All Blacks Find Some Rare Allies

The All Blacks bowing out early in the Rugby World Cup 2007 have made a lot of people deliriously happy - particularly in England. Stephen Jones gave himself a near aneurism in his post match preening after New Zealand's early exit. Alastair Campbell – 2005 Lions ‘advisor’ and let's not forget media spin doctor to Tony Blair and producer of sexed up dossiers directly responsible for a certain drawn out war in Iraq still being tragically fought out, has the audacity to put his two pence in when it comes to something he knows very little about.

"They do the chokey chokey and its ooh la la" Campbell raves. "The hubris belonged to the now not so all-mighty All Blacks. The schadenfreude belongs to all those who like to see the arrogant brought crashing down to earth". (Just like we loved seeing you crash down to earth Alastair in your Lions tracksuit as you sat soddenly on the sidelines in the Cake Tim in 2005 watching the 'greatest most prepared Lions team in history' be turned over at will by a team that reached the heights of rugby that any England team past or present could only dream to play).

World Cups aren't won by tries and they aren't won by flair. So fair play to England for making it through to the final. They played the tournament strategically and they have done well. I admire their spirit and I tip my hat to Ashton, Jonny and co. But the hideous and ungracious bile pointed towards New Zealanders coming from some of these internationally respected media outlets and factions of the British public is seriously disturbing. It reeks of insecurity and a subconscious acknowledgement that the best team in the world will not be contesting the world cup final.

From the numerous articles revelling in the All Blacks loss to the French comes some surprising allies. Wayne Smith - rugby editor of the Australian says this of the English reaction to New Zealand:

"Speaking out in defence of our trans-Tasman cousins who find themselves on the receiving end of another poisonous missive from the self-appointed, self-anointed high priest of northern hemisphere rugby, Stephen Jones....one thing about a win straight out of left field, it certainly brings out the pomposity in the Poms. New Zealand did not deserve to lose to France, as spirited and passionate as was the performance of Les Bleus. And the World Cup is infinitely the poorer for its departure.

“The All Blacks may well have taken a lot from the game but it has given far, far more back in return. It has given the world a vision of how rugby can be played and the scope of that vision has been wondrous to behold. Of course, none of that is going to be apparent to a blinkered critic.”

Nice Wayne. Perhaps the biggest surprise was that great All Black knocker and all around villain Bernie Laporte piping up with his opinions as he made his dramatic au revoir from rugby’s world stage..

"They (the Abs) are the best team in the world. We beat them but if we had played them the next day and the following days, there was a great chance we would have lost. Who has played any (attacking) rugby? The only ones are the All Blacks."

For the full article from the Australian - go here.

England Through To The 2007 Rugby World Cup Final

England 14 - France 9

There comes moments in sport where you just sit in shock, absolutely flabbergasted by the outcome. Four weeks ago when England could not even score a single point against South Africa, I did not in my wildest dreams imagine that today we would be sitting here, talking about the courageousness of Brian Ashton's men making it through these last few games. But they have - on brute strength, calm belief, experienced old heads, a passionate forward pack and a man that is one of the superheros of the modern era in rugby.

France and England were evenly matched today. But after the French threw everything at the All Black kitchen sink last weekend they lacked the extra fizz to convert their huge territorial advantage into points. Although this game had intensity it was in large parts an aerial ping pong display where the boot ruled. And everybody knows that if it comes down to the boot, then the team with Jonny Wilkinson will probably prevail.

England surprised the French by climbing on board early with an opportunist Josh Lewsey try off a French fumble from the kick off. This proved to be the only try of the test as as both sides closed down for a more physical encounter - exchanging penalties, kicking for field position and occasionally having a go at each other's line.

The old adage of the team who scores first in the second half will win did not come home to roost this time for Bernard Laporte's men. After Lionel Beauxis kicked his third penalty to take the lead 9-5, England ground their way back into the game. At around the 73rd minute, Wilkinson nailed a penalty after the ever inspiring Jason Robinson suffered a head high tackle and the balance of power shifted between the two teams. In every match there comes a moment where you just know who will be walking home the victor. For me this was England's moment. Wilkinson put the nail into the coffin in the dying minutes with a trademark drop goal and the 30,000 English spectators roared.

I haven't been kind to England (because they have been rubbish these last four years) but tonight I have nothing but admiration for a team that has been so low in the past. They showed incredible spirit, self belief and they deserve to be in the final. They have come back from the depths of despair, have been in tatters after their period with Andy Robinson, have suffered injuries to key players and have often looked like a team that has been walking around on antidepressants. Key credit has to lie with their humble coach Brian Ashton, their battling spirit, their crunching forwards, their old heads (Mike Catt, Jason Robinson take a bow) and of course their main man, Jonny. The guy represents everything good about rugby.

England beat Australia in extra-time to win the last World Cup final in 2003 and by beating France, they join Australia as the only countries to play in three World Cup finals and two in succession. Well done Engerland.

Rugby World Cup: All Blacks V France Selection Headaches

Right in the middle of the All Black jersey debacle, Graham Henry has called his first fifteen for the mouthwatering France V New Zealand clash at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday. In there are a few selections I’m not so sure about…

For me the jury is still out on Luke McAlister. He has impact for sure (in a Carlos Spencer type way) but has he got the brain to think tactically on his feet when things are going belly up. Mauger although not so hot on defence, does offer a tactical aspect as well as something else invaluable to the All Black backline: support to Dan Carter which perhaps the 23 year old McAlister is not so au fait with yet. Considering also that this will be the biggest game of McAlister’s life, questions remain whether he has the temperament to match the occasion. I hope so but we will have to wait and see.

Other calls that raised a few eyebrows were the omission of Doug Howlett for Sitiveni ‘butterfingers’ Sivivatu; Mils Muliaina at centre plus Keith Robinson on for Chris Jack. Sivivatu has done himself no favours in his last few outings for the All Blacks with messy distribution and his own personal eye off the ball managing almost singlehandedly to up the All Black error rate to grandiose proportions (ok that's an exaggeration - but I just don't like the guy damn it). I’m surprised he is in the 22 at all as I don’t think he has either warranted his position or has the big match temperament to take it to the French. I hope he proves me wrong.

Muliaina is best at full back and with Les Bleus by the looks of things, planning to play a kicking game deep into the All Black 22 he would have been the safest man for the job. Instead we have McDonald who although is in excellent form, may not be the most reliable when it comes to the up and unders or covering tackles in the pressure cooker moments.

Keith Robinson is abrasive and probably a good starter. That is if he manages to make it through the warm ups (around about an 80% possibility that he won’t). Still, who am I to complain? I’m not Graham Henry (thankfully) so I’ll leave it to them and hope for the best. For a run down of the perceived French strength and weaknesses check out Jonny’s excellent review on Scrumbag.

New Zealand team
L MacDonald; J Rokocoko, M Muliaina, L McAlister, S Sivavutu; D Carter, B Kelleher; T Woodcock, A Oliver, C Hayman, K Robinson, A Williams, J Collins, R McCaw (capt), R So'oialo. Reps: K Mealamu, N Tialata, C Jack, C Masoe, B Leonard, N Evans, I Toeava.

Argentina France

France 12 - Argentina 17

Bernard Laporte must be fuming! This morning (NZ time), 15 plucky Argentinians turned up and rained on France's opening ceremony parade by playing a game of tenacious defence and passion.

If the old cliche about Les Bleus: 'you never know which French team will turn up' is true - then certainly the French D team were out in force last night. I thought France were particularly let down by poor handling, nerves and lack of game plan. This probably wasn't helped by a very average first five combination of Mignoni and Skrela (surely Laporte can find someone better than these haphazard 'generals')? Their slow decision making and sloppy skills let down an entire backline that had limited chances to get in front of the gain line or produce any kind of flow.

In contrast - Argentina had it all over the French from explosiveness to backchat. Half back Augustin Pichot and fly half Juan Martin Hernandez out thought their opposites and directed the game fearlessly. Rallying their troops to never give up; Contempori slotted goal after goal in the first half, and a stunning breakaway try (the only one of the match) by Igancio Corleto must mean Los Pumas surely fancy their chances as this Rugby World Cup tournament begins.

For Match Report and Stats - check out Matt @ Green and Gold Rugby.

Rage against the All Black machine

In the meantime, the All Blacks Rugby World Cup campaign is gathering apace – that is, gathering critics left, right and centre apace. McQueen, Latham and Rob Andrew have all taken a pot shot at the men in black this week, criticising them for being one dimensional etc. Laporte is calling them cheats (yawn) and the latest comes from good old Phil Kearns. Apparently the All Blacks are ‘worried’. The great orator himself believes ‘they’ve peaked too soon’. Oooh, now THAT is breaking news.

The only question is – who will next emerge from the dressing room with arms swinging, taking aim at Richie and his hapless, one dimensional motley crew. No doubt Wales, Ireland, Argentina and Scotland will be getting their ducks in line. Eddie Jones, nestled in the bosom of the Springbok camp, has been quiet for about a whole three days and is also overdue for a rant. Odds are on too for Sir Clive to pop his little shiny head up through the parapet and make a few snivelling sounds. And that great pie eater of the UK Sunday Times, aka Stephen ‘the All Blacks are a bunch of meanies and nobody likes them’ Jones, will no doubt enjoy a few blats out soon at the boys in black.

Rugby World Cup Profiles - France

In this lull before the Rugby World Cup, I have decided to follow the lead of fellow esteemed bloggers and publish my thoughts on each top ten team heading into the World Cup Competition and what I think their chances are. Here are my thoughts on France:

Current World Rank: 3

Random cliché: ‘Who knows which French team will turn up on the day’ and ‘they’re very enigmatic’

Murray Mexted most likely to say: "You don't like to see hookers going down on players like that."

Stephen Jones did say: ‘France, in many senses are a shadow of themselves’.

Coach likely to say in defeat: ‘You will never referee in this town again!’

Glamour boy of the team: Sebastien Chabal

Greatest Moment in last four years: Have had a lion like grip on the Six Nations trophy three years out of four.

Weakest Moment: The hammering suffered at the hands of the All Blacks on home turf both in 2004 and 2006

Weak link in the team: Frederick Michalek

Redeeming features: Bernard Laporte – if you’re going to play bad rugby and send along a C team, at least you’ve got a mad coach to liven things at the post match press conference.

Incumbent star: Dimitri Yachvili

Rising star: Pierre Mignoni