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Opinionated Rugby Commentary - by Fans for Fans
Spill what you really think about events in the rugby world.
Rugby World Cup 2011 - Quarter Final Round Up 6 views
10 October 2011 by The Swede Eaters
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Scotty Donaldson looks at the Quarter Finals and things that stood out for him.
The Rugby World Cup 2011 quarter-finals are over and the semi-finalists have been found with Wales and France playing in the Northern Hemisphere match, while Australia and New Zealand do battled in the other semi-final. There is plenty of food for thought.
1) What were Ireland doing against Wales? In wet and windy weather they selected specialist kicking pivot Ronan O'Gara and kept turning down penalty shots at goal. They did this three times against the brilliant rushing defence of Wales. No wonder they lost!
2) We are blessed with some great open-side flankers at this tournament with Sam Warburton and Sean O'Brien in the Wales vs Ireland match and David Pocock and Heinrich Brussouw in the Australia vs South Africa match. There is also a certain Richie McCaw to add to this great list of players.
3) It is brilliant that some genuine try scoring teams have made it to the semi-finals. In recent Rugby World Cups it is usual for the teams with the best goal kickers to make the finals, but in the tournament this year teams like New Zealand, Wales and Australia who were the top three points scoring teams in pool play, have made the semi-finals.
4) What is up with France? It is amazing to think that this team lost to Tonga a week ago. France usually have one good play-off match in their repertoire and fortunately for New Zealand fans it was England who suffered at the hands of the French. I must say that England have been scoring better off the field than on it.
5) Eccentric South African coach Peter De Villiers has quit as coach after his team lost to Australia in Wellington today. I think the Springboks were unlucky as they dominated the statistics and the match for long periods. Ironically you usually expect the opposition to throw everything at the Springboks and for the 2007 champions to absorb it through their defence and then kick goals to give them an unlikely win. The Springboks got some tough calls with a try disallowed for a forward pass and a couple of crucial turnovers allowed to happen by referee Bryce Lawrence that I thought looked illegal and should have been penalised. David Pocock was awesome in this match and must be a worry for the All Blacks next week. I also wonder why Morne Steyn took a penalty from the sideline just before halftime when James O'Connor's winning penalty was taken in fifteen metres from the sideline after the offending lineout. Is Bryce Lawrence the new Wayne Barnes for South Africa? I thought the Springboks deserved to win and played really well this tournament. Do the best teams always win Rugby World Cups?
6) Argentina have a brilliant defence and showed the All Blacks that they will be competitive when they join the Tri Nations.
7) What is with the mounting injury toll? The calls are out for a global rugby season with the Southern Hemisphere teams feeling the pinch of hosting a Rugby World Cup at the end of the regular season. There were three injuries to the All Blacks in their win over Argentina, while Heinrich Brussouw's injury was a huge blow to the Springboks chances against the Wallabies. Who wants the poison chalice of the New Zealand Number 10 jersey?
8) If you want spare tickets to the Rugby World Cup finals, it is worth hanging around the Fan Zone areas before kick off. I saw plenty of reduced to clear tickets available, while there were also plenty of empty seats in the stadiums. There were more people at some of the pool games than at the quarter-finals, with tickets selling for between $200-$500 which was too expensive for neutral New Zealand local fans. There is no sales website allowing people with tickets to get rid of their spares online, meaning that people have waited until they have been sure their team was appearing in that particular game before buying. It leaves some fans stuck with regular priced tickets that they can't get rid of. Who wants to pay $400 to watch a neutral game?
9) The television coverage of fullback Mils Muliaina being presented with his cap for playing 100 test matches for the All Blacks was poor. We saw the speech on television when Richie McCaw raised the ton two weeks ago, yet when his team mate Mils Muliaina achieved this feat he received far more attention. I am a big Mils fan after going to primary school with him and was really disappointed not to see his speech.
10) These four semi-finalists are the same four as made the semi-finals in the 1987 Rugby World Cup tournament. It is possible to get a repeat of the same final from that tournament and hopefully for New Zealand, they get the same result. The quarter-finals were also the worst nightmare for tipsters with only one pool winner making the semi-finals. Ironically, it has worked out better for Wales to finish second in their pool, while New Zealand and France were from the same pool. The All Blacks are the only team to not lose a match at the tournament yet.
Is Bryce Lawrence South Africa's Wayne Barnes? Do you agree with my points? Do the best teams always win Rugby World Cups?
rugbyworldcuptips.com
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