, I have three bullet points that all New Zealand supporters could do by remembering in these next few hours and in the aftermath of tomorrow's game:

Whether we win or lose tomorrow, let us be gracious about it.
The All Blacks have been near invincible for over 100 years, with or without Daniel Carter
No matter what the outcome, I will always support the All Blacks. I am not a fair weather rugby supporter. This team is one of my main passions in life, and I am behind them 100% of the way. I will not spit at the fly half, write 'losers' on their baggage as they go through an airport, or demand the coaches head on a plate if we lose. I won't rant on message forums that everything we did in the preceding years building up to this tournamnet was wrong and woeful. Graham Henry and his players have done their utmost best. They will do everything in their power tomorrow to win. And I will remain with them, no matter the outcome.

Semi Final 1: Wales v France

2011-10-16T03:16:00.000+13:00

Heartbreak for Wales as Alain Rolland sees red

Travesty! What the hell was Alain Rolland thinking?! You do not give a player a red card in a semi final of a world cup. Why? Because people have paid hundreds of dollars for the privlege to sit in the stand and watch an intense battle. Immediately, this was taken away by a referee's stupid, thoughtless decision. Who does he think is? Referee's need to help the game, not be the key playmaker of the game. The world cup is once every four years. How could you Mr Rolland?

Wales have been robbed. The only team to score a try, even though they were one man down for an hour of the game. How can France - a team that has lost twice already in this world cup - deserve to now be rated as first or second in the world by making the final? I'm speechless. I'm wild. I want to scream out loud.

Sam Warburton's tackle was over exuberant, and yes, as Warren Gatland very eloquently said in his post match interview - a yellow should have sufficed. But from the moment Rolland reached deep into his pocket for red, this game was going to be an Everest for Wales to climb without their captain and star player.

What was incredible was that they so nearly did it. They played a mature game, the game of their lives. To have it taken away from them, well I know how the Welsh are feeling right now. And quite frankly, I have shed a few tears for Wales this morning myself. The injustice of it all. As Slugso so wisely said, the RWC is a cruel mistress.

If only Leigh Halfpenny's kick from over half way in the dying minutes of the game had just found some extra legs. If only Stephen Jones had managed to convert Mike Phillips's quite wonderful try. If only they could have found themselves in the right position to try for a drop goal in the dying seconds. This could have been the most magnificent victory, a statement to the world that Wales mean business. That they would be hard to beat in the final.

Instead, a mediocre France, a team with an extra man yet still couldn't manage to break the Welsh line, have muddled through. It is appalling. It is so unfair. It is dramatic, operatic, incredible rugby at it's best and worst. This game will be talked about for the next 100 years. I feel for you Wales. I'm heartbroken for you.

Keep Calm on Piri On

2011-10-15T12:38:00.001+13:00

All Black game plan against the Wallabies revealed - RWC 2011

2011-10-13T09:58:00.000+13:00

Quarter Finals: Game Stats Quick links

2011-10-11T18:07:00.000+13:00

Quarter Final 1: Ireland v Wales

Quarter Final 2: England v France

Quarter Final 3: South Africa v Australia

Quarter Final 4: New Zealand v Argentina

One month into the RWC 2011

2011-10-11T11:07:00.000+13:00

Some snapshots of the highs and lows...

Quarter Final 4: New Zealand v Argentina

2011-10-10T18:17:00.000+13:00

That was edge of the seat stuff for a bit last night - not only did the Pumas stop us scoring, then score themselves ... but they had the lead on us and created some very nervous moments for All Black fans last night. Were we going to be knocked out again?!

The people who did not panic were the 15 very composed blokes on the park in black polyester, and that now gives me great confidence going forward. Players were dropping like flies with injuries at times, but we never got rattled, and simply kept plugging away, safe in the knowledge that we'd end up with more points after the 80 minutes, even if they all had to come from Piri Weepu’s laser-guided boot.

Great team performance, right across the park. And Brad Thorn a try! He deserves one.

That was my buzz word from the win: composure. It manifested itself stoically last night at Eden Park, where four years ago in Cardiff it slunk off into the shadows like Kwade Kupa facing a try-saving tackle on Ma’a Nonu.

At 7-6 to the Pumas I was a nervous wreck, and when Kaino threw that no-look pass in the second half, down towards Argentina’s line, it hung in the night sky for what felt like an eternity as the Pumas player reached for what looked to be a dead set intercept. Four more years? Not today.

Our forwards had to battle through set after set of multiple phases to gain any ground for the first 40, as Argentina’s defence threw everything at us. They are a very good team, and after a few seasons settling in to the newly expanded Tri-Nations, just may well have that X factor to go to the last four again in 2015. Its cliché to bang on about the passion of the players and their fans ... but it there for all to see, its tangible. When they exit RWC, and the tournament loses something.

I hope Slade and Mils are okay. Colin Slade again started nervously, maybe this is just his schtick? He does grow into things though, but his injury bought Aaron Cruden on, Manawatu’s stellar No. 10, fresh from the travel agents where he had to cancel his Fijian holiday to save our World Cup campaign!

The kid has confidence to burn, he has had everything to prove and nothing to lose this year since being dropped from the All Blacks ... after taking the can for a poor forwards performance. He has a love for hitting the line and popping passes that make SBW look on in wonder. I think he showed enough to warrant a start even if Slade is okay.

I think we saw that these games are going to be very tight - no way is Nonu going to carve easily through Australia, it will be a pressure cooker game, that chances taken will win (or mistakes made will lose). I think we can do it, but we have to be prepared that we don’t.

I feel for all the Bok fans out there, having had their champion team knocked out in the quarters. If it is any consolation ... All Black fans completely understand how it feels because of 2007. It hurts, it does not seem fair, but in four years time (a lifetime away it may seem now) ... the optimism and fever of the next World Cup will completely heal the scar. After older players exit behind P Divvy ... you’ll look to your depth in Currie Cup and Super, and you have the makings of a hell of a team for the next few seasons.

I was not impressed with the way Sky TV cut away from Mils Muliaina’s 100th Test Cap presentation - we missed both Jock Hobbs’ introduction and Mils’ response. That was an embarrassing mistake - Mils not worthy Sky? I think it was a bit insulting.

Not the prettiest game, but we rolled on, completed all our set pieces, got good ball, and converte chances. For four years English fans have been telling us ‘that’s all you have to do to win RWC’.

Well, we did it ... and where are yous?

Time to cast this Eden Park Hoodoo over the Wallabies in concrete ... in gold! pass it to Cooper!

Quarter Final 3: South Africa v Australia

2011-10-10T18:10:00.000+13:00

Wallabies and All Blacks go through - Rugby World Cup 2011 quarterfinals

2011-10-10T00:42:00.000+13:00

Man of the match - Piri Weepu

New Zealand 33 - 10 Argentina
If you have ever wanted to witness a woman having a nervous breakdown, then you should have had front row seats in my lounge here in Whitechapel this morning. A fired up Argentina made New Zealand dig deep for a good 70 minutes before the All Blacks were able to lift themselves and book themselves into a semi-final. It's been 8 long years coming. And after Julio Farias Cabello fired across for a try in the first half, I thought we were looking at another potential inglorious upset. Cue more nail biting and wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Argentina came out and played so well. Strong defensively, holding the ABs tryless in the first half, the Pumas executed their game plan, slowing down the ball and throwing themselves into rucks. But what I took heart from in this New Zealand performance was the way the All Blacks absorbed the pressure and kept their shape. With patience they continued to niggle (god, I hate that word this week) away on attack and were finally rewarded with a Read try in the second half.

What were the good points of this game? The man of the match was most definitely Piri Weepu who announced on the world stage that he is now the new heartbeat of a team still grimacing from Carter's absence. His kicking in hand and at goal were top drawer. Not so promising was Colin Slade who had yet another shaky start, but what about Cruden?! Two weeks ago he was watching the tournament on television with a cup of a tea and a biscuit. Would he then in his wildest dreams have imagined that tonight he would be thrust into the thick of a quarter final. And boy, he played well, trying things on the gainline, chancing his arm and executing with confidence. Could this still turn out to be a fairytale for a boy who has already in his life had to beat cancer and all the other demons that go along with that terrible disease.

This was New Zealand's first proper test at the world cup. It may not have been the thrashing that some people were predicting, but it is better Argentina put the All Blacks under pressure and gave them a game. Honourable mentions: Brad 'the engine room' Thorne. 37 years old (my age!). He gives us all hope and he did if often with a smile on his face. Cory Jane has magic, even if he has been a bit *ahem* naughty this week. Sonny Bill - he has to be in the starting 15 somewhere next week. Mario Ledesma - subbed with ten minutes to go, a Puma that has played four world cups walked off the rugby pitch one final time as an international. Tears in his eyes, looking to the heavens, the image of this emotional hardened warrior will stay with me for a long time. This is why I love rugby.

Australia 11 - South Africa 9
I didn't know who I'd rather NZ face next week. But now it is Australia, the All Blacks main foe and banana skin when it comes to world cups, I feel slightly (ok more than slightly) worried. Cue endless column inches and tireless cliches for the next week about the Dingo Deans/Graham Henry rivalry from our ever unoriginal New Zealand rugby journos.

Australia did not have the territory or possession but it didn't matter, because the Springboks could not muster a way of scoring a try. Like England, they have been left behind. I think the right four teams have made it through to the semi finals. Four teams that are not afraid to play some decent, attacking rugby. The Springboks and their supporters will be mightily disappointed and I feel for them, but heck and hey, they won the world cup last time, it's nice to share things around.

Australia are now almost back to full strength with an on fire Pocock leading the charge. Is it a coincidence or something more that the four teams that have made it through all have exceptional players at number 7? So, this time next week we will know who will be in the final. I am not making any more predictions as I failed so miserably this week (only picking the ABs to overtake Argentina). This world cup could be anyone's, and at least it will be won by a team that is prepared to play with some inventiveness (as long as that team is not Australia).

Quarter Final 2: England v France

2011-10-09T12:18:00.001+13:00

Quarter Final 1: Ireland v Wales

2011-10-09T12:13:00.003+13:00

Wales and France go through - RWC 2011 quarter finals

2011-10-09T06:03:00.002+13:00

Ireland 10 - Wales 22
Ooh la la! This was rugby at it's most exciting. Wales have announced themselves on the world stage with an impassioned win against Ireland. I have to eat all my words for my first two quarter final predictions. I really thought Ireland were going to win this game, but their backs had no answer to a striking Welsh rush defence and an excellent forward effort. How wonderful for Wales, a true rugby nation that endeavours to play exciting ball in hand rugger. They must be drunk in the valleys tonight. No wonder Warren Gatland couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He has done wonders with this Welsh team. They always had the players, but now they have the confidence, the fitness levels and the belief as well. They could really go all the way. I almost could handle Wales winning this thing (almost, but not quite).

England 12-19 France
Meanwhile on the other side of the drawer England put up a spirited second half attack to try and claw their way back from a 16 - 0 deficit after France's flying start in the first half. Which French team turned up to play? The one that continually surprises on the world cup stage, and that's why we love France so much. Somebody said on twitter that when England loses, it is good for rugby. I don't want to be too mean to England because they've had a hard time of it in this tournament and I genuinely felt for Lewis Moody who gave a very gracious post match speech. However, if England had progressed to the final stages of this world cup, it would have been a travesty. They have not brought anything to the game in the last eight years and they did not deserve to be in the top four. They are soaking in wealth and get to call the shots with timetables and their powerful money hungry clubs. But they just haven't added anything to the international stage for quite some time. It's official, winning ugly is finally out of fashion. So justice has prevailed. It was still a cracking match though, nailbiting until the end.

As Slugso said - the north have zipped up the once gaping hole in skills between the south. This world cup is turning into a true classic. Shades of 1987 are beginning to shine through the clouds.....

QUARTER FINALISTS: POOL STATS & PREDICTIONS

2011-10-07T15:53:00.002+13:00

Wow. We’ve made it to the knockouts, and we are set for a weekend of epic rugby in the four matches listed below.

Ruggerblogger has been doing all the Pool Games stats in a graphic form to make them more digestible, and when the eight qualifiers for the final rounds were decided, we've compiled each teams’ stats from those Pool games into a handy summary form, along with that squads’ previous World Cup experience.

We have also gone out on a limb and made our predictions 3-4 days out, putting whatever miniscule reputation for punditry we have on the line. Check them out (download them, they look awesome on an iPhone):

Quarter Final 1: Ireland v Wales
Quarter Final 2: England v France
Quarter Final 3: South Africa v Australia
Quarter Final 4: New Zealand v Argentina

Good luck to all teams!

Follow us on Twitter @ruggerblogger - Tell us we know nothing! Tell us we’re dreamin’!

Right. Typed, checked, time to press the JINX button!

Quarter Finalist Preview: Argentina

2011-10-07T15:39:00.000+13:00

Ferdy says:

A good team, not a great team. Argentina have a willing forward pack but they leave rather a lot to be desired when it comes to attack. Wonderful supporters, and it will be fantastic to see them in the four nations next year. I will eat my hat if they become the All Black banana skin. Man, I’ve read this back and I sound so condescending. I don't mean to be, and I will be the first to doff my hat (and then eat it) if I’m proven wrong. I just can't really see it happening this time although if they take the All Blacks close, well that would be good. (But not that close).

Ferdy’s pick: quarter finalists.

Slugso says:

Without Juan Martin Hernandez at 10, they were never going to go as deep in the draw as they did in 2007. Contepomi has struggled for form, and the old battleships up front have taken a pounding in this Cup. I think this game is one too far for them - they’ve lost Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe who wears his heart on his sleeve to injury. I think he was a catalyst for them. Their goalkicking numbers are dire.

Having them play adds something to a game - though they have never beaten us, they have come close, very close. Like France, they have two personalities on the field - the sublime backs, and the combative engine room. How will they play?

Such good players: Leguizamon, Ledesma, Camacho, Amorosino ... I’d be delighted if their resolve proved me wrong. God I wish we were like their fans. I reckon 750 Argentinians make more noise than 30,000 All Black fans. I so want to go to Buenos Aires in a few years to see a Quad Nations AB v Pumas Test!

I dunno - I don’t like to take them lightly, especially as this is knockout stuff ... but I just can’t see them beating New Zealand. I hope it is close, for both teams’ sakes. We certainly need the pressure if we are to make an impact in the net round.

Slugso Predict-O-Meter: All Blacks by 12

Quarter Finalist Preview: New Zealand

2011-10-07T15:37:00.000+13:00

Ferdy says:

Putting aside the Daniel Carter heartbreak, let’s not forget the All Blacks have been formidable for 100 years (and Dan has only been around for about eight of those). This is a team sport.

In saying that, I still think our major final will be the semi. Whether it is Oz or SA, well, either will be horrible and hard, and I am not going to be watching that game because my blood pressure will not be able to take it.

NZ, the team that has been number one inbetween world cups since the world cup tournament began. Now is our time. We deserve it. And we're going to do it (she says with everything crossed).

Ferdy’s pick: winners.

Slugso says:

We are lucky; on paper this is the easiest quarter final ... but rugby is not played on a piece of paper. Things have to click this weekend for us to be really dominant, the Pumas can use space, even a little space, very well if allowed ... and they have the pack to create those holes.

Huge pressure on Colin Slade, but provided he gets fast ball, all he has to do is kick or pass ... it really isn’t rocket science. As for our backline? Well, they are the best in the business, and given 80 minutes can go crazy, but this is knockout stuff. With all the lineup changes they have been through, can they defend too when it counts?

Scrums will be huge, so Woodcock better be fit. This is going to be a big test for the team’s fitness, and especially for those loosies of ours that have been carrying niggles. And that’s most of them.

Weepu must start as halfback - that is whee he is best. I hope Cruden gets to come off the bench at some stage to prove all his detractors wrong.

Slugso offers: we’ll beat Argentina, and make the semi against the Boks. Injuries will occur.

Quarter Finalist Preview: Australia

2011-10-06T20:37:00.000+13:00

Ferdy says:

Not this time Australia. Four more years, boys.

Ferdy’s pick: quarter finalists.

Slugso says :

Whoah, that was succinct on the Boss’ part! Good team, not a great team ... yet. The Reds’ success seemed to give Dingo Deans a blueprint for the Tri Nations, but that won’t work in the World Cup. His razzle-dazzle Cooper-Genia axis will get smothered when real rugby starts this weekend. Set pieces are going to get a grilling, especially if the rain lasts (its Thursday pm as I write this).

They are going to have to make more tackles this weekend than they have up to now, and they themselves are also going to get tackled harder. God forbid they get through, I think they will be the walking wounded.

Should have stuck with Giteau & Barnes, Robbie ... and not the Boy Band hype.

Slugso reckons: Boks to win by 10+

Quarter Finalist Preview: South Africa

2011-10-06T20:30:00.001+13:00

Ferdy says:

The All Blacks main threat. This time last year without the likes of Brussouw and Du Preez they were pretty wretched. However, they’re once again nearly at full strength, and right in time for World Cup finals time too. Can they play attacking rugby? Not really. But the South African model is about gruelling defence and metronomic kicking at goal (and let’s face it, in the last two World Cups, that’s what has ‘brought home Bill’). They are missing one Steyn (the precocious Frans) but in Morne they will trust.

Will P-Divvy rule the roost or will he rue the day? You decide!

Ferdy’s pick: semi finalists.

Slugso says

South Africans like meat. And this weekend, Quade Cooper could be on the menu. The Boks stepped up their game during the pool, and though they carefully navigated their way through the so-called ‘Pool of Death’, they did so at times with uncharacteristic flair. I thought Frans Steyn at 12 was an inspired call on P Divvy’s part, it gave them real steel in defence and another playmaker on attack. Plus, the guy can nail penalties from 60+ metres out. Case closed, Good Night, Nurse.

But he is crocked and sipping cocktails with Carter, and that means they may slip back to a style that’s more ... pragmatic, shall we say (they may have done this anyway).

They are a great team, and I agree with Ferdy - they’re the All Blacks’ biggest, toughest, most complete threat. I think they have the team to suffocate and smash the Wallabies over 80 minutes, but it won’t be a walkover. Aplon, du Preez, Hougaard, Fourie, Morne Steyn, Jean de Villiers, Habana, JP Pietersen .. wow, they have the backs. We know what their forwards can do.

Slugso reckons: Boks by 10+

Quarter Finalist Preview: France

2011-10-06T09:07:00.001+13:00

Ferdy says:

Oh the cliches I could start blabbering on about. Which French team will turn up on the day? The great French flair. The Gallic charm. Blah blah blah.

France aren’t going to win it this time. They have fallen apart at the seams with a coach that makes Peter de Villiers look like a nobel prize winner. The team has fallen out in nuclear fashion publicly with Lievremont and him with his players. And the humiliating loss against Tonga would not have done them any favours either leading into the knockouts. France have disappointed this tournament. It’s a shame, but they’ll be back.

Ferdy’s pick: quarter finalists.

Slugso says:

That bag of cliches becomes a Louis Vuitton suitcase when talking about Les Bleus. No one knows the upsets they can dish out more than an All Blacks fan, and they even beat us in Dunedin in 2009.

However, the travelling circus that is Marc Lievremont’s selection policy has reached new levels in this World Cup. No Florian Fritz or Yannick Jauzion of Toulon picked, and he has tinkered constantly since passing through Duty Free, and that is the shame of it all – this team of immense ability has never had a chance to gel before or during the tournament.

Maybe its a twisted sentimentality that I hope France get up for this, and “do to England, what they did to us”, but if they have any self-respect, any desire not to become a laughing stock, spoiled little gaggle of enfants like their football team, they’ll sort their heads out and blitz England for pride alone. Then they can fold in the semi.

They lost two pool games, and should not be here at all, but for class across the park and accurate goal kicking ... I am picking them.

Slugso: France by a late try. Take that Ashton.

Quarter Finalist Preview: England

2011-10-06T08:57:00.001+13:00

Ferdy says:

An All Black kit, dwarf throwing, extreme sports, royal indiscretions, ball tampering, intimidation of vulnerable girls in hotel rooms. Oh, and dour rugby. England sure do know how to make friends in New Zealand.

But putting aside all the off field shenanighans, England find themselves once again on the ‘easy’ side of the draw. They have shown their mettle to come from behind in two crucial matches in their pool games. This team plays ugly, they don't have the talent of half the other top tier teams in the competition, but they sure do know how to play tournament rugby.

If they get to the final, it would be a travesty. But stranger things have happened (just look at 2007).

Ferdy’s pick: semi finalists.

Slugso says:

England. Again? No, not for me. I’ll admit they showed some promise in the last 12 months, more than I expected. They seemed to move the ball more and looked to be enjoying it at the same time, won the 6 Nations and only lost out on a Grand Slam to Ireland.

But that’s enough! They look rudderless in this tournament, and the goalkicking stands out as bad in a tournament where it has hurt all teams. And if Johnson gives in to tweaking his inside backs for this game as rumoured, they may slip further into a rabble having struggled to cross the line against decent opposition.

No. They aren’t good enough. Only an imploding France can save them. ... hang on!?

Lose to France by 5.

Quarter Finalist Preview: Wales

2011-10-05T15:14:00.000+13:00

Ferdy says:

Wales have been so good in this world cup with one of the hardest pools. They should have beaten South Africa (we dare not mention the name of that *red head* ref). Warren Gatland has been able to do what several coaches for Wales have not been able to do previously...build some cohesion from all that raw talent within the team, both on and off the field.

Under a strict regime that involves Scandanavian saunas and zero tolerance on alcohol, they have come out in this world cup with extraordinary fitness levels. A mixture of young and old talent, I'm picking Wales to take Ireland very close this weekend. Close ... but no cigar.

Ferdy’s pick: losing quarter finalists.

Slugso says:

Wales, well they too are on the rise, and looking comfortable with the running space game they always aspired to ... but its been raining here in Wellington all week, and may not be the try fest we’d love to see. Though give George North some space and I am sure he can aquaplane.

Both teams have had similar levels of set piece success so far, and won one physical game each against 3N teams. However, given the wet, I think Ireland can nudge this by playing a straighter, simpler game to get field position. I keep agreeing with the Boss!

Quarter Finalist Preview: Ireland

2011-10-05T15:07:00.002+13:00

Ferdy says:

Ireland have been my dark horses (as well as my office sweepstake team) for quite some time. They showed what they can do when they snatched the grand slam away from England earlier this year. They’ve been rugby innovators in 2011 inventing the ‘choke’ tackle.

With Brian O’Driscoll at the helm of their attack and Paul O’Connell in their forward back, enabled by a very healthy looking back row, I pick them to go all the way through to the final. (And no matter who writes off Ronan O’Gara, who would you rather have kicking for corner in a crunch match?)
Ferdy’s pick: finalists.

Slugso says:

I think I nailed my Ireland colours to a the mast a while back too. For sure they have struggled to deliver, this Golden Generation, but they have been building well. I always thought they saw the Wallabies as beatable, and that win has given them real momentum. Do they have the depth if someone gets injured, especially in that pack? The team that takes the field are stunning, that back row would give us a run for their money. I think they get to the final as well, but stay the feck away from my Guinness!

The great number 9 debate of the All Blacks

2011-10-05T11:26:00.006+13:00

SBW you ain't, Jimmy

New Zealand have three half backs. Piri Weepu. Andrew Ellis. Jimmy Cowan. Piri has a lion heart. He can kick goals and play first five if need be. Sure, he might not be the leanest man on the field, but he is one of the nicest afterwards, plus he knows how to play the big games. But is he up there with the Genia’s or Du Preez’s of the world. We all know, probably not.

Andrew Ellis is weaker that Piri and partial to a spot of river dancing before he passes the ball to his outsides, so he is not my favourite. He has coasted by having the incredible fortune of playing for the Crusaders for most of his professional days and it is easy to look quite good when you’re behind a pack of Richie McCaw’s and Brad Thorne’s and inside a player like Dan Carter.

But if I was Sophie, I would find it very hard to choose between him and Cowan (for the wrong reasons). Jimmy Cowan, once right up there, is now the great pretender. Right down to holding the ball in the palm of his hand as he dives over the tryline for an easy try against Canada the other day...sorry Chris Ashton, oops, I mean, Jimmy. There are only two rugby players in the world that deserve to hold the ball in the palm of their hands - SBW and pinetree. The rest of you are just showboating and pretending. Protect the ball and get your own brand of playing rugby (i.e., a better one than you're managing to pull out of the hat at the mo).

So, for me it's Piri first. Cowan and Ellis are both a very poor third equal. But I'm not Ted.
Who do you think should be the number one number nine for the All Blacks? Weepu, Ellis or Cowan?

Rugby World Cup - It’s a Knockout!

2011-10-04T16:50:00.002+13:00

It’s a quadrennial thing. It comes but once every four years, and I have found that when talking to people during the tournament so far (and this is myself included) that memories can get a bit foggy. One Bok fan I was having a beer with boasted how we had never knocked them out of a RWC ... um, 2003 Quarter Final I offered up?

Naturally New Zealand’s last win is a distant memory one score and four years ago, and that is painfully burned onto the collective consciousness of All Black fans ... but I bet there is fogginess out there about other Cups.

What we need is something visual to show how countries have perhaps not only dominated single tournaments, but also consistently progressed deep into the knockout stages in various tournaments ... or not progressed, ahem.

So here it is ... the argument settler for all Knockout match debates, and done in true infographic style as a homage to my favourite primary school educational aid ... the Cuisenaire Rod.

The Others World XV

2011-10-04T10:32:00.000+13:00

The Others XV - Players L-R are as in 1-15 in list below.

There has been a lot of talk about how the ‘Minnows’ in this World Cup, how they have stepped up, and its true ... but so true that the word ‘minnow’ just sounds, well ... impolite. What do we replace it with? ‘Tier 2’? That still sounds a bit condescending given the nervous moments they caused a lot of teams. They are already ‘developed’; they have all (with the exception of Russia) been to World Cups before.

I have no real answer, so for now I will call them ‘The Others’... like in ‘LOST’, due to their ability to burst out of the undergrowth and scare the bejeezus out of opposition. I think it is fair to say most crowds here have loved watching these teams and their never-say-die attitude, even when there was 10-20 IRB ranking spots between them and their opponent on the day.

I think they deserve more games, more tours ... or at least put the four third placed teams into two play-offs, to find two teams to fight it out for a ‘Plate’ - this could replace the Bronze Medal game that interests no one. I’d rather watch that than a 3rd/4th playoff between two losing semi-finalists.

So, here is my Others XV - based on what I saw, both in games, and in terms of post-match interviews and smiles, and I think there are at least four actual team captains in here:

1 David Khinchagishvili GEORGIA
2 Marius Tincu ROMANIA
3 Mike MacDonald USA
4 Ilia Zedginidze GEORGIA
5 Jamie Cudmore CANADA
6 Adam Kleeberger CANADA
7 Jacques Burger (C) NAMIBIA
8 Takashi Kikutani JAPAN
9 Atsushi Hiwasa JAPAN
10 Theuns Kotze NAMIBIA
11 Vasily Artemyev RUSSIA
12 Paul Emerick USA
13 DTH van der Merwe CANADA
14 Kosuke Endo JAPAN
15 Chrysander Botha NAMIBIA

I think there should probably be more Georgians and Romanians, what do you reckon? Perhaps a bench could flesh this out.

For me, the above players’ attitudes enhanced their abilities, and therefore enhanced the 2011 Rugby World Cup for us as spectators.

Pool D: South Africa v Samoa

2011-10-03T18:20:00.001+13:00

Pool C: Ireland v Italy

2011-10-03T18:16:00.003+13:00

Pool D: Wales v Fiji

2011-10-03T18:15:00.000+13:00

What a difference one day makes

2011-10-03T13:21:00.001+13:00

The week started badly with Balls and ended tragically with a Groin.

Worst bloody nightmare really, isn’t it? The one thing All Black fans did not want to happen has happened ... Dan Carter is out of the Rugby World Cup with an injury. It feels even worse because it was done on the training ground, building up to our last pool game against Canada ... not in guts and glory fashion in a knockout game.

Carter is sublime to watch when on song, the player of his generation (though yet to win a World Cup). I believe he was building to some of his best footy for the Cup, back to 2005’s benchmark No. 10 display in the second Test against the British and Irish Lions. However, it is not to be. He’s gone, kaput, out ... and as much as I can’t express enough sympathy to Carter himself for the emotional hole he is surely in (who surely must, as a player, have the ultimate cause to use that over-uttered word “gutted”), we must move on quickly.

Take a look at our backs division: Mils, Dagg, Kahui, Jane, Toeava, Guildford, SBW, Smith, Nonu, Weepu, Ellis, Cowan and Colin Slade. Not bad, eh? And they are all fit. If our mighty forwards (now including a resurgent Kieran Read) get that front foot ball, all a 10 has to do is pass it and kick it with accuracy.

If Slade is to be our man, with backup from Piri Weepu and called-in Manawatu star pivot, Aaron Cruden, then everyone needs to get behind him.

‘No’ to the sneering, parochial derision that was constantly unleashed from the stands on Stephen Donald when he played for the All Blacks.

‘No’ to the simple dismissal of our chances due to losing one player.

‘No’ to armchair criticism of a player who has not even had a decent chance on the playing field to demonstrate his full range of skills.

The All Blacks can still win this, though I think they have been dragged back into the bunch with South Africa and Australia. More excitingly, that SANZAR triumvirate has all of a sudden had its collar felt by a resurgent Wales, and an Irish side that seem to be the very embodiment of the word ‘peaking’.

I do not believe Argentina stand a chance against New Zealand this weekend, and I don’t think England and France warrant spots in the knockouts on their performances so far - they have both scrapped through because of other close battles in their pools, so they are lucky they get to exercise their Community Chest cards against each other. Having said that though ... this is a knockout tournament and both those squads possess enough skill (and in England’s case, stubbornness) to make the semi finals.

This is game on. No-one here is going to admit to being a neutral, but you have to admit, Carter pulling out really has made this an incredibly tight race for the Cup, and seven of the eight quarter-final competitors stand to take it out.

New Zealand v Wales final anyone? Ireland v Australia final? Perhaps, England v South Africa again?

This is why we are here.

Daniel Carter

2011-10-03T08:44:00.002+13:00

Dan Carter is a man who has everything. A glittering talent with a rugby ball that has grown men salivating the world over about his incredible skills. He is the best number 10 of his generation. He is also blessed with good looks, a beautiful fiancee, lovely family, lucrative sponsorship deals and a humility that beguiles people. Yet sometimes in this life, even the most blessed people will encounter some awful luck on their path.

I'm feeling gutted today for him, so I can't imagine what he is feeling. His injury serves as a reminder to all of us how things can change dramatically so quickly, not just in a rugby tournament (that in the big scheme of things is not the be all and end all of the world), but in life too.

We have to all pull together now, and send him our love and good vibes so he can move on from this horrible disappointment. We have to pull together and support whoever takes up the poisoned chalice of understudying one of the world's great rugby players. No more of this bickering and complaining about Slade. That guy needs our support so his confidence can grow. The All Blacks can still win this thing. And they can be helped along by the good grace of their supporters.

Our love goes to you Daniel Carter.

Pool A: New Zealand v Canada

2011-10-02T19:35:00.002+13:00

Pool B: Argentina v Georgia

2011-10-02T19:33:00.003+13:00

Pool B: England v Scotland

2011-10-02T11:25:00.003+13:00

Pool A: France v Tonga

2011-10-02T11:24:00.001+13:00

Pool C: Australia v Russia

2011-10-02T11:22:00.003+13:00

Pool D: South Africa v Samoa

2011-10-01T13:24:00.001+13:00

NZ not to play in the RWC 2015. Yeah right.

2011-09-29T11:07:00.001+13:00

Ferdy has a rant:
The great financial beneficiaries of rugby in the world are England and France. The New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) however has been running at a loss for years. Why?

Steve Tew is the CEO of the NZRFU. He has come out today saying that NZ may not be around to play in the RWC 2015 unless the IRB change advertising rules during the tournament. (More flexible advertising laws meaning teams will be able to generate more revenue for themselves). We all know that's not going to happen, but:

Tew’s is a good argument and today for a rare moment I agree with him (even though I fecking hate excessive advertising). I think most of the people ridiculing his statements are the righteous rugby ‘einsteins’ of the north who just love to come back to that age old racist argument of NZ ‘plundering the pacific’ and how dare we moan about not having enough money when we compare ourselves to teams like Samoa and Tonga who are really suffering financially.

Every year in November, the All Blacks go to play in the UK. Any six nations team that plays the All Blacks in their own back yard will inevitably sell out their stadium within minutes (or hours - just to be on the safe side here). What do the NZRFU get for this welcome return on gate sales? A small fixed agreed price, while the northern teams feast out on the larger percentage, cashing in on the big population of ruggerheads and expats.

In return, the same ‘teams’ will come into a NZ winter, but they will send their dirt trackers due to the very long European season or their fear of playing in NZ or their British/French clubs refusing to release their best players. What does that mean for the NZRFU gate sales? Not much.

NZ rugby is everywhere in the world. Go through any team sheet in this rugby world cup, and there will inevitably be a NZ player bolstering the ranks, if not several. And double that for the coaches. Warren Gatland (Wales), Robbie Deans (Australia), John Kirwan (Japan), Keiran Crowley (Canada) and these are the people off the top of my head, because I can't be bothered googling tonight.

NZ is not a rich nation. By western European standards, we are almost a third world developing economy, with a tiny population and not much of a GDP to write home about. For the last five years, the NZRFU have been running at a loss. The only reason the ABs can compete financially is by getting into bed with satan (Adidas and Steinlager - terrible beer by the way) and by playing a magnificent brand of rugby. These big sponsors alone are helping us to keep the cream of the crop that we really need (McCaw, Carter etc).

The rest of the time, the All Blacks, are being suckered by richer rugby nations with bigger populations; by putting on exhibition matches all over the globe. Then the agents come out with their calculators and cheque books and we lose the best of rest because how can NZ compete with the stronger European currency? (This is the same for the island nations, all I’m saying is, I’m tired of the English moaning about us plundering the pacific. After every world cup, we have to start from scratch because our team is bled dry by the north (mainly). Yet still people moan about us plundering the pacific?!)

Those great pompus cumedgoens that use the term ‘south sea islanders’ (a colonial throw back phrase if ever there was one) forget to look at the facts. Nearly half of Samoa’s rugby team in this RWC is made up of NZ born players. Probably ditto Tonga, and even Japan for that matter. This argument goes around in circles. I live in England. I'm tired of people telling me during this rugby world cup that half of my team is made up of Samoan born All Blacks. It isn’t.

The facts are this. The great financial beneficiaries of rugby in the world are England and France. Samoa, Tonga, Fiji (all great rugby playing nations) and NZ are often left out in the cold when it comes to money (even though they play the rugby that innovates). I’m (kind of but it probably doesn't do anything for the AB PR machine) glad Steve Tew has issued an ultimatum. Of course NZ will play in 2015, but imagine if they didn’t. It would set the cat among the pigeons.

It’s never gonna happen though. If the All Blacks didn't play in the RWC 2015 it would give the English journos more reason to posture and inflate their own delusions of self importance and righteousness, just a disguise for their own worries about losing money from their own pockets, and losing even more games on the pitch.

Pool B: Georgia v Romania

2011-09-28T21:35:00.001+13:00

POOL GAMES STAT GRAPHICS - QUICK LINKS

2011-09-28T19:11:00.000+13:00

Pool C: Italy v USA

2011-09-27T21:46:00.003+13:00

Pool A: Canada v Japan

2011-09-27T19:32:00.002+13:00

A Draw! 23-23! I didn’t see that one coming. Got to admit, I was late home so missed most the first half ... but this looks like the Classic Fitzy™ Game of Two Halves. Japan having the first 40, then having to defend more in the second stanza (stanza!) as the Canucks chased the win.

I don’t think a crowd in Napier has been that entertained since Flash the Seal passed away at Marineland .. but these players are no trick mammals, once again we got shown just how good this level is. I suppose Canada get bragging rights because they beat Tonga and therefore finish third behind New Zealand and France, thus gaining automatic qualification for RWC 2015, but they both would have loved a win. I guess the Kiwi and neutral fans are the winners as they don’t actually have to choose between two very skilled and popular teams.

Japan: Captain Kitigawa seems a gentle giant, I loved his earnest aftermatch interviews; Tanaka the tenacious little halfback; Horie the Hooker who never stopped pumping his legs in rucks, mauls and tackles; and Endo on the wing. Not to mention our two Kiwi reps, the superbly skilled James Arlisge and Ryan Nicholas. They’d get Super contracts those two.

Canada: Beards, grins & grit. Kleeberger gets a folk hero nod, as does that Energizer Bunny of a centre DTH van der Merwe ... who name on forms must make Customs officials think of party drugs.

Its a crying shame they are oot now, but at least they can both be sure they will be back at the World Cup in four years.

Sayonara, Brave Blossoms. Arigato. I actually quite fancy one of their jerseys.

Canada ... cheers, eh?

Pool D: Wales v Namibia

2011-09-26T22:01:00.000+13:00

Wow. A tad one sided that: those pie charts don’t show much blue possession, and you can see that Wales were getting building consents granted they were down in that Namibian 22 so much of in the second half.

A mismatch? Yeah ... nah. That was Namibia’s fourth match in ~~fourteen~~ seventeen days. That is ridiculous, considering those four matches were against Fiji, Samoa, South Africa and Wales. The IRB has to do something about this, its bullshit.

Namibia played with heart and passion for 80 minutes every game, but no preparation with their resources is going to allow them to compete on that schedule. The NZRU and All Blacks would never tolerate four games in ~~fourteen~~ seventeen days.

Personally, I rate their Captain Jacques Burger, I am working on a Minnows (though I hate that word) XV, and he is the Captain, first name down. Loved his attitude in post-match interviews, and the the fact that every time a ruck disassembled he was at the bottom, and evry last ditch Namibian tackler was often him. Legend, bro.

Wales. Well, its a bonus point. They should go through. But that may just flatter to deceive. We’ll see.

Pool B: Argentina v Scotland

2011-09-26T20:33:00.000+13:00

Slugso says:

I only bought tickets to this game a few days earlier, and roped some mates in. We went along knowing that the Scots and Pumas are probably pretty evenly matched, but given they both needed maximum points from this game to secure progression to the knockout stages, we were expecting the game to by a little looser, or more expansive.

We were happily proven wrong when a game of Test Match rugby invaded the pitch.

The Cake Tin was nowhere near full last night, but the screaming Tartan Army and the insanely vocal (and pogoing) Argentinian fans crammed together and created an atmosphere equal to 40,000 punters. I think it also raised the temperature in there a degrees or two which was much appreciated.

Scotland? Well, I just don’t get them. This must be so frustrating for their fans. I know they have very small player numbers and few clubs domestically to select from, but they have some class players, and some enormous athletes ... yet it just looks so rudderless and pedestrian. Their big, rugged and mobile pack can get good ball for the backs, but then it just seems to go wrong? Is there really another Home Nation that could benefit more from a new Head Coach or at least a decent backs coach? Andy Robinson was not the answer; they need to look further South.

Argentina can and did rumble it up as well. Look at the numbers in the graphic and you can see this game was battled out in the middle portion of the park. The Pumas really only went wide at the end when they had to ... and that finish on Amorosino’s try was a beauty! He escaped two tackles and weaved away from three other Scottish defenders, with no room outside him to score a five pointer that sent the Pumas fans into raptures.

Clearly the wet and cold conditions meant the game was going to be tight, but I felt it never really got going, not until the end anyway - it was like they were constantly feeling each other out at about 90% intensity, and neither could break the other’s defensive line. Cat and mouse maybe?

There almost seemed to be a capitulation by Scotland that they were not going to cross Argentina’s line ... especially when Parks opted for (and missed) a drop goal attempt late in the game when he seemed to have numbers out to his left.

Pretty sure that the result means Argentina will follow England though to the knockout stages, and end up in the quarter final against us. The only possible way for Scotland to go through is for them to get a 5 point haul against England, while preventing England from getting a losing bonus point. Impossible? Strange things do happen in World Cups, but on last night’s performance, I can’t see the Scottish backs producing the performance needed to pull off that upset ... it will have to be a legendary forwards rally. And who knows ... Richie Gray vs Courtenay Lawes? yes, please!

Pool C: Ireland v Russia

2011-09-26T20:28:00.000+13:00

Pool D: Fiji v Samoa

2011-09-26T18:53:00.002+13:00

Pool B: England v Romania

2011-09-25T15:45:00.001+13:00

Newsflash - Jonah Lomu in hospital

2011-09-25T08:23:00.000+13:00

We don't know why Jonah Lomu is in hospital, slap bang in the middle of this RWC tournament where he has already featured in a wonderful opening ceremony. But we really hope it's not serious and we want him to get well soon.

Even though NZ played well today against France, there have been two rugby matches in my living memory when the All Blacks were truly on fire producing pure and utter magic. One was the 2005 second Lions test match against...wait for it....the Lions in Wellington.

But the first and maybe the best for me was the 1995 RWC semi final when Jonah ran rampant against England in South Africa.

Get well soon Jonah, love to you, your family and friends. Kia kaha old soul. Get well soon.

Pool A: New Zealand 37 - France 17

2011-09-25T01:42:00.000+12:00

A Statement of Intent

When Daniel Carter lined up for a drop goal into the second half, neatly slotting the ball through the posts, he told the world: "We've learned our lessons from 2007 - beware."

This game was highly emotional. I was blubbing like a baby during the national anthems (which incidentally are so beautiful with that gorgeous voiced RWC choir). The stadium looked amazing. It was our stadium of four million to say: ‘our time is now’.

What were my highlights? The first half saw clinical, beautiful rugby played by the men in black. Forward and backs alike tackled like men possessed, wrestled and won at the breakdown, and when they broke the line, they made it count in points.

As usual, the incredible centre pairing of Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu (who is rapidly becoming my player of the tournament) were at the heart of things, with Smith tackling everything that dared move and Nonu cutting apart a flappy French defence.

Israel Dagg showed why he was picked over Mils at 15. The man makes magic from nothing. I hope his injury is nothing worse than a niggle, because we need him. In saying that, we have a more than worthy backup in Muliaina and I do hope that the veteran will be allowed at some point to finish his All Black career with two more caps.

France started so well and I really thought after the first half that if they had scored first we might have been in for shades of 1999 again. Alas for France, it wasn't to be this time, on a highly emotional night for an All Black team seeking revenge and celebration for their centurion captain.

And what of Richie McCaw? Well any talk of him losing his form is complete cobblers. The man was everywhere tonight, and that is why we love you so Richie. You fight and graft until the death. You wear your rugby heart on your sleeve and it has been an honour to watch you over these years, and to have you in the team that we support. We are blessed and you are bloody magnificent. And was that a tear in his eye when he received his 100th cap from Jock Hobbs? Our captain cries on cue too. Is there anything he can't do?

As for Lievremont and his team in white. They showed some spirit to come back in that second half and will they be too worried about going into the northern hemisphere side of the draw? Still, maybe the French didn't really want to throw this one either. An angry French fan had words with Lievremont after the test where the French coach, character to the end, gave it back. In the end it was reported a security guard had to step in.

My honourable mentions tonight: Nonu, Weepu (how good was he tonight, I take it all back Piri), Dan the man, McCaw, Smith, Kaino, Whitelock and SBW.

Pool C - Australia v USA

2011-09-24T14:50:00.000+12:00

It was a bit like Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome at the end of the 80 minutes - 30 blokes came on to the field but only about 23 of them walked off it under their own steam.

If ever there was to be a better demo of Deans’ lack of depth, it was a game that took out 3-4 of his players. After this he had Anthony Faingaa, Rob Horne and Pat McCabe sharing an ambulance to the hospital. Faingaa was the worst hurt, looking to be out cold in a tackle, but I understand he was up and about soon after - I hope he is okay, but surely he will be stood down to recover.

The Eagles were tackling all night, but could never get anywhere on attack. From my seat, they were so deep when on attack, the midfield were having to cover 15m just to get back to the advantage line they had ceded, and that gave Aussie all the time in the world to shut them down.

Glad to see Berrick Barnes and Drew Mitchell back - always thought they were both key to Wallaby success this year, but the Reds’ form and injury seemed to put them in the background.

Quade Cooper couldn’t even get a kick drum to work at the moment, and the Aussies (unlike the Boks) are spraying points wide every game and this could cost them big time in games where their precious space is shut down.

The atmosphere in the Cake Tin was great again. Despite the yellow Wallabies fans’ numbers being high (and bolstered with every empty yellow plastic seat), heaps of USA fans were painted up in red, white and blue .... as were many Kiwis who came off the fence and swallowed their anti-nuclear pride for an hour or two.

I don’t know where all this dross in the media about Kiwis being rude to and nasty to visiting Aussie fans comes from. I experienced nothing but good hearted banter all night, moreso than in the two Bok games we have hosted.

All our seated neighbours were happily ranting and laughing all night, and I think the general angle was the usual Famous Kiwi or Famous Aussie Claim Game. Seems no one was too keen on taking credit for Russell Crowe, but then ... there is enough of our Rusty to go around.

So, looks to me like Aussie have big depth and injury issues now - and this may hurt them beyond the pools, but for now they need to secure every win and bonus point they can to keep Ireland from qualifying first.

They have to annihilate Russia – a thought that would have excited Little Johnny Howard.

Also, a note on how much fun its been to just bowl up to visiting fans and have a chat so far at the Cup. They all seem to be having a great time, and feel Kiwis are looking out for them, and that is great.

Slugso and the Nursedude

On Thursday night, down at Macs on the waterfront by the fanzone, and last night before the Australia v USA game, I got a chance to meet up and share a pint or two with Steve aka Nursedude who writes The Nurse Was a Prop blog - he’s a passionate Eagles and rugby fan, and he’s been a long time blog comrade of Ferdy’s and mine.

Great guy, and really interesting talking to him about rugby, and life in general, in the States. Good luck and safe travels to him and his wife Rebekah for the rest of their time here.

Pool D: South Africa v Namibia

2011-09-24T14:31:00.001+12:00

One sided? A bit. And there can’t have been a full can of Castle Lager left anywhere on the North Shore - this could have qualified as a home game for both teams given the local area’s ex-pat community.

If I was being cynical I might say it was a case of almost a feeder nation playing the team where its best and brightest might have ended up once ... but maybe not now. These Namibians never got on the scoreboard tonight, but they never, never gave up ... and if Chrysander Botha is not in a South Afrocan Super team next season it will be a crime. Did you see the bravery of that silky little 75kg player in bringing down Tendai ‘The Beast’ Mtawarira in full flight? He succeeded whee Mike Catt failed with Jonah back in 1995.

I think the Namibian 10 Kotze also deserves praise, as does their Captain, Jacques Burger who just came across as a consummate professional in every post-match interview: he knows what they up against, what they have to expect from themselves ... and is honest if they fall short. Hope to see more of this attitude and this player.

South Africa? Well, I think it was a step down in intensity from Fiji, and that showed in their play. I am still liking this Double Steyn 10/12 axis ... it really gives them penetration, and having Hougaard to cover wing and halfback is very lucky. I’d still maintain that we are seeing glimpses of a coming Springbok team with the likes Aplon, de Jongh, Hougaard ready to fill big boots when certain players leave after the World Cup.

So, an 87 point win, and 10 RWC wins on the trot for the Boks. Look out everyone, they are warming up ... and they simply do not miss kicks at goal or many chances to score.

Allez Les Noir!

2011-09-22T13:06:00.001+12:00

I do not like the short-term memory or lack of appreciation of French rugby in our media. I think because I lived in London for a few years and saw Six Nations and Heineken Cups every year that I ‘get’ the French a little better than a lot of people here.

Most Kiwis seem to think they the French plod around for most of the year in the Top 14, made up of teams of ex-All Blacks and Polynesian imports. Then every four years they fly somewhere and sporadically play good rugby, then producing 30-35 minutes of glorious rugby to knock the All Blacks out of a World Cup. This is bollocks; its a convenient fantasy that ignores the skill, experience and depth of this French squad.

Forget 1999. Forget 2007. You only have to go back to June 2009 when they beat us 27-22 in Dunedin with a not too dissimilar squad to that which they have here at RWC. And the following week, though NZ won 14-10 in Wellington, I remember that match for the scintillating try that Cedric Heymans scored, running about 40 metres and weaving around 3 All Black defenders easily to score a fantastic try.

The forwards are tough and mobile, can scrum all day, and we learnt the hard way what their loosies can do in Cardiff - that day Thierry Dusautoir made more tackles himself than the whole All Black team. Nallet, Bonnaire, Pape, Picamoles are all extroardinary players ... and Harinordoquy is to come on from the bench at some stage.

The French backs? Well, just look at the names: Médard, Mermoz, Rougerie, Clerc, and Traille. Trinh-Duc and Heymans on as subs. Eeesh.

The one thing that stops this team blitzing everyone, consistently, is not some Gallic erraticness, or inconsistency of focus, or a lack of skills ... its their coach, Marc Leivremont. How many different line-ups do you think he has fielded in his four years as coach? The 'you don’t know what team is going to turn up on the day’ is a literal statement because no one can guess what bloody XV he will name. Case in point, tomorrow night, for which he has named Dimitri Yachvili and Morgan Parra as his halfback combo ... Parra will make his first start at 10 in a Test, at the World Cup, against the All Blacks!

The players they have are incredible, but the constant tinkering in XVs has never allowed them to gel and really deliver. Any idea that the French are trying to throw this match and travel down the (perceived as easier) Northern Hemisphere side of the draw is rubbish. Leivremont has just done it to them again, so whether these fifteen players step up and put on a winning display is up to them.

They have to demonstrate they can be a ‘team’ in big games, and I think this is Australia’s problem as well. New Zealand and South Africa are teams, benches included; France and Australia are star-studded, but that shows in their play.

This nonsense of Les Bleus wanting to lose is just pathetic media bollocks. Its embarrassing. I want the All Blacks to absolutely smash France tomorrow while wearing black, to really put that Top XV performance in and send a message to South Africa and N-Sync, I mean Australia ... but, we really do write the French off at our peril.

Allez les Noirs!!!!

Pool D: Tonga v Japan

2011-09-22T08:59:00.001+12:00

I can’t wait for Japan v Tonga now, I really like watching Japan play - I think they are a nuggety outfit that play smart, varied rugby. The old cliché of them ‘lacking size’ is starting to fade away, and they just get on with it, even against the likes if those big Tongans. The way the Japanese change attack angles, pick and go, chip and chase, kick for ground ... its a mix of tactics that shows good coaching, confidence in their abilities and a great attitude on the field. The get big props for it.

And I bet those Tongan fans are thrilled, eh? They deserve that win for all the colour and mad bloody support they unleashed on Auckland and the rest of country - I think the Tongan fans actually kicked the World Cup off!

One thing is for sure: All the Japanese players would know one Tongan phrase after 80 minutes, as would all the Tongans have learnt and absorbed one phrase in Japanese ... “What teh f*ck is this ref up to?!”

Please note: all IRB rankings on the graphics from now on have been updated since new rankings were issued end of last week.

Inside the All Black jersey - documentary

2011-09-21T08:57:00.000+12:00

This behind the scenes documentary of the All Blacks was filmed during the successful 2010 All Black Grand Slam tour of the Northern Hemisphere. Cut down into five episodes, the main players featuring will probably participate on Saturday against France for RWC 2011.

It's a real insight into the All Black camp and the way they prepare for each match. Something that all international rugby teams, players and coaches alike visiting NZ will be going through right now.

Inside the Black jersey - episode 1 'The Captain - Richie McCaw'

Inside the Black jersey - episode 2 'The Munster test (with Ali Williams -The Joker)'

Inside the Black jersey - episode 3 'The rookie' - Kieran Reid (not such a rookie anymore).

Inside the Black jersey - episode 4 'The coaches'

Inside the Black jersey - episode 5 'The playmaker (Dan Carter)'

Pool C: Italy v Russia

2011-09-20T21:48:00.001+12:00

We are halfway - that was game 20 of 40 for the pool phase, and it was another great example of the favoured team not having it all its own way. The Russians got killed on territory and penalties when you look at the numbers, they really did spend a bit of time in their own half and 22, but when they did have the ball and go wide, they looked great. And they can handle the ball well too.

The Italians will be pleased with 9 tries no doubt, but they have two major games left against the USA and Ireland for which they will need to improve. Is there still a chance for them to qualify for the next round? As long as air puffs in to Castrogiavani’s lungs ... you bet ya!

A sold out house at Nelson tonight? It looked full, and that is wicked. The Cup is alive and well out there in those towns where coffee comes in one flavour - expresso.

I’m kidding. Hell, Nelson brought us rugby apparently, and when 1,000 schoolboys do a haka on the main street, you know this place is behind the World Cup. O for Orsome, Nelson.

I hope the Russians get more games and a leg up from The IRB - Russia, how cool is it that they were here in NZ playing rugby? The Bears: tonight they got their first ever World Cup point, and their first tries - all 3 of ‘em. Love it.

Remember, we here at ruggerblogger just put pictures and cheeky words with hard numbers calculated for us by ruckingoodstats.com - so check the full range of his downloadable charts and stat breakdowns on every game, yours free. It really is amazing.

7 cliches of RWC 2011 that I would be happy never to hear again

2011-09-20T08:09:00.000+12:00

"Ireland have turned this world cup on it’s head" quoted 1,570,899 times in the last day by all newspapers in the British media.

"It depends what French team turns up on the day" said 700,000 times (mainly by Sean Fitzpatrick).

"France have become the All Blacks’ nemesis" said by 4 million New Zealanders on a daily basis since Cardiff 2007.

"Chokers" said 5 billion times, mainly by Australians and a lot of fairweather rugby 'fan's from around the world who are only rugby 'experts' when a world cup is on.

"Can the All Blacks get this monkey off their back?" said 508,789 times by anyone that doesn't have anything original to write in their newspapers (mainly stuff and NZ herald journalists).

"Stop this mindless rotation!" Stuff and NZ Herald journalists again. Guys, write some new copy would you?

"Without McCaw and Carter the All Blacks are doomed." All of us, all of the time. (Too many times to tally).

Pool A: France v Canada

2011-09-19T19:26:00.000+12:00

“Great Kleeberger’s Beard, that was close!”

What a game - once again a very sharp effort from Canada, that really pushed France all the way. Though they may have run away with it in the end this was another beauty of a RWC 2011 match where the 4th ranked team in the World got a fright from the team ranked 10th!

Check the score flow on our stat graphic and you can see how even it was, how it ziiged & zagged - France only survived by the boot of Morgan Parra and the fleet Frency feet of Vinacent Clerc. Must mention that both I and Mrs Slugso had him in our fantasy teams, so we were very happy with his hattrick. She had him as Captain of her team so got double points.

Double Vincent Clerc ... What does it all meeaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnn???!!!!!!

Pool B: England v Georgia

2011-09-18T21:31:00.001+12:00

Say what you like about the NRL’s bad boys, the Canterbury Bulldogs ... but they’ve never tossed dwarves while on a belated Stag Do.

Pool D: Wales v Samoa

2011-09-18T18:09:00.000+12:00

Another wrestle, and Samoa go so close. Check the numbers (here and at ruckingoodstats.com) ... it was real close! No one can ever talk about Samoa over achieving, or punching above their weight anymore: they are in the tent, they are at the table and frankly are probably better than their ranking of 10.

Sure there was a bit of guess the rule interpretation with Rolland there, but this was another physical game, battle out in the middle of the park.

Wales will be relieved - it was close and not pretty, but they are getting it right, and Priestland, Roberts, Warburton and AW Jones were legends.

How good is Kahn Fotuali’i? He is class ... a player that kept Andy Ellis as No. 2 halfback at the Crusaders. Manu Samoa, you rock, and your fans rock. Go get those Bokke now!

Pool D: Ireland 15 - Australia 6

2011-09-18T11:42:00.000+12:00

Ferdy says:

Wow! Have there been some amazing games at this RWC or what? A tryless test, yet every bit as thrilling as an 83-7 point exhibition match. By upsetting Australia, Ireland have put this tournament on the map and have brought some much needed respect from the south for northern hemisphere rugby.

I hate to gloat - but I've had the Irish down as dark horses of this tournament ever since November. (And I drew them in my office sweepstake). It got me thinking, if NZ have to lose the RWC - then I could *almost* handle a team like Ireland winning it, because they always endeavour to play a style of rugby that isn't just about kicking at goal.

What happened to Oz? Hardly any old wise heads meant the youth couldn't turn this match around. Quade Cooper was rudderless (shades of Carlos Spencer on a bad day). Oz missed Ioane and Pocock desperately. And as for that Eden Park hoodoo? The last game Oz won in Auckland was 1986. It has to have knocked the wind out of their sails, especially after a successful Super 15 and Tri Nations campaign. Good.

Irish defence was immense (keeping the Wallabies tryless is no mean feat). The Irish back row I will now admit is arguably one of the best in the world. Their backs did all they had to do. They played with passion and heart, spurred on by a crowd of 55,000 Irish supporters (56,000 there tonight).

This victory for Ireland has now changed the shape of the draw. All going to plan, they will play NH teams until the final and Australia will have the daunting prospect of facing the Springboks for a quarterfinal and the All Blacks for a semi. Although I didn't want to meet Australia before the final, I'm kind of glad we won’t have to overcome two Tri Nations teams. Or maybe the ABs could put Jimmy Cowan on one wing and Piri Weepu on the other for France next Saturday?

Pool D: South Africa v Fiji

2011-09-18T11:30:00.000+12:00

Slugso says:

Once again, a great atmosphere at The Cake Tin last night. The Bok fans are so colourful and noisy it was like a home game for them again (North Shore’s match will be!) ... but the Fijian fans an supporters were hugely visible too, just a shame their team didn’t really get to show their style more.

I have to say last night’s games have really turned this World Cup on its head. Australia’s loss to Ireland (see Ferdy’s post) has kncked the wind out of the Wallabies’ sails and restored some pride to the Northern teams ... and means Australia will proably meet the Boks in a quarter-final.

So what of the Boks? Well, they may have fielded a slightly tweaked XV but they really announced their presence last night. The defence was huge ... bigger than a Fijian No. 8! They never let Fiji get quick ball or even any real line breaks ... first and maybe second tackles nailed them, and stopped any Fijian Sevens Rugby. The game was probably quite 50/50 in terms of the numbers, but South Africa were superbly clinical when they had the ball - they really converted their scoring opportunities.

They showed more determination to attack last night -was this the difference of having Frans Steyn at 12 maybe? Man, no disrespect to Morne Steyn (who to be fair got a try and hit thr line more last night than recently) ... but what could a Bok inside back combo of du Preez, Lambie, Frans Steyn & Fourie do? Would be awesome.

I think they have the players to really go all the way: JP Pietersen was a rock, Danie Rossouw a deserved MOTM, Hougaard is a game-changer ... it goes on. I see them as a huge favourite now, though Samoa could still be a banana skin. However, if Samoa were to beat Wales then the Boks may wheel out a 3rd XV on that game.

Bokke! Bokke! Bokke!

PS Can someone get Jacques Fourie onside ;-)

Pool B: Argentina v Romania

2011-09-18T11:27:00.003+12:00

RWC 2011 - a week in quotes

2011-09-18T03:56:00.000+12:00

Pool A: New Zealand v Japan

2011-09-16T23:01:00.002+12:00

Ferdy says:

I watched this on a small computer screen at work while trying to pretend to do some work (hopelessly executed) so I have probably missed a lot of things.

What I didn’t miss however is Nonu’s Rolls Royce form right now. The guy is on fire! Backed up by the ever dependable Conrad Smith, and excuse me while I dip into my bag of rugby clichés here, but the centre with a law degree really did run some good straight lines. Also, loved SBW (one would have to be in coma not to love that man).

Adam Thompson – as I say, a small screen at work so I couldn’t say whether I liked him or not. He got a try which was nice for him, but no, I don’t feel it for the guy generally. To me he is flashy (I don’t know whether it’s the blonde hair). I want Reid and McCaw to come back. Loving Kaino BTW as well.

ITV commentators (including Fitzy, Pienar and Dallaglio) are complaining a lot about Henry’s rotation. They make me nervous. But I want to trust that Father Ted knows best.

In saying that? What is our top team? I know I would be very happy to see a starting team with these baby blacks in it: SBW, Israel Dagg, Richard Kahui.

Slugso says:

Conrad Smith is so good, beautiful lines eh, Ferdy? True. There is just something more graceful lurking under the directness with Smith/Nonu, they straighten it with a 6th sense that it is the right time to do so. Nonu truly man of the match!

Ellis started passing very, very flat again, – scarily so, but in this game Owens was really policing the offside tonight. Paddy had a word?

Its just our new plan of wide passing (one, two big passes wide from a ruck) occasionally throws up a floater so that a spot tackler can rush up and get us - this happened in last Bledisloe game 2-3 times. And we all know what happened in 2003. Works better with a little more depth for runner, like for Slade’s try off Ellis/Toeava break in first half.

Ferdy - you still not feeling it for Thomson? I thought he linked well tonight, didn’t get penalised and deserved try. What you got against blondes? Kaino was class - if Read comes back, we are lookig good.

So, what the hell is our top team?! Poor old Zac Guildford, he can’t buy a game if he is not in the Top XV and he can’t even get on the field against Japan?

SBW on wing: Loads of space for him was a good thing; two tries. Though that one handed ball carry was a technique crime!

The rose (AB fan) between two thorns (in our side)

2011-09-16T11:05:00.000+12:00

To be fair, I think this AB fan is a bit of a dick. But hey, all kiwis have to take their chances against Quade Cooper when they get them (and Kurtley for that matter). Bless them all.

Pool C: Russia v USA

2011-09-15T22:51:00.003+12:00

Bugger me, but sorry, I was raised under the fear of a Nuclear Winter. MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTIOJ!!!! I was led to believe that should I ever hear the phrase on television, “…Russians about to breach the American lines…” then it was really time to duck and cover. Mushroom cloud. All over, red rover.

RED DAWN!!!

But no. The Cold War Rematch did not really deliver to the level of other so-called ‘Minnow Match-ups’ that RWC2011 has coughed up so far. To be fair I think the Russians need to come back to another World Cup to get it. Somewhere in Russia lurks a line-out dominance that was embarrassingly absent tonight, they just lacked the polish of a Top 20 nation ... it will come.

USA: Well, they showed real pace and munter-ability, but it does not get any easier for them either in this pool. Are they the most populous nation to appear at RWC? I think they are. But I expect better frankly - this ‘sleeping giant’ bullshit needs to grow legs. They have pace, they have power, they have sheer bloody determination in the likes of Clever, but they will not really sprout into the Top 10 unless they knuckle down and do it ugly to begin with. They can’t Wham Bam Super Bowl it to the Rugby World Cup knockout stages without playing Test rugby. Hyper Power maybe but baby steps in Test Rugby.

Reposted with correct team now - I was enjoying a leetle too much of the sponsor’s product earlier. Hic.

RUGGERBLOGGER RWC 2011 T-SHIRTS

2011-09-15T13:39:00.001+12:00

This is a fishing expedition: I have got two designs here I have whipped up, all naturally biased towards our beloved All Blacks, but a good souvenir of the tournament in New Zealand regardless.

NB: these are not printed yet.

I would like anyone who is interested to email us at ruggerblogger@hotmail.co.nz or DM us via our Twitter feed @ruggerblogger if you are interested in any of these.

I will give it a few days and if there is sufficient interest I can get runs of the most popular done. I am leaning towards only two (teh Coat of Arms, and the Smileys, but you can vote). If I can get these sorted by Monday, it would then take a week to produce them, and obviously shiiping after that. In time for the knockout stages!!!!

Coat of Arms - “Beer?” “Chur!”
Smiley Face 2011 - This time, eh?

Shirts are 100% cotton, 190gsm

Sizing:
Adult Sizes (followed by Half Chest in cm)
XS (48) S (50) M (52) L (55) XL (58) 2XL (60) 3XL (62) 5XL (64)

Kids Sizes (followed by Half Chest in cm)
Y2 (31) Y4 (33) Y6 (35.5) Y8 (37.5) Y10 (40) Y12 (43) Y14 (45) Y16 (48)

Price:
Adults NZD$30+Postage
Kids NZD$25+Postage

Postage:
Within New Zealand (Courier): Add NZD$10
International Postage: Add NZD$15

Buy more than one shirt and I will quote for postage, adjusted accordingly. If in Wellington , I may be even able to hand them over in a pub. Maybe.

Payment would be by PayPal or by bank internet transfer (by arrangement)

REMEMBER: these are not printed yet.

Pool B: Scotland v Georgia

2011-09-14T21:36:00.001+12:00

Wet. Turgid. Three pointers all the way. Not the most exciting game so far, but ... Scotland are two from two and can now target the Argentines. Not sure if that is wise, but hey. Braveheart and all that. My highlight, just seeing a wild beast the likes of Richie Gray running about in a Southland paddock. Glorious. I hope he puts a dent in Courtenay Lawes if they can meet up.

Remember, these pretty graphics are only the tip of the statto iceberg out there. If you want to go deep, and get the really, really strong, pure, uncut stats ... then go to ruckingoodstats.com and dowload his in depth reports that are generated live throughout each game by a computer named BORIS.

Pool A: Tonga v Canada

2011-09-14T20:39:00.000+12:00

A lot of people are saying ‘upset’, but these two teams are only two IRB ranking spots apart, it should not really be a big surprise. Canada deserve a lot of praise for standing up to teh physicality of this Tongan side, but let’s not patronize them. They played bloody well.

And Canada’s Adam Kleeberger surely must get the award for best beard in a World Cup ever. It was immense ... bigger than W C Grace’s. They could have smuggled the ball inside that thing!

Pool D: Samoa v Namibia

2011-09-14T19:27:00.000+12:00

Wayne Barnes - the man we love to ....(30 second video)

2011-09-14T08:44:00.000+12:00

RWC 2011 Team Strips

2011-09-13T20:46:00.001+12:00

German Blouses and their competition.

Remember all that fuss in here in NZ just before the tournament started about Adidas’ prcing of this year’s new All Black jersey? It got me to thinking if anyone else had such issues, or even which other nations would be turning up for RWC in an Adidas top. And what companies provide the kit for those other 19 national teams?

Well, here’s the answer in a pictogasmic format for you, along with some quickly googled factoids about the various manufacturers.

It also shattered a little myth for me: that of the zee big German company stealing the sacred AB real estate of plucky little NZ family business Canterbury. It turns out that the Canterbury rugby brand started here is no longer owned by NZ, but in fact thriving in the hands of a one of the UK’s largest private equity firms, The Pentland Group since the late 90s.... and along with (originally) Australian brand KooGa, now sits under the ownership of JD Sports, a very large sports apparel & equipment seller in the UK.

Pool D: South Africa v Wales

2011-09-12T20:40:00.001+12:00

The wife and I had a great time last night at this game, it was awesome - my best experience at the Cake Tin since All Black Tests a few years ago, back in Tana’s captaincy - there was just such a positivity- inflected edge to it all; pressure & banter but in good spirit. So close, and though Wales sprayed two more chances to win it, I am still surprised that Barnes did not go to the TMO for that kick. This is the World Cup FFS and that game’s result has significant impact on the whole draw, definitely the pool.

I maintain that Wayne Barnes is simply not up to that level. That is not a direct jibe because of Cardiff in 2007. He is just not good enough. Jacques Fourie and Fourie du Preez were constantly offside!!!

Warburton was immense for Wales, as was Jamie Roberts. But Brussouw! What a scrounger, and F Steyn was class. Remains interesting in that Pool as Wales & Sth Africa only have one points differential, that could come into play if Samoa can rack up a win or two close games.

The Bokke fans were in great voice, as were the Welsh ... plus I think most Kiwis were backing the Red Dragons, as I was. That’s not out of any real dislike of the Boks, for me it was more backing the underdog - and frankly, I like the enterprise of the, always have, even if it sometimes falters completely.

The weekend was so good! Japan were real quality. Namibia can play some good rugby. Romania nearly beat a 6N team. Aaargh. And no one has cracked 50 pts against a 'minnow' yet? brilliant.

Pool C: Ireland v USA

2011-09-12T20:34:00.000+12:00

Pool C: Australia v Italy

2011-09-12T20:32:00.000+12:00

Ferdy's round up - first weekend of RWC 2011

2011-09-12T01:28:00.000+12:00

Here are my thoughts on the dramatic opening weekend of Rugby World Cup 2011.

Opening ceremony: Made me homesick for New Zillunt. It was beautiful. Glad it wasn't blowing a gale (I don't know why but I've become a nanna and keep praying that the tournament will have nice weather). Loving the anthems too with the NZSO backing tracks. But ITV doesn't focus on the choir singing which is a shame, I want to see whether I know anyone.

Opening game Tonga V NZ highlights: A first half try fest. Sonny Bill Williams for that *ahem* shirt change. No major injuries to any key players. Baby blacks Israel Dagg and Richard Kahui - will they or won't they usurp the old guard?

Opening game Tonga V NZ lowlights: The second half with the wheels falling off some rusty All Black forwards. Too many penalties, too many unforced errors. But credit to Tonga, they lifted their game and in hindsight, NZ did not do too badly. I am unhappy about our halfbacks.

England v Argentina highlights: The atmosphere in Dunedin's new stadium seemed electric. Hopefully this will shut people up who moan on about New Zealand rugby stadia lacking atmosphere. An Argentinian streaker cheekily winking at Jonny Wilkinson. Even though the skills on show were at best average and at worst dire, this was still a fantastic game to watch. Loved every minute of it. (Also, can't help it, I love Martin Johnson wearing his big gruff heart on his sleeve).

England V Argentina lowlights: The England all black kit malfunctioned in every way possible - from the players wearing the shirts to the numbers falling off them. I never thought I'd watch a rugby team in black have such trouble trying to find the tryline. Maybe swap back to white next time boys - eh?

Favourite tweet: 'Overheard Martin Johnson say 'i think i'm going to puma pants'

France V Japan: I didn't see the whole game, but until the last ten minutes, it was close with excellent Japanese defence - and a try. The minnows are roaring in NZ! JK is doing good work, will he be the next AB coach I wonder? French backline looked dangerous (gulp).

Australia V Italy: avoided watching this as couldn't bear to witness an Australian backline cut shreds into the Italians. The less I see of Quade Cooper, the better at the moment.

Ireland V USA: Missed this too but it sounded like the crowd was amazing (my home turf) if not the actual rugby. Loved Paul Emerick's intercept try for the US in the dying seconds. The eagle has landed.

South Africa V Wales: the game of the tournament thus far. What is it with Wales always in the most dramatic games at RWCs? They were so unlucky with Wayne Barnes yet again orchestrating controversy with a missed penalty goal (this will become stuff of legend). We know how you feel Wales, we know how you feel.

This morning's Wikipedia page on Wayne Barnes that was quickly edited after five minutes: Wayne Barnes is an English international rugby referee who has his eyes painted on

Conspiracy theory of the week: The kickers are struggling with these special IRB balls for this world cup. Maybe they've been especially engineered to deter too many drop goal attempts? Hope so. Loved the way everyone in Wellington booed when Morne Steyn tried for a droppie.

Annoying journalism: I don't want to read any more pompous articles in England about how New Zealand fans should behave. Likewise anything about rugby player WAGs - this isn't football (or tiddly winks). And if I had a ten cent coin for every article about the All Blacks that mentions choking, I'd be a kazillionaire by now. Boring, lazy journalism. Where's the originality?

Is it just me or has the rugby this weekend been brilliant? Anything to do with maybe the tournament coming back to its spiritual home and bringing out the best in everyone?

The ruggerblogger cup: Results are out. I'm middling to bottom of the table. Shit. Must do better (it's tough being a coach).

Miss a game and don't have time to watch the replay? All you need to do is log onto ruggerblogger and take a glance at Slugo's incredible rugby infographics which will tell you exactly how the game panned out. Amazing. The man is a living legend attempting to put up graphics of all 48 games. Plus - he has designed some fantastic mobile phone apps. Check them out, they're wicked.

Pool B: Argentina v England

2011-09-11T09:44:00.000+12:00

Again, these pretty graphics on territory and possession don’t mean diddly if ruckingoodstats.com doesn’t crunch the numbers. Chur!

Pool A: France v Japan

2011-09-10T20:17:00.000+12:00

The Brave Blossoms indeed, for a minute or three there they absolutely put the wind up the French in a spell that saw them go wide, go tight, kick long, chip, turn the French around. Really clever rugby I thought.

Shame it could not be sustained for longer, but they did their fans proud. And won’t John Kirwan’s mum be pleased watching from the stands? I think so.

I know the stands may not have been full today, but there is certainly atmosphere.

I remain a fan of the French - I believe their backs are some of the players in the world: Rougerie, Clerc, Medard & Heymans are World Class. I look forward to the game against the All Blacks. France had a patchy start, just like us, so it will be a doozey.

Besides, when we both go through, we could still meet again ... in the final?

Again, these pretty graphics don’t mean squat if ruckingoodstats.com doesn’t crunch the numbers. Thanks, dude.

Pool D: Fiji v Namibia

2011-09-10T18:19:00.001+12:00

The Namibians are the lowest ranked side at RWC 2011 - they did not play like it.

Pool B: Scotland v Romania

2011-09-10T16:03:00.000+12:00

Big nod to Ruckingoodstats.com for his live data collection and analysis.

Pool A: New Zealand v Tonga

2011-09-10T15:00:00.001+12:00

Well, we’re underway. Six tries to one is fine by me, as our back three looked potent enough, but even Ted only gave this one 5 out of 10. Now he was a Headmaster, so he knows that is not great ... kind of a “See me after class, boy” in his world.

Lots to work on, though Kahui and Dagg looked great, and SBW stepped up with some tasty offloads. Forwards seemed to go okay, but man did we go off the boil in the second half. I don’t know what to make of teh game really, I do not think Tonga played one of their best games yet they were drilling us in our own 22 for a while.

Really think that game has not answered any questions for the selectors, its clarified nothing. Though Toeava may get the drop, he was the worst of the backs. Nod to Colin Slade as well, his cool thinking, and use of a timed pass put Nonu in for his try when it looked to have gone begging.

One down. Six to go. But they are bigger games to come.

Big nod to Ruckingoodstats.com for his live data collection and analysis.

FREE ALL BLACK IPHONE SCREENS

2011-09-09T12:06:00.002+12:00

Don’t you just love FREE stuff!

Here’s are link to 9 FREE Ruggerblogger designs you can use as backdrops, wallpapers ... muriels - whatever you want to call them, each inspired by Ruggerblogger’s obssession with things black:

The Ruggerblogger Coat of Arms
Time to End 8,892 Days of Hurt
Our AB Main Men for RWC 2011 in glorious, efficient Helvetica
Piri, Ma’a, Conrad & Cory - The same efficient grotesk Swiss type applied to the Welly ABs
Our 10c Worth - The Tiki face
Smiley Face - This Time 2011
Never Lose to the Poms
RWC2011 Aroha
Ka Mate Lyrics

They are made in glorious black and white, 100% New Zealand manufactured pixels, at the correct resolution and size to fit iPhone 4 screens, not sure about Android, but then I am an Apple snob, so tough.

These are our gift to you - use them, share them, mock the kerning ... just don’t let me see them turn up on a t-shirt in a market somewhere, because although my lawyer may look harmless, he is one crazy son-of-a-hunter-s-thomdon fan, and they remain © ruggerblogger.

Love Slugso

Memories of 2007

2011-09-08T17:07:00.001+12:00

I know Hadyn over at Field Theory was reading back uncomfortably over his musings from RWC2007, and I thought I would see if I was suffering from the same myopia back then when I was belting out missives to myself at Allez les Noirs.

14 days before the Cup started:

“I think France and the All Blacks must now head in as favourites, followed by South Africa whose build up has been slightly less solid, but not confidence shattering. Los Pumas must also be happy, but England, Ireland, Wales and Scotland have all been given wake up calls in the last few weeks that definitely expose both their lack of cohesion at Test level and also their squad depth one week out. Better chances for Italy and/or Samoa now getting through to the knockouts? Who knows. Wouldn't an NZ v France final be fairytale-like? Great for the game to see that final, and JC going toe to toe with big Seb Chabal again.”

I have this very rose-tinted view of it representing 10 sunny, gourmet days in the South for France between the the pool games in Marseilles (v Italy) and Lyon (v Portugal). It was a brilliant trip, and I developed a love for Rosé I never thought I would. And a nasty magritte de canard and cassoulet habit I still have not got under control. But the rugby? Well, the easy opposition meant it was just a holiday, a walk in the park that although produced some free running rugby, doubts lingered after watching other pool games:

Atfer beating Portugal:

“Well, 108 on the board doesn’t look bad, but the consensus at the pub afterwards seemed to be that we were sloppy and off the pace. Luckily a lot of other teams seem below par as well - I hope we improve, cut out the dropsies, and begin to tighten up. The coaches didn’t look that wrapt afterwards.”

“do they (France) have the stamina to match us, or even put us out in Cardiff? I think they have as much, if not slightly more depth than us ... especially at 4 through 8. Players like Betsen, Nyanga and the new 7 Thiery Dusautoir guarantee them quick ball, and Chabal is becoming one of this Cup’s crowd pleasers - check that run for his second try against Namibia. But I think, with our fit, top XV (whatever that is), we just edge them in solidity, skill & speed.”

After beating Scotland 40-0:

“It looks like another awesome effort by the ABs in their less than challenging pool, but why is it that every person I talk to is still shaking their heads and doubting that the team is rising to a peak in time for the knockout stages? There were dropped balls galore and the backs even looked confused at times.”

“I know the score does not matter in the big picture, and the Brains Trust has a plan, but we are going to need our A game for France in the Quarter because I can’t see Ireland beating the Pumas easily. Result after Cardiff = either the host nation or the favourite (us) will be out. If that happens, the bloody Wallabies will win again. Or South Africa. Or Argentina? Or England? Pull yourself together man.”

After spanking Romania in Toulouse:

“We were sitting right on the touch line and the passing was relentless - our backs were hurling the ball at each other, simply willing the moves to continue. They did, to their glorious conclusions. I’m gushing.”

“take a bow Nick Evans - great efforts. Add to that Mauger anchoring things (a rudder for the bairns like Toeava?), the adaptability of our squad in general, and I think we are looking much better for the quarter final. And so far, no injuries. I think our ‘Top XV’ may actually prove to be a bit more conservative than people think - we do need wise heads and experienced players ... which definitely puts Luke on the bench. Lets face it, when Mauger has a big game, the All Blacks win.”

Of course, Aaron Mauger wasn't picked for the Quarter Final, was he?

Before the Quarter Final versus France in Cardiff:

“as we hit the crucial knockout stage because once again (drum roll) we are rolling out a (very talented) All Black fullback at centre.”

“I was thinking Mauger & Smith as the centre pairing ... I honestly didn’t think they’d start Mils there. Is this merely a defensive move? ... it is a very good team; just one that has not played together much, or at least not for a while in the case of Mils being at 13.”

“If we win it, then awesome; that wee simian is off our back - and in the trophy cabinet. If we do not win it - and I will qualify that by saying that losing the final is an even more palatable result than losing this quarter final or a semi final exit - then I do not think we can ever expect to. No national union can do more to construct a smooth campaign than the NZRU & The Three Wise Men have done. To not win it after this amount of preparation and control means that it is not worth worrying about - it is not a true barometer of Test rugby over a four year period, or even for the calendar year it takes place in.

Choke, schmoke. The World Cup is simply a few knockout games preceeded by some friendlies. It’s basically a Champions Tournament like cricket & hockey have. However, I think we can and will go all the way. This team still has a lot more to show. I don’t to want to make a score prediction for Saturday. It may be close, but I am not worried: We will win it. And while I’m feeeling optimistic, England will pip Aussie by a drop goal again, Springboks over Fiji naturally (without Little), and Scotland to end the Pumas run. What am I thinking?”

50 minutes into the 2007 Quarter Final:

“that nagging, sinking feeling that the pendulum had swung, and the game was slipping from the All Blacks. France showed a lot of heart, they were backed by incredibly vocal support all night.”

“we were close enough that we all saw Michalak’s forward pass (even Francois Pelous’ Mere, Pere & Wife who were next to us) right in front of us, but no one with a whistle or a flag did. That was the nail in the coffin, or Henry’s wrong rub of the green. Fact is, we came up short (no Plan B ... again?), and it could have just as easily happened in the semi or the final had we got through. I think we got strangled more than us choking.”

“all day Cardiff just felt less carnivallike, or maybe just a little too familiar. Probably all the wasted New Zealanders - it went from carnival to just plain Carnage.”

Aftermath:

I quoted Graham Henry from his press conference after the loss, and I think he summed it up very well. In fact, I believe his words then hold a relevance for us all as we go into this tournament, no matter what the outcome for our own team ... rmember, we are hosts.

“Part of our dignity and part of our composure and part of our ability to do it on the world stage and be respected is to make sure that we don't bitch and moan,”

“This country needs to acknowledge the strength of the opposition and the way they played otherwise it will be seen as sour grapes.”

International Player Numbers

2011-09-07T09:36:00.001+12:00

The 20 RWC 2011 Nations’ Player Numbers

Now that all the teams have arrived, I thought I would take a look at just which country has the largest player base and what percentage of those players are‘Senior Males’. These figures are from the IRB website and the diagram works thus: The large circle for each nation is the Total Number of Registered Rugby Players (TRP) in that country .... that's men, women, boys and girls. These are all in proportion to each other. Each large circle has a smaller circle inside it, again in proprtion, that represents how many of those players are Senior Males (SM).

Clearly, it does not break this down further into which players are paid professionals ... but you could infer that all paid pros have to start as Senior Males at some stage.

Those countries that have a high percentage for the inner circle, does it indicate that they are struggling with low overall numbers, or that they in fact make good use of slim resources. Scotland for instance has a very small pool of professionals and clubs to choose from, yet arguably, remains competitive internationally. Is it because you can fit them all in a room that they know what is going on?

Australia and the US also have player numbers smaller than us, yet their SM components both tip 40% or more ... are these the sleeping giants where participants in the game are more serious and focussed depsite being in a crowded sporting market?

And what about Japan? Its TRP is up there with much higher ranked nations, as its SM (43.2%) core ... will the RWC there in 2019 really contribute the growth of the game there and in wider in Asia, or is it simply a big niche sport in a population of 127 million people.

As for New Zealand, well we do pretty well for our size. We may be the dominant and best performing international side, but you can see we are comfortably in the pack when it comes to player numbers, both TRP and SM. Looking at the graphic, we are average – looking at the results (RWC aside) we are anything but.

The thing that really stand out for discussion; if you look at this like it is a picture of a solar system ... look at the dying Red Dwarf! England have 2.5 million registered rugby players in a country with a population of 52 million people. Where the hell do they all go when they turn 18?!

What do you think? Any surprises?

NB: The IRB holds no data Argentina.

Coz its like this ...

2011-09-02T16:48:00.001+12:00

Why do I love following the All Blacks so much? Why am I so looking forward to the Rugby World Cup?

Well, I reckon its because I lived in the UK for 7-8 years - away from all the media bloodletting and blame here, and that absence of negativity did make my heart grow fonder. Sure I would have backed them All Blacks unconditionally if I had been in NZ all the time, but having the All Blacks as a globally-known entity, as my outward sign of Kiwiness when abroad is bloody brilliant.

Its an excuse to get together at the pub, even on holiday in ... Slovenia. It makes it acceptable to wear an All Black top to the posh agency, to take those Traveller beers on the tube on your way to some antipodean pub I'd probably never set foot in if you paid me any other day except Test Match Day. Its an opportunity to revel in being a Kiwi and to barrick the English no end. Walkabouts were a no-go most of the time because I couldn't embrace the necessity to surround myself with other ex-pats continuously ... but come the ABs v the Boks in the Republic each northern summer, and it was a goldplated opportunity to watch the boys play on a sunny afternoon surrounded by hundreds of fans on both sides who 'got it'.

Even better were the days, say pre-2000, when no one I knew could afford Sky ... you HAD to cross London to get to a pub at 8am to see a game. Around 1998 we managed to con a Geordie chap named Steve to open up his pub in London Bridge for us at some ungodly hour for games so we could watch and drink from sparrow's fart... bless him, the guy would even get Steinies in for us. One Test we were still there late afternoon when the pub was invaded by Old Bill & dogs, chasing some gold chained, Ben Sherman'd wide-Os ... apparently Millwall were running wild up the Borough High Street.

We were all rotten by this stage and completely oblivious to the whirlwind of enforcement going on around us: When the head copper poked his head back in to ask "Any other football fans in here?" he realised he was addressing 15 or so Kiwis, all in AB jerseys, three sheets to the wind, fuelled on lager. He got laughed back out to the street.

I am fairly we won that Test; I’m positive the Steinlagers remained undrunk.

In 1999 I was in Guatemala, and out of the loop. When the French demoed us in the semi, the last news I had was that we were leading at half-time, and Jonah was 'going off'. Three days later a Pom kindly offered his commiserations at the loss. "What loss, I said?". To this day, I have not seen any coverage of the 1999 Cup - didn’t see it, didn't happen. But those three days of thinking we had waltzed into the final were pretty enjoyable.

Come 2002, I'd just moved to South London and knew of nowhere to watch the opening 3N game between the Wallabies and Boks, so I simply followed some Castle drinking Saffers to a pub called The Aadvark in Surrey Quays. Turned out it was Afrikaans speaking, so I hugged that back wall by the door, sipping a Stella and saying nothing. But at some point an absolute Meast of a lad barked something unintelligible (to me) in my face, so I just shrugged and offered up my love for Schalk Burger. "Hey, this Kiwi's okay!". A classic 'my enemy's enemy is my drinking buddy' episode.

In 2005, we bought semi-shonky tickets to the Grand Slam game in Cardiff and travelled with coach loads of OEers to watch the boys smash the Welsh. About ten minutes before kick-off the semi-shonky tickets became outright fraudulent, and after inciting a near riot at the Glamorgan Cricket club (mounted police appeared), we bolted back towards town and took refuge in a pub called Y Mochyn Du (The Black Pig). The punters there, on hearing our plight, took great care of us and were horrified we missed the match. It was a Welsh speaking pub which we learned only after asking them to turn up the commentary because we couldn't make out the words - it was BBC Wales' feed. They thrashed us in the anthem singing, we thrashed them on the field. So ... hate Cardiff, love the Welsh.

Its this following the All Blacks from abroad, and while I was abroad, that has led me to be far more excited by this World Cup than a lot of my friends. The wife and I are both pumped about next week, we had that taste of World Cup in person in 2007, when we were lucky enough to get to all the pool games last World Cup. Ten days in the South of France, watching the All Blacks play rugby in the Mediterranean sun ... eating and drinking the best the Frenchies could offer. Brilliant. I had never ever drunk so much Rosé before, but it just felt right, dammit.

Of course the wheels came of at the quarter final ... but that's another story.

The atmosphere in the grounds at World Cup generated by away fans, and the simple appreciation of everyone that they are there watching the very best in rugby, regardless of your loyalties, is what generates that positivity at games ... and turns our chosen football code into 'the beautiful game'. When NZ played Romania in Toulouse in 2007, the exhaled wonderment of the local fans ("oh, magnifique", "incrediblé") was joyous to behold. They weren’t even backing their own team - they just came to 'see the rugby'! Its going to bea hard act for us to follow.

We have tripped and tumbled (some say choked) on many a foreign shore in our one score and four years quest for Bill, the Webb Ellis Trophy ... but this year’s battle is on our home turf. These All Blacks need our help. Cheer. Sing. Scream and drink if you must. But above all, have a smile on your face, with a ‘Kia ora’ and an extended hand at the ready.

We are all in this as fans ... but this time, as we welcome our foreign rugby cuzzies to these shores, we are also hosts.

So Kia ora, world! Beer?

Love Slugso

Who is the greatest (current) fly half of them all?

2011-09-01T06:40:00.006+12:00

(In no particular order)

Ronan O'Gara @ 31 August 2011 - 1031 points from 113 tests

Quade Cooper @31 August 2011 - 55 points from 28 tests

Morne Steyn @ 31 August 2011 - 348 points from 29 tests

Jonny Wilkinson @ 31 August 2011 - 1218 points from 93 tests

Daniel Carter @ 31 August 2011 - 1219 points from 82 tests

Stats from ESPN scrum

2011-08-31T13:14:00.000+12:00

The 2011 Ruggerblogger Cup:

Stunningly crafted in a non-specified, possibly toxic metal

with an authentic all black (get it?) polymer stand.

Holds approximately enough liquid for one victory shot.

No assembly required.

Ferdy and Slugso at Ruggerblogger invite you to join our private league

and compete in the Rugby World Cup Fantasy League brought to you by BlackBerry.

FREE ENTRY!!!

Pick the right team and you could win this glorious

Unofficial Global Rugby Championship Trophy!!

Join our fantasy league and you will be in to win the cup pictured here

with your name engraved on it for posterity!

Blogs, Twitter, feedback comments - it all means nothing
compared to locking in your Best XV and watching them
battle it out through Rugby World Cup 2011.

There are loads of fantasy leagues about, but we chose this one as it is nice and graphic, and does not have all that complicated BS of player prices and budgets. You just pick your team (change as much as you like until RWC starts) and go from there. It looks nice and simple in that you can wheedle out players from teams that gradually drop out, so that by finals you have only players still in it.

Registration is quick, easy and absolutely free. Select your Fantasy Team consisting of 15 players (plus 7 substitutes) from the participating teams. You score points based on the performance of the players in your team. You MUST designate a kicker and a Captain. Use transfers to manage your team throughout the tournament.

Simply click on the link below to start your registration and follow the instructions to select your Rugby World Cup Fantasy League.

http://www.udt.co.za/fantasyrugby

Once you have registered and selected your team go to the My Leagues page to join Ruggerblogger's league and enter the league invitation code below.

League name: The Ruggerblogger Cup
League invitation code: 16831442390021

Tri Nations Finale Statto

2011-08-28T12:11:00.000+12:00

Australia 25 - All Blacks 20

2011-08-28T01:14:00.003+12:00

Trinations decider 2011 - Suncorp Stadium - Brisbane

The omens are not looking good for an All Black team that creaked into gear after a scintillating start by Australia. This game had many ups and downs. Some moments of pure genius and joy (the Australian backline). And also some moments of complete crap (the entire All Black team in the first half, bar Nonu who played like a hero when all around him were losing their heads and blaming it on each other).

We were beaten by a better team who were more committed. The New Zealand backline cannot match this Wallaby backline which is just sensational. What I would give to have a Will Genia on our team when what we have in place is Piri Weepu who seems to think a great tactic is waving his arms around a lot and shouting meaningless instructions instead of grabbing the ball from the bottom of a ruck and releasing it - quickly - to his backs.

When it comes to karma, I do so hope that it catches up with Quade Cooper next month. What is his obsession with Richie McCaw? Anyone that knees the New Zealand captain in the head is no friend of mine, ever again.

Other depressing things about this game? Keiran Reid is injured. Possibly Richie too. Dan had a shocker, particuarly in the first forty. There were several All Blacks on the field who looked passed their used by date. Is this All Black team too old with our Brad Thornes and Ali Williamses. And what of Mils Muliaina. He has been a great servant to NZ but I have been saying for a year at least that he is selfish with the ball, and slow. He cannot be the first choice fullback when Israel Dagg is in the wings. But he will, because with Woodcock, Graham Henry loves these two incumbents. I think this loyalty is misplaced. One last moan. Zac Guildford. I haven't seen him play well when the chips are down. My heart today is breaking for Hosea Gear.

Glimmers of hope? I've never really see Victor Vito play before, and I thought for a young, inexperienced All Black, he stepped up to the mark. Ditto Nonu who was my man of the match. It was heartening to see an All Black fight back and we did win the second half (grasping at straws now). As for that old NZ foe Wayne Barnes? I give him a pass mark. I don't think he did too badly at all. Plus - he's no longer New Zealand's main foe. That baton has been passed on now, to Robbie Deans and his young team of Wallaby young guns.

Watch a post match interview with Graham Henry to see what he thought of the game