Blood & Mud

Rugby Video: Zinzan Brooke admits that the New Zealand should not have won the Rugby World Cup

Sort of.

“For more insights and analysis from the Heineken Ambassadors into Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, please visit www.thisisthegame.com.”

The only adequate response to the France haka fine is...

...to show this video again.  Note how the NZ players are not even facing the opposition during this "challenge" they are laying down, they are facing the stands.

Why? because the Haka used to be a bit of novel entertainment for the crowd, and we all enjoyed it to be fair.  This was until some overly earnest people and, of course, the sponsors got hold of it and turned into into a quasi-religious ceremony that sucked all the joy from it.

Kiwis will tell us that our joy is nothing to do with it, that they perform it for cultural reasons and if we don't like it then tough.  Fine, but if such pre-match rituals are important to the All Blacks, or any other nation with such a tradition, and nothing to do with entertainment or the crowd, then logic dictates that they should do it in their dressing room.  This would put an end to the frequent palaver that oppositions reactions to it cause, such as that which the IRB have created with France this week.

Fact is, the only people who really want to see the haka are people who take a passing interest in the game of Rugby.  It's neither entertaining for, nor wanted by most serious rugby fans.

As a perfect example of this, my mum rang me the night before the RWC Final to ask me what time it kicked off, when I pointed out my surprise that she wanted to watch it she responded with, "I don't, I just want to watch the haka."

Rugby World Cup Final: Most Deserving Team 9 – 8 XV Angry Men

By Boris, our resident Frenchman

Merde! Merde, merde, merde, merde, merde. So the ”worst team to ever make it to a RWC final”  gave us one of the best finals ever played. Maybe the best. Who knew? I’m shattered, and frankly I feel very, very Welsh today (mental note to self: ask wife for a vintage Wales jersey at sports-depoque.com for Xmas). Close, but no cigar for France. To the AB’s: congratulations and well done. The most deserving team in the history of the game got the cup back after 24 agonizing years. I’m happy for the Kiwis, I truly am, although my heart won’t stop bleeding for some time, seeing how close France were to become champions.

It took me all of 20 seconds to know that something special was brewing. The time to see half the French crying during the anthems. Immediate reaction: we’ve just morphed into Argentina, and being the emotional latin animals that we are, I just knew that this kind of emotion brings out the best in French teams. Then, there was the way they fronted the Haka. Well, that was quite a moment wasn’t it? Dusautoir’s face when they were all holding hands forming a V told everything.  And then the way they marched on to find themselves in the NZ half of the pitch, that was a statement of intent. I’m sure the old farts at the IRB will slap a penalty on France for doing this, but stuff them. France showed respect when accepting the challenge, and then laid down a challenge of their own. Fair enough. France is not always the best of rugby nations, but you can count on them to come up with something dramatic for big occasions.

After that, no wonder that the game itself was so ferocious. The intensity was very high in the AB’s-Wallabies, semi, but this was up one notch again. And, surprise, surprise, France played. And played well to boot. Against any other team, they would probably have scored more tries, but the Kiwi defense was outstanding. Likewise the French defense when the AB’s had their own sequences in attack. As the first half was building, I kept saying to myself: we’re in this game. The AB’s were not too flash, and Weepu was morphing into James Hook. Just enough to sow some seeds of doubts in the normally formidable machine wearing black. And then France made a bad, bad mistake defending on a lineout close to their line. They opted to contest the throw in two blocks, leaving a huge gap for Woodcock to score. Now, this is the kind of stuff you can do when defending 30 metres out, but surely not 5 meters out of your line, where all players should have lined up to defend against a maul. This cost us, very, very dear, and gave NZ some breathing space at half time.

By then, both starting fly-halves were gone. Parra copped a knee to his face by McCaw. Said McCaw being the best player of the last decade, I always wonder if things ever happen by accident with him. After all, this was our most consistent kicker lying  on the floor. But I watched some replays, and it really looks like he his focusing at cleaning out Dusautoir and going for the ball. So, in my book, this was an accident. Poor Cruden then proceeded to do his knee and Donald was in. I live 10,000 km from Auckland, but I swear I could hear the collective gasp of the entire New Zealand population when he got on the field. This guy has been vilified by Kiwi supporters and journos alike for the past 2 years. Last year, a journo wrote he shouldn’t even get close to seeing a black jersey, nevermind wearing one. The same hack probably hails him as a hero today.

Back after half time, the intensity did not drop. Some good pressure from the Kiwis saw them rewarded by a penalty, and it was 8-0 afterDonald knocked it over. But credit to France, they refused to die, and after some good attacking work, they finally got rewarded through the player who deserved it most, Captain Thierry. Converted, that brough France back to 1 point. The faces in the AB’s coaching team were pale beyond white. They pushed this big, red button with “Panic” written on it, and proceeded to empty their bench. At this stage, I reckon they were seriously shitting themselves, way more than they’d care to admit post game.

France kept on applying pressure, but the Men in Black did not crack, except when they gave away a penalty with 15 minutes to go. Much to my amazement, Trinh Duc lined up to kick it. WTF?!? The guy is not even the regular kicker in his club, has never kicked for France before, and he’s the one kicking this? When Yachvili is still on the pitch? This defied belief, so I just knew something bad was going to happen, and soon enough the ball was flying right of the posts. By then, I started to have a horrible feeling in my gut: Joubert did not look like penalizing the AB’s even for blatant offeces, so missing that rare penalty was bad, and so it proved. The Blacks managed to hang on to their lead despite some good effort from France, a bit like France did to Wales last week. I guess what goes around comes around, and you cannot always count on luck to get you out of jail.

Pick of each teams: Woodcock, Thorn and the back row for the Blacks. Backline was solid if unspectacular for them, Weepu was shocking with the boot. Special mention to McCaw for his leadership, and an ability to be offside all the time and not get penalized. For France, Dusautoir was immense. Don’t think I’ve witnessed an individual performance sticking out of a WC final like his. I thought he outplayed McCaw, and this doesn’t happen often. Bonnaire, Nallet, Harinirdoquy not far behind. In the backs, Yachvili was good but why oh why didn’t he kick the penalty at 65 minutes? Much to my surprise, Rougerie had a good game at 13, he was rock solid. And Trinh Duc showed us the benefits of having a specialist flyhalf. He had a great game apart from that kick.

Now, a few words on the referee. As a matter of fact, I thought Joubert refereed the French really well. It’s just a shame he did not referee New Zealand at all. Can’t understand the first penalty at scrum against France when Franks was clearly boring in and down. Then, it was a free ride for McCaw at ruck time. I understand the guy is more talented than most at getting away with murder, but some stuff was really blatant. Then there were the crooked throws in the lineout that went unnoticed, which is hardly the hardest part of the game to referee. And a few high tackles or shoulder charges that should have been penalized as well. If anyone wants to show an aspiring player what it means to have the home advantage with a ref, this game would serve as a good example.

Having said that, even if some decisions were dubious and really harsh against France, I do not feel it was daylight robbery. Not like in 1995 when Bevan stole the semi-final from France so that Clint Eastwood could make a movie. It’s disappointing that a ref has so much influence on the outcome of a final, but it’s part of the game, like the wind or the rain. No point bleating against Joubert, who is a very good ref under normal circumstances. With or without him, France had their chances and could not take them. I have to take a bite off the shit sandwich I served Wales with last week: we missed a kickable penalty, a relatively easy drop goal, and made a big defensive mistake on our line. It’s not the kind of things you can get away with at this level of competition, against the best team in the world.

Talking about shit sandwiches, I hope the TV pundits and journalists will have a rather large serving,  for yet again writing off a side before the game was played. It’s hard to believe these people actually get paid for coming up with that crap. Special mention  to Stephen Jones and Peter Bills,  the Laurel & Hardy of world rugby. Minus the humor.

Some parting words: as much as I love NZ and thought they were terrific hosts, I am disappointed they somewhat lacked class after their victory. They could have acknowledged France for pulling themselves together and giving them a run for their money. I’m disappointed that McCaw refused to swap jerseys with Bonnaire for the second time in two games. I understand he would want to keep the one for his 100^th cap, but discarding the same guy twice in a month is not in the spirit of the sport. Likewise, I don’t think I’ve heard any Kiwi thanking Jo Maso for allowing them to play in black despite winning the toss for the jerseys. There is positively no chance that, in a final played between the two teams in France, they would have allowed us to play in blue in similar circumstances.

It was a fitting end to a marvelous competition. If you’d asked me before the tournament what I’d wish in my craziest dreams, I would have said a NZ-France final, with a narrow Kiwi victory and a magnificent Frace side. I got just that. I’m inconsolable that France did not win, as this type of occasion does not present itself very often, but in my heart of heart, I know the turds wearing blazers at the FFR do not deserve a world cup victory. Neither does the second division coach who has been in charge for 4 years. At least not ahead of a Kiwi federation that makes most of the right calls, and the best coaching unit in world rugby. At least the players have restored their reputation and can fly back home with their head held high. If you’d told me as much on the day after we lost to Tonga, I would have laughed and adviced to take your pills.

Now, I have to get back to life without the world cup.  It sucks. But it has an upside: Lievremont is no longer in charge. This almost, almost makes my day. Well, not really, but let’s pretend anyway.

 

Rugby World Cup Final Preview: France vs New Zealand

Cruden: "Well I should be nervous yeah, but have you seen the shite we're playing?"

So it all comes down to this. After six weeks and a great deal of matches we're left with a giant, black clothed monolith of punishment and guile, playing at home, versus some blokes who hate their coach, lost against Tonga, and only just scraped past a 14-man opposition in the semi because Wales couldn't find a single bloke who had any kind of sentient link between his eyes and his foot.

We're all praying for one of those French miracles that occasionally happen against the All Blacks.  But, as anyone who has tried it knows, praying is a bit like masturbating: it makes you feel good for a bit but does nothing to bring the scenario that is the focus of your actions any closer to fruition in reality.

Some are clinging to the fact that France were competitive against the Kiwis for twenty minutes in the group game, althought this theory is flawed slightly by the mauling NZ gave them EVERY TIME they got the ball.  Beyond that there is very little point in analysing this match as in every area France should get prison shamed.

I'm sorry to be so negative, but I expect this final to be the dampest squib since Jonny Wilkinson wiped his brow on a copy of a Haynes manual for a Toyota Corolla.

B&M Prediction: All Blacks by 20

Spotter's Badge:  Ma'a Nonu runs one of his angles and breaks into so much open space that he claims it as an extension of his iwi's land.

New Zealand: Israel Dagg; Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Richard Kahui, Aaron Cruden, Piri Weepu, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks, Brad Thorn, Sam Whitelock, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (capt), Kieran Read

Replacements: Andrew Hore, Ben Franks, Ali Williams, Adam Thomson, Andy Ellis, Stephen Donald, Sonny Bill Williams

France: Maxime Medard; Vincent Clerc, Aurelien Rougerie, Maxime Mermoz, Alexis Palisson; Morgan Parra, Dimitri Yachvili; Jean-Baptiste Poux, William Servat, Nicolas Mas, Pascal Pape, Lionel Nallet, Thierry Dusautoir (capt), Julien Bonnaire, Imanol Harinordoquy

Replacements: Dimitri Szarzewski, Fabien Barcella, Julien Pierre, Fulgence Ouedraogo, Jean-Marc Doussain, Francois Trinh-Duc, Damien Traille

 

Rugby video: The legends talk about the Rugby World Cup finals.

Scott Quinnell pulls no punches about France here.

For more insights and analysis from the Heineken Ambassadors into Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand, please visit www.thisisthegame.com.

Rugby World Cup, Semi Final Preview: New Zealand vs Australia

As a rule this blog doesn't believe in fairy tales.  

Such yarns demand a suspension of disbelief beyond even that required to accept Matt Banahan as a World Cup rugby player.  But, there is one such story that, if you were to have told it some 24 years ago, it would have been roughly as plausible as that one about England becoming good.  And so it was that the tale of the All Blacks only winning one world cup did come to pass....

Can they sort it out this time?  This blog has nothing to offer but conjecture.

Even without Carter, New Zealand should win this game.  They are at home, they are dead good and stuff, and they have Dagg, Nonu and McCaw.

On the other hand; they tend to lose at around this time in the Big CUp. And ,if anyone can balls it up for them it's Pocock and the Aussies, who have taken pissing on All Black chips to such an art form that the Tate are looking seriously at it as an installation in some godawful museum somewhere next year.

But, surely the AB's will sort it this time?

B&M Prediction: All Blacks by 5

TEAMS:

New Zealand: Israel Dagg, Cory Jane, Conrad Smith, Ma'a Nonu, Richard Kahui, Aaron Cruden, Piri Weepu, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Owen Franks, Sam Whitelock, Brad Thorn, Jerome Kaino, Richie McCaw (captain), Kieran Read.

Replacements: Andrew Hore, Ben Franks, Ali Williams, Victor Vito, Andy Ellis, Stephen Donald, Sonny Bill Williams.

Australia: Kurtley Beale/Adam Ashley-Cooper; James O'Connor, Adam Ashley-Cooper/Anthony Fainga'a, Pat McCabe, Digby Ioane; Quade Cooper, Will Genia; Sekope Kepu, Stephen Moore, Ben Alexander, Dan Vickerman, James Horwill (capt), Rocky Elsom, David Pocock, Radike Samo.

Replacements: Tatafu Polota Nau, James Slipper, Rob Simmons, Ben McCalman, Luke Burgess, Berrick Barnes, Anthony Fainga'a/Rob Horne

 

 

SHIT/GOOD Ratings: New Zealand 31 Argentina 10 - New Zealand ratings

by Richard O'Hagan*

 

The All Blacks sqeaked through against the Pumas, two late tries giving the scoreline a far more flattering look than they deserved.

SHIT

Ma'a Nonu - Although the All Blacks didn't play well there were few shockingly bad performances, but the usually reliable Nonu butchered at least three attacking moves simply by taking his eye off the ball as it was passed to him. Schoolboy errors from such a good player.

Sonny Bill Williams - Whilst accepting that New Zealand are a bit short of wingers at the moment, he looked utterly wasted out there and whilst he himself did everything asked of him you suspect that the game would have been more comfortable if he had been brought into it a lot more.

Mils Muliaina - Looks to have lost almost all of his pace and it was no surprise when he was brought off on halftime

GOOD

Piri Weepu - Put in the performance of the tournament so far. Superb passing, superb kicking from hand, superb place kicking. Why Graham Henry ever thought that Jimmy Cowan was a better option is baffling; it is akin to preferring a Pot Noodle to a twelve course Chinese banquet.

Cory Jane - The Pumas couldn't contain him and the fact that it took his side so long to cross the goal line was no fault of his.

Conrad Smith - Proved why he is the premier 13 in world rugby.

Handling - Nonu's errors aside, the speed and dexterity of the All Black passing was wonderful to see, especially in a tournament where so many sides have struggled to keep hold of the ball.

*The Editor was supposed to be doing this one, but he's off celebrating it being four years since he passed his GCSE resits, so you've got me again

SHIT/GOOD Ratings: New Zealand 31 Argentina 10 - Argentina ratings

by Richard O'Hagan

 

The Pumas put up such a fight that is seems harsh to single out any one player for either praise or criticism. But it isn't in the nature of Blood & Mud to let anyone off lightly, so here goes.

SHIT

Felipe Contepomi - Simply not an international centre and the weak link that the All Black runners drove at relentlessly. Also, if he had landed a first half penalty, the game might have been very different. By choosing to take it himself instead of allowing the mighty boot of Marcelo Bosch to do so he may have singlehandedly changed the course of the game.

Leonardo Senatore - If there is one skill that a Number 8 must have it is to be able to pick the ball off the base of the scrum when it is under pressure. Senatore failed miserably.

Nicolas Vergallo - Would have been in the GOOD category but for one of the dumbest yellow cards of the tournament.

GOOD

Mario Ledesma - Aged 38, looks 58, played with the heart and stamina of an 18 year old on his debut. Magnificent in his final game in the blue and white jersey

Juan Manuel Leguizamon - Was not overshadowed in his battle with Richie McCaw and superb in the way that he bailed out Senatore time and again.

Julio Farias Cabello - Dominated the lineout and showed well in the loose, was missed when he went off injured.

 

Rugby World Cup: Things we learned from the groups stages about the quarter-final teams

1.  Ireland have a very good bunch of forwards now, the transformation in their front-row in particular has been nothing short of lazarusesque.

2.  Dan Carter is out.  Colin Slade and Aaron Cruden are not exactly mugs, but they're not Dan Carter either (who is?), and no matter how much spin they want to put out in press conferences this loss will hurt NZ both on the field and in their heads.  They should still win comfortably against Los Puma, and then the whole thing.  But we've been there before haven't we?

3.  Wales are improving game by game since the Samoa outing. The reason they were so stilted in that game was due to nothing but pure psycholigical terror and fear of failure against their bogey-nation again. Once that was out of the way they settled into a rhythm that could see them go far.  Just a simple glance at the SportGuru predictions give you an idea of just how impossible to pick their game vs Ireland is.

4.  England are playing very badly and have not looked fluent, confident or proficient at any time so far in the tournament, and they can count themselves extremely lucky they had that group to play in.  This malaise of form will not right itself in the next week.  History books may eventually show that they reached the semis, but someone will have to include the caveat "Struggled past Scotland, then beat a divided and demoralised France, lost to someone decent"

5.  Australia will go a lot better if Berrick Barnes is more involved.

6.  Argentina have provided some great moments and are a team that we all admire and like to watch, but this is the end of the road come Sunday.  However, if they can do this well now, what will they be like next time around after four years of TriNations games?

7.  France make it very hard for sports writers and bloggers to be original by living up to every single cliche ever written about them.  But, despite the disgraceful performance against Tonga it's still very hard to say they will definitely lose against England.

8.  After New Zealand, South Africa are the team looking the most likely.  However, the gap between NZ and the rest is pretty damn big.

New Zealand 37 - 17 France: a Frenchman's take on it.

by Boris, our official French person

Rammstein 37 – Boyzone 17

OK, now that the alcohol level in my blood has receded, here are some random thoughts about yesterday’s game:

- One rock critic once described Rammstein’s first album (Herzeleid) as “music to invade Poland to”. Well, that’s exactly what came to my mind watching this All Black team play. The steel, the relentless beat, and finally the lyricism bottled into one vintage performance. These guys meant business, and it showed. Rugby to win a World Cup with

- France, on the other hand, were a bit like a boy band album: a couple of smash hits in the first tracks, and not much else. On the plus side: Szarzewski has better hair (and ears) than Mealamu. That’s about it. If there is a world cup for players posing nude in calendars, I’m sure we’d beat New Zealand. On a rugby pitch it's another matter

- I’m possibly being a bit unfair to the French. They showed heart, they never stopped trying to play the game and spread the ball. Even after being rattled by 3 tries in quick succession. I’m glad they had a go, and if anything at all, I am more heartened by this defeat than by their 2 previous victories. They showed some good things, played with pride, and it gives them something to build on. They were simply beaten by a fired up All Black team that played to its true level.  Very few teams (if any) can live with that.

- Defence was shocking for France, but that’s hardly a surprise given the lack of game time together in key combinations (9-10-12-13). Problem is, if you give this kind of space to the Blacks (or the Australian backs division), you’re always going to pay a steep price. First up tackles were horrid, too, reminding me of the night last November when the Wallabies spanked us. I cringed when I saw Carter making that break leading to Dagg's try. All Black defence: very good, although they were caught sleeping on Trinh Duc’s try. Jerome Kaino is a fucking block of concrete being hurled by The Hulk.

- Some tries were pure magic: the instant ruck ball followed by Carter’s flick pass on Thompson’s try; the slight delay in Weepu’s gentle pop pass that created space for Jane’s try. Fantastic

- France thought they had a good scrum (and generally, they do), but they were put to the sword by a very, very good AB scrum in the 1st half. Let’s face it: on pure scrummaging, Poux – Szarzewski – Ducalcon are a good notch down from Barcella – Servat – Mas. The latter can’t come back from injury quickly enough. 

- Lineouts: fair contest there, and both teams must be reasonably happy. The AB’s more so, perhaps, as they’ve had issues in this sector recently

- Rucks: let’s not beat around the bush, France got murdered there.  Guys like Smith, Nonu or Kahui counter ruck as well as the best loosies in the game. Frightening. France by comparison showed a distinct lack of quick support when they brought the ball in contact. The carrier was often isolated and they lost many balls as a result. I don’t think the individuals are in cause there (I mean, Dusautoir, Bonnaire or Rougerie are massive players), but it’s the lack of game time together, the instinctive knowledge of your partner’s running lines that are missing. And the coaching. Not that it’s surprising given Mad Marc’s constant tinkering with the selections, and that he’s not much of a coach anyway. Well, at least not an international one. 
To be fair to him, you look at the Top 14 and the technical level at rucks is extremely poor, which  I put down to mediocre coaching.

- Individuals:all the Kiwis were good, but how brilliant is Daggs, seriously? McCaw and Thomson worked very well as a tandem with Kaino the anchor of the back row. Watching Carter is like watching Federer on a good day. He makes incredibly difficult things look easy, has so much time on the ball. For France, Dusautoir was, as ever, at the forefront of the battle and Mermoz showed his class on occasions. Good efforts from Picamoles, Pape and Bonnaire in a beaten pack, and I thought Parra was interesting at 10. He can certainly play in this position, but France desperately needs to adjust and tighten their defensive patterns accordingly

- Line-ups: this was the Kiwis’ best XV, save for Read coming back at 8. France: Barcella, Servat, Heymans need to start these games. 50/50 between Harinordoquy and Bonnaire. If Traille needs to be on the team sheet, let that be on the bench, for Christ’ sake. Would be worthwhile continuing with Parra at 10, but then he needs to settle there during the tournament. Stop flip flopping with Thrinh Duc.

- I was embarassed at Mermoz’ antics after he scored his try. There’s enough players with idiocy written in block letters on their foreheads already (that’s Cooper and Ashton for you). Unnecessary and completely out of place, given the scoreline at the time. Out of character, too as he’s generally a fairly humble player

- Richie McCaw, take a bow. You are legend.  Not everyone's cup of tea, but every fan wants him in their tea,


In summary, France weren’t that bad, but the Men in Black were just too bloody good. I saw a great game of rugby. Merci, messieurs!

PS: for the attention of France: pretty please with sugar on top, don’t revert to being crap against Tonga next week

Ps 2: for the attention of a certain Mr Lievremont of Argeles-sur-Mer: please take your pills and stop tinkering with the selections. The midfield needs game time together.