Rugby World Cup 2011 review

THE seventh IRB Rugby World Cup concluded with the right result at the weekend; a victory for the tournament hosts.  New Zealand ended 24 years of hurt, misery and underachievement at rugby’s top level with an 8-7 triumph in the final against France on Sunday at Eden Park.  It was a successful campaign for the All Blacks, but just how good was the 2011 showpiece. . .

Good, but not great

ALTHOUGH there were some shock results and the second-rate teams did better in restricting the heavy landslide scores that are normally associated in the pool stages, the quality of rugby in 2011 had decreased on 2007.  The 07 tournament saw plenty of memorable matches, terrific tries and some sensational scalps.  It didn’t happen this time around, for a variety of reasons.  Teams seemed to focus more on defensive, rather than attacking rugby.  This meant a lack of try-scoring activity, especially in the knockout stages and aside from Tonga’s pool win over France and Ireland humbling Australia, the expected results took their course without too much distress.  There were close scrapes along the way; as Wales pushed the world champions South Africa all the way, Canada beat Tonga and gave France a match and both Romania and Georgia came within an inch of upsetting Scotland, but the 2011 edition will not be remembered for the underdog’s success.

A nation reborn

EXAMPLE: Captain McCaw led New Zealand's road to glory

NEW Zealand’s success in the final completes a proper story, at a time where depression is in the news a lot.  The country has had to deal with a horrible year, which has including a mining disaster and the devastating earthquake in Christchurch back in February.  Finally, the rugby team have managed to put smiles on the Kiwi public, which has had a lot of trauma to put up with this year.  By far, this isn’t the greatest All Blacks side ever put together, but what it does have is not just the abundance to turn on the style, but hold on when it needed to.  Consistently, they played the best rugby over the six weeks, delivered when it counted and got the ultimate prize at the end, a deserved reward for a nation that can feel reborn on its success.

What went wrong for England?

EVERYTHING pretty much went wrong for England; their time in New Zealand was a disaster.  The players have to take the blame for some average performances.  The first half nightmare in the quarter-final against France finally sealed their fate.  Martin Johnson will probably pay for the lack of performance, with his job.  The media didn’t help the team either, with some unsavoury headlines about late night antics involving Mike Tindall.  The team were allowed to enjoy themselves, but maybe they did it too much.  Words fail me with what Manu Tuliagi was thinking when he decided to jump off a ferry even after elimination.  Johnny Wilkinson looked well past his best, Matt Stevens is a liability and indiscipline cost the team on the pitch too, with both Courtney Laws and Dylan Armitage serving suspensions after being reported.  The RFU has to produce an urgent review into the failings of the side and on the evidence of this tournament; England will do well to retain the Six Nations title next spring.

Other disappointments

SCOTLAND had a challenging pool and didn’t get any luck against England and Argentina when they needed it the most.  However, they only scored four tries in four matches and didn’t make the quarter-finals for the first time in RWC history.  Another disappointment was Fiji, who laboured past Namibia, then were simply dreadful against Wales, South Africa and Samoa.  They were expected to challenge seriously for a quarter-final berth, but it never materialised.  Defending champions South Africa looked like a side that was past its best and Peter de Villers has quit off the back of failing to retain the trophy.  Finally, despite reaching the last four, Australia never looked convincing either.  The Aussies have a promising crop of young players and were also desperately unlucky with injuries throughout, but they didn’t hit the heights they looked capable of from the Tri Nations series.  Perhaps this tournament was a bit too soon for the current young generation.  However, the Aussies must continue to invest in this development, as it might make them favourites to regain the trophy in four years time.

Redemption for France

FRENCH rugby looked to be in yet another crisis, especially after that shocking defeat to Tonga in the pool stages.  They scraped into the quarter-finals, but while the rugby experts continue to write them off, I never did that.  They saved their best performance for the final and came within an inch of causing their own upset and clinching the golden prize for the first time.  Three weeks ago, the French deserved to fly home in standard class to a chorus of boos at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris.  Now, they return to their homeland as heroes.  Rugby can be a fickle game at times!

Argentina perform at the highest level

AT LAST, Argentina has got into the Four Nations, formerly known as the Tri Nations next year.  I’m sure South Africa, Australia and New Zealand will appreciate the extra competition, if not the daunting trip to Buenos Aires.  Unfortunately, I do feel this decision has come four years too late.  The Pumas may have not looked at their best, as they did in 2007, but a run to the quarter-finals, giving the All Blacks their most challenging encounter until the final showed that progress has been sustained at least.  The story of the South Americans is once again, among the success stories of a Rugby World Cup.

Improvements from the ‘B’ teams

DELIRUM: Canada surprised Tonga in the pool stages

NAMIBIA aside, there was some great performances from the lower-ranked sides.  Canada beat Tonga and pushed France all the way, Samoa came within an inch of shocking South Africa and even though they didn’t win any matches, the flamboyant Japanese side won many fans in New Zealand.  So did debutants Russia, whose defending was pretty abysmal, but didn’t mind giving it a go and scored tries in all of their four pool matches, including 22 points against Australia.  There was the occasional thrashing, but the days of regular landslide scores in the pool stages of the Rugby World Cup is a thing of the past.

The Welsh journey

TURNED: The Welsh dream ended with this cruel red card for Warburton

NEW Zealand might be world champions, but the story of the Rugby World Cup is the rebirth of Welsh rugby.  Warren Gatland’s side returned with a fourth placed finish and had it not been for a diabolical decision to send off Captain Sam Warburton in the semi-final against France, it could have been even better.  The youngsters in the Welsh pack are incredibly talented and they showed that in abundance.  The likes of Faletau, Halfpenny and Warburton also brought the best out of the experienced players such as Shane Williams.  Wales have now given themselves a massive platform to build on and start February’s Six Nations as overwhelming favourites.  Previously the laughing stock of Northern Hemisphere rugby, they have to be taken seriously now as leading lights in world rugby.

So there you have it, six weeks of cracking rugby is over.  The atmosphere was electric and New Zealand lived up to the billing, being absolutely sensational hosts of the premier competition in world rugby.  The action might not have lived upto the standard of 2007, but there are still many fond memories for fans to take away, especially for the hosts, who can once again claim to be, world champions.