Quote of the WC

"I'll never make a hooker and you'll never make a referee. Let me do my job' Nigel Owens. SA-Samoa

Rugby Now and Then...

The thoughts of Welsh legends - Gareth Edwards, Jonathan Davies, Shane Williams
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=r2ZnzlR5r1I

From Neil Smythe's blog, www.resolutionsquare.com

And the Dream Team ???

The following, coached by him...

Jenkins, Servat, Castro, Matfield, Thorne, Cabello, Warburton, Har'oquy, Phillips, Carter (even on one leg), Roberts, Rougerie, North, Ashton, Dagg...

"Je suis triste pour mes copains..."

"Je ne sais pas quoi dire..." tweeted Sebastian Chabal, as the reality of how close this 2011 RWC final set in.
What will the outgoing coach say, though ? Will he, like Bernard Laporte, shrug his shoulders and say "Boff" to the world and disappear ?
Both men know that their respective squads WERE good enough to win a World Cup. France produces high quality players, born into the cauldron of intensity that is the Top 14. They are usually involved in the latter stages of the Heineken Cup. These guys can play.
And today, at Eden Park, as a unit the French back row outplayed the All Blacks. Rougerie smashed into the Kiwi midfield, giving Nonu his most uncomfortable afternoon for quite some time. As is often the case when the Blacks have their backs to the wall, it was McCaw's cussedness that kept them afloat. French fans will be left ruing referee Joubert's liberal interpretation of the breakdown laws, as well as his frankly clueless control of the scrum.
Perhaps, at the last, it was All Black coherence that won through, and yes, perhaps the task of getting enough Kiwi territory in the closing minutes for Trinn-Duc to have a pot at goal was a step too far for rugby's Sans Culottes, but Lievremont will hope to get home, have a think, hopefully a shave, then find a team to coach.

The RWC according to Nessa

"So, Stace. What's occurin' ?"

An extraordinary feast of Welsh rugby is at last over, and we're left to pick over the carcass. The Grand Slams under Ruddock - a cruelly false dawn - and Gatland's first triumphal year apart, the years have not been kind to Welsh rugby fans since Gareth Edwards was feeding the Pontypool front row. Years of frustration - embarrassment, even, when the Saxons were turning up in Cardiff and expecting to win by 30 points. And against the southern hemisphere sides, Wales would be lucky to keep it to fifty.

In recent years, an improving professional set up has allowed us to close the gap with our friends across Offa's Dyke, and we have given touring Tri Nations sides a scare or two. We may have lost 3 games at the 2011 WC, but only by a TOTAL of 5 points. It is a measure of this group's progress that they are flying back feeling disappointed.

Now everyone is talking about Wales and 2015. How sweet would it be to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy at Twickenham ? Could they do it ? Gatland's contract extension is Phase 1. If Edwards could be persuaded to sign a proper full time one that would help too. Their ability to spot and nurture talent has been truly impressive. Dan Lydiate, Toby Faletau, George North - would such players have come in and been given an extended chance to show their worth in England ? Would Martin Johnson have picked out a young flank forward to skipper his side ? In the case of Rhys Priestland, the coaches took him to Twickenham to play at full back, but Stephen Jones' injury resulted in his move to the fabled 10 jersey. Gatland saw enough of the young Scarlet in that time to completely change his backline. It was brave, inspired coaching.

But over the next 4 years ( and, indeed, 8 years for a significant number of young men in this Welsh squad) the most important thing has to be a sustaining of these current high standards. Let's keep it "Tidy".

Red Card Rolland brings the Welsh party to an end

Is it too easy to blame the man with the whistle (and, crucially, THE card) on this occasion ? Are we Welsh happier with the tag of plucky underdogs ??

If, like me, you were busy debating with your friends whether Sam Warburton deserved a sin binning or not when you were thunderstruck by the caption at the top of the screen that read "Sent Off", you'd be quick to point the finger at Alain Rolland. Probably as quick as he was in whipping out the card.
And you'd be quick to agree with the TV pundits, as well as the post match interviewees, who were unanimous in their conclusion that a potentially great game had been wrecked in that one moment of officiating. The tackle itself was perhaps a yellow card offence. Certainly a penalty. But even a cursory rechecking of the video playback (and poor Sam will see it every night in his dreams for a long, long time) would confirm that it was first and foremost a very heavy hit, right on the target, and it was the French players' momentum that did much to spin him round on his axis. If the Welsh skipper had really wanted to spear him, he'd have driven him down hard into the turf, then followed up with a few choice words. Sam just got on with what he does, and pinched the ball. If refs issued red cards for every tackle in that category, we'd be down to 5 a side matches by half time. Rugby League afficionados must be chortling into their Tetley's.
Gatland said as much in his dignified summing up to the TV cameras. A look at his body language would tell you that he was seething. And I wouldn't want to get on the wrong side of Shaun Edwards tonight. My betting is that he was still punching the air at the quality of the hit when, like us, he realised what Rolland had done.
But neither man will want Wales to settle for the plucky losers tag. The brutal fitness sessions in Poland were all about lifting Wales over the line after seeing them get painfully close in a number of matches. They won't want the Welsh players, or the fans, to use it as an excuse for another hard luck Max Boyce song. We must kick on.
Meanwhile, just as in 2007, one of the more limited teams in the tournament staggers into the final. Let us hope that, for entertainment's sake, the French don't try to win it by just trying to kick the ball to death.

Irish Eyes Smile No More...

The Prince of Centres exits stage left as the great RWC drama works its way towards a thrilling climactic scene. The Irish, whose Pool victory over the much vaunted Australians did so much to blow this tournament wide open, were left down and out by the ever improving Welsh in the first quarter final.
Later, the robotic English were too slow to respond to the energised French, and went down by 19 points to 12.
Now, the burning question for all Northern Hemisphere fans - which French team will turn up next weekend ? The fractious, moody, disinterested types who lost to Tonga, and who treat their coach like some sort of sporting leper ? Or the slick, ball hungry characters who out foxed and out fought the Saxon hoards ?
Supplementary question - will it matter ? Is this Welsh team going to beat them anyway ??? They are playing a brand of rugby beyond anything we've seen before. The fitness centre in Poland may prove to have been Gatland's best selection of all, because they have looked fitter than any side they've played so far, and their defensive wall broke those Irish hearts, and sent Prince Brian home empty handed - again.

Show me the way to go home...

So England triumph in the Group of Near Death Experiences. With two "gimmes", their progress should have been more serene, but they have been shown to be easily rattled by sides that refuse to roll over and succumb to training ground rugby routines. With all their power, there is still a lack of cutting edge, and the decision to take their own South Sea islander is proving to be their saving grace. Without the Leicester based Tuilagi, England would struggle to get any front foot ball at all.
At the end of the Pool stage, so many gifted players depart, perhaps at the end of their World Cup careers. The Samoan side, for example, are packed full of quality, but the harsh economic truth of the matter is that they can't afford to put together a coherent campaign. They can't plan ahead, they can't get players released from all four corners of the globe, they can't bring in lots of support personnel. To prepare for a World Cup campaign (particularly in the Pool of Death) a squad would need to do a lot more than summon players in the few weeks before the bash and hope they're all in the right shape for the challenge. That takes serious cash and resources.
As well as Tuilagi, England do have that...