donnyboy

Wallabies recall Turinui

Centre Morgan Turinui has been called in to Australia's rugby World Cup squad as a left-field replacement for injured No 8 David Lyons.Turinui's call-up, two years after playing the last of his 20 tests, has been largely prompted by the concern surrounding injured playmaker Stephen Larkham

donnyboy

1999 still fresh in McCaw's memory

All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw insists New Zealand will not make the same mistakes they made in 1999 when they resume their rivalry with France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Sunday.

donnyboy

Carter still in doubt for ABs' France clash

All Black first five-eighth Daniel Carter will play in Sunday's World Cup quarter-final against France in Cardiff provided his injured calf has fully recovered by the weekend.Carter withdrew from last Saturday's final group match against Romania after straining a muscle in training.

"Daniel trained for 50 per cent of the time with the team this morning and looked fine to me," coach Graham Henry told a news conference. "But he is not 100 per cent fit at the moment.

donnyboy

Les Bleus have the blues in Cardiff

French players got the blues when they left the comfort of their Marcoussis training camp and the Marseille sunshine to rebase in Cardiff, venue for their quarter-final against New Zealand."We try to adapt but it was a shock when we flew over from Marseille, where we relaxed by 25 degrees on a terrace with a sea view after our last pool game, to the mist of Cardiff," captain Raphael Ibanez told a news conference on today.

The official line in the French camp is that Les Bleus have only themselves and their defeat to Argentina in the opening game to blame for losing top spot in Pool D and being forced to face New Zealand in Cardiff instead of playing Scotland in Paris.

In the cramped and overheated conference room of a Cardiff hotel, Ibanez said "all the French players would have liked to escape such a situation".

"A bill like France v New Zealand deserved to be played in France with the support of our home crowd," he said.

"The most disturbing point for the players is that they know they will lack the atmosphere and the support of the spectators they have enjoyed since the beginning of the tournament."

donnyboy

Bitter rivalry set for new dramatic chapter

When it comes to ritual sporting humiliation, England have more often than not resembled the bloodied corpse and Australia, the merciless executioner.The 2005 Ashes cricket success and the 2003 rugby World Cup triumph have been rare highlights for England's long-suffering fans who have grown wearily familiar with the power of the Australian juggernaut.

When it comes to the rugby World Cup, the English can at least boast a level playing field with two wins apiece ahead of Sunday's (NZ time) eagerly-awaited quarter-final in Marseille.

Luke McAlistar

Thanks for all the posts donnybody, took me ages reading them.

Predictions- Australia vs England, England lack the cutting edge to score against such a solid defense, also Wilkinson despite what the media say is out of form with the boot. Wallabies by 20

France vs New Zealand, France have been getting better since that woeful performance on the opening night. But they still make too many handling errors and against the AB's they will be severely punished. All Blacks by 30

South Africa vs Fiji, the Fijians will probably be exhausted after their magnificent win over Wales, but if they play anything like they did on sunday then they can cause the Sprinboks some problems. I think though even with the Fijians fiery passion and heart they will be taken apart. Boks by 30-40

Scotland vs Argentina, the Pumas are just growing in confidence all the time although they dont have what it takes to challenge the very best teams they should beat Scotland to get to the semis. Maybe then they will finally be allowed into either the tri nations or the 6 nations. Scotland strugled against Italy after an excellent start, the weather and the tension meant that it was never going to be a classic, however they do have alot more to offer and have a similar game to Argentina. the Argies by 10

donnybody you have some stats on who had scored the most points in this wc, how many does Chris Paterson have? i think out of 20 or so kicks in this cup they(him and Parks) havent missed a single one between them, incredible.

__________________
McAlistars the man

donnyboy

thats ok Luke! theyre from my other site that Im a member of. Cant say as I will get banned next time, anyway heres another of my posts, and will post some more tomorrow.

well its Quarter finals weekend and that means sudden death rugby. Im sure the intensity will be increased for sure with teams putting their very best team on the park. Im hoping to see teams contesting 100% and leaving nothing in the tank after 80 minutes. A few of the teams have key players out with injury, so the depth of the squad comes into play. How the players respond will be interesting. Some teams have had easier pool games coming into the quarters, will they be undercooked, conversely, will the teams that have played in tougher pools be overcooked and tired.

my predictions;

England vs Australia; Eng will have a hard job containing the Aussie backline. Although Larkam is still out, Mortlock returns. He adds alot more punch to the team and gives them direction as well. The flyhalf role goes to Barnes who is a good player. Englands strength is in the pack. Although they have some pace on the wings, the Aussies should have them neutralised. Wilko will need to be on song with the boot as well, as penalties may be crucial. Australia by 30.

NZ vs France; The All Blacks have had the easy pool in this competition sweeping aside the minnows. Mental preperation may be key to ensure they have the self belief to do the job. No real weaknesses that I can see.
France will be doing it tough. Having had the RWC in their backyard, only to play their "Dream Final" in a quarter final and to top it off, played in Cardiff, where the All Blacks have had good results. Their only fortune was winning the toss on wearing the darken Blue jersey and placing the All Blacks in Grey/silver. All Blacks by 20.

South Africa vs Fiji; The Boks have some injuries but have the depth to cover. They will have dominance in scrums and lineouts and have a lethal backline as well. Fiji will need to play another high octane game like they did last week to have any chance. If they are in stiffing range by the 60 min mark who knows. Tonga almost had the opportunity but the bounce of the ball was cruel. The Flyhalf Nicky Little will be missed, he was instrumental to their win against Wales. Boks by 40

Argentina vs Scotland; This game will be closer I believe. The Argentina are great at that rumbling forward play, but also have got Contenpomi in the backline who can set the game alight. Scotland can match the Pumas man for man so it could go either way. Argentina by 5

should be a great weekend
Go Joe Rokococo!

donnyboy

his is what its all about, spreading the passion for rugby rolleyes.gif
I would love the Pumas to go on and face & beat the Boks as they are my second favourites now,


Pumamania takes over Argentina


Argentina has been gripped by Pumamania with rugby pushing soccer, the national game, off the front pages and into second place in the sporting calendar.
Players and coaching staff at the World Cup, where the Pumas have beaten heavyweights France and Ireland on their way to the quarterfinals, are elated by the reaction at home.

The biggest soccer game in the country between Boca Juniors and River Plate was brought forward to an earlier kickoff on Monday (NZ time) so as not to clash with Argentina's quarterfinal against Scotland at the Stade de France.

"This is getting very good coverage," coach Marcelo Loffreda said of the team's results and performances in France where they have won their four matches so far.
"So, it also gets more people (interested), more kids playing rugby, who approach (the game), who start to like it, who begin to be attracted by what the Argentina players feel when they see them sing the anthem," Loffreda, a former Puma, told reporters.

Referring to the change in the kickoff time for the River-Boca classic, Loffreda added: "I think this is a lovely message that Argentine sport is not exclusively about football ...(and) also that (the Pumas occupy) the front pages."

Soccer fans put their first love to one side last weekend, either watching Argentina's 30-15 victory over Ireland on television or taking their transistor radios to football grounds to follow the Pumas match in Paris.

There are radio commentaries of the matches, bars show them on TV and kids are wearing shirts with the horizontal light blue and white Argentine colours in preference to the vertical stripes of the soccer jersey.

Newspapers have explained in their World Cup supplements how the Pumas came by their name, on their first tour abroad in southern Africa in 1965, and the meaning of such terms as try, conversion, drop goal, lineout and scrum.

"It's impressive what the Pumas are generating in the people," said student Nelson Lampert on a Buenos Aires street.
"Now people talk about rugby everywhere. People are getting into it who didn't even know what a try was.

"I think the commitment the team shows match after match got people following the game.
"The lack of success of the national football team, I think is also a reason for this furore. The Pumas lay down everything for the Argentine jersey."

Francisco and his friend Gaston, two 12-year-olds in their final year of primary school, have only just started playing rugby thanks to the Pumas.
"I started to play three weeks ago because, watching the World Cup, I realised I liked rugby," said Francisco.
"In my class we are three (boys) who started rugby this week," said Gaston two days after watching the Pumas beat Ireland 30-15 to secure their quarterfinal berth in Paris.

- REUTERS

donnyboy

All Blacks lose strip battle, go on spy alert

The All Blacks yesterday looked to have lost one battle in the leadup to Sunday's quarter-final against France but are doing everything they can to stop anyone else gaining an edge.
As the New Zealand Rugby Union revealed the All Blacks were on espionage alert, team manager Darren Shand lost a coin toss over who has to play in their alternate strip on Sunday.
That means France get to wear their first choice dark blue jersey in Cardiff, although the IRB was still determining whether a change of strip was required by New Zealand.

donnyboy

Another Springbok prop goes down
8:50AM Wednesday October 03, 2007

MARSEILLE - South African tighthead prop CJ van der Linde will miss Monday's rugby World Cup quarterfinal clash with Fiji after injuring a knee in training overnight.

Springbok coach Jake White said van der Linde would not be fit to play this weekend but would be available should the team progress to the semifinals.

"The good news is that it's a sprain which means a bit of conservative treatment and he should be fine for next week if we beat Fiji," said White.

White said Van der Linde's place in the starting 15 was likely to be taken by replacement Jannie du Plessis, who arrives in France later today.

Du Plessis was called into the squad on Monday in place of first-choice tighthead BJ Botha who injured knee ligaments in Monday's pool match against the United States.

"Jannie will have to start," said White. "Gurthro will come on to the bench and we also have (hooker) John Smit who can move over to prop if Jannie doesn't last the 80 minutes."