RUGBY WORLD CUP Day 3: Japan v France

I went to this game played at the North Harbour Stadium.

I was at the very first game North Harbour played as a new break-away union from Auckland. That was in 1985. Things have changed since then. Now the union is 27 years old and today they hosted their first World Cup Game.

I have been impressed with the transport organisation I have been involved in. I know there have been
complaints but none from me. Two buses and I was at the ground.

I didn't really know what to expect. After the amazing opening ceremony I think I was expecting a low-key affair. Wrong!! The ground was near full capacity and the splendor of Japanese and French colours and the spirit that the crowd entered into for this game was fantastic. I've now been to two 2011 World Cup events and they both now rank No.1 and No.2 experiences in my rugby life (My tour of Twickenham in April 2009 ranks third).

Japan were the favoured side by most New Zealanders who went there. Many Kiwis decked themselves out in Japanese supporters gear which was great. No disrespect intended against the French. I guess the Kiwis will always support the underdog. Unless, of course, that underdog is playing the All Blacks. Even then, as against Tonga, all due respect is given. It's what makes this game so unique. Am I wrong when I say you just don't get that in soccer. At any level? Not in my experience.

Good humour, enthusiasism and banter. This group epitomized the feeling outside the stadium.
These Japanese students were from Ryukyu University in southern Japan. In fact the Ryukyu islands are off the southern coast. So these boys had a fair bit of traveling to do to get here. Quickly joining them at the front was Yasim Carrio of France.

These two French supporters were Bono and Sebi, from Bordeaux, whose web site is www.Bono-Rugby.com. Its a free plug so go seek it out. I just loved the costumes!

Next were this group of French supporters from Lyon. Dun, Mullav, Kutch and Lolagz are members of the LOU rugby club in Lyon. Jeez! I though I came a distance from Tasmania, but these guys and the Japanese supporters. I take my hat off..cap actually.

Below are a series of pics from after the game and then on the streets in downtown Auckland after I got off the bus from North Harbour.

      

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: French Campaign Begins

10.09.2011
France v Japan in Albany (World Cup, Pool A)


Venue: North Harbour Stadium

Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)

Preview
I'm off soon to see this game. I lived much of my life from the teenage years on the North Shore but I have never been to this stadium, built after I moved to Australia.

I Love following the French rugby team. Brilliant one game, very ordinary the next. They are so unpredictable I don't think I have every made an accurate score prediction.

France are odds on favourite to cause some sort of stir and/or upset at this tournament. Today they face a Japanese side who come ito the tournament the underdog and with a mixed record.

Japan easily won the Asia 5 Nations tournament and then won the Pacific Nations tournament for the first time. Coach John Kirwan has this team running smoothly. A narrow 24-31 loss to Italy in one of its World Cup warm up games blotted the record book (and they lost to Samoa in the Pacific Nations). I'm not expecting a French loss and at best Japan could get to within 20 points.

France will field, predictably, a mixed team of experience and inexperience. They will want a good win to set up the big clashh against the All Blacks next weekend.

Previous Encounters
18.10.2003 France 51-29 in Townsville (World Cup, Pool D)
27.10.1973 France 30-18 in Bordeaux


GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-France 5th, Japan 12th

IRB Ranking Points
France 82.69, Japan 71.96

Prediction: France by 41 points

Teams

France15 Cedric Heymans, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Fabrice Estebanez, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Raphael Lakafia, 7 Imanol Harinordoquy, 6 Thierry Dusautoir, Capt. 5 Julien Pierre, 4 Lionel Nallet, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements
16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux, 18 Julien Bonnaire, 19 Pascal Papé, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 David Skrela, 22 David Marty
Head Coach: Marc Lievremont

Japan15 Shaun Webb, 14 Kosuke Endo, 13 Koji Taira, 12 Ryan Nicholas, 11 Hirotoki Onozawa, 10 James Arlidge, 9 Fumiaki Tanaka, 8 Ryukoliniasi Holani, 7 Michael Leitch, 6 Takashi Kikutani, Capt. 5 Toshizumi Kitagawa, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Kensuke Hatakeyama, 2 Shota Horie, 1 Hisateru Hirashima.
Replacements
16 Yusuke Aoki, 17 Nozomu Fujita, 18 Hitoshi Ono, 19 Itaru Taniguchi, 20 Atsushi Hiwasa, 21 Murray Williams, 22 Alisi Tupuailai.
Heaed Coach: John Kirwan

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

RUGBY WORLD CUP: New Zealand hold out Tonga

09.09.2011
New Zealand 41, Tonga 10 at Eden Park (World Cup, Pool A)

Briefly
New Zealand built up a very handy 29-3 lead at halftime and it looked as though they would post a huge score. But Tonga jumped into life after halftime and for much of the second half the dominated play and at one point were outscoring the All Blacks.

New Zealand would not have been pleased with their second half. They allowed the Tongans back into the game.

Tonga created a huge roar from the crowd when they scored their pick-and-drive try after a dozen drives. The All Blacks were never going to lose. Once the ball moved along their backline they looked very slick and dangerous.

Tonga can be proud of their effort, especially the second half. The Kiwis will need to do some soul searching if they are going to compete against the other big teams in this competition.

RUGBY WORLD CUP Day 2 Opening Ceremony Part 2

Nearly midnight and just back from the game.

That ceremony any the game would have to be THE rugby experience of my life time. It was just fantastic.

South African family in the pub in Kingsland. One of the temporary license pubs on the way. This family brought both their young boys with them to experience the Rugby World Cup. That's their little fella in front.

Lady on stilts.

Los Pumas about to enter the stadium.

Tongan band and music group outside the stadium. At this stage the crowds are pouring into the stadium. These groups were just outside the main entrance and a good crowd gathered to watch and applaud.

I'm seated at the Walters Street end of the stadium. Both teams line up for the haka.

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Tongan haka

And the All Black haka. This is what the crowds have come to see.

 Tonga has just scored their try. The Tongan group in the crowd went wild.

The Tongan team do a lap of honour and of appreciation to their faithful and noisy fans. A great gesture.

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The crowds pour out onto Sandringham Road. Many will catch trains into the city and party the night away. Groups of Tongan supporters make their way up Sandringham Road and are greeted with friendly banter and cheers from Kiwi supporters in the many pubs. It is all good fun and symbolizes the special relationship New Zealanders and Tongans share.

THE RUGBY Day 2: Opening Ceremony Part 1

Its all go here in Auckland.

This is the view from the railways station just east of Eden Park. Eden Park is just visible top left. I've just got off the train laden with hundreds of volunteers getting to the park early for the setting up. It's about 2:30pm NZ time. Without the army of volunteers this event just wouldn't happen. So on behalf of all the 60,000 fans turning up tonight, thanks to all the volunteers! (They are the ones in the sky blue outfits).

I'm staying with my son in his flat which is in the little suburban village of Kingsland, to the right. So lucky me I'm 10 minutes walk from Eden Park.

The main road in Kingsland is gearing up for the hundreds of people who will want some beverage and a snack before the game.

Which means I'm off to the opening ceremony and the game.

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Kia Ora. See ya. Go the All Blacks!

RUGBY WORLD CUP: Tonga v New Zealand

09.09.2011
Tonga v New Zealand (World Cup, Pool A)

Venue: Eden Park

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Preview
All rugby eyes will be on the opening game of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. 60,000 fans will cram Eden Park, 100,000 will be down town in Auckland City watching the game on seven huge screens, whilst millions of viewers world-wide will be glued to their TV's. It will be amazing!

The Tongan Sibu Tau war dance.

New Zealand is expected to win. Tonga has never come within shouting distance of the New Zealanders in three previous tests. History will repeat. For eighty minutes the All Blacks will be battered by a traditionally fierce Tongan defense that will only yield late in the game.

The Tongans will need to be careful. They cannot afford to lose players to yellow-red cards for indiscipline as they attempt to crash-tackle the Kiwis off their game. This team is more experienced that the one that defeated Fiji in the first Pacific Nations Cup and slightly more experienced that the side that drew one all with Fiji last month.

New Zealand coach Graham Henry has juggled his backline and selected a team more likely to stand up to the expected Tongan onslaught rather than his first choice players. Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams are there to take (and give) the big tackles. Expect Carter and McCaw to be replaced once the Black team is rolling.

It's going to be a great game and I expect New Zealand to win comfortably in the end. That won't disappoint the Tongan fans who will stream into Eden Park draped in red and who will leave in party mood.

Previous Encounters
24.10.2003 New Zealand 91-8 in Brisbane (World Cup, Pool D)
17.06.2000 New Zealand 102-0 in Albany
03.10.1999 New Zealand 45-9 in Bristol (World Cup, Pool B)

GWC Rugby Rankings
World Table-New Zealand 2nd, Tonga 14th
Oceania Table-New Zealand 1st, Tonga 4th

IRB Ranking Points
New Zealand 91.64, Tonga 71.17

Prediction: New Zealand by 40 points

Teams

New Zealand
15 Israel Dagg, 14 Richard Kahui, 13 Ma'a Nonu, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Isaia Toeava, 10 Daniel Carter, 9 James Cowan, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Richie McCaw, Capt. 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Alistair Williams,
4 BradleyThorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements
16 Corey Flynn, 17 Benjamin Franks, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Samuel Whitelock, 20 Piri Weepu, 21 Colin Slade, 22 Cory Jane.
Head Coach: Graham Henry

Tonga
15 Vunga Lilo, 14 Viliame Iongi, 13 Suka Hufanga, 12 Andrew Ma'ilei, 11 Siale Piutau, 10 Kurt Morath,
9 Taniela Moa, 8 Viliami Ma'afu, 7 Finau Maka, Capt. 6 Sione Kalamafoni, 5 Joseph Tu'ineau, 4 Paino Hehea, 3 Taufa'ao Filise, 2 Aleki Lutui, 1 Soane Tonga'uiha.
Replacements
16 Ephraim Taukafa, 17 Alisona Taumalolo, 18 Kisi Pulu, 19 Sione Timani, 20 Samiu Vahafolau, 21 Samisoni Fisilau, 22 Alipate Fatafehi.

Head Coach: 'Isitolo Maka

THE RUGBY DAY 1

Welcome to Day 1, Thursday 7 September. I'm Gary Carbines and I'm one of the lucky ones that actually gets to go the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

The above pic is of the side of a building in downtown Auckland. This place means business.

I arrived in Auckland Wednesday late. Today Thursday I picked up my tickets and also bought 3 more. Not happy about the lack of signage to where in Sky Tower you actually get the tickets and then the 1 hour + wait was annoying but then you get to people in the queue.

As I walked up the main street, Queens Street, I just happen to bump into a few All Blacks doing their promo thing. The van caught my attention firstly.

Plenty of support for Samoa and Tonga. Auckland is home to a large community of Tongan and Samoan families. The rivalry on the streets of Auckland is fierce but respectful.

The living statue. This guy caused a good audience. Lots of different poses.

The atmosphere in downtown Auckland is fantastic.

I met this group of French supporters on Queen's Wharf. This is where the action will be for those who can't get to tomorrows opening ceremony and first game, New Zealand v Tonga. They expect some 50,000 people downtown to watch the game while 60,000 of us cram into Eden Park.

On the wharf itself is the Pacific Showcase. An inside as a whole range of products and entertainment from the Pacific Islands.











Yours truly trying a Rarotongan dish; raw tuna, corrianda, parsley and cucumber. Delicious!

Huge rugby ball at Queen's Wharf.

 

Very tasty no crap beer.

Lots of flags and colour on the streets of Auckland.

I'm not able to use my normal blog editor as I'm using other people's PCs during my stay. So please excuse any jumping pictures and skew-wiff text.

Next I will start previewing the matches. But today I just spent the day soaking up the atmosphere.

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)

FRANCE 2011 RUGBY WORLD CUP SQUAD

Forwards

Fabien Barcell
Julien Bonnaire
Luc Ducalcon
Thierry Dusautoir (captain)
Imanol Harinordoquy
Guilhem Guirado
Nicolas Mas
Romain Millo-Chluski
Raphael Lakafia
Lionel Nallet
Fulgence Ouedraogo
Pascal Pape
Louis Picamoles
Julien Pierre
Jean-Baptiste Poux
William Servat
Dimitri Szarzewski.

Backs
Vincent Clerc
Patrice Estebanez
Cedric Heymans
David Marty
Maxime Medard
Maxime Mermoz
Alexis Palisson
Morgan Parra
Aurelien Rougerie
David Skrela
Damien Traille
Francois Trinh-Duc
Dimitri Yachvili

Head Coach: Marc Lievremont

Who Got Left Out
35 year old veteran Sylvain Marconnet, Thomas Domingo and veteran Sebastien Chabal. Also missing is centre Mathieu Bastareaud

France Lead-Up Matches

20.08.2011 v Ireland W 26-22 in Dublin (World Cup Warm-up)
13.08.2011 v Ireland W 19-12 in Bordeaux (World Cup Warm-up)
19.03.2011 v Wales W 28-9 in Paris (6 Nations)
12.03.2011 v Italy L 21-22 in Rome (6 Nations)
26.02.2011 v England L 9-17 at Twickenham (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)

TEST RUGBY: Sweden Wins Viking Tri Nations

03.09.2011
Sweden 18, Norway 7 in Bergen (Tri Nations)

Briefly
The score line was a lot closer than I predicted. We know the Swedish side was without a number of top players. Sweden wins the trophy but a good showing by Norway who are placed well below Sweden in the rankings.

Scoring
Norway: 1 try ( Tirikula ) + 1 conversion
Sweden: 2 tries ( Arvidsson, Murphy), 1 conversion, 2 penalties.
from http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3851

‘Norway played very well today, and managed to face Sweden almost until the end. Norway has maybe a fitness issue that they must fix if they want to be able to hold them for 80 minutes, otherwise, we saw a better Norwegian rugby today, That's encouraging for the match against Denmark that will count double: both for European Nations Cup and Viking Tri-Nations. For both, the coming game will be to avaoid the last place’.
And other details from http://www.norgesrugby.no/results-feeds/614-norway-vs-sweden-tri-nations-match-report

VIKING TRI NATIONS RUGBY: Norway faces Sweden

03.09.2011
Sweden v Norway in Bergen (Viking Cup)

Venue: Fana Stadium

Referee:

Preview
In the first match of this new series, Sweden easily defeated Denmark 55-15 in Stockholm back in April. A win today would give the trophy to Sweden.

These two teams are ranked well apart with Norway playing in European Nations Cup Division 2C, whilst Sweden plays in ENC 2A, three divisions above. They last played a test against each other in 2000, a World Cup qualifying match.

Sweden’s coach Mike Tatu has been forced to leave out a number of experienced players due to injury and he has not included a number of England-based players. This gives an opportunity for a few younger players to make their test debut.

See also
http://www.norgesrugby.no/viking-tri-nations
http://iof3.idrottonline.se/SvenskaRugbyforbundet/Landslagen/Herrlandslagen/Aktuellt/HerrXVsmaskadorokarchansernaforungdomarna/

Last Five Encounters
28.10.2000 Sweden 44-3 in Enkoping (FIRA Pool 2; WCQ Europe R1)
29.04.2000 Sweden 91-0 in Vanerborg (FIRA Div.3)
26.09.1992 Sweden 98-0 in Aalborg (FIRA C1; Nordic Cup)
30.09.1990 Sweden 60-3 in Toijala (FIRA C1; Nordic Cup)
10.10.1987 Sweden 49-0 in Eskilstura (Nordic Cup)

GWC Rugby Rankings
Europe Table-Sweden 18th, Norway 33rd

IRB Ranking Points
Sweden 50.99, Norway 35.43

Prediction: Sweden by 35 points

Teams

Norway Squad
Thomas Bichard Breaud (Oslo RK)
Kristoffer Borsheim (Stavanger RK)
James Buncle (Civic RFC London, England)
Joseph Bula (Gloppen RK)
Wesley Chibaya (Tønsberg RK)
Shelton Davis (Tønsberg RK)
Alexander Diessner (Stavanger RK)
Even Ellingsen (Blindern RK)
Timothy Greer (Blindern RK)
Bjørn Håkon Varpe (Sunnmøre RK)
Andrei Hanger (Cheltenham Saracens RFC, England)
Samuel Hedger (Sunnmøre RK)
David Hume (Bergen RK)
Thomas Kjøniksen (Fredrikstad RK)
Kim-Robin Petterson (Horten RK)
Sakaraia Ravonkula (Bergen RK)
Aleksander Rønning (Fredrikstad RK)
Stian Røstberg (Bergen RK)
Stewart Smiler (Stavanger RK)
Villiame Tirikula (Tønsberg RK)
Michal Urbanski (Bergen RK)
Axel Wilhelmsen (Durham Univ, England / Oslo RK)
Head Coach: Gareth Gunter

http://www.norgesrugby.no/national-teams/613-2011-men-selection-3rd-september-sweden

Sweden Squad
Emil Andersson (HRC Gripen) New cap
Thomas Arvidsson (Fredriksberg, Denmark)
Ivar Bengtsson (Hammarby IF)
Peter Blaha (IF Attila)
Tobias Borg (Enköpings RK)
Hannes Eriksson (Stockholm Exiles RFC)
Robin Fransson (Vänersborgs RK)
Ian Gowland (Stockholm Exiles RFC)
Rikard Johansson (Hammarby IF)
Oscar Lechner (Stockholm Exiles RFC) New Cap
Eirik Lundqvist (Enköpings RK)
Conor Murphy (HRC Gripen)
Bobby Nave (Enköpings RK)
Daniel Nissila (IF Attila)
Stefan Obradovic (IF Attila)
Sami Paulsson (Enköpings RK)
Simon Pierce (Stockholm Exiles RFC) New Cap
Emil Sandberg (Stockholm Exiles RFC) New Cap
Lee Sandberg (Cambridge RUFC, England)
Paul Sullivan (Stockholm Exiles RFC)
Alexander Taylor (Hammarby IF)
Carl Ulander (Stockholm Exiles RFC) New Cap
Jim Wetterström (Enköpings RK)
Peter Wiklund (Vänersborgs RK)
Rikard Örnberg (Hammarby IF)
Head Coach: Mike Tatu

http://iof3.idrottonline.se/SvenskaRugbyforbundet/Landslagen/Herrlandslagen/Aktuellt/HerrXVsmaskadorokarchansernaforungdomarna/

Special thanks to ‘Quentin’ at http://www.fira-aer-rugby.com/forum2007/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3851