New Zealand prepare for the defining game of their heritage on Sunday night, desperate to appease their forbearers on the biggest stage possible – a World Cup final on home turf – against a French team that were cut apart with ease in pool play. Lambasted in the past twenty years for their failure to build on their inaugural success in 1987, the result of this game will go a … [Read more...]
RWC: Clinical Australia win bronze
Australia won at Eden Park for the first time in twenty-five years to claim the dubious honour of third place with clinical 21-18 victory over a lacklustre Welsh outfit missing a number of key players. The close score-line was helped by a consolation try and missed the dominance Australia had over Wales throughout a match that clearly exemplified the gulf in class between … [Read more...]
RWC: Devastating New Zealand sweep Australia aside
Australia were out-kicked, out-muscled and out-ran by an outstanding New Zealand team as the host nation booked their first final since 1995 but, ominously, their second straight on home soil with a 20-6 victory at Eden Park. The All Blacks threw aside any pre-match pressure to produce the best performance of the World Cup of any team to date as Australia crumbled under the … [Read more...]
RWC: Semi-final Preview: New Zealand – Australia
A number of records are on the line in the second Southern Hemisphere heavyweight blockbuster in two weeks when New Zealand meets usual rivals Australia on Sunday night, 9pm local time. The Wallabies have failed to beat the All Blacks at their Eden Park stronghold in the professional era and embarrassingly lost to Ireland in pool play at the same ground. The host nation is yet … [Read more...]
RWC: France send English home empty-handed
The French broke their two-match losing streak in stunning style in Auckland tonight, eliminating England from the Rugby World Cup with a 19-12 victory that catapults the most unpredictable team in world rugby into a semi-final clash with the impressive Welsh. A blistering first half performance won the game for France; although England began to impress in the second, the … [Read more...]