RWC Day 21 (I think) Travelog Day 1 (I know): Just don't ask me what day it is

Saturday morning, which feels like Friday afternoon, or Friday morning at a push, but not Saturday morning really. 

As the poet of the valleys, Rhod Gilbert, once said: "I went to New Zealand and holiday and lost Tuesday. It may not mean anything to you but I had things to do."

I'd never really thought about how things could so disorientate you, until I was halfway through the second leg of the journey, approaching Honolulu if the plane's satnav was anywhere near correct; "In 1500 miles (pause for dramatic effect), turn (pause again) left". I'd already had an interesting journey. Sat next to a couple from Leicester on the first leg, we along with a number of England fans and half a dozen suitably madly attired Jocks, had drunk the flight from London to Los Angeles dry. 

When taking down my rucksack having just taken off on the second leg, every bag in the locker moved, I caught two as they fell, but produced my first knock-on of the Rugby World Cup with the third, a computer bag, which landed squarely on the woman in front. Mortified goes nowhere near to describing how I felt as she was repeatedly iced for the next hour.... I had to have several more glasses of wine to ease my own pain.

14 hours is a long time on a place when you can't sleep. It gave me time to think about what awaited me, and to realise I hadn't bought a guide book yet. Oh well, 4 weeks to sort that out.

AIr New Zealand though is now top of my list of people to fly with. Friendly staff, excellent service, comfortable planes, and a safety briefing involving Graham Henry, Richie McCaw and several others. Brilliant! Haven't yet checked YouTube for it, but it must be there and is worth a watch if it is.

My first taste of Auckland was the bus from the airport into town. The 30 minute journey was straightforward, with 1 in 4 houses bedecked in varying colours (a surprising number of Scottish saltires included) but with the All Blacks and Tonga seeming to be the best-supported. The driver friendlily nattered away explaining the route, and I arrived at my luxury lodgings for the first few days. The room is clean, but smaller than my 1st year student hall room. A bed, a sink, a table and a chair equals spartan to say the least. It's clean though, and the shower is a short walk down the corridor. 

After availing myself of the shower I had a stroll down Queen Street and met up with Jules who had sorted out my tickets. The exchange was duly made - a set of tickets for a couple of necessities from the UK (sure I got the good part of that deal even if I had paid a fair amount for said tickets already). From there, after a brief coffee, explore time. The Fan Zone down by the Wharf, with its Cloud building and its enormous bar area for big-screen game watching. A stroll from there down to the harbour, over a new footbridge past a fair few massive yachts, and a fair few completely bizarre structures. The sun was glorious, even if the wind was ever present.

Back to the fan zone for some lunch, and the South Africans were out in force ahead of their game against Samoa. There were a few Scots around too, though the English were probably as numerous, if a little more discrete. There isn't an English equivalent of a kilt and a silly hat, but I'm sure if there was the English rugby supporter would be just as visible as their Scottish brethren. Lunch was a few beers, fish and chips and a more than welcome re-run of Australia vs Ireland (best game of the tournament or just the New Zealanders way of putting a smile on their faces from the beginning of the day? I will let you know after I see whether they show it at the same time every day or not.

Back to the hotel for a brief kip, then the game was watched with a burger in the hotel bar. 5 Welsh, 1 Scot and 2 English with the same idea. South Africa showed promise, Samoa disappointed in the first half, but after Habana's try, a Morne Steyn penalty and a trademark penalty, seemingly from his own try line, from Frans Steyn (his name gets shorter with every RWC, will he be know simply as F in England in 2015?) had seen South Africa lead 13-0, the islanders woke up. 

A try, unconverted, and much bluster, until ref Owens on the advice of his assistant,m gave the first red card of the tournament to Williams of Samoa for punching Brussow. Brussow had had five flaps at Williams but escaped without punishment. Silly from Williams, but with ten minutes to go would it be decisive. Smit, who had replaced Du Plessis, was in benevolent mood and was given a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on, after conceding a free kick from his only line-out. Try as they might, and did they try, Samoa couldn't cross the line to give the South Africans a bigger scare, and as the final whistle went, it confirmed South Africa as Group Winners and Wales as runners-up. 

The remainder of the weekend will see the last 5 positions in the Quarter Final draw filled. An Ireland win against Italy will see them take on Wales, while a defeat could mean anything. England and Scotland face off tonight, or tomorrow morning if you're in the UK, or this morning if you didn't read this before going to bed, knowing the losers face a flight home in all probability, or in an extremely unlikely case, a game against New Zealand while the winners will be saying Bonjour to the French, assuming they avoid a catastrophe against the Tongans.

Breakfast at the hotel was an interesting affair. This place has a bit of a feel of Twin Peaks about it, with slightly strange staff, all palid of skin wearing dark cloths (All Blacks comes from Vampires it would appear). Weetabix that don't look like Weetabix, anaemic Corn Flakes, muesli that looks ever more like rabbit food than usual, scrambled eggs with god knows what in, croissant to make a Frenchman's hair friser (work it out for yourselves Anglophones) I could go on. All this for the bargain of £7.50.... As the saying goes, "Once bitten, never again" Well it doesn't, but it does now.

So Day 1 in New Zealand is over for me. Great place, with friendly people (well those who go out in the daylight, eat garlic and aren't scared of crosses), and I've only seen the middle of Auckland. Can't wait to investigate further, but before then there are 7 games this weekend to get my teeth into.

Catch you later (unless I knock-on again...)

Dummy-spitting NZ Style

I'm in a hotel, early morning call to get to meeting in plenty of time, to get away in plenty of time to get to airport in plenty of time to allow for a quick pint before boarding the plane to AKL via LAX. Clear? Lovelyjubbly

Just had to write though after the ridiculous noises coming out of NZ Rugby's Steve Tew. Emotional blackmail twisted the IRB's arm to bankroll the tournament in New Zealand (which is being supported to the tune of millions of pounds to make up for the empty seats that were an obvious downside of an NZ Rugby World Cup - economy that size plus 4.5million inhabitants equals empty seats - at least till sheep are salaried and given driving licences....)

Tew is now saying that, given the commercial restrictions that the IRB place on participating nations, which are apparently draconian, the All Blacks who are (and I quote) "The brand leaders and big draws of international rugby" will possibly be forced not to participate in the 2015 version in England (which is in part there because of the guarantee that it will make money, which will in some way go towards patching up the IRB's bank account after the outpouring related to the 2011 Cup).

Time to stop taking the IRB hostage All Blacks. We get the point, your brand is strong worldwide, and everyone wants to watch you play. No doubt, you will twist arms further if/when you're crowned as Champions for the second time in a month or so's time.

Would you like all the remaining participating nations to pull out of this tournament now and go home? Citing the same reasons? Not being able to afford the remaining costs for the rest of the tournament? Big hole in New Zealand's profits were that to happen.... think of all the ticket refunds, and lost souvenir revenue, secondary and tertiary spends of all the spectators who cancel their flights......

Grow up and work with the IRB, not against them with all of this phoney posturing. While you're at it, try and build a team capable of winning the tournament outside of its own country..... ;-)

That is all for this short entry. I will see you from the other side of the world (after testing to see whether water does spiral down the drain in the opposite direction down there - I know, I know, it can go any way from anywhere).

A Big Week Ahead

So here we go, the last week of Pool Games before the Quarter Finals are defined, and there is still a fair bit to play for. While New Zealand know where they will be playing, they still don't know who, and the other 3 groups don't officially have anything decided, even if, to all intents and purposes, the draw should end up looking like this:

New Zealand vs Scotland/Argentina/England
winners to play
South Africa vs Australia

England/Argentina/Scotland vs France
winners to play
Ireland vs Wales

If you held a gun to my head and asked me what I thought, I, along with most, would probably say New Zealand vs Argentina and England vs France.

For Scotland to qualify, they need to beat England and either match or better their total of bonus points. Should that happen and Argentina beat Georgia with a bonus point, England can be eliminated. Should teams finish level, the head-to-head result is taken, which means anything could happen. Should all 3 teams finish on 14 points, it goes on tries scored. Confused yet? Here's hoping England win to avoid the need for the calculators. Obviously the fact that I'm English has a certain weight in this.....

Wales could in theory lose out, but they would need to lose to Fiji and see Samoa beat South Africa. South Africa could also lose out in that scenario, but given the Welsh and Springbok form, either of those losing would be a big surprise.

 Ireland and Australia could theoretically switch places, but that would need an Irish loss to Italy, and close though that came to happening in Rome earlier this year, I can't see them being, as Edmund Blackadder once said, "at home to Mr Cock-up" this time.

France could also conceivably lose out, but that would mean them losing to Tonga, by more than 8 points, with Tonga scoring 4 tries and France not.

Team of the World Cup..... so far
Pretty arbitrary this, but in my opinion, with brief (I promise) explanations:

1. Cian Healy (IRE) - Immense against the Aussies
2. William Servat (FRA) - He IS the French front row
3. Gethin Jenkins - a prop picked for a 40-yard try, a dummy and a sidestep on the way.
4. Paul O'Connell (IRE) - Back to his brutal best after injury
5. Danie Rossouw (SAF) - Botha and Matfield's are big boots to fill. He hasn't needed an extra pair of socks
6. Stephen Ferris (IRE) - 4 Irishmen in the pack? The effort against Australia deserves it
7. Sean O'Brien (IRE) - Dominant against Australia and Russia as Ireland gained momentum
8. Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe (ARG) - Talismanic effort against England and early against Scotland. Will be missed
9. Will Genia (AUS) - 1 bright spot for dismal Australia
10. Daniel Carter (NZL) - No fly half has really taken the tournament by the scruff of the neck yet. Carter did against France, so he gets the nod (for now)
11. Richard Kahui (NZL) - Consistently impressive
12. Ma'a Nonu (NZL) - Head and shoulders above every other centre on show
13. Frans Steyn (SAF) - Moved to centre, and impressed enormously since
14. Chris Ashton (ENG) - Leading try scorer, busy in every game
15. Israel Dagg (NZL) - Power, pace and precision

Itinerary
As any regular reader will know, I depart these shores on Wednesday afternoon and after a brief passage by the time-space continuum where I go back in time to suddenly go forward a day as I land in New Zealand, I will be landing in time for the weekend's do-or-die encounters.

I will be updating as and when I can from my hotel room, but here is a rough guide to the itinerary:

Sept 30th to October 3rd - Auckland (including England vs Scotland)
October 4th to October 8th - Queenstown
October 8th and 9th - Auckland (including both Eden park quarter finals)
October 10th and 11th - Wellington
October 12th to 14th - Rotorua
October 15th and 16th - Auckland (including both Semi Finals)
October 17th to 10th - To be arranged
October 21st to 25th - Auckland (including 3rd Place game and Final)

So seven games, three internal flights and probably 2 road trips. I intend to sample almost everything New Zealand life has to offer, though my current knee ligament injury will preclude a bungee jump (I'm well up for it, it's the knee that's stopping me honest).

I'll be hoping to grab some time with some big names of rugby past and present while there, so if I do manage to do that, there will hopefully be the odd Q & A session added here, to change things up a bit.... keep 'em peeled.

And finally....
The injustice has been talked about, and I have defended the IRB, but I really feel for Namibia. 4 games in 16 days is ridiculous when New Zealand will have played 4 games in 23. The Poll that people have been studiously avoiding, suggested people would be open to a 24 team tournament. I think it's time for the IRB to start standing up to the bigger Nations and insisting that they play 1 of the games at a non-peak slot, maybe against the smaller nation in the group, so that all teams have the level playing field they deserve.

There have been some strange Man of the Match awards at this tournament, with many of the lesser sides getting pummelled and seeing one of their side named MOTM. Gorgodze of Georgia against England, Du Plessis of Namibia in a drubbing by Wales are two that spring to mind. I'm still at a loss to explain how Ruaraidh Jackson (no, not how that first name can be said Rory) was named MOTM against Argentina.

3 ITV pundits (Evans, Dempsey and Fitzpatrick) were convinced Contepomi was offside. 3 NZ experts on host TV coverage were convinced it was not. Whatever the story, Scotland and referee Wayne Barnes could learn from the video. Scotland, rather than going towards the post to set up the drop and tying in Contepomi and the rest of the midfield, inexplicably went to the wing leaving the Puams an open route to Parks's right boot. Mr Barnes, was concentrating so much on the ruck, that he never even cast the slightest glance at the Argentinian line looking for offside. It may or may not have been offside, but if the referee doesn't look, it's irrelevant, and he's 'guessing'.

Beware the wounded Scot. I'm sure England will be ready for marauding warriors as Andy Robinson's men know what they have to do. There is history (Grand Slam in 1991; Grand Slam party-poopers in a rainy Murrayfield in 2000) but Martin Johnson and his coaching team will I'm sure not let complacency sink in this week.

In a poll for l'Equipe, the French sports newspaper, 64% of people said they had no confidence in Marc Lievremont. I'm sure given the way he looks at things, he thinks that's a good showing....

Fiji, quarter finalists 4 years ago, have slumped to their lowest ever World Ranking (16). After the last round of games. For the record, Argentina and Scotland swapped places (8 & 9), Samoa moved up to 10, relegating Italy and Canada to 11 and 12, while Tonga and Georgia leaped over Japan and Fiji (13th to 16th in that order). Doe these mean anything? Probably not, but at the top end, New Zealand are well clear, and that reflects performances so far I believe.

England are back up to 30, after Thomas Waldrom was finally announced as replacement for Andrew Sheridan. A Number 8 for a prop, A New Zealander for an Englishman. Nick Easter has been given till Sunday (Easter/Sunday - too many gags are possible so I won't bother.... yet) and if he fails a fitness test he will be replaced. Given the first swap, maybe a 38 year-old ex fly-half who hasn,t played for 14 years is an option.... I warm a mean bench if you're reading Jonno.

Harlequins continue to lead the way in the English Premiership. Though this week's start performers were Saracens, who came away from Welford Road, Leicester having put 50 points on an ever-more depleted Tigers side (Waldrom is a Tiger for those not in the know). Hard times for Leicester indeed. Exeter also continued their good start as the Premiership, as is its wont every 4 years, turns itself on its head while the International players are away.

Clermont still lead the way in France, with Toulouse scraping by Agen this weekend and following three points behind. The 26 game season in France is a long one, and many sides have seen huge departures to the World Cup (Argentinians, Italians, Georgians, Englishmen and even the odd Frenchman). There will be some tired legs come the Heineken Cup Final and the Top 14 Final next summer.

That's all for now folks. There may be more tomorrow evening, but if not, forgive me if there is no entry till Friday, as I will be in a metallic bird flying off on the adventure of a life line.

Any questions, criticism, etc can be sent here as a Comment, to my e-mail marktheeggchaser@googlemail.com or on my Twitter account @theeggchaser (follow me and add me to your #ff list if you don't mind).

See y'all soon

RWC Day 17: A Tale Of 1 Missed Tackle

Discretion formed the better part of valour this morning, as much though I wanted to watch the Fiji-Samoa battle, I decided against the alarm call. The alarm then decided to not work, which meant that Ireland vs Russia fell by the wayside too, but the natural body clock stepped in, and I was ensconced in front of the TV in plenty of time for the anthems.

A lot was at stake for both sides, with Argentina knowing defeat would see them out, and Scotland that, were they to lose, the chances were they would need a convincing win against England at Eden Park next weekend to progress to the Quarter Finals.

The nerves meant much kicking, but Scotland eventually settled first, and secured ball on a few occasions. Patterson it was who had the first chance of points, but his kick, though seeming to be curling round nicely, just held up and faded right to leave the game scoreless.

Argentina were spurred into action, and looked particularly powerful up front as they had done all tournament. From under the sticks, Rodriguez decided to take a drop goal and ease their nerves, but the kick was as ugly as the game had been thus far, and screwed wide.

The scrum was also messy, and the stakes had seemingly affected every element of the game meaning no rhythm could be created. As Di Luca was penalised for a second time for not releasing, Contepomi had a go at goal which fell short. Argentina didn't let the Scots clear their line and a clever chip from Fernandez ensured good position, which was spoiled by Scottish offside, and Contepomi slotted the easiest of three points to break the deadlock.

Pumas big man Fernandez Lobbe then went down in midfield in a seemingly innocuous clash, which resulted in the skipper spending a long period on the ground. Ligament damage seemed to be the order of the day, a big blow to Argentina's hopes were he to go off, but he tried to continue, heavily strapped. At the next scrum, Cross was penalised and Rodriguez missed from distance, leaving the score at 3-0 after 24 minutes.

Scotland were following the French example from the day before, with a bright start ultimately fizzling out into nothing. They were fortunate that the Pumas themselves were struggling, and when Scotland finally started to produce through the dancing feet of Evans and the more direct style of Lamont, they were stopped ten metres out with an 8th turnover of a sloppy first half.

It struck me that were you to combine England's indiscipline with Scotland's chronic ability to give the ball away through turnovers, you would have a pretty poor side. Next week's game could be interesting....

Hamilton finally turned a ball over for the Scots, but pedestrian hands from Jackson and a bad option from Morrison saw things go wrong again. Argentina conceded a penalty at the breakdown though, only for Jackson to wastefully miss touch. Jackson was proving that Scotland have difficulties at 10.

Lobbe's brave attempt to continue ended on 30 minutes. My experience of knee injuries suggests his World Cup could be over. Gray stole the next line-out for Scotland, but again Argentina snuffed out the danger. Much of Scotland's good work was coming from Evans, who the Argentinians could not bring down.

Roncero was penalised in his own 22, much to the chagrin of Ledesma, but he clearly slipped his binding and came  off slightly the worse for wear. Meanwhile, Patterson was preparing himself for a big kick, which he succeeded with, to bring things level.

Scotland were, on the whole, the better side but the breakdown area would concern them greatly. At least their problems could be worked on, as Argentina saw Roncero join Lobbe on the bench as Talisman after Talisman was lost. Argentinian discipline was also on the wain, and another break from Evans, backed up for once by Di Luca, resulted in a penalty for not releasing the tackled man, and Jackson smashed a long kick which cleared the bar by millimetres to give the Scots the lead. Half time: Argentina 3 Scotland 6


Hamilton came more and more into the game as it went on, using his huge frame to pose problems in the tight and the loose. Gray and Jacobsen were also making their presence felt.

Argentina started the second half with another drop goal attempt. When I say attempt, I am being generous. It was short, wide and ugly. Scotland cleared to touch easily, before wasting a turnover through another aimless Jackson kick. Scotland had improved though up front, where Argentina, weakened by those injuries, were not the force they had been against England and Romania.

Evans again burst, kicked ahead and gathered, but after Barclay recycled, Lawson isolated himself and the Argentinians turned over yet again and cleared to touch, though Scotland would have a great attacking line-out position. Typically, they lost the line-out, and with the rain continuing to pour, conditions began to suit the attritional style of game, and the repeated errors of Jackson must surely have tempted Robinson to bring on the metronomic Parks who would thrive in these conditions.

Argentina kept things tight and inched forward, refusing to kick, preferring to keep it in hand, but not really piercing the Scottish defence with any pace, and Hamilton, again, turned over an excellent ball, allowing Jackson, for once to put in a good kick and send the Pumas back where they had come from. From under the sticks, Patterson wasted another drop goal chance, and neither side seemed capable of taking their chances.

It was ebb and flow stuff, interesting if never really exhilarating, and after Jacobsen was caught offside, Contepomi tried to level things up, but missed left. Patterson knocked on in his own half, and from the scrum, Cross was penalised and Contepomi tied the scores at 6 points each after 63 minutes.

The game was crying out for Parks, and Jackson prodded Robinson again with a bad kick-off. Argentina couldn't make the most of it though and Scotland sensed a chance. Third phase ball saw it shipped back to Jackson, way back, and he sent the Scots 3 points clear with the first successful drop goal of an increasingly wet evening.

The Pumas nudged once more into Scottish territory, and referee Barnes penalised Hamilton for not releasing in the tackle. Contepomi hit the left hand upright and Scotland stayed in the lead. Parks eventually replaced Jackson with 11 minutes to go and after Hamilton stole yet another line-out, Argentina conceded a penalty on halfway. Parks' first touch saw a kick land inside the Argentinian 5 metre line. Scotland recycled and drew the Pumas offside, and from the 'free ball' Parks slotted a drop goal with his second touch. Realism in such conditions is way better than creativity, as Parks proved within 120 seconds of his arrival on the pitch. 12-6 and daylight at last.

Argentina were spurred into life though and Contepomi broke in midfield, before shipping to Amorosino who was missed by Patterson, amongst others, and went over for the first try of the night. Contepomi had struggled in the conditions, but he managed to squeeze the conversion over to give the Pumas the lead 13-12.

As time ticked by, Argentina seemed to have killed the game, but conceded a penalty. Comedy of errors time, as Parks went for broke and pushed it. Amorosino from hero to villain fumbled it into touch and Scotland won the lineout and rumbled to the line. Argentina's backs bolted very quickly and were well offside and Parks messed the drop goal attempt badly.

Ultimately, that was that. A missed tackle had ultimately cost Scotland a game they could and should have won. There will be calls that Contepomi was offside, which I think he was, but Scotland should never have been in that position as the missed tackle by Patterson shortly after they had taken a 6 point lead, killed the game.

Full Time Argentina 13 Scotland 12. 

Scotland now need to beat England and in doing so and either match or better them in the bonus points stakes to qualify for the Quarter Finals, something they have always done. Argentina need to patch up their walking wounded in time for Georgia.

Apparently Jackson was voted Man of the Match. I must have been watching a different game to everyone else. Evans was superb, as was Hamilton, and Contepomi orchestrated everything Argentina did. Still, no accounting for taste I suppose, but Jackson did far too much aimless kicking for my liking.