Posts Tagged ‘rugby world cup’
Sunday, October 23rd, 2011
In a defensive minded affair, New Zealand has won its second World Cup in franchise history.
On Sunday in Auckland, the All-Blacks defeated France 8-7.
New Zealand, which won its first World Cup in 1987, got a first half uncoverted try from Tony Woodcock and an early second half penalty from Stephen Donald. France, however made things very interesting in the second half with a try from Thierry Dusautoir that was converted by Francois Trinh-Duc. Despite the French loss, Dusautoir was named man of the match.
You have to be very impressed with New Zealand’s overall team ball possession. They controlled the latter parts of the second half and did not let France to be in position to score the winning points.
New Zealand’s 8-7 win over France was the lowest scoring Rugby World Cup Final in history. The previous lowest scoring game was 18 total points, when Australia beat England 12-6 in 1991.
Donald, who scored the winning points, was only named to the New Zealand squad when Colin Slade withdrew because of a groin injury.
Tags: colin slade, francois trinh-duc, rugby world cup, stephen donald, thierry dusautoir, tony woodcock
Posted in More, Rugby |
Saturday, October 22nd, 2011
The country of New Zealand seems to be very confident. City officials in Auckland are already preparing for a parade.
Tomorrow the biggest event of the weekend takes place in the land of the kiwi, as New Zealand plays France in the Rugby World Cup (Sunday, 2am, TSN).
The Canadian Olympic men’s hockey team can compare to the pressure that New Zealand rugby players are currently going through. They are trying to win the biggest tournament in their country’s number one sport on home soil. New Zealand has beaten France already in the tournament, as they won 37-17 on September 24.
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Tags: arizona cardinals, atlanta falcons, avon cobourne, brad richards, british columbia lions, calgary flames, chris williams, christian ponder, detroit lions, Edmonton Oilers, green bay packers, hamilton tiger-cats, henrik lundqvist, indianapolis colts, james farrior, kevin glenn, matt ryan, minnesota vikings, nashville predators, new orleans saints, new york rangers, peyton manning, pittsburgh steelers, rugby world cup, st. louis cardinals, texas rangers, world series
Posted in CFL, MLB, More, NFL, NHL, Rugby |
Sunday, October 16th, 2011
Ma'a Nonu (Geoff Trotter, Wikimedia Commons)
France now knows who they will play next Sunday in the final of the Rugby World Cup.
They’ll be facing the host nation, the mighty All-Blacks from New Zealand.
On Sunday, New Zealand defeated their number one rival, the Australians, 20-6 from Auckland. New Zealand got on Australia early when Ma’a Nonu received a pass from Israel Dagg and recorded a try. Despite the missed conversion on the try, Piri Weepu was able to convert on four penalties.
New Zealand is looking for its second World Cup title, after winning the inaugural championship in Auckland in 1987, 29-9 over France.
In the round robin New Zealand defeated France 37-17, but the French were criticized for not playing a full lineup.
It is expected that 50,000+ fans will attend the final next Sunday at Auckland’s Eden Park.
Two host nations have won the Rugby World Cup in the past–New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995, which laid the foundation, for the 2009 blockbuster movie, Invictus starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon.
Tags: israel dagg, ma'a nanu, piri weepu, rugby world cup
Posted in More, Rugby |
Saturday, October 15th, 2011
Morgan Parra (Wikimedia Commons)
For the third time in the history of the Rugby World Cup, France is off to the final.
But they’ll want a different result this time around, after losing 29-9 to New Zealand in Auckland in 1987 and then 35-12 to Australia in Cardiff, Wales in 1999.
On Saturday, France got three penalty kicks from Morgan Parra in a 9-8 victory over Wales in the semi-finals of the tournament, currently taking place in New Zealand.
The turning point of the match came early in the game as Welsh captain Sam Warburton literally picked up French winger Vincent Clerc and then dropped him dangerously to the ground.
But at the end of the day, Wales had their opportunities but simply failed to capitalize. They forced 11 handling errors by the French and failed to convert six penalty kicks.
The other semi-final will go Sunday morning, as world powerhouses Australia and New Zealand will meet up against each other. The winner will play France in the final on October 23 in Auckland.
Tags: morgan parra, rugby world cup, vincent clerc
Posted in More, Rugby |
Sunday, October 9th, 2011
James O'Connor (Craig Boyd, Wikimedia Commons)
We now know the four teams left in the Rugby World Cup.
On Saturday night, Australia defeated South Africa 11-9 in a defensive battle, while New Zealand trounced Argentina 33-10.
Australia will play New Zealand in one semi-final, while France will play Wales in the other semi-final.
France upset England with a 19-12 victory while Wales upset Ireland 22-10. It is interesting to note that three of the four teams that qualified for the semi-finals, failed to win their group and beat a first place team in the quarterfinals.
In Wellington last night, it was a bit of surprise that Australia won because South Africa dominated territorial possession at 76%, but were unable to consistently capitalize on their opportunities.
I thought the missed first half conversion by Australian James O’Connor would be huge in the defensive minded match, but at the end of the day, he was the hero after converting a 30 meter kick in the 71st minute.
Tags: james o'connor, rugby world cup
Posted in More, Rugby |
Saturday, September 17th, 2011
Adam Kleeberger (Bing Images)
It is a jammed pack weekend of sports coverage, and I will be keeping an eye on a wide variety of sports.
In rugby, Canada is looking for a second consecutive victory when they take on the mighty French. France has one more point in the Group A Standings because they were able to record four tries in their 47-21 hammering of Japan.
The Canadians meanwhile exemplified outstanding determination in coming from behind to beat Tonga. They were down 20-13 with about ten minutes left before the Canadians scored 12 unanswered points to win. The game can be seen at 2:30am on Sunday morning on TSN.
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Tags: andy ram, atlanta falcons, boston red sox, british columbia lions, buffalo bills, Calgary Stampeders, chris carpenter, cole hamels, dallas cowboys, daniel nestor, davis cup, jeff niemann, jim harbaugh, jon lester, jonathan erlich, michael vick, mike tolbert, new england patriots, oakland raiders, philadelphia eagles, philadelphia phillies, pittsburgh steelers, rugby world cup, ryan fitzpatrick, san diego chargers, san francisco 49ers, seattle seahawks, st. louis cardinals, tampa bay rays, ted ginn jr., tom brady, vasek pospisil
Posted in Amateur Sports, ATP World Tour, CFL, Home, MLB, More, NFL, Rugby |
Wednesday, September 14th, 2011
Team Canada got off to great start at the Rugby World Cup in Whangarei, New Zealand.
Canada (1-0) got tries from winger Phil MacKenzie of Oakville, Ontario, Aaron Carpenter of Brantford, Ontario and Jebb Sinclair of Red Deer, Alberta in a 25-20 win over Tonga (0-2) in Group A action.
It was a great Canadian moment. Tonga, meanwhile, according to CBC Sports, did not dress a top lineup, as they were overconfident that they would pick up a victory, even though they were pounded 41-10 by New Zealand to open the tournament.
Canadian sports fans needed an outstanding performance in a team sport after disappointing displays by the Canadian women’s soccer team and the Canadian men’s basketball team recently.
I was very impressed with flanker Adam Kleeberger of Elk Point, Alberta, who recorded 14 tackles and was the player of the game. I loved the comment from the host broadcaster who said, “Kleeberger’s beard is older than he is.”
Major reasons for the Canadian victory was the poor first half kicking by Tonga’s Kurt Morath, and poor Tongan defense near the goal line.
Canada’s next game is against France, Sunday morning at 2:30am.
Tags: aaron carpenter, adam kleeberger, jebb sinclair, kurt morath, phil mackenzie, rugby world cup
Posted in Amateur Sports, More, Rugby |
In a defensive minded affair, New Zealand has won its second World Cup in franchise history.
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