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Semifinal 2: New Zealand v Australia

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 Black game plan against the Wallabies revealed - RWC 2011

Quarter Final 4: New Zealand v Argentina

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

Quarter Final 2: England v France

Quarter Final 1: Ireland v Wales

Quarter Finalist Preview: Argentina

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 Others World XV

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

Pool C: Ireland v Italy

Pool D: Wales v Fiji

Daniel Carter

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.