English rugby exposed by embarrassing media leaks

AFTER three and a half years in one of the most pressurised hotseats in sport, Martin Johnson elected to stand down as England’s rugby union coach last week.  Johnson, who had no previous coaching experience before this role has made the decision after a dismal World Cup in New Zealand, which included off-field issues involving captain Mike Tindall and Manu Tuliagi jumping off a ferry.  Quarter-final elimination at the hands of France was the final straw for Johnson, whose decision gives Rob Andrew and the RFU the chance to find a replacement in time for next year’s Six Nations.

     At a press conference to explain his decision, Johnson said; “While we’ve had our most successful season with ten wins from 13, we are disappointed with how we ended it with the World Cup.  I think it’s the right decision at this time.  It’s a thoughtful and considered opinion.”  On Twitter, former England captain Will Carling was disappointed with the final outcome; “Sad for MJ, the man was an awesome player, an incredible captain and one of the greatest England players.” 

RESIGNING: Martin Johnson has decided to leave after World Cup failure

      As a player, Martin Johnson had considerable success with Leicester Tigers at club rugby level and England on the international stage.  He won 84 caps in test rugby, with the big moment seeing Johno captaining England to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup.  In his 38 game reign as coach, he only won 21, coming out with a 55 per cent win conversion since succeeding Brian Ashton in 2008.  Under Johnson, England did beat Australia home and away last summer and won the Six Nations in 2011 for the first time in eight years, but even that success was tempered by being denied the Grand Slam in Dublin by Ireland.

      Rob Andrew now needs to look for a replacement, but that looks like being a difficult challenge.  New Zealand World Cup winning coach Graeme Henry ruled himself out of the running in midweek, saying he only wants to be involved in an advisory role with a Heineken Cup team.  Jake White, who won the Webb Ellis Trophy with South Africa in 2007 and former England boss Sir Clive Woodward have already said they aren’t interested in taking over the reins.  The favourite with many seems to be Northampton Saints coach Jim Mallander, who already looks after the careers of England stars such as Chris Ashton.  Mallander has indicated that he is interested in the role, but the RFU seem reluctant at the moment to make a decision.

       What seems to be a more pressing concern for the RFU is the damming leak to The Times newspaper of player comments made by the squad during the disaster in New Zealand.  The leak contains information that would normally be handled in a confidential manner and will leave Andrew being asked some serious questions over his already tricky position.  We don’t know how much The Times got hold of, nor how many players views have been published, but some of the comments below make for grim reading for the RFU;

“The man-management was absolutely terrible.”

“There wasn’t enough focus on basic skills.”

“I really can’t believe we lasted as long as we did in the tournament. We played like c##p.”

“To go into World Cup games not having a game-plan, any structure or clear idea of what we were going to do in attack was astonishing.”

“Coaches did not put enough trust in players on the field.”

“We just wanted Johno to have the b######s to take action, especially after the Tindall night. He was too loyal and that was his downfall.”

“It was amazing how some players who couldn’t play due to an injury were doing back flips into the swimming pool and playing golf.”

“It’s our own fault we came back so unpopular.”

That is only a selection of what has been released, but it is hugely embarrassing for everyone connected with English rugby.  At a time where there is no structure in place, players are trying to win back reputation and multi-million sponsorship contracts from the likes of Nike and O2 waiting for urgent renewal, this comes at the worst possible time.

      While we say goodbye to Martin Johnson and wish him the best for the future, English rugby has got a lot of soul searching to do in the nine weeks before the start of the 2012 RBS Six Nations.

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.

Rugby World Cup Final 2011 - The All Blacks end the barren run

CELEBRATION: The wait is finally over for New Zealand

THEY have waited 24 years and had to deal with a serious of near-misses and underachieving teams.  However, good things do come to those who wait and New Zealand can claim to be world champions for the first time since 1987.  Infront of a passionate and willing home crowd, they edged out France this morning 8-7 to win the Rugby World Cup final and claim the Webb Ellis Trophy for the second time.  It was a closely fought and intense final, even if it lacked clear try-scoring opportunities and free flowing rugby.  It was a penalty early in the second half from fly-half Stephen Donald that ultimately proved to be the difference.

      Going into the final showpiece and many fans and rugby experts had already written France off.  They had lost embarrassingly to Tonga three weeks ago in the pool stages and have struggled as a unit to gel properly Down Under.  Meanwhile, the All Blacks were quietly confident after their semi-final demolition of Australia last weekend.  However, this new crop of stars was wary of the potential for an upset; as France had knocked them out sensationally of two tournaments in the past; 1999 and 2007.  They were also the last side to beat New Zealand in rugby internationals at Eden Park, Auckland – way back in 1994.

      The opening stages promised much for the Northern Hemisphere side, but just like in the earlier pool match between these sides, it was the Kiwis who brokethrough first.  Veteran prop Tony Woodcock, who had been part of the side that experienced that quarter-final heartbreak in Cardiff four years ago, charged through a gap in the French defence from a well-worked lineout.  Within 12 minutes, the favourites were infront and the fears of the potential demolition people had forecasted before kick-off might have been realised.  Luckily for France, Piri Weepu had a dreadful night with the boot; missing with all three of his early kicks, including the conversion for Woodcock’s try. 

     Meanwhile, fly-half’s in the match kept getting injured left, right and centre.  France’s no.10, Morgan Parra was forced out of the game, thanks to a head injury.  Moments later, Donald, who wasn’t even in New Zealand’s RWC squad at the start of the competition, got his chance when Aaron Cruden was carried off the pitch by the New Zealand physio with what looked like a serious knee injury.  First choice fly-half’s Dan Carter and Colin Slade had already been sidelined during the tournament by injury.  Early after the restart and Donald kicked a simple penalty over the posts to install an eight point lead.

      However, France kept battling and produced their best performance of the tournament by a long distance.  They ended up setting up a nervous last half-hour for the hosts, producing the best piece of rugby in the match which resulted in a try for the captain, Thierry Dusatoir.  However, Francois Trinh-Duc missed a long-range penalty in the last ten minutes and the hosts grimly held on for a famous and deserved victory.

     For France, it was a disappointing end to a tremendous effort, which not only won the respect of the crowd in Eden Park, but won them back both pride and redemption after their nightmarish string of performances in the pool stages.  Unlike their defeats in the finals of 1987 and 1999, they can hold their heads up high at giving it everything and pushing the favourites all the way.

DELIVERED: Richie McCaw and his team came through for a nation

     It was left to Prime Minister John Key to hand the golden trophy to New Zealand captain and one of the best flankers to have ever played the game, Richie McCaw.  McCaw joins the likes of Francois Pienaar, John Eales and Martin Johnson who have had the honour of lifting aloft the Webb Ellis Trophy, alongside colourful fireworks, pyrotechnics and an electric singing performance from the voice of this World Cup, Hayley Westerna.  For New Zealand the rugby team, they were the best side in the six weeks of competition and this time, they delivered for a public who craved another rugby success.  For New Zealand the nation, it is a fitting triumph for a country that had to deal with the River Pike mining tragedy and the devastating earthquake in Christchurch back in the spring.  Now, they have something to smile about.

      So, thank you New Zealand for putting on a spectacular show and congratulations to the All Blacks, fitting winners of the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup.

Rugby World Cup 2011 - Sorry England go home

QUARTER-FINAL weekend at the 2011 Rugby World Cup provided some great stories, some emotional heartbreak and some graceful and emotional goodbyes.  For England, they don’t fit into any of these categories.

     The death knell in their torrid time in New Zealand came to a painful conclusion at Eden Park on Saturday.  Their worst performance in the competition since the inaugural 1987 tournament was sealed by a 19-12 defeat at the hands of France.  Actually, the scoreline reflects quite positively on England, but if anyone had watched the game, they would have seen that the French were completely on top for 90 per cent of the encounter.  After a flying opening, the English failed to score a point and paid for a number of issues with their basic game.  Some woeful tackling, poor discipline and iffy handling came together to give the French a 16-0 half-time lead.  

DECISIVE: Maxime Medard's try ended England's sorry adventure

     The dangerous Vincent Clerc and Maxime Medard both crossed the try line as for the first time in this tournament; France looked like a decent side, which I had sadly predicted previously.  Matt Dawson; scrum-half in the 2003 winning England team summed it up on BBC Radio 5 Live; “England were blown away in the first half and probably got a proper telling off.  They came out with a little more pace and precision, but they made too many mistakes with knock-ons, penalties and turnovers.”  Ben Foden and Mark Cueto highlighted a slight improvement from England in the second half with tries, but the damage had already been done.  Martin Johnson has refused to answer questions about his future as head coach, but this tournament has been a flopping disaster.  The RFU has insisted it will hold a review into the shambles of this Rugby World Cup.  I hope Johnson keeps his job, but unfortunately, coaches are judged on World Cup success, not autumn internationals and Six Nations championships.  His future is looking very bleak.  To finish matters off, Manu Tuliagi, who had been one of the bright sparks in this dreary campaign, was arrested by police after deciding on Sunday night to jump off a ferry!  It cost him £3,000 for a stupid, daft and foolish piece of behaviour and sadly, if players do this, the media has every right to crucify them.  England have arrived home, a far sorrier and unruly bunch than it was when they left these shores at the end of August.

     Whilst England headed for the airport, Welsh fans were beginning to move from Wellington to Auckland for a World Cup semi-final.  Since that agonising opening weekend defeat to South Africa, the Welsh have been getting better and better.  They are a team that is gelling together at just the right, decisive moment.  Their first semi-final since 1987 was sealed by a very impressive 22-10 triumph against Ireland in what was the best quarter-final of the weekend.  Shane Williams put Wales infront after just two minutes and the Irish resistance got blown away by second half tries from Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies.  At the start of the second half, Keith Earls had pushed Ireland onto level terms with his sixth try of the competition.  However, as the game wore on, the Irish began to run out of legs and the young, fresher Welsh squad prevailed.  It marks the end for a golden Irish generation, with the likes of Ronan O’Gara, Paul O’Connell and Brian O’Driscoll surely set for retirement now.  Ireland gave it their all, but it wasn’t enough on the day.  Although the final result was devastating for them, they made their mark in this competition by shocking Australia in the pool stages, so they shouldn’t be too disheartened.  Wales go from strength to strength and will fancy their chances against the unpredictable French on Saturday of making a Rugby World Cup final for the first time.

PACKING: JP Pietersen reflects on South Africa's painful defeat

     Sunday’s second semi-final will be between old rivals, Australia and New Zealand.  The Wallabies somehow managed to send the defending champions South Africa packing on Sunday morning.  They won 11-9 in a game full of bruising tackles and competitive build-up play, but lacked clinical scoring opportunities.  The only try of the match came early on, courtesy of Australia skipper James Horwill.  Afterwards, a heroic rearguard action by the Australians was enough to restrict the Springboks to kicking attempts.  Fly-half Morne Steyn sent over two penalties and a drop goal, which did have his side 9-8 in the lead with eight minutes remaining.  However, winger James O’Connor responded for Australia, with a brilliant penalty kick from near his own half to seal the victory for the Wallabies.  The Springboks will be wondering how they managed to have so much possession, yet lose the match, equalling their worst performance in RWC history, which was back in 2003.  It means that still no-one has ever managed to retain the Webb Ellis Trophy.  Coach Peter de Villers hailed an ‘incredible journey,’ but made an emotional goodbye to the job he loved in the post-match press conference.  Like Johnson, his failure to bring the big trophy home will be sadly what he will be remembered for in South Africa.

     As expected, New Zealand saw off a brave Argentina outfit, although the final 33-10 scoreline did flatter them.  Nerves looked to have got the better of the All Blacks, infront of an expected crowd and they trailed early on through Julio Farias Cabello’s try.  Gradually though, the Pumas resistance was worn away by the cup favourites.  Seven penalties from Piri Weepu showed that there is life after the much missed Dan Carter before tries in the last quarter from Kieran Read and Brad Thorn made the game safe.  Felipe Contepomi bids farewell to the rugby stage, after three World Cups where he showed that he was one of the best players to have graced the game in modern times.  Argentina were rightly praised by Graeme Henry, the New Zealand coach for the tough encounter he got and the South Americans can look forward to joining the former Tri-Nations series alongside South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in the newly named Four Nations next summer.

     So, four sides now remain after an intense quarter-final weekend.  All English fans will be gutted by this shameful early exit, but I urge them now to back Wales all the way!  Let’s see what France, Australia and New Zealand have to say about it in what is bound to be an even tenser semi-final weekend coming up.

QUARTER-FINAL RESULTS: Ireland 10-22 Wales, England 12-19 France, South Africa 9-11 Australia, New Zealand 33-10 Argentina

SEMI FINALS

Wales v France, Auckland – Saturday 15 October (9am) live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD

Australia v New Zealand, Auckland – Sunday 16 October (9am) live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD

Rugby World Cup 2011 - Scottish hearts broken by Ashton

THE pool stages at the 2011 IRB Rugby World Cup are over and so are the hopes of twelve teams who were dreaming of reaching the final.  Quarter-final weekend will ultimately see eight of the top nine sides in the IRB rankings do battle; Ireland, England, South Africa, New Zealand, Wales, Argentina, Australia and France.  The team missing out is Scotland, who lost their proud record of having at least made the last eight of every Rugby World Cup competition. 

CRUSHED: Ashton finally put the knell in Scotland's hopes

    For a while on Saturday morning, it looked like the impossible might become possible, as Dan Parks kicked Scotland into a 12-3 lead against England in Auckland.  However, the English dug in throughout another scrappy performance from our boys.  Once again, Johnny Wilkinson had a shocking day with his kicking and surely, Martin Johnson has to consider picking Toby Flood as his no.1 choice at fly-half.  In the end, it was Chris Ashton who once again managed to bail out England.  Trailing 9-12 with three minutes remaining, Ashton finished off the one flowing move England were able to put together in the entire match.  It makes him the leading try scorer in the tournament and earnt us a 16-12 triumph.  It comes at a cost; with a dangerous tackle on Chris Patterson, Dylan Armitage was cited and since been banned from this weekend’s quarter-finals.  Scotland has been unlucky at the tournament, but when you fail to score any tries against Argentina, Georgia and England, I’m afraid it has to be an early flight home.

UPSET: Tonga celebrate a historic victory over the dismal French

     It could be worse, as you could be French at the moment.  They may be in the last eight again, but at the height of a national embarrassment.  They were dominated by a resolute and magnificent Tonga in Wellington and fell to a 19-14 defeat; one of the biggest upsets in Rugby World Cup history.  Only a late try from Francois Clerc was even enough for Les Bleus to secure the losing bonus point.  The French have looked atrocious from their opening match, but knowing them, they have a performance in them, so England shouldn’t take them too lightly.  For Tonga, victory meant like winning the World Cup to them.  It secures them an automatic place for the 2015 finals, at Canada’s expense.  However they will be regretting the loss to the Canadians, otherwise they would be deservedly in the last eight.  Unless they progress on Saturday, France’s rugby players deserve similar treatment to their football counterparts in the 2010 football World Cup; fly home in standard class!

     New Zealand received a hammer blow as arguably, the best player in the world at the moment, Dan Carter was ruled out of the tournament.  He looked in agony and limped away in tears after an Achilles tendon ruptured finished the 29-year’s old participation in his home tournament.  You wonder whether this is his last attempt at the World Cup, after injury ruined his 2007 campaign too.  The All-Blacks didn’t need him against Canada though, cruising to a comprehensive 79-15 victory, scoring twelve tries in the process.  Four of these came from Zac Guildford, while Miles Muliana returned from injury to cross once in his 99^th test for the hosts.  We’ll see how much Carter’s absence will now affect the New Zealand squad and also, the fans. 

    Wales banished their nightmare of Nantes 2007 in their revenge rematch against Fiji.  Samoa’s luckless and narrow defeat to world champions South Africa on Friday meant a bonus point was only required for the Welsh to progress.  The potential banana skin turned into a no contest encounter, with the Welsh cantering to 66-0 annihilation in Hamilton.  Welsh centre Jamie Roberts scored two tries in this emphatic performance.  The Welsh have looked very impressive in the pool stages, and can look forward to a very intriguing quarter-final showdown with Ireland on Saturday.  Fiji; quarter-finalists themselves four years ago, have had a dismal tournament.  No wonder; they even let Namibia score over 20 points!

     In the final pool match of this World Cup, one more quarter-final spot was up for grabs.  Ireland sealed it and it turned into a mismatch against Italy.  Once Brian O’Driscoll crossed the Italian try line in the opening stages of the second half in Dunedin, there was little doubt who was going to be the winning team.  On his birthday, Keith Earles touched down twice, as Ireland scored 27 unanswered points in the second half.  The Emerald Isle eventually won 36-6 and deservedly ended top of Pool C, leaving Australia with a much harder route now to the final. 

     Quarter-final weekend looks a very tasty one and at least three of the games look too close to call.  The final gets closer and with the hard-working minnows dispatched, the real action starts this weekend!  Good luck to the remaining teams left fighting it out for Rugby World Cup glory in 2011!

THE FINAL POOL RESULTS: Georgia 25-9 Romania, South Africa 13-5 Samoa, Australia 68-22 Russia, France 14-19 Tonga, England 16-12 Scotland, Argentina 25-7 Georgia, New Zealand 79-15 Canada, Wales 66-0 Fiji, Ireland 36-6 Italy

CLOSER: Just eight teams can still dream of lifting the trophy in 2011

THIS WEEKEND’S QUARTER-FINALS

Ireland v Wales, Saturday 8 October, from Wellington, 6am UK time, live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD,

England v France, Saturday 8 October, from Auckland, 8.30am UK time, live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD,

South Africa v Australia, Sunday 9 October, from Wellington, 6am UK time, live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD

New Zealand v Argentina, Sunday 9 October, from Auckland, 6am UK time, live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD

Rugby World Cup 2011 - Favourites begin to show their class

WITH the pool stages at the 2011 Rugby World Cup coming to a close, the quarter-final line-up begins to take rapid shape.  In the last week, we’ve seen evidence that the cup favourites have taken their game up a notch and some more landslide results as a consequence.  Although to the neutral, this can be seen as disappointing in light to a true contest, the underdogs know that barring a disaster, it’s four games and then an early flight home, whilst the heavyweights play out the latter stages. 

RETURN: Cueto made a successful comeback, with a hat-trick

     Having scathingly criticised England for their opening two performances, Martin Johnson’s men finally arrived at this Rugby World Cup with a ten try whitewash of minnows Romania in Dunedin.  The 67-3 scoreline didn’t flatter the English either, with signs that their A game has now been brought to the pitch.  Mark Cueto marked his return to the test side, with a devastating hat-trick in the first 30 minutes.  The flamboyant Chris Ashton also crossed for his own hat-trick, as Romania simply couldn’t cope with the onslaught.  To not concede a try and only three points in total also underlines that the defensive work in training is beginning to pay off.  Let’s not forget that Romania is a lower-ranked side, but the performance was much better than the one witnessed in beating Georgia six days earlier.  Only against sterner opposition, like Saturday’s crunch encounter with Scotland in Auckland can we truly assess where England are at in comparison to the other favourites.

TORMENT: Scotland have to look on, as the Pumas celebrate

       Sadly for the Scots, it will now take a miracle to qualify for the quarter-finals.  In conditions more akin to rallycross, they were narrowly beaten 13-12 by Argentina in Wellington.  It was a game of few chances and that was always going to be the case between two well-matched sides.  The crucial, game breaking moment came with nine minutes remaining.  Dan Parks had come off the bench to kick Scotland 12-6 ahead.  The Pumas response was absolutely scintillating.  Lucas Gonzalo Amorosino weaved his way past three Scottish tackles, before diving over for the pivotal try; one of the best individual ones of the World Cup so far.  Stalwart Felipe Contepomi, playing in his last World Cup kicked over the conversion.  In the dying stages, Contepomi looked blatantly offside during the final Scottish attack.  Rather than wait for the certain penalty, Parks attempted the drop goal which wasn’t even close.  The advantage went and with it, so did Scotland’s hopes in cruel fashion.  They now must beat England, score four or more tries and prevent Johnson’s side from gaining any points.  It has to be considered as a long shot.

      If they don’t underestimate Georgia, Argentina’s prize for escaping Pool B will be an exhilarating quarter-final clash with the favourites and the hosts.  New Zealand dispatched France with consummate ease in their Pool A decider at the weekend.  In fact, they were so clinical; the bonus point was wrapped up shortly after the interval.  Israel Dagg was the star man for the All-Blacks, crossing for another two tries.  They won the match 37-17 and by five tries to two; one of those being an intercepted try for the French.  Dan Carter looked back to his best and it was a celebration for Richie McCaw, who was playing in his 100^th test match.  As for France, they will have to seriously improve if they want to advance past the quarter-finals.  However, knowing the French, they have the capabilities to turn in a performance of magic at some point.  England still has to be prepared for the quarter-final bruiser that awaits them.

       In the battle of the Pacific Islanders, Samoa beat a desperately poor Fiji outfit 27-7.  However, they failed to score a crucial bonus point in the match, when it was there for the taking.  Although they will give South Africa a physical and bone-rattling test on Friday, expect the South Africans to finish their hopes off and progress as Pool D winners.  Wales looked impressive again, especially in the second half of their 81-7 destruction of a very tired Namibia yesterday.  Namibia’s tournament has been forgettable, but they did play four games in sixteen days, which is a big ask for a second-rate, amateur team. 

      Pool C is the one pool that looks very interesting going into the final weekend.  Australia had been expected to coast past the USA and did so on Friday morning, dispatching the Americans 67-5.  Adam Ashley-Cooper highlighted their clinical approach, with a hat-trick as the Wallabies ran over 11 tries.  The match was overshadowed by what looked to be a horrific injury to Anthony Faingaa in the closing stages.  He went off on a stretcher, with the likelihood of not only his tournament being finished, but the possibility of his rugby career being in severe doubt.         

     Finally, both Canada and Japan may be going home, but they provided those who got up at 4.30am this morning with a cracking match.  In a keenly-fought contest in Napier, a late penalty from Ander Monro was enough to earn a 23-23 draw for the Canadians.  It is only the third draw in RWC history and incredibly, these sides couldn’t be separated in 2007 either, drawing 12-12 on that occasion.  For me, Canada and Japan have given us plenty of memories in the pool stages and look to be the two most improved teams in world rugby.  Hopefully it won’t be long before they can begin to seriously threaten the real rugby elite.  With one more weekend of pool matches remaining, all rugby fans will be looking forward to an intense final weekend, some emotional farewells and then the real fun begins.   

THE WEEK’S RESULTS: Australia 67-5 USA, England 67-3 Romania, New Zealand 37-17 France, Fiji 7-27 Samoa, Ireland 62-12 Russia, Argentina 13-12 Scotland, Wales 81-7 Namibia, Canada 23-23 Japan, Italy 27-10 USA

Rugby World Cup 2011 - The Irish blow it wide open

RUGBY World Cup 2011 is warming up nicely and a shock result at the weekend blew the competition wide open.  Ireland produced a heroic display out of nowhere to defeat one of the pre-tournament favourites Australia in Auckland, 15-6.  Not only does it mean that the Irish should finish top of Pool C, it now means Australia, South Africa and New Zealand could well be in the same section in the quarter-finals.

LEADER: Brian O'Driscoll inspired Ireland to a famous win

    The Irish had laboured through their opener against the USA and few gave them much hope, but the scoreline didn’t flatter them either.  Two disallowed tries in the closing stages could have added even more gloss for the underdogs.  Two penalties each from Dave Sexton and veteran Ronan O’Gara, in addition to a Sexton drop goal were enough for glory.  Two penalties from James O’Connor was the only Wallabies response and by failing to get a bonus point for losing by less than seven points, it severely dents their chances of topping the pool.  Despite winning the Tri-Nations before the tournament, I didn’t predict much from Australia in this Rugby World Cup and perhaps, this result shows the inexperience at the highest level for this young crop of players.

     South Africa might have also made a very unconvincing start against Wales, but the defending champions are beginning to find their feet.  Six unanswered tries saw them easily brush aside a potential banana skin in Fiji at the weekend.  Their 49-3 demolition of the Pacific Islanders was followed this morning by a 12-try romp of Namibia at the North Harbour Stadium.  The 87-0 landslide of their African neighbours included a record-breaking try for Brian Habana, who became the Springbok’s leading try scorer in their distinguished rugby history.  However, Habana’s body language throughout was poor and he was substituted early in the second half, with doubts over the rest of his participation in the Rugby World Cup.  The margin of victory was South Africa’s biggest in RWC history and questions have to be asked of Namibia’s performance, as they simply rolled over and died.  I have to agree with Francois Pienaar, who is a leading pundit for ITV’s coverage and the winning captain of the 1995 South African team that Namibia are not up to this standard of rugby.  All the other minnows; Japan, Georgia, Russia and Romania have put in worthy efforts against teams of a higher standard in this competition, yet the Namibians continue to be left behind.

     Hosts New Zealand warmed up for their crunch Pool A clash with France at the weekend by overwhelming Japan 83-7 last Friday in Hamilton.  It was entertainment of the highest standard and Coach Graeme Henry will be delighted to see his side run in more points in the second half, following their stale performance after the interval against Tonga the week before.  John Kirwan, coach of Japan and part of the great All-Black team of 1987 was proud of the efforts his players put in and I don’t think there will be a more popular try scored in the competition than that by Japan’s Hirotoki Onozawa.  The whole crowd in the stadium cheered this try, which was nice to see.  Without Dan Carter, Miles Muliana and Richie McCaw, the All-Blacks looked very formidable.  Despite a 46-19 success over Canada in Napier on Sunday, the French still looked far from convincing, blowing more cold than hot.  They will do well on Saturday to repeat the stunning upsets of 1999 and 2007 against the hosts.

     Great is one word that can’t be used to describe England’s World Cup so far.  Unsavoury tabloid headlines of players drinking in bars and dangerous recreational activities such as bungee jumping dominated the build-up to the Georgia game at the weekend.  Martin Johnson was infuriated, but couldn’t really defend his players after a scrappy 41-10 triumph in Dunedin.  England did score six tries, with flying winger Chris Ashton and Shontayne Hape both crossing the Georgian try-line twice, as the European defence tired in the closing stages.  Despite the bonus point gained, the lack of discipline from England was shocking.  They gave away 11 penalties in the first half and if they do that in the knockout stages, forget winning the Webb Ellis trophy!  Toby Flood had a poor game at fly-half and has subsequently been dropped for the Romania game this weekend.  Johnson’s team need to put in a resounding performance on Saturday morning to silence the doubters once and for all.

    After their narrow and agonising loss to the defending champions the previous weekend, Wales bounced back impressively to overcome Samoa 17-10 in the early hours of Sunday morning.  A sole Shane Williams try was the difference in a hard-fought and bruising encounter, which was dedicated to the lives of the four Welsh miners who lost their lives in the tragedy last week.  This was a game that a Welsh side last year would have definitely lost, so it is encouraging to see them edge these narrow battles.

     Scotland didn’t play in this set of matches, but are injury-free ahead of their encounter with Argentina on Sunday.  No doubt they will have been interested to see the Pumas beat Romania 43-8 and signal their intent for this tournament.  Lastly, the Russian team has made its debut at the finals and despite two defeats; a narrow 13-6 reverse to the USA and a walloping against Italy on Tuesday, they have won the hearts of many neutrals for their intent to play proper rugby.  Apart from Namibia, the minnows of world rugby can be proud of their efforts at this Rugby World Cup as the gap continues to narrow between the heavyweights and the lightweights of the rugby union game.

THE WEEK’S RESULTS: Russia 6-13 USA, New Zealand 83-7 Japan, Argentina 43-8 Romania, South Africa 49-3 Fiji, Australia 6-15 Ireland, Wales 17-10 Samoa, England 41-10 Georgia, France 46-19 Canada, Italy 53-17 Russia, Tonga 31-18 Japan, South Africa 87-0 Namibia

Rugby World Cup 2011 - The opening weekend

COLOURFUL: New Zealand welcomed the rugby world spectacularly

THE seventh IRB Rugby World Cup began in New Zealand last Friday with a colourful and electric opening ceremony.  After the opening ten matches of the tournament, no clear-cut favourite has been established, with many of the elite rugby teams really struggling to perform and win matches against the rugby union minnows of the world.  Despite this, there has been no massive upset so far and the rugby is only bound to get better as the tournament progresses.

     As hosts, New Zealand are under great pressure to deliver for a nation, that has suffered this year from the tragic mining disaster and the earthquake that battered Christchurch back in February.  They made a professional start, in defeating Tonga 41-10 in Auckland, but it was far from glorified rugby we’d expect to see from the All-Blacks.  Tonga matched them in the opening ‘Haka’ arrangements, but that was as good as it got for the Pacific Islanders.  They seemed to be overwhelmed by the experience of playing in the opening match and it showed in the first half.  Richard Kahui and Ishrael Dagg both scored two tries as the hosts raced into a 29-0 lead.  After the break, Tonga improved and scored a deserved try from Alisona Taumalolo.  The All-Blacks only managed one further score in the second half and despite the lack of competition from the opposition; there is plenty of room for improvement.  Coach Graeme Henry, who regained his job in 2008, after no-one else wanted it following the quarter-final elimination at the hands of France in October 2007 must be concerned about the amount of handling errors made by the hosts.

BRAVE: Faletau's try wasn't quite enough for Wales on Sunday

     The home nations all made their tournament bow at the weekend, but only Wales put in any kind of performance that they can be proud of.  Typically then, they lost!  The brave Welsh were beaten by world champions South Africa in their Pool D opener on Sunday.  However, the 17-16 scoreline in Wellington reflected how close they came to a mighty upset.  Once the Springboks took an early lead in the third minute, courtesy of a Frans Steyn try, the writing looked on the wall for Warren Gatland’s side.  However, they showed a lot of class and determination in rattling the champions, who looked distinctively average.  Brian Habana, the fastest man in world rugby, was a pale shadow of his domination in 2007 and went off with a knee injury.  It wasn’t long after his departure when Wales crossed the try line to lead the contest, through energetic no.8 Toby Faletau.  Critically, when they needed a score, South Africa managed to turnaround the deficit as Francois Hougaard scored with 15 minutes to go.  A late penalty miss from James Hook cost the Welsh, who must see this as a missed opportunity.  As for the Springboks, they must play better if they want to stand any hope of retaining the Webb Ellis Trophy.

     However, don’t expect Ireland to make a formidable challenge either.  They laboured to a 22-10 success over the USA in New Plymouth on Sunday morning.  Declan Kidney; the Irish coach will be disappointed that his team didn’t get a bonus point for scoring four or more tries.  Ireland winger Tommy Byrne went over for a try on the stroke of half-time in a game littered with handling errors from the favourites.  A ten-minute spell which saw Byrne again and hooker Rory Best go over the line was enough after the interval.  Like Habana, Brian O’Driscoll is struggling for form and his terrible pass in injury time, allowed American centre Paul Emerick to score a poignant try for the US, on the tenth anniversary of 9/11.

      As for Scotland, it is two wins from two, but nowhere near in convincing fashion as Andy Robinson would have been hoping.  On Saturday, only two late tries from Simon Danielli got them out of jail against Romania, one of the weaker teams in the competition.  Despite a bonus point, the 34-24 final score was a real close shave for the Scots.  This morning, they stayed in Invercargill to see off Georgia 15-6.  Terrible weather conditions meant this match was not one that will be fondly remembered.  The boot of Dan Parks got Scotland over the line and they head for harder challenges, at least with points on the board, even though they looked well short of quality. 

      Which bring us onto England?  Although they got the valuable win on Saturday against Argentina by 13-9 in Dunedin, it was a shambolic performance, which had echoes of the Grand Slam collapse in Dublin earlier this year.  Johnny Wilkinson had a day to forget; missing five kicks and hopefully, Saturday’s performance was just a blip from our reliable fly-half.  For long periods, Martin Johnson must have been staring at the barrel of defeat against a team that has plenty of experience, but is beginning to age from the third place finish the Pumas achieved four years ago.  Fortunately, there was light at the end of the tunnel for England, courtesy of a try from replacement scrum-half, Ben Youngs.  Even watching the highlights, it was awful to watch, so imagine what it felt like watching the game live.  A win is a win, but it lacked style, class and panache and will give worried looks to many English followers.

      Final word in this first round-up goes to Canada, who caused a minor upset this morning.  The Maple Leaf that has appeared at every RWC tournament beat Tonga 25-20, despite being ranked lower in the IRB rankings.  Two late tries in the final 12 minutes were enough for the North Americans, who can now look forward to an exciting duel with the unpredictable French on Sunday.

THIS WEEKEND’S RESULTS: New Zealand 41-10 Tonga, Scotland 34-24 Romania, Fiji 49-25 Namibia, France 47-21 Japan, England 13-9 Argentina, Australia 32-6 Italy, Ireland 22-10 USA, South Africa 17-16 Wales, Samoa 49-12 Namibia, Tonga 20-25 Canada, Scotland 15-6 Georgia

My top ten RWC moments

By Simon Wright, (Sporting piece)

My selection of the best; the top ten from the Rugby World Cup.

1. France stun the All Blacks, Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, 1999

FRANCE had stuttered into the semi-finals of the 1999 Rugby World Cup and came in as massive underdogs against formidable New Zealand at Twickenham.  Many pundits before the match thought it would be no contest, with the All Blacks predicted to score more than 50 points against their opponents.  It went to form in the first half, with Jonah Lomu looking as formidable as ever.  However, Les Bleus ripped the best side in rugby apart in a devastating 30 minute spell in the second half, scoring three tries and scoring 31 unanswered points to produce the biggest ever upset in the whole of Rugby World Cup history.  The final scoreline; 43-31.  The rugby world was shaken by what France did on this day; undoubtedly the best ever match in the game of rugby union, let alone World Cup history.

2. Johnny drops England home, Rugby World Cup Final, 2003

TELSTRA stadium was the setting for the 2003 final between the hosts Australia and the favourites, England.  Australia made the dream start, as Lote Tuqiri scored a try after only five minutes.  Johnny Wilkinson’s reliable boot pushed England into the lead, before they ripped up pre-match critics of ‘boring’ rugby, by producing a great teamwork try for Jason Robinson.  At 14-5 up at half-time, silly errors from Clive Woodward’s side in the second half allowed the Wallabies back into the match.  Elton Flatley kicked the match into extra-time under intense pressure.  With the scores at 17-17, the prospect of sudden death loomed when a final surge from England allowed Wilkinson his moment.  At the fourth attempt of asking, he hit a sweet drop goal to ensure victory for a Northern Hemisphere side for the first time in this prestigious final.  England’s first major sporting success since 1966 was sealed by the golden boot of Johnny.

3. ‘We did it for 43 million South Africans!’  Rugby World Cup Final, 1995

HAVING been released from exile in sporting competitions after Apartheid, South Africa staged a colourful and spectacular Rugby World Cup in 1995.  They came into the tournament ranked tenth in the world, but by beating defending champions Australia in the opening match, they set out their stall.  Chester Williams became a national hero for his four tries against Samoa in the quarter-finals and the late Ruben Kruger dived over to win the swamp of a semi over France.  In the final, the Springboks had a plan to stop Jonah Lomu and New Zealand’s formidable frontline.  It wasn’t a great match, but the spectacle made up for it and it was the right result, as Joel Stransky kicked the winning points with a brilliant drop goal in extra-time.  The hosts had won the Webb Ellis Trophy, with delighted captain Francois Pienaar getting the cup from President Nelson Mandela, who was wearing a Springbok rugby top!  Afterwards, Pienaar claimed that his team had won it for the incredible support the country had shown throughout, but not just lucky enough to be in Ellis Park on the day, but for the 43million South Africans worldwide.

4. Lomu destroys England, Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, 1995

HE DESTROYED Wales, Ireland and Scotland in the preliminary stages and Jonah Lomu simply dismantled a shell-shocked England in the 1995 semi-finals.  His first try, which saw him shake off the attentions of Tony Underwood and Rob Andrew, before trampling all over Mike Catt to reach the try line.  For me, it is the greatest try in Rugby World Cup history.  He scored four in the match and Will Carling, England captain later admitted he didn’t ever imagine conceding four tries in the first fifteen minutes as worst case scenario.  The final 45-29 scoreline flattered England, as they were simply outclassed by the powerful All Blacks and the fearsome Lomu.

5. Gordon Hamilton’s Try, Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final, 1991

WITH skipper Nick-Farr Jones injured and watching from the stands, Australia looked on the ropes at Lansdowne Road in a quarter-final with Ireland.  In the last ten minutes, the Irish sensed an opportunity and Gordon Hamilton, not a prominent try-scorer, produced the greatest moment in Irish Rugby World Cup history.  The ground erupted in joy as the underdogs had just taken the lead.  Unfortunately for Ireland, Michael Lynagh scored a late try which took the favourites through and broke the crowd’s hearts.  Nevertheless, Hamilton’s moment of magic has remained in Irish folklore.

6. Serge Blanco’s last-gasp try, Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, 1987

AUSTRALIA must have fancied their chances of a final with New Zealand in the inaugural tournament, when they came up against the unpredictable French in a pulsating semi-final.  The game ebbed and flowed throughout, with David Campese breaking the all-time rugby point’s record during the match.  Seconds remained, when a mix-up in the Australian backline allowed the French a final chance.  Serge Blanco managed to find the corner to send France into the final, which they ultimately lost.  However, it goes down as the most iconic moment of the 1987 world cup.

7. Hastings blows it, Rugby World Cup Semi-Final, 1991

LET’S face it, England and Scotland don’t like each other and never will.  The 1991 semi-final was always going to be very personal and tight, as England wanted to seek revenge for a Grand Slam nightmare at Murrayfield the year before.  With nine minutes to go, the game was deadlocked at 6-6, when Gavin Hastings, a trusty penalty kicker, had an easy chance to put Scotland infront.  Amazingly, he sliced the kick and it sailed wide.  Even the English couldn’t quite believe what Hastings had just done.  Minutes later, Rob Andrew’s drop goal took England through to a final with Australia and Gavin Hastings was left to ponder what might have been.

8. England’s revenge at Table Mountain, Rugby World Cup Quarter-Final, 1995

THEY lost a narrow final on home soil in 1991, so England were desperate to settle the scores in a quarter-final at Table Mountain against Australia four years later.  The Aussies defeat to South Africa in the pool stages had given them a harder route towards the final, but with a team full of talent such as John Eales, Michael Lynagh, George Gregan, Tim Horan and David Campese, the Wallabies were still expected to go through.  The game didn’t disappoint and extra-time beckoned when Rob Andrew kicked a stunning drop goal to win the quarter-final.  English fans overjoyed, Australian fans desolate and for the likes of Lynagh and Horan; the end of an era as both legendary players retired from rugby after this devastating defeat for the holders.

9. Super Shocking Saturday, Rugby World Cup Quarter-Finals, 2007

ON PAPER, Australia were expected to steamroller England and New Zealand should comfortably put the French away, but when was rugby ever played on a piece of paper!  On ‘Super Saturday,’ Johnny Wilkinson’s boot once again did for Australia in a heroic English display in Marseille.  Following an embarrassing defeat to South Africa in the pool stages, English rugby had been seen as a game and a team in steep decline, so this must have made Australia look very poor.  Hours later, Yannick Jauzion crossed the line in Cardiff to seal a sensational 20-18 win for France over New Zealand.  The favourites by a mile had choked again.  They had gone out at the quarter-final stage on this ‘Shocking Saturday,’ for the first time in history and Coach Graeme Henry lost his job.

10. Argentina’s mammoth breakthrough, Rugby World Cup, 2007

OPENING night nerves really showed up on hosts France in 2007.  It was a match where they never looked strong enough and believed they could win.  As a nation toiled, Argentina rejoiced in its biggest moment in RWC history and their momentum continued.  The Pumas had been knocking on the door of the elite nations for a while, and they finished off Ireland’s shambolic tournament in the final Pool D match to top the pool.  The South Americans overcame a stiff Scotland challenge in the last eight and only an error-strewn performance against eventual winners South Africa in the last four blunted their hopes.  Nevertheless, this was a tournament where Argentina made a mammoth breakthrough.

WHETHER you are supporting the All-Black Haka, the Emerald Isle of Ireland, the English Rose, the stunning Springboks, the Welsh Dragon, the hard-hitting Pacific Island nations or the Walloping Wallabies, RWC 2011 promises to be another fantastic spectacle.

To New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, France, Argentina, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Fiji, Italy, Tonga, Samoa, Japan, Canada, USA, Romania, Georgia, Namibia and Russia, I wish you all a great tournament over the next six weeks and I’d like to unofficially declare the battle for the 2011 Rugby World Cup officially open!!