All Black Gold



 

New Zealand victorious.



New Zealand finally beat their French 'hoodoo' to win the Webb Ellis Rugby World Cup. Having won the inaugural tournament back in 1987, also on home soil, the All Blacks have flattered to deceive ever since. Lauded as the best nation to play the game, they have had to play second fiddle to their southern hemisphere counterparts Australia and South Africa in recent years, with England also winning the tournament since '87.
 
Having gone into the tournament as odds on favourites the pressure was immense. Some classy performances in the group stages where they scored tries for fun only served to increase the expectation of a hungry home crowd. Argentina despite the final score put up stiff resistance in the quarter final and only a remarkable kicking display by Piri Weepu kept New Zealand on course. Australia in the semi final was always going to be a massive test and was won by a moment of brilliance by Israel Dagg and Ma'a Nonu. The French in comparison limped to the final, arguably the worst side to reach the final having been torn apart by New Zealand in the pool stages, struggling to overcome Japan and even losing to minnows Tonga. Playing a poor England side in the quarters where they played 30 minutes of excellent rugby, only to capitulate in the second half and almost throw it away, before somehow winning by a single point against a Wales side shorn of its talismanic captain to a contentious red card after only 16 minutes.
 
The French were written off by many, massive outsiders, just there to make up the numbers in this, their third final. This French side like so many others before it however thrives in the adversity, and the press inadvertently gave them all the motivation they were to need to take the game to New Zealand and give them the fright of their lives. Winning ugly is a term used by many others but not in the All Blacks vocabulary, until today. It was not pretty, but it was compelling. Like many finals before, it was tense, and hinged on a few key moments. As in 2007 when a Mark Cueto try was not awarded, the French at 0-5 down were not awarded a penalty that all bar the referee could see, only to award the Blacks on seconds later, from which Stephen Donald was to kick the games winning points.
 
Rejoicing captain Richie McCaw hoisting the trophy aloft at a packed Eden Park in Auckland will be the image taken home by the 60,000 capacity crowd and by millions watching at home, but the game itself was far from clear cut, right up to the final whistle. France started well, buoyed by the nervousness very apparent in the home teams ranks, they set about to disrupt as they had done to England and Wales in the earlier matches. Both teams lost the fly halves before the interval, New Zealand having to call on the fourth choice Donald, not even in the squad at the start of the tournament. Veteran Prop Tony Woodcock scored the only try of the half from an excellent set piece line-out, which the usually reliable Weepu failed to convert, a missed drop goal from France was the closest they came to troubling the scoreboard but in possession and territory they were far from being outplayed. Into the second half and having seen Francois Trinh-Duc miss an early penalty for France, Donald completed his fairytale by calmly slotting over his in reply a couple of minutes later. The relief was immense and perhaps lulled the Blacks into a false sense of security. France had to put points on the board quickly which they did as sub Trinh-Duc carved open the New Zealand defence, creating the opening for captain and man of the match Thierry Dusautoir to score under the posts. Trinh-Duc converted to leave France within a point. A 48 metre penalty fell shy for France and despite all the effort, the wall of black held off a final 18 phase attack to leave the hosts and favourites as the 2011 winners.
 
For many rugby lovers this was the right result. The team that had looked the best throughout the tournament, who had scored the most tries, had been victorious, but it was far from a polished performance. In France, somehow they got to a final that they scarcely deserved to be in, but once there they showed just why they are now ranked as the number three side in the world. New Zealand for all the facts and figures, remain at number one. But ask any local what they really care about, and that is New Zealand have won the 2011 rugby World Cup.

Unlikely hero's, Donald and Woodcock.



Dan Wheldon RIP

Dan Wheldon, one of Britain's best.

Tragedy is a word often used in sport to describe heartbreaking moments of sporting drama. However the true meaning of tragedy in sport struck yesterday when Dan Wheldon, one the best British racing driver of his generation, was killed at the Las Vegas Indycar race.

In a monumental pile up that included fifteen cars, Wheldon, winner of the legendary Indianapolis 500 twice, came off worst at the end of season race, before he was pronounced dead after being airlifted from the raceway to a nearby hospital.

Whilst Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button hold higher profiles back home in the UK and the Formula One circuit, Wheldon's career was based almost solely in America, finishing up at the Bryan Herta Autosport team where he took his second Indianapolis 500 win in 2011.

Wheldon moved to America in 1999 stating that he could not get the investment needed to continue his racing dream. Making an almost instant impact he was voted 'Rookie of the Year' in 2003 and runner up overall the season after after claiming three wins. His big break came in 2005 where he won a record six races on his way to becoming series winner. A mooted move to Formula one never materialised and Wheldon continued in IndyCar, finishing second again in 2006 despite having the same number of points as the winner. Finishing with sixteen wins overall and a popularity that rivalled the very best in the sport, Wheldon was a much loved and well respected driver.



The horrific nature of the crash involving 15 cars.

 Jenson Button tweeted "I have so many good memories of racing with Dan in the early 90s, a true fighter. We've lost a legend in our sport but also a great guy." Scotland's Dario Franchetti who finished as series winner after the race was abandoned said;  "We put so much pressure on ourselves to win races and championships and today it doesn't matter."

Wheldon who had not driven much this season as he had failed to secure a regular team, was invited to race from the back of the grid, chasing a bonus prize of $5 million which he had said would go to a charity should he have won.

Wheldon who was just 33, leaves a wife and two young children. Our thoughts and prayers are with them at this tragic time.

England crash out of the World Cup

French joy at beating the old enemy.

England’s World Cup came to an abrupt end at ther hands of the mercurial French. The side battered by New Zealand, destroyed and shocked to the very core with defeat to minnows Tonga, showed the endemic flaws in the English game, racing into a 16 point lead that they were never likely to relinquish.

After indifferent performances in the group stages, England were expected to up their game in the knockout stages, especially against a team that had looked like a pub side at times. Perhaps this psychologically hampered England, maybe believing the game was already won.

Foden's try and Tualigi's performance was meek reward.

Credit to the French they matched England all over the park, outmuscling in the scrum, one of England’s strengths, winning lineout ball and tearing holes in a usually measly defence. When you fail to control the game in the forwards and continue to give teams kickable penalties then you will always struggle and that’s exactly what happened.

Three first half tries owed as much too poor English tackling as to the French movement. For the last two World Cups England have held the Indian sign over France ending their hopes with typical gritty English performances. This time the grit seemed to be lacking, and even when it was, basic skills and ball handling time and time again undid any good work England managed to put together.

Before the game Martin Johnson had admitted that England had been starting poorly and the opening exchanges appeared to show that this trend had ended. But with no points on the board England went into self destruct mode, allowing France to pin them back time and time again. England came out in the second half and dragged themselves back into the contest, but chances were few and far between, whereas mistakes were in abundance. Winning the second half 12-3 will be no consolation to a team which was destroyed in the first.

England were out-muscled in all departments.

Selection is always easy to criticise after the event, especially when things have gone badly. The loss of Mike Tindall allowed Johnson to experiment with both Toby Flood and Jonny Wilkinson. Both seemed to be subdued and out of sorts, only allowing the outstanding Manu Tualagi scant possession. The big debate over who should kick between Wilkinson and Flood was never really called into question as the French did not concede any kickable penalties until it was too late in the match for these to be taken. One of England’s best players in this tournament, James Haskell, was left on the bench and introduced far too late to have any noticeable impact.

Whether or not these changes would have changed anything is a purely hypothetical debate, but having seen the heart, desire and ball handling of the Welsh earlier in the day perhaps a disappointing defeat to France is better than a humiliation against the men from the valleys.

Manager Johnson has much to do to restore English pride.

In 1999 England crashed out in the quarter finals to South Africa and Jannie de Beer’s record five drop goals. What the English learnt from this, they took on, built for the next World Cup in Australia, and duly brought the trophy home. Amongst the debris and fallout that will follow, the RFU, management and players must take a long hard look at themselves if any repeat is to happen in 2015.

Ashton books Englands place in the quarter final.

Waking up this morning to read the sports headlines, you would be forgiven for thinking that England had crashed out of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Disappointment, poor performances, players on the front pages of the papers as well as the back.

Now forgive me for stating the obvious but England, without playing well have just topped a pool including the team who finished third last time out, won against the auld enemy, always tricky in the conditions presented, and gave a stuffing to Georgia and Romania. We have the tournaments top try scorer in Chris Ashton, and found a genuine world star in Manu Tuilagi.

In tournaments passed, the All Blacks swept all before them playing wonderful running rugby before falling at the final hurdle. 1995 springs to mind as a Jonah Lomu inspired team destroyed all before them before losing to the host nation, South Africa. Winning ugly is a phrase that has been used in Martin Johnsons reign before, but winning is winning. Ask any New Zealander what he’d rather see. Yes we would all like to see the running rugby, balls pinged out wide for the speedsters to round five defenders before seeing them swallow dive into the corner, but let’s be realistic. Rugby is now fully global and the gap is getting smaller. Some teams will still get an old fashioned spanking, but the massive wins by 100 plus points are now down to 60, and this gap will continue to narrow as the smaller nation’s progress apace. Small margins separate the good from the great and much of that is purely psychological.

Injury may prevent Wilkinson from improving his impressive resume vs France

We cannot hide behind the obvious. Jonny Wilkinson has not kicked to his usual high level, but let’s not get away from the fact that the ‘usual high level’ is sublime. Against the Scots he was asked to nail long range efforts in wet blustery conditions and he fell short, a couple by a whisker. His first drop goal attempt was poor and he will admit this, but his second was superb. The clamour for Toby Flood after his ten minute cameo where he supplied Ashton with the pass for the winning score before kicking a touchline conversion will not go unnoticed but Wilkinson is much more than kicking goals. His tigerish defence and big hit tackling surpasses some of his forward colleagues and will make the decision to drop him that much harder.

Elsewhere Matt Stevens was given a lesson against Ewan Murray, but a better prop he will not face again in this tournament. Mike Tindall continues to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons. The British press seem to love to derail an English player/team. Any scandal is pounced upon, especially when the spotlight is so acute. Once again the press seem to be obsessing over a players private life when really they should be more concerned about getting behind the side at a time where the World Cup is about to hit the most exciting and treacherous phase. To be in a place such as New Zealand is a dream for most, but the players simply cannot be expected to cocoon themselves in their rooms for the duration of the tournament which hopefully will last for as few weeks longer. They may well have crossed some boundaries, but the management have dealt with the issues and that really should be that.

Tuilagi may hold the key to beating the French.

If England are to progress further in this tournament, then the discipline on the pitch must be sharpened up. Too many penalties and free kicks conceded once again. The French, despite being in as bad a state as I can remember, (having been outplayed all over the pitch by the Tongans), will not be so forgiving. France are the most mercurial side in world rugby, capable of beating the best and losing to the teams really here to make up the numbers. No disrespect to Tonga as it was a sensational performance but they really are in the third tear of international rugby right now.

The winner will play either a resurgent Wales or a newly confident Ireland for a place in the final. All four European teams will rightly be justified in seeing a uniquely winnable route to play one of the southern hemisphere giants. England have beaten all three this year and should rightly be cast as favourites to progress, but Johnsons men will need to discover the form and confidence of the Six Nations and then some if they are to make it three consecutive final appearances.