Does anyone want to grasp this tournament by the scruff of the neck? New Zealand have come as near as anyone to doing this, but even they, with the Carter injury taking over the Nation's thoughts, are going to struggle to keep the grip they have established thus far. NZ now stands officially for Nervous Zealand. The confidence of the weeks pre-Carter injury has been dissipated and now, when you ask a local if they are going to win the tournament, there is a moment of doubt before an affirmative answer, and the hollow-ish look in the eyes tells you that there is less certainty in their words. When coach Graham Henry says "We will muddle through" it can hardly fill Colin Slade, Carter's replacement, with belief. Slade performed OK yesterday, though admittedly only against Canada. Bigger tests will come quickly, with the Quarter Final draw now known, and he limped off with a sore ankle at the end of yesterday's victory. How Henry must wish he had the option of calling on Donald, who is at Bath and therefore ineligible for selection due to Internal All Black rules.
The All Blacks face Argentina in the Quarter Finals, after the latter eventually came past a dogged Georgia. Scotland are therefore on their way home before the Quarter FInals for the first time. Georgia needed to beat Argentina by 8 points to send the Scots through. At half time they were 2 points to the good, and another surprise looked on the cards, but Argentina eventually got their act together and ran out comfortable winners, dashing Scottish hopes and determining Argentina as the Quarter Final opponents of the All Blacks. New Zealand's front row won't be looking forward to that one, but I don't expect the 4-yearly All Black choke to come in that one.
The other game in that half of the draw sees South Africa take on Australia, after Ireland confirmed their Group win by beating Italy, who stuck with it for half an hour before eventually succumbing. Australia's backs have been dropping like lead balloons in this tournament, and with Quade Cooper still sporadic at best, I can't see them overcoming a Springbok side who are improving with every game. They have though lost Frans Steyn, who had been their best player till now.
So, a year before it officially comes into existence, we have a knock-out version of the 4 Nations tournament to decide one finalist. South Africa vs New Zealand in the semis would be my guess, with that game being the one that the All Blacks will fear. They don't "win ugly" well, and with South Africa the experts at that, it could be the day that the Nation needs to have the Heimlich Manoeuvre ready.
The other half of the draw sees a reduced version of the Northern Hemisphere's tournament, with the 4 powers of the 6 Nations battling for a place in the final. It would be a 4th appearance for England, a 3rd for France and a first for either Ireland or Wales. Quarter Final 1 sees the expected battle between England and France at the knock-out stages for the 3rd consecutive tournament, though this time a round early. England have the best defence i9n the tournament having conceded just the one try against Georgia and they have the leading scorer in 6-try Ashton. France have been woeful. Defeats against the All Blacks and Tonga left them lucky to progress. Tonga will be ruing their defeat against Canada as they take the relatively short trip home. France vs England is always tricky to call, and there's no change today as both sides have a lot of improvement to find to dream of winning the tournament. Both have the potential though, so it is just a question of who will be the one to find their feet first.
Ireland vs Wales is the final quarter final. Wales finished their group yesterday with a heavy defeat of Fiji, by far the most disappointing side of the tournament for me. From the moment Roberts scored an early try, it became a procession for the Welsh. They will be looking to book a first semi final place since 1987, while Ireland will be after their first ever semi final. Many people believed that Ireland's chance had been and gone. Last time out they were a promising side in the Northern Hemisphere, but went out at the group stage to Argentina and France. This time, the belief was that they were a little too long in the tooth, but with O'Connell back in the form that made him Lions captain 2 years ago, and with O'Brien rampaging in the number 7 shirt, they have proved they are possibly the best of the Northern hemisphere sides. A Final place could well be beckoning them if they continue to perform, though Wales followed by England or France is in no way a walk in the park.
It will be interesting to see the outcome of these 4 games next week. I will be at the games at Eden Park (Saturday: England vs France, Sunday: New Zealand vs Argentina) and will report back on those in due course.
This week sees me travelling to Queenstown, the beautiful fjord-like landscape promising some stunning scenery and potential for mischief! Bungee Jumping, Jet-boating, Huge swings, the list goes on slightly longer than my nerve will hold. There will be a much more touristy look to this blog over the week though, as there will be no rugby to report on, so you have been warned. I leave Queenstown on Saturday morning, heading back to Auckland for the Quarter Finals, which will be a whistle-stop weekend, given I fly to Wellington first thing on Monday for another week of touristy stuff. I'm still undecided on the last week I spend here, and am leaning towards the Bay of Islands, but will see in due course as I gradually read the various bits and bobs on possible locations.
The hotel continues to impress by the way. Their sign saying "All Matches shown live" was conspicuous by its absence yesterday evening, as it had suddenly not got Sky and was consequently showing only "The big games". I'm sure those words could be used as motivation to Ireland, who obviously aren't classed as a big draw, if they get to the Final. The location of the hotel is the top of Queen Street, and the last kilometre is up a steep hill, the legs are getting a good work-out as a result. Technical issues mean the picture upload will have to wait, but there will be a link later in the week.
I was back in the hotel to watch the Ireland vs Italy game, as I had been out watching the first three games in the pub. Said pub was full to bursting come the second half of the Wales vs Fiji game, but this was due to the local Rugby League side (the NZ Warriors) playing in the Grand Final of the ARL in Sydney. Wales was relegated to one screen and I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and that I would go back to the hotel to see Ireland. The best laid plans.... NZ Warriors were 12-2 down at half-time and I haven't been bothered to look for the result this morning. New Zealanders really are sport-mad, and tonight's live attraction is the Silver Fearns versus England. Live netball... could be interesting.
A quick look out of the window sees a grey Auckland morning greeting me again. You don't come here for a suntan, well not at this time of year. Queenstown being a lot further South (110 minute flight to give you an idea), towards the end of the South Island, I am expecting much colder weather still this week, though hopefully drier too. Today's plan is to wander the streets of Auckland some more, maybe visit a couple of museums too, avoid alcohol at all costs after a heavy weekend, and find and eat a salad, which I have been dodging somewhat so far, unless you count the grilled tomato on yesterday's breakfast.
One final thought. The New Zealand press are truly pillocks. They slate the Northern hemisphere game at every opportunity, and really do have this holier than thou attitude to everything that rugby is. The man on the street here is as nice as pie, friendly as anything and always interested in you, your thoughts and ensuring you have a great time. The same cannot be said about the media, who seem solely to exist to put down the European game. Here's hoping that the Webb Ellis Trophy heads back Europe-way come the end of the month, to leave them to choke on their comments.
One final thought. The New Zealand press are truly pillocks. They slate the Northern hemisphere game at every opportunity, and really do have this holier than thou attitude to everything that rugby is. The man on the street here is as nice as pie, friendly as anything and always interested in you, your thoughts and ensuring you have a great time. The same cannot be said about the media, who seem solely to exist to put down the European game. Here's hoping that the Webb Ellis Trophy heads back Europe-way come the end of the month, to leave them to choke on their comments.
So, until I next write, from Queenstown unless anything ridiculously exciting happens (like I get called up to replace Jonny Wilkinson in the England squad), goodbye for now.
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