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: 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: Ireland v Russia, Pool C

25.09.2011

Venue: Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Preview
Predictably Irish coach Declan Kidney has rested key players after the important 15-6 win over Australia last weekend. He has handed Leo Cullen the captaincy and it is expected that Ireland, even if they don’t fire like they did last weekend, will have too much grunt for Russia.

Russia has also rested players. The weather looks a bit dodgy in Rotorua. If anything it will reduce the amount of damage the Irish will do.

Previous Encounter
21.09.2002 Ireland 35-3 in Krasnoyarsk (WCQ Europe R4, Pool A)

Ireland This World Cup
11.09.2011 v USA W 22-10 in New Plymouth
17.09.2011 v Australia W 15-6 in Auckland

Russia This World Cup (Their first)
15.09.2011 v USA L 6-13 in New Plymouth
20.09.2011 v Italy L 17-53

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Ireland 2nd, Russia 20th
Europe Table-Ireland 3rd, Russia 11th

IRB Ranking Points
Ireland 82.40, Russia 60.54

Prediction: Ireland by 65 points

Teams

Ireland
15 Robert Kearney, 14 Fergus McFadden, 13 Keith Earls, 12 Patrick Wallace, 11 Andrew Trimble, 10 Ronan O'Gara, 9 Isaac Boss, 8 Jamie Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien,
6 Donnacha Ryan, 5 Leo Cullen, 4 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Anthony Buckley, 2 Sean Cronin, 1 Cian Healy
Replacements
16 Rory Best, 17 Michael Ross, 18 Denis Leamy, 19 Shane Jennings, 20 Eoin Reddan, 21 Jonathan Sexton, 22 Geordan Murphy.
Head Coach: Declan Kidney

Russia
15 Vasily Artemyev, 14 Denis Simplikevich, 13 Andrey Kuzin, 12 Sergey Trishin, 11 Vladimir Ostroushko, 10 Konstantin Rachkov, 9 Alexander Yanyushkin,Capt.
8 Victor Gresev, 7 Andrey Garbuzov, 6 Artem Fatakhov, 5 Adam Byrnes, 4 Denis Antonov, 3 Alexander Khrokin, 2 Valery Tsnobiladze, 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements
16 Evgeny Matveev, 17 Ivan Prishchepenko, 18 Alexey Travkin, 19 Alexander Voytov, 20 Andrey Bykanov, 21 Mikhail Sidorov, 22 Mikhail Babaev.
Head Coach: Nik Nerush

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Ireland v Australia. Match Pics

17.09.2011 Ireland 15, Australia 6
Review THE match of the tournament so far. It could well be pushing the Opening Ceremony off my No.1 Rugby Moment of All Time. Well, perhaps not. But it sure was an amazing place to be. What an upset and what a crowd reaction. With 5 minutes to go Australia stormed back to try for that try they desperately needed. Can you image the reaction when Ireland broke free with a few minutes to go, raced down field and nearly scored. From that moment on all the crowd new Ireland were going to win.
So here are my game pics.

 
The Irish support in the crowd as intense. The build-up starts with the
national anthem. The crowd may not be singers but the Irish National
Anthem was certainly the loudest.

 
Ireland is on the paddock and the game has started to a deafening roar.

     
The crowd is a sea of green and yellow.


Minutes to go. Ireland ahead 15-6. Australia on attack. It was just minutes after
the scrum (right pic) that Ireland broke lose and play went down to the
Aussie end and from there it was game over..and..Irish supporters went ballistic.


Pictures show all.


I sat next to Irish supporters Jason and Gavin from Galway. Don’t mention
blind dwarves!!

 
Many Irish supporters stayed at the ground for what seemed ages after the
game. I thought…'Wouldn’t it be great if the Irish side reappeared’. And they did!!
Off went the Irish supporters again.

Out of the park and back up in Kingsland the party’s already started.
Crowds were going into the city by train to what I’d expect was going to
be the biggest Irish party of all time.

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: Ireland v Australia Pool C

17.09.2011

Venue: Eden Park, Auckland

Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)

Preview
The crunch game in this pool. Who wins this is virtually guaranteed a place in the quarter finals. If you lose you have your backs to the wall.

Australia did what they needed to do against Italy last weekend. Italy held well until halftime and then Australia unleashed all their skills and grunt to run away with the second half. It was that second half effort that reminded me why I'm picking this Australian team to one of the finalists.

Ireland is an interesting side. They got pushed and rushed all over the park by the USA last week in their opening game. The eventually held on to the win but this was one of those initial games whereby the minnows took on the big guns and fired well. This side today looks a more balanced side and without any injury worries Ireland will be placing its strongest side on the park.

One thing is for sure. Most of the Kiwi support will be for Ireland. Sorry Australia but when it comes to cousins in this case, Australia is one team the Kiwis love to hate. If Ireland even look like sneaking in for a try or if they actually take the lead, be sure for sure, Eden Park will erupt.

It'll be a cracker!

Previous Encounters
26.06.2010 Australia 22-15 in Brisbane
15.11.2009 Drawn 20-20 in Dublin
14.06.2008 Australia 18-12 in Melbourne
19.11.2006 Ireland 21-6 in Dublin
24.06.2006 Australia 37-15 in Perth

Previous World Cups
01.11.2003 Australia 17-16 in Melbourne
10.10.1999 Australia 22-3 in Dublin
20.20.1991 Australia 19-18 in Dublin
07.06.1987 Australia 33-15 in Sydney

Ireland is yet to defeat Australia at a World Cup tournament. There have been some close ones, and amazing games, as in 2003 and 1991.

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-Australia 2nd, Ireland 7th

IRB Ranking Points
Australia 88.84, Ireland 78.50

Prediction: Australia by 7

Teams

 



Australia15 Kurtley Beale, 14 James O'Connor, 13 Anthony Fainga'a, 12 Patrick McCabe, 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 10 Quade Cooper, 9 William Genia, 8 Radike Samo, 7 David Pocock, 6 Rocky Elsom, 5 James Horwill, Capt. 4 Daniel Vickerman, 3 Benjamin Alexander, 2 Stephen Moore, 1 Sekope Kepu.
Replacements16 Tatafu Polota Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Robert Simmons, 19 Benjamin McCalman, 20 Scott Higginbotham, 21 Luke Burgess, 22 Andrew Mitchell
Head Coach: Robbie Deans

Ireland15 Robert Kearney, 14 Thomas Bowe, 13 Brian O'Driscoll, Capt. 12 Gordon D'Arcy, 11 Keith Earls,
10 Jonathan Sexton, 9 Eoin Reddan, 8 James Heaslip, 7 Sean O'Brien, 6 Stephen Ferris, 5 Paul O'Connell, 5 Donncha O'Callaghan, 3 Michael Ross, 2 Rory Best, 1 Cian Healy.
Replacements16 Sean Cronin, 17 Thomas Court, 18 Donnacha Ryan, 19 Denis Leamy, 20 Conor Murray, 21 Ronan O'Gara, 22 Andrew Trimble
Head Coach: Declan Kidney

RUGBY WORLD CUP: The Eagles Face The Bears

15.09.2011 United States v Russia in New Plymouth (World Cup, Pool C)
Venue: Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
Referee: David Pearson (England)
Preview Russia will be making their World Cup debut today, the last team to start the 2011 Rugby World Cup Finals.They are a team with huge amounts of pride and commitment.
The Russians qualified for the Finals by being second in the European Nations Cup first round after a 25-25 all draw with Romania.
Russia finished last in the 2011 Churchill Cup after losing to todays opponent the USA. Since then their performances, against English and Welsh top club sides, have been less than impressive and it has been felt that of all the teams in this tournament they will struggle the most.
The USA has a strong record against Russia winning all four encounters to date.The Americans also has an advantage in that they have already played a match, a solid performance against the Irish.
I expect the USA to win but watch out for a good Russian showing. They will not be a pushover.
Previous Encounters Encounters 18.06.2011 USA 32-25 in Gloucester (Churchill Cup, Pool B)
05.06.2010 USA 36-22 in Glendale (Churchill Cup, Pool B)
30.05.2004 USA 41-14 in Tokyo (Superpowers Cup, Playoff 3rd-4th)
23.09.1998 USA 31-16 in Moscow (Soviet Sports Trophy)
GWC Rugby Rankings World Table-USA 17th, Russia 20th

IRB Ranking Points USA 65.00, Russia 61.93
Prediction: USA by 13 points
Teams


Russia 15 Igor Klyuchnikov, 14 Vladimir Ostroushko, 13 Konstantin Rachkov, 12 Alexey Makovetskiy, 11 Vasily Artemyev, 10 Yury Kushnarev, 9 Alexander Shakirov, 8 Vyacheslav Grachev, 7 Artem Fatakhov, 6 Andrey Garbuzov, 5 Denis Antonov, 4 Alexander Voytov, 3 Ivan Prishchepenko, 2 Vladislav Korshunov, Capt. 1 Sergey Popov.
Replacements
16 Valery Tsnobiladze, 17 Alexander Khrokin, 18 Vladmimir Botvinnikov, 19 Adam Byrnes, 20 Victor Gresev, 21 Alexander Yanyushkin, 22 Andrey Kuzin
Head Coach: Nik Nerush

United States 15 Christopher Wyles, 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya, 13 Paul Emerick, 12 Andrew Suniula, 11 James Paterson, 10 Roland Suniula, 9 Michael Petri, 8 Nicholas Johnson, 7 Todd Clever, Capt. 6 Louis Stanfill, 5 Hayden Smith, 4 John van der Giessen, 3 Matekitonga Moeakiola, 2 Christopher Biller, 1 Michael MacDonald.
Replacements
16 Philip Thiel, 17 Shawn Pittman, 18 Scott LaValla, 19 Patrick Danahy,
20 Timothy Usasz, 21 Nese Malifa, 22 Blaine Scully
Head Coach: Eddie O’Sullivan

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Australia v Italy

Here we go. All my pics Australia v Italy.
Sunday dawned with a good old Auckland Nor-easterly storm. Driving rain, just pelting down. Big change from the beautiful weather Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Still, that’s Auckland weather!

I got well prepared for a rainy day at the rugby. As it turned out the rain eased well before the 3:30 kick off time. We had a few angry clouds of rain and wind during the game, nothing serious.

The first group of rugby-mad enthusiasts I came across were these guys from Rivcoll Barracudas Rugby Club, Wagga Wagga, Australia. All dressed up and raring to go.

Next personality was Sam, a New Zealander with an Italian grandmother, the Martino family from Genoa. New Zealand has a very large Italian community.

A couple of female Wallabies complete with little Joey, see? Renee and Larissa from Melbourne getting into the spirit of the occasion plus equipped with reinforcement beverages.

Before the game it’s warm-up time for the Aussies with coach Robbie Deans getting moves right and supervising the warm-ups.
 
Shot of action during the game. Security guards at front getting in the way. Never mind. Their main job is to stop fans running onto the field, keep us off the seats when we get exciting and issue warnings to those who want to get a Mexican wave happening. No complaints. They are doing a job to ensure that families with kids enjoy the rugby without hassles.
A special mention here to the thousands of volunteers that have helped to make this rugby world cup happen. Example. I got off the bus Saturday from North Harbour Stadium into the city after the game. A fairly weary experience standing all the way. Off the bus I get, stop, sigh of relief whereupon a young uniformed volunteer quickly came to see if I was okay. How about that? Now that is looking after people.
Okay, that’s it as far as the rugby goes. My next game is this Saturday at Eden Park, Australia v Ireland. I’ll still post daily as I wander about this big city of Auckland.
PS. Special thanks to my lovely wife who has set up ‘Live Writer’ on her Mum’s computer. Ohhhhh!!! So much easier to post stuff on my blog.

RUGBY WORLD CUP RESULTS: Sunday 11 Sept.

11.09.2011
South Africa 17, Wales 16 in Wellington (World Cup, Pool D)
Australia 32, Italy 6 in Albany (World Cup, Pool C)
Ireland 22, United States 10 in New Plymouth (World Cup, Pool C)

BrieflyJust how much excitement can we take! I watched the SA v Wales game on TV last night after coming in from the Australia-Italy game. I watched the SA-Wales game live here on Maori TV with my ma-in-law. She NEVER watches the rugby but boy did we get excited watching this game. It was well past her bed-time when the game ended but we were both carrying on willing the Welsh (sorry SA supporters) underdogs to win. A win to Wales would have thrown this already open pool into wide-open status. Alas, South Africa dug deep into their reserves and with fresh replacement legs they scored an excellent try to win the game. After the game I was so tired I just went to bed!

I saw the Australia-Italy game. The match didn't quite have the same passion as the France-Japan game yesterday. The Italians in the crowd were certainly passionate and the New Zealanders certainly supported them. I have found the NZ crowds will support ANY team playing South Africa, Australia and England, especially the Australians. When it comes to rugby no love lost!

Australia deserved to win. They weren't brilliant but then neither were the Italians. Italy did well to be level 6-6 at halftime but the Australians wore them down in the second half to run away with the game. The main difference was in the backline. The Australians were just too slick. The Australian forward pack has certainly matured in the last year as I thought they held, and at times dominated, in the forwards. The Italian backs were too pedestrian, too predictable. Boy do they really need players with some skill and flare to compliment their forwards.

The other game yesterday, USA v Ireland, I didn't see but I understand the USA did well, gave the Irish a bit of a fright and commanded respect. This is what we have seen so far. Minor nations giving biff to teams well above their own ranking. Namibia commanded respect when they played Fiji on Saturday.

2011 Rugby World Cup: The Examination-Pool C

This is the second instalment of an examination of each nation in each pool at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

Pool C
Australia
Ireland
Italy
Russia
United States

The Certainties
Australia will make the Quarter finals, Russia and the United States will not.

Australia
I'm picking this team to be a real danger at this World Cup. And it's not because I live here. My heart is with the All Blacks. Always has. Always will be. Australia hasn't got it right yet. The scrum is a nightmare but oh those backs. They carved the French up like a hot knife through butter. This is still a young side lacking some real leadership in the backs and grunt up front. They need players like Al Baxter and Sterling Mortlock just to shore things up, provide a solid scrum and guide the backline, especially in defence.

Australia's defeat of New Zealand in Hong Kong served as a warning and just prior to that they let the All Blacks get away with a one point victory in Sydney after leading for most of the match. If Australia can play consistently for 80 minutes and string those efforts over several games they will be a real threat. Just like they were against France in November. I can see them going through this pool undefeated.

The first thing Australia has to do is for their Super 15 sides to do well in the new competition.This will give those younger players more confidence in one of the toughest rugby competitions around. Next they have to brush aside Samoa in July and either win the Tri Nations or come a close second. That will set them up nicely. Even if they don't do well in all the above areas I wouldn't right them off. New Zealand beware!

Russia
It is fantastic to have new blood in a Rugby World Cup. It can get a little boring seeing the same old teams at this event. The newcomers can stir up a fair bit of interest. Russia is doing that right now getting acquainted with heartland New Zealand in the middle of the New Zealand summer, where they are in training and holding training matches. They won their first one last week 33-13 against a Taranaki Invitation XV. So they are doing all the right things but I'm picking they will win hearts but not matches come the World Cup.

Russia competes in the European Nations Cup first division, or Division A, which is the tier below the Six Nations Championship. They reached the Rugby World Cup finals by coming second in this competition over its two-season duration. Georgia won the competition and also qualified. The Russians pushed the Romanians into third place and forced them to go through a tough repechage process to qualify . But Russia got their on their 2008-09 performances not their 2009-10 ones. In the last season they drew with Romania 21-21 and lost 8-36 to Georgia on neutral ground in Turkey. During the summer of 2010 Russia went to the Churchill Cup in the United States. They lost to the United States 22-36, England Saxons 17-49 but defeated Uruguay 38-19 in the playoff. Not really startling results. They lost a two-test series against Argentina Jaguars (B team) at home in October and Then ended 2010 on a disastrous note by losing 3-75 to Japan in Tokyo in November. Not what the Russians were looking for!

So what does Russia have to do between now and September 2011? Firstly they have to lead the ENC Division A first round being played in February and March. That means defeating Spain away, Portugal at home, Romania in Bucharest, Ukraine away and then Georgia at home (although I'm sure this will be played on neutral soil again). I don't know what warm-up matches the Russians have got planned for August but they'll need to win those as well. If Russia can manage all that they have a slight but realistic chance of defeating the USA. Anything less and solid showings against the others in this pool is the best Russia can expect.

United States
The Americans will be targeting Russia of course as a win. And they should win. They have qualified for every Rugby World Cup since 1991 without ever causing more than the odd ripple. They defeated Japan 24-18 in 1987, again 39-26 in 2003 but that has been it. They'll be looking to push the Irish to a close game at best. They might even catch the Italians napping if the Azurri have a horror match. So they will be targeting the Italians as well. Realistically, a win over Russia is probably as much as The USA will do.

The USA came a long way towards recovery in 2010 after some ordinary years going back to 2003. From 2003 to 2009 the Americans only won a handful of games and constantly played second fiddle to their northern cousins the Canadians. They have always been billed as the nation with so much rugby potential. But this has not eventuated until perhaps 2010. In the Churchill Cup the USA began with a good 36-22 win over Russia and then played well against the England Saxons before losing 9-32. In the plate final they found France 'A' too much in the end losing 10-24. But throughout they performed with credit. In November they toured Europe. They defeated Portugal 22-17, lost 0-21 to Scotland 'A' with virtually their B side and then pushed the Georgians 17-19 in Tblissi. The Georgians fielded their strongest side and so this was a good showing by the USA.

Where to from here with the United States of America? It looks like the Churchill Cup is getting axed after this year. It will be held in England so the USA will be off to Europe probably in June to play test rugby. I'd be expecting them to play some other test matches as well. My man in Japan Ian McDonnell, tells me that a test match between USA and Japan pre World Cup is on the cards. The USA will need to get into the 2011 Churchill Cup final and win any other Pre World Cup games to be taken seriously beyond defeating Russia at the 2011 Rugby World Cup

Ireland
Ireland only need to play to form and they should comfortable account for Russia and the United States, with Italy being their main hurdle to get to the quarter finals. Ireland has an ageing team and like England in 2003, will be relying on their old hands to get them anywhere near a Rugby World Cup final. I just can't see that happening. Getting past the quarter finals is something Ireland has never done and in 2007 they took a step backwards by not getting past the pool stages for the first time since 1987.

Ireland has a number of younger players who are beginning to blend into this experienced side. Players like Keith Earls, Luke Fitzgerald, Jonathan Sexton, Cian Healy, Devin Toner and Sean Cronin are Ireland's players of the future. But for this campaign its going to be the O'Driscolls, the O'Garas. the O'Callaghans, the Hayes, the Stringers and the Wallaces who will be this sides strength.

The heady days of Ireland's 2009 6 Nations Grand Slam appear over. In the 2010 6 Nations Championship a repeat of 2009 ended with a 10-33 drubbing by France, but then Ireland won well against England and Wales before falling to Scotland at home. Oh the disgrace! Over summer Ireland dropped their test matches to New Zealand and Australia, but picked up a good 29-9 win over Argentina at the end of a fairly ordinary November test series. Losses to New Zealand and South Africa in Dublin are not the results the Irish fans want and it appears their 2011 Rugby World Cup chances are slipping away.

Ireland will need to do extremely well in this years 6 Nations Championship for Ireland to keep faith with some of their old hands. This is not the time to be blooding new players but unless Ireland can lift its game in this competition new players will have to be taken to the World Cup. Ireland has a four-match warm-up programme in July and August. They will need to perform well for the fans to give the Irish much hope of getting past the quarter finals stage.

Italy
For the Italians the Rugby World Cup has never been a happy hunting ground. They have never got passed the pool stages and in 2011 they will need to defeat Ireland to get there. Is that possible? It could happen. But Italy will need to pull a game from heaven out of the hat to do that.

Italy has a pack that is often second to none on the world international rugby scene. This is the strength of their game. But this strength is in the set pieces, the scrum. With ball in hand they are not that lethal. They just make life extremely unpleasant for the opposing forwards in the tight. Around the paddock they have probably the world's best number eight in Sergio Parisse but apart from him this is not an area of strength. The backline is Italy's weakness. Their isn't anybody who really stands out. All that possession won and nobody knows what to do with it and they have a brittle defence system. That I'm afraid is Italy at the moment.

Italy's performances in 2010 reflect the weaknesses. Wins against Scotland and Fiji is all Italy has to show for the last twelve months. Somehow they are going to have to improve their 6 Nations performances in 2010 and defeat Scotland and either Ireland or Wales for them to have any hope of threatening the Irish at the 2011 Rugby World Cup. They will need to win their warm-up matches and go into the World Cup with form and confidence if they are to make history. At this stage I can't see it happening.

Tomorrow I'll look at Pool B