RUGBY WORLD CUP: Sunday 2 October

02.10.2011
Argentina 25, Georgia 6 in Palmerston North (World Cup, Pool B)
New Zealand 79, Canada 15 in Wellington (World Cup, Pool A)
Wales 66, Fiji 0 in Hamilton (World Cup, Pool D)
Ireland 36, Italy 6 in Dunedin (World Cup, Pool C)

Briefly
I saw Argentina defeat Georgia Sunday. On that performance I can’t see them holding the All Blacks. But then the whole basis of the All Blacks has changed with the injury to Dan Carter.

New Zealand put in a very good performance against the Canadians. Full credit to the North Americans. They have been one of the form teams of the tier 2 nations.

Wales overwhelmed Fiji and Ireland showed they are going to be a force to reckon with at the quarter-finals stage.

After the weekend’s results the quarter finalist are now known

08.10.2011
Ireland v Wales in Wellington (World Cup Quarter-final 1)
England v France in Auckland (World Cup Quarter-final 2)

09.10.2011
South Africa v Australia in Wellington (World Cup Quarter-final 3)
New Zealand v Argentina in Auckland (World Cup Quarter-final 4)

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Georgia 25, Romania 6

As a game this was perhaps the poorest I’d seen. Even the crowd lost patience especially when Georgia attempted penalty kicks when really they were well in control. It was a very tight match to be fair to the players and a major test match for both sides. It was a win but it wasn’t pretty.

Plenty of colour and enthusiasm in the crowd. Webb Ellis Trophy (which one?)
on display.

The ground capacity was 30,000 and I suspect
it wasn’t far off full.
 
Plenty of colour in the excited crowd.
 
National anthems for Georgia and Romania.

Scrum time.

At the games conclusion a special medal of
participation ceremony was conducted. As this
was their last pool match Romania were the
recipients.

The Romanians and Georgians know each other
well. They play against each other on a yearly
basis as they are both in the European Nations
Cup competition, Division 1A (which, in theory,
is one tier below the 6 Nations Championship)
So here they applaud each other off the park in
a very tough encounter.
  
In what has become a tradition in this Rugby World Cup
players do a lap of thanks at the end of the game.
Marius Tincu lead his team around the park.
A nice touch much appreciated by the crowd.
  
The Georgians also applauded the crowd
support but their lap of thanks will come
after their match against Argentina Sunday.

This gentleman, who had travelled all the way
from Georgia, was wearing a traditional
Chokha warrior uniform. Note the bullet
compartments. He said the uniform was
pinched by the Russian cossacks. He was
a most obliging fellow who was subjected
to many photo requests.

Levan Kavtaradze and wife imigrated to
New Zealand some twenty years ago
but was very proud to support his birth
nation on the night.
So ended the night. A great occasion for rugby
in the Manawatu. Next game is on Sunday
Georgia v Argentina.

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Romania v Georgia

28.09.2011
Romania v Georgia in Palmerston North (World Cup, Pool B)

Venue: Arena Manawatu Stadium

Referee: David Pearson (England)

Preview
For these two teams this is their Rugby World Cup highlight match. Georgia has diminated Romania in recent years during the European Nations Cup Tournament, virtually Division 2 of European Rugby.

What is on the line regarding this test match? For both teams this is their final. Gaining third place in each pool means you automatically qualify for the next Rugby World Cup in 2015. For Romania, this is their last match so a win is crucial to gain this placing. For Georgia a win today, and a win over Argentina Sunday could well nail that third placing.

It's going to be a ding-dong Eastern European encounter. Tough up front and not much in it.

Marius Tincu, Georgia's captain, will play his fiftieth test cap for Georgia.

Last Five Encounters
12.03.2011 Georgia 18-11 in Tblisi (ENC 1A, Antim Cup)
13.03.2010 Romania 22-10 in Bucharest (ENC 1, Antim Cup)
14.03.2009 Georgia 28-22 in Tblisi (WCQ Euro.R5, ENC 1, Antim Cup)
09.02.2008 Georgia 22-7 in Tblisi (ENC 1, Antim Cup)
03.02.2007 Georgia 20-17 in Bucharest (ENC 1, Antim Cup)

The Antim Cup is played for annually between Georgia and Romania. It was first contested in 2007. This Rugby World Cupo test match is not for the Antim Cup.

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Georgia 16th, Romania 18th
Europe Table-Georgia 7th, Romania 8th

IRB Ranking PointsGeorgia 70.00, Romania 65.69

Prediction: Georgia by 7 points

Teams

Georgia15 Revaz Gigauri, 14 Revaz Gigauri, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Tedo Zibzibadze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze, Capt. 8 Dimitri Basilaia, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 5 Vakhtang Maisuradze, 4 Ilia Zedginidze, 3 David Zirakashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 David Kinchagishvili.

Replacements
16 Goderzi Shvelidze, 17 Vasil Kakovin, 18 Levan Datunashvili, 19 Givi Berishvili, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Irakli Chkhikvadze, 22 Malkhaz Urjukashvili.
Head Coach: Richard Dixon

Romania15 Iulian Dumitras, 14 Stefan Ciuntu, 13 Csaba Gal, 12 Tiberius Dimofte, 11 Madalin Lemnaru, 10 Danut Dumbrava, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Daniel Carpo, 7 Ovidiu Tonita, 6 Mihai Macovei, 5 Cristian Petre, 4 Valentin Ursache, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Marius Tincu, Capt. 1 Mihaita Lazar.

Replacements
16 Bogdan Suman, 17 Silviu Florea, 18 Valentin Poparlan, 19 Daniel Ianus, 20 Valentin Calafeteanu, 21 Constantin Gheara, 22 Florin Vlaicu.
Head Coach: Romeo Gontineac

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Results 24-27 Sept.

27.11.2011Canada 23, Japan 23 in Napier (Pool A)
Italy 27, United States 10 in Nelson ( Pool C)

26.09.2011Wales 81, Namibia 7 in New Plymouth (Pool D)

25.09.2011Samoa 27, Fiji 7 in Auckland (Pool D)
Ireland 62, Russia 12 in Rotorua (Pool C)
Argentina 13, Scotland 12 in Wellington (Pool B)

24.09.2011England 67, Romania 3 in Dunedin (Pool B)
New Zealand 37, France 17 in Auckland (Pool A)

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Results Sunday 25 September

Samoa 27, Fiji 7 in Auckland (Pool D)
Argentina 13, Scotland 12 in Wellington (Pool B)
Ireland 62, Russia 12 in Rotorua ( Pool C)

RUGBY WORLD CUP: England v Romania, Pool B

24.09.2011

Venue: Otago Stadium, Dunedin

Referee: Romain Poite (France)

Preview
England will win this game. For all Romania’s courage against Scotland, a well organised team like Argentina eventually prevailed. Much the same will happen today except more. Teams like Argentina and England can up another gear from their last performance. For the minor teams they are already at top gear. This is why in the second and now third games of pool rounds the fancied teams (South Africa 87 against Namibia, Australia 76 against USA) are beginning to pull away from such opponents.

Romania has made many changes from the team that played Argentina. They put basically the same team on the paddock for the first two games and now must rest key players. This will play into England’s hands and they should win comfortably.

Previous Encounters
17.11.2001 England 134-0 at Twickenham
12.11.1994 England 54-3 at Twickenham
13.05.1989 England 58-3 in Bucharest
05.01.1985 England 22-15 in Bucharest

England At This World Cup
10.09.2011 v Argentina W 13-9 in Dunedin
18.09.2011 v Georgia W 41-10 in Dunedin

Romania At This World Cup
10.09.2011 v Scotland L 24-34 in Invercargill
17.09.2011 v Argentina L 8-43 in Invercargill

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-England 7th, Romania 18th
Europe Table-England 5th, Romania 8th

IRB Ranking Points
England 83.99, Romania 65.69

Prediction: England by 48 points

Teams

England
15 Benjamin Foden, 14 Christopher Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Michael Tindall, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Benjamin Youngs, 8 James Haskell, 7 Lewis Moody, Capt. 6 Thomas Croft, 5 Thomas Palmer, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Steven Thompson, 1 Alexander Corbisiero.
Replacements
16 Lee Mears, 17 David Wilson, 18 Simon Shaw, 19 Thomas Wood, 20 Richard Wigglesworth, 21 Tobias Flood, 22 Delon Armitage
Head Coach: Martin Johnson

Romania
15 Florin Vlaicu, 14 Stefan Ciuntu, 13 Ionel Cazan, 12 Iulian Dumitras, 11 Adrian Apostol, 10 Danut Dumbrava, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 8 Ovidiu Tonita, 7 Cosmin Ratiu, 6 Sandu Burcea, 5 Cristian Petre, Capt. 4 Valentin Poparlan, 3 Silviu Florea, 2 Bogdan Zebega,
1 Nicolae Nere.
Replacements
16 Marius Tincu, 17 Paulica Ion, 18 Mihai Macovei, 19 Daniel Ianus, 20 Valentin Calafeteanu, 21 Csaba Minya Gal, 22 Catalin Nicolae
Head Coach: Romeo Gontineac

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Results Sat. 17 Sept.

17.09.2011
Ireland 15, Australia 6 in Auckland (World Cup, Pool C)
South Africa 49, Fiji 3 in Wellington (World Cup, Pool D)
Argentina 43, Romania 8 in Invercargill (World Cup, Pool B)

Briefly
Ireland, Ireland, Ireland! What an amazing game! As a spectacle it lived up to everything you would want. I saw the game at Eden Park. I was there, soaking it all up. What you would not have seen on TV were the scenes after the game. Most Irish fans just stayed and began THE party of all time in the park. I stayed on because it was just an amazing atmosphere. Then, after 20 minutes or so, the whole Irish squad emerged to applaud the crowd support. So off the fans went again. I have never experienced anything like that. That was, for me, another of those 'right up there' rugby experiences.

In this mornings papers the other games, won easily by Argentina and South Africa, emphasized the difficulty the minnow teams of backing up their initial grand efforts. This week we have seen big scores posted against Japan, by the All Blacks, and yesterday against Fiji, by South Africa, and finally by Argentina, against Romania.

So this indicates that the business end of the Pool stages is well in hand and the favoured teams pulling through with comfortable wins. Except Ireland, who won well against Australia to cause the first major upset of the tournament. It now throws Pool C wide open.

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Argentina v Romania Pool B

17.09.2011

Venue: Rugby Park, Invercargill

Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)

Preview
This is the second game of the tournament for both teams. Argentina will be looking for their first win after a disappointing loss to England. Romania proved against Scotland, a game they could have won, that they cannot be taken lightly.

Argentina suffered injuries aplenty after their bruising encounter with England. Gonzalo Tiesi's World Cup tournament is over and flyhalf and captain Contepomi is out of this game. The question how will this team perform without the key players?

For Romania this is a key game. To progress they must win this one.

Last Five Encounters
22.10.2003 Argentina 50-3 in Sydney (World Cup)
25.08.1998 Argentina 68-22 in Buenos Aires
18.10.1997 Argentina 45-18 in Auch (Latin Cup)
14.10.1995 Argentina 51-16 in Buenos Aires (Latin Cup)
31.10.1992 Argentina 21-18 in Bucharest

Romania has never defeated Argentina in a test match.

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Argentina 11th, Romania 18th

IRB Ranking Points
Argentina 77.30. Romania 65.69

Prediction: Argentina by 21

Teams










Argentina
15 Lucas Gonzalez, 14 Gonzalo Camacho, 13 Martin Rodriguez, 12 Marcelo Bosch, 11 Horacio Agulla, 10 Santiago Fernandez, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements
16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Martin Scelzo, 18 Mariano Galarza, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Nicolas Sanchez, 22 Juan Jose Imhoff
Head Coach: Santiago Phelan

Romania
15 Iulian Dumitras, 14 Madalin Lemnaru, 13 Csaba Gal, 12 Constantin Gheara, 11 Ionel Cazan, 10 Tiberius Dimofte, 9 Florin Surugiu, 8 Daniel Carpo, 7 Ovidiu Tonita, 6 Mihai Macovei, 5 Cristian Petre, 4 Valentin Ursache, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Marius Tincu, Capt.1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements
16 Bogdan Suman, 17 Silviu Florea, 18 Valentin Poparlan, 19 Daniel Ianus, 20 Valentin Calafeteanu, 21 Marin Dumbrava, 22 Florin Vlaicu
Head Coach: Romeo Gontineac

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Results Wednesday 14 Sept.

Canada 25, Tonga 20 in Whangarei (World Cup, Pool A)
Scotland 15, Georgia 6 in Invercargill (World Cup, Pool B)
Samoa 49, Namibia 12 in Rotorua (World Cup, Pool D)
Briefly Another exciting game. Canada and Tonga really turned on the rugby at Whangarei. Tonga seemed to lack the drive and power they showed last Friday when they played the All Blacks. Canada were better organised and their stand-out player Adam Kleeberger always in the thick of play causing headaches for the Tongans. This was an excellent win for Canada.
The Scotland-Georgia game was a bore. What a pity. Georgia played to their strength, fair enough. They are a fearsome forward outfit and will be capable of matching it with any other team up front. But it does not lead to crowd-pleasing back play. Scotland were simply dreadful and they will struggle against England and Argentina. Their performances so far are not encouraging.
In another good game of rugby Samoa were too good for Namibia as was expected. But I was impressed with the determination and passion the Namibians displayed throughout. They scored their second try with only 14 players on the field. Brave and mighty rugby!
Next Today USA play Russia in New Plymouth.
On Friday the All Blacks face Japan without Dan Carter.

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Scotland v Georgia

14.09.2011
Venue: Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)
Preview This is Georgia’s first game of the tournament.This is Georgia’s third Rugby World Cup finals. They gave Ireland a huge fright in the 2007 Rugby World Cup Finals in the pool stage, finally going down 10-14 in a game the could have won.
Georgia is the leading European team in the European Nations Cup, a tier below the 6 Nations International Championship. The arrive with a fierce reputation in their forward play, an area they are up there, almost, with the best. The physical nature of the game is much, like the Pacific Islanders, to the liking of these hardy people. Rugby is now regarded as a national sport in Georgia. They certainly have a passion for the game.
Although these two teams have not meet on equal terms in a test match, they have had prior contact. In 2010 Georgia defeated Scotland ‘A’ 22-21 (a team that contained a number of experienced Scotland internationals) in the IRB Nations Cup. A much weaker Georgian team lost 3-69 to Scotland ‘A’ in Glasgow in 2008.
Georgian head coach is a Scotsman, Richard Dixon.
Scotland has made a number of changes to the side that stuttered to 34-24 win over one of Georgia’s main European Rivals Romania.
GWC Rugby Rankings World Table-Scotland 4th, Georgia 15th
Europe Table-Scotland 1st, Georgia 7th
IRB Ranking Points Scotland 78.23, Georgia 70.30
Prediction: Georgia will give Scotland a tough tussle first half but so long as Scotland can hold the Georgian forwards and give their vastly more skilful backs a run, I can’t see Scotland losing. Scotland by 15.
Teams

Scotland 15 Rory Lamont, 14 Max Evans, 13 Nicholas De Luca, 12 Graeme Morrison, 11 Sean Lamont, 10 Daniel Parks, 9 Rory Lawson, Capt., 8 Kelly Brown, 7 Ross Rennie, 6 Alistair Strokosch, 5 James Hamilton, 4 Nathan Hines, 3 Euan Murray, 2 Scott Lawson, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements
16 Ross Ford, 17 Geoffrey Cross, 18 Alasdair Dickinson, 19 Richard Gray,
20 Richard Vernon, 21 Christopher Cusiter, 22 Christopher Paterson.
Head Coach: Andy Robinson

Georgia 15 Revaz Gigauri, 14 Irakli Machkhaneli, 13 David Kacharava, 12 Tedo Zibzibadze, 11 Alexander Todua, 10 Merab Kvirikashvili, 9 Irakli Abuseridze, Capt., 8 Dimitri Basilaia, 7 Mamuka Gorgodze, 6 Shalva Sutiashvili, 5 Vakhtang Maisuradze, 4 Levan Datunashvili, 3 David Zirakashvili, 2 Jaba Bregvadze, 1 David Khinchagishvili.
Replacements
16 Akvsenti Giorgadze, 17 David Kubriashvilini, 18 Giorgi Chkhaidze, 19 Viktor Kolelishvili, 20 Bidzina Samkharadze, 21 Lasha Khmaladze, 22 Malkhaz Urjukashvili.
Head Coach: Richard Dixon

RUGBY WORLD CUP RESULTS: Saturday 10 September

10.09.2011
England 13, Argentina 9 in Dunedin (World Cup, Pool B)

Scotland 34 - 24 Romania in Invercargill (World Cup, Pool B)
France 47 - 21 Japan in Albany (World Cup, Pool A) Fiji 49 - 25 Namibia in Rotorua (World Cup, Pool D) Briefly England came back from 3-9 down to edge past a determined Argentina in the second half. All the goal kickers left their kicking boots behind. Poor goal kicking nearly lost England the game. Jonny Wilkinson had a shocker. The scene has now been set. Expect the unexpected at ths World Cup. Romania very nearly created the first major upset when it led Scotland with ten minutes to go. A penalty and two tries from Scotland winger Simon Danielli saved the day for Scotland. But what a game from Romania. I was at the France-Japan game. What a performance by Japan! They came within 4 points of France mid way through the second half. They missed a certain try at this stage and that try could well have turned the game completely Japan's way. France made replacements and scored some late tries against a tiring Japanese side. The spectacle was just fantastic. Catch my pics on the other posting. Vereniki Goneva was Fiji's hero as he scored 4 out of their 6 tries in a high-scoring win over Namibia in what has been described as a thrilling match. The Namibians put up a good fight against the Fijians. Here is another example of a minnow playing with passion and pride at the special event. This is what World Cup rugby is all about.

WORLD CUP RUGBY England and Argentina Clash

10.09.2011

Argentina v England in Dunedin (World Cup, Pool B)

Venue: Forsyth Barr Stadium

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)

Preview
This will be THE clash of the Saturday games and second in importance to the England-Scotland clash later in pool play.

Argentina does not appear to be the force they were in 2007. Los Pumas supporters on the streets of Auckland will tell you so. They lost 13-28 to Wales in their only full test before this tournament, defeated A South American XV 78-15 and shared a two match international series against the French Barbarians in Argentina. But make no mistake. Argentina will be very formidable up front and England will have a tough task taming the Pumas.

England's back play of recent has een very ordinary. Mix that with the expressed aim that England must win this game at all costs. It wont be pretty but for the purists the forward battle will be engrossing. England has the power up front to match the might Pumas.

Last Five Encounters
14.11.2009 England 15-9 at Twickenham
13.06.2009 Argentina 24-22 in Salta
06.06.2009 England 37-15 in Manchester
11.11.2006 Argentina 25-18 at Twickenham
22.06.2002 England 26-18 in Buenos Aires


GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table- England 8th, Argentina 11th

IRB Ranking Points
England 81.82, Argentina 78.40

Prediction: England by 7 points

Teams

Argentina15 Martin Rodriguez, 14 Horacio Agulla, 13 Gonzalo Tiesi, 12 Santiago Fernandez, 11 Gonzalo Camacho, 10 Felipe Contepomi, 9 Nicolas Vergallo, 8 Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, 7 Juan Manuel Leguizamon, 6 Julio Farias Cabello, 5 Patricio Albacete, 4 Manuel Carizza, 3 Juan Figallo, 2 Mario Ledesma, 1 Rodrigo Roncero.
Replacements
16 Agustin Creevy, 17 Martin Scelzo, 18 Mariano Galarza, 19 Alejandro Campos, 20 Alfredo Lalanne, 21 Marcelo Bosch, 22 Juan Jose Imhoff.
Head Coach: Santiago Phelan










England15 Benjamin Foden, 14 Christopher Ashton, 13 Manu Tuilagi, 12 Michael Tindall, Capt. 11 Delon Armitage, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Richard Wigglesworth, 8 Nicholas Easter, 7 James Haskell, 6 Thomas Croft, 5 Courtney Lawes, 4 Louis Deacon, 3 Daniel Cole, 2 Steven Thompson, 1 Andrew Sheridan.
Replacements
16 Dylan Hartley, 17 Matthew Stevens, 18 Thomas Palmer, 19 Thomas Wood, 20 Benjamin Youngs,
21 Tobias Flood, 22 Matthew Banahan
Head Coach: Martin Johnson

RUGBY WORLD CUP Scotland Take On The Oaks

10.09.2011
Scotland v Romania in Invercargill (World Cup, Pool B)

Venue: Rugby Park

Referee: David Pearson (England)

Preview
Southlander's can turn their focus away from their loss recently of the Ranfurly Shield, New Zealand's premier provincial rugby trophy, and onto the Rugby World Cup road show about to hit town.

Romania has recorded two wins against Scotland in previous encounters. They would need to field their best team, play like they have never played before and catch Scotland on a bad day to win. A win to Romania is unlikely but not impossible. What a shock a Romanian win would create. Probably every tournament needs a shock win.

Scotland comes into this tournament with recent wins against Ireland and Italy. Prior to that Scotland had a miserable 6 Nations tournament, defeating Italy to prevent another wooden spoon. This could well be the time for them to do the best at any World Cup tournament so far.

Last Five Encounters
18.09.2007 Scotland 42-0 at Murrayfield (World Cup, Pool C)
11.11.2006 Scotland 48-6 at Murrayfield
05.06.2005 Scotland 39-39 in Bucharest
09.11.2002 Scotland 37-10 at Murrayfield
28.08.1999 Scotland 60-19 at Murrayfield

Argentina defeated Scotland 18-12 in Bucharest in 1991 and 28-22, also in Bucharest, back in 1982

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Scotland 4th, Romania 18th
Europe Table-Scotland 1st, Romania 8th

IRB Ranking Points
Scotland 78.83, Romania 65.69

Prediction: Scotland by 22 points

 Teams








Scotland
15 Christopher Paterson, 14 Max Evans, 13 Joseph Ansbro, 12 Sean Lamont, 11 Simon Danielli,
10 Ruaridh Jackson, 9 Michael Blair, 8 Richard Vernon, 7 John Barclay, 6 Kelly Brown, 5 Alastair Kellock, Capt, 4 Richard Gray, 3 Geoffrey Cross, 2 Ross Ford, 1 Allan Jacobsen.
Replacements
16 Scott Lawson, 17 Alasdair Dickinson, 18 Nathan Hines, 19 Ross Rennie, 20 Christopher Cusiter,
21 Daniel Parks, 22 Rory Lamont.
Head Coach: Andy Robinson










Romania
15 Iulian Dumitras, 14 Stefan Ciuntu, 13 Csaba Gal, 12 Ionut Dimofte, 11 Madalin Lemnaru, 10 Danut Dumbrava, 9 Lucian Sirbu, 8 Daniel Carpo, 7 Ovidiu Tonita, 6 Mihai Macovei, 5 Cristian Petre, 4 Valentin Ursache, 3 Paulica Ion, 2 Marius Tincu, Capt. 1 Mihaita Lazar.
Replacements
16 Bogdan Zebega, 17 Silviu Florea, 18 Valentin Poparlan, 19 Stelian Burcea, 20 Florin Surugiu, 21 Ionel Cazan, 22 Florin Vlaicu
Head Coach: Romeo Gontineac

RUGBY WORLD CUP. Namibia Will Find It Tough

10.09.2011
Namibia v Fiji in Rotorua (World Cup, Pool D)

Venue: Rotorua International Stadium


Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Preview
Both teams have had a patchy lead up to this tournament. This encounter is probably a battle as to see who finishes last in this pool.

Fiji had mixed fortunes in their Pacific Nations tournament and also drew 1-1 in a two-test series against Tonga just before the World Cup. They are without their powerhouse  Sisa Koyamaibole who has returned home to Fiji briefly due to an illness in the family. Even without him I'd expect Fiji to have little trouble against one of the real minnows in this tournament.

Namibia will battle bravely throughout lead by Saracens flanker Burger. They'll put up a fight, mainly through their forwards and they will need to tackle like demons to counter the flare of the Fijians.

Previous Encounter
01.10.1999 Fiji 67-18 in Beziers (World Cup, Pool C)

GWC Rugby Ranking
World Table-Fiji 13th, Namibia 20th

IRB Ranking Points
Fiji 72.25, Namibia 61.43

Prediction: Fiji by 37 points

Teams









Fiji15 Kini Murimurivalu, 14 Vereniki Goneva, 13 Gaby Lovobalavu, 12 Seremaia Bai, 11 Naipolioni Nalaga, 10 Waisea Sedre Luveniyali, 9 Nemia Kenatale, 8 Netani Edward Talei, 7 Mala Ravulo, 6 Dominiko Maiwiriwiri Waqaniburotu, 5 Wame Lewaravu, 4 Leone Nakarawa, 3 Deacon Manu, Capt. 2 Viliame Veikoso, 1 Campese Ma'afu.
Replacements
16 Sunia Koto, 17 Waisea Nailago, 18 Seko Kalou, 19 Akapusi Qera, 20 Vitori Tomu Buatava, 21 Albert James Vulivuli, 22 Iliesa Lomani Rakuka Keresoni
Head Coach: Samuela Domoni

Namibia15 Chrysander Botha, 14 Danie Dames, 13 Danie Van Wyk, 12 Piet Van Zyl, 11 Conrad Marais, 10 Theuns Kotze, 9 Eugene Jantjies, 8 Jacques Nieuwenhuis, 7 Jacques Burger, Capt. 6 Tinus Du Plessis, 5 Nico Esterhuyse, 4 Heinz Koll, 3 Raoul Larson, 2 Hugo Horn, 1 Johnnie Redelinghuys.
Replacements
16 Bertus O'Callaghan, 17 Jané Du Toit, 18 Pieter Jan van Lill, 19 Rohan Kitshoff, 20 Ryan De La Harpe, 21 Darryl De La Harpe, 22 Llewellyn Winkler
Head Coach: Johan Dierghaardt

SCOTLAND 2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP SQUAD

Forwards


John Barclay
Kelly Brown
Geoffrey Cross
Alistair Dickinson
Ross Ford
Richard Gray
Douglas Hall
James Hamilton
Nathan Hines
Alan Jacobsen
Alistair Kellock (captain)
Scott Lawson
Moray Low
Euan Murray
Ross Rennie
Alistair Strokosch
Richard Vernon

Backs
Joseph Ansbro
Michael Blair
Christopher Cusiter
Simon Danielli
Nicholas de Luca
Max Evans
Ruaridh Jackson
Rory Lamont
Sean Lamont
Rory Lawson
Graeme Morrison
Daniel Parks
Christopher Paterson

Not Selected
Nikki Walker (injury), Hugo Southwell, John Beattie

Notes
Centurion test player Chris Paterson will play in his fourth Rugby World Cup finals tournament, a new Scotland record




Head Coach: Andy Robinson
Image thanks to planet-rugby.com

Scotland Lead-up Matches

20.08.2011 v Italy W 23-12 at Murrayfield (World Cup Warm-up)
06.08.2011 v Ireland W 10-6 at Murrayfield (World Cup Warm-up)
19.03.2011 v Italy W 21-8 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)
13.03.2011 v England L 16-22 at Twickenham (Calcutta Cup; 6 Nations)
27.02.2011 v Ireland L 18-21 at Murrayfield (6 Nations)

ENGLAND RUGBY WORLD CUP SQUAD

Squad

Forwards
Daniel Cole
Alexander Corbisiero
Thomas Croft
Louis Deacon
Nicholas Easter
Dylan Hartley
James Haskell
Courtney Lawes
Lee Mears
Lewis Moody (captain)
Thomas Palmer
Simon Shaw
Andrew Sheridan
Matthew Stevens
Steven Thompson
David Wilson
Thomas Wood

Backs
Delon Armitage
Christopher Ashton
Matthew Banahan
Mark Cueto
Tobias Flood
Benjamin Foden
Shontayne Hape
Joseph Simpson
Michael Tindall
Manu Tuilagi
Richard Wigglesworth
Jonny Wilkinson
Benjamin Youngs

Head Coach: Martin Johnson

Image thanks to independent.co.uk

Nor Selected

Riki Flutey, Danny Care (injury)

England's Lead Up

27.08.2011 v Ireland W 20-9 in Dublin (World Cup Warm-up)
13.08.2011 v Wales L 9-19 in Cardiff (World Cup Warm-up)
06.08.2011 v Wales W 23-19 at Twickenham (World Cup Warm-up)
19.03.2011 v Ireland L 8-24 in Dublin (6 Nations)
13.03.2011 v Scotland W 22-16 at Twickenham (6 Nations)

2011 Rugby World Cup: The Examination-Pool B

This article, the third, continues the examination of the rugby nations who will attend the 2011 Rugby World Cup; their performances in 2010 and how they might do in their pool.

Pool B
Argentina
England
Scotland
Georgia
Romania

The certainty
There is only one. England will make the quarter final stage. The other position is up for grabs.

England
The only certain thing is that England will win this pool and progress. Even at their poorest they are probably too good for the others. The real excitement for England will begin after the pool stages.

On recent displays England look to be coming right. It's been a long time since that fantastic day in 2003 when England won the Web Ellis Cup for the first time. England have been mainly ordinary from that time onwards and sometimes just dreadful. They have been guilty of squandering hard-won possession. They have always had a pack of forwards who have been able to out-muscle most of the opposition. But once the ball is out England has been predictable and unimaginative behind the scrum. Even the likes of the great Jonny Wilkinson has not been able to ignite the backline.

But in November 2010 they began to play better rugby and winning rugby. Some new blood in that backline has done wonders. Players like Benjamin Foden and Ben Youngs have suddenly sparked the England back line into life. Tobias Flood is beginning to play with authority. The forward pack has been formidable. It is an ageing pack but what did they call England's side in 2003? Dads army. Well, Dad's army is back.

In the November tests of 2010 England lost to both New Zealand and South Africa at Twickenham but against Australia they dominated and won through the back line. It is all starting to look good for England and for once Martin Johnson can smile.

England will have to either win the 6 Nations Championship or come close for all the good work to continue. They will also need to clean out the opposition in the warm-up tests before the World Cup and then the fun begins. Argentina will be back to their best in time for this tournament and England will have to work hard to defeat them. Scotland will have something special just for England and don't write off Georgia and Romania either. But England should come through this pool undefeated.

Argentina
Argentina were the dream team at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. They defeated France in the opening game and again at the end to take third place. What a wonderful tournament they had. But since then things have not gone well for the Pumas. They have won only six test matches out of the eighteen played since 2007. They defeated England at Salta in 2009 and France again in Buenos Aires last June. That has been all.

Their three tests last November in Europe were not memorable. Their 9-29 loss to Ireland in Dublin was most alarming. This Argentine side simply is not firing. The team lacks authority and direction from behind the scrum whilst the forwards are dominating like they used to.

So where to from here. The Pumas get better the more time they can spend together. They will get this time leading up to the World Cup and with their leading players mostly playing at the top level in both France and England, the standard of play should be up there with the best. It's just a worry that the personal are not the quality of that wonderful 2007 team. We shall see.

Argentina at their best could defeat England but next September I don't think they will. Argentina will have a real battle to overcome Scotland as well but they could do it. Both Georgia and Romania could upset Argentina but only if Argentina run into a bad trot. I can't see that happening. The crucial game will be Argentina v Scotland.

Scotland
Scotland has a proud rugby history. The results may not always indicate a team at the top level of world rugby, but Scotland can produce surprises. They lost narrowly to England 6-9 in the 1991 Rugby World Cup semi-final but that is as close as they have got in the finals. They just don't seem to win the crucial game in their pool. And they have a number of crucial games to win if they want to proceed.

Since the 2007 Rugby World Cup in which they easily defeated Romania but lost to Argentina in the quarter finals, Scotland has, up to 2010, performed poorly. A new coach in 2009 saw them win against Australia but then lose to Argentina. 2010 was a much better season, 6 Nations Championship apart. Scotland became the first team to win a test series in Argentina for some time, last June. They were slaughtered by New Zealand in the opening November game, but then bounced back to defeat South Africa and win narrowly over Samoa. The new Zealand game apart, Scotland has begun to look like a good side.

Leading up the the Rugby World Cup in September next year Scotland has to do well in the 6 Nations Championship. A good win over England, a win over Italy and a win over either Wales or Scotland will give Scotland much needed confidence. This they must do. Then they need to defeat Ireland and Italy in their warm-up games in August and they should be ready to fire come September. They will need to be at their best to defeat Argentina and overcome the aspiring Georgians and Romanians.

Georgia
This country has a very rare feature as a European Nation. It is one of the only ones in which rugby is the number one football code. Nowhere else in Europe is the game of rugby so dominant. The Georgians love their rugby. They are also excellent wrestlers. So it comes as no surprise to learn that the Georgian scrum, with all their best France-based players available, is a formidable force to deal with. The record books show that the Georgian forwards score more tries than their backs. They are masters at scrum time and master at the rolling mauls. Their backs are better defenders than attackers although recently the Georgian back line is looking more skilful.

After a quiet entry into the Rugby World Cup in 2003, Georgia nearly caused a major upset in 2007 when they pushed Ireland hard before losing by only four points. That game woke the world up to these Georgians. It will go down as one of their greatest games in their short rugby history. In other competition they won the European Nations Cup in 2009 which gained then entry into the 2011 finals. They lost to Romania 10-22 last March which saw the Romanians take out the 2010 ENC although the Georgians defeated Russia 36-8 shortly afterwards. In November last year the Georgians defeated Canada 22-15 and the USA 19-17 at home and with their best team.

Like the Romanians and the Pacific Island teams, most of Georgia's top players play in French club rugby. This means not all of their top players are together long enough for combinations to work properly and for team spirit to develop. But being together for a month before the finals will bind these Georgians into a formidable team. They wont defeat England, they'll struggle against Scotland and probably lose to Argentina. They will firstly target Romania and then I think they will give Scotland one heck of a fright. Just what the World Cup needs

Romania
At the 2007 Rugby World Cup the Romanians were expected to do well. Instead they flopped. With a large number of the France-based players available this disappointment was hard to fathom. In 2008 a new coach basically sacked most of those France-based players are tried to build a team on local talent. That didn't work. In fact the Romanians played so poorly they came a disastrous third behind Georgia and Russia in the 2009 European Nations Cup..It was good news for the Russians but bad news for the Romanians. They would have to spend 2010 battling their way through playoffs to make the Rugby World Cup.

This they managed to do. Another new coach and back came a number of those experienced France-based players and Romania began to win games again. In fact they had to play a record thirteen test matches in 2010, losing only to Namibia who took the IRB Nations cup in Bucharest.They had to defeat Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Tunisia and finally Uruguay to become the last team to qualify for the Rugby World Cup finals. What a journey.

Romania must do well in the 2011 European Nations Cup, defeating both Georgia and Russia, to establish a good confidence base to take on the other teams in this pool. They must defeat Georgia and they have the potential to defeat Scotland. They will certainly be looking to do better than their efforts in 2007.

Tomorrow I'll examine Pool A