AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND – The preliminary stage of the Rugby World Cup ended on 2 October and it is already certain that the semi-finals and the final, to be held 23 October at 10:00 Swiss time, will be contests between the Northern and Southern hemispheres. England secured top place in Pool B and sent Scotland home early with a narrow and stodgy 16-12 win over their northern neighbours. France looked out of form as they were beaten 14-19 by Tonga but still qualified as second behind New Zealand in Pool A. England will now face France for the third sussessive World Cup: the English won the last two. Argentina came second in the group and will face the mighty All Blacks next. South Africa won all their games to win Pool D and will now meet Australia. Wales came second in the Pool after losing by a single point to South Africa but were in awesome form as they swept past Fiji 60-0. They next play Ireland, which beat Australia on the way to the top of Pool C.
Links to other sites: Rugby World Cup, Telegraph,
The famous haka performed by the All Blacks rugby team may become a trademark of the Ngati Toa iwi of New Zealand whose ancestors invented it to intimidate enemies before going into battle. The Maori tribe are in talks with the New Zealand Rugby Union, the sport’s governing body, which sees the haka as the team’s most effective rallying cry, according to the Wall Street Journal 17 December.
The tribe applied for registration with New Zealand’s intellectual property office to trademark four phrases from the famous haka that the All Blacks perform before rugby matches. The All Blacks would have to give up the pre-match ritual dance and chant if the IPO accepts the tribe’s claim.
Some see the haka as belonging to all New Zealanders and are surprised that the IPO accepted the application. Intellectual property lawyer Matt Sumpter says: “My view is that this should be off-limits. It’s a famous cultural icon that should be free for everyone to use.”
Twickenham, London, England (GenevaLunch) - The Barbarians rugby club, the self styled “United Nations of Rugby”, pulled off an already-famous victory with the help of three tries by South African winger Bryan Habana. It was the first win over the All Blacks by the Baa-Baas since the historic match in 1973 which featured perhaps the greatest try in rugby history (see video below). The Barbarians, selected on the basis of the ability to play exciting rugby, scored with a series of break-away tries finished off by Habana, one of the fastest sprinters in the sport.
Links to other sites: Telegraph, Reuters
Video, greatest try in rugby history
Twickenham, London, England (GenevaLunch) - England played better than in recent matches, holding the All Blacks to 6-6 at half time but could not match the New Zealanders in the second half and lost 6-19. At least the England women beat the New Zealand Ferns.
Scotland pulled off a surprise 9-8 victory over Australia where their heart was just enough to hold out against the technically better Wallabies. It was their first win against the Aussies for 27 years. Wales beat Argentina 33-16 with two tries by Shane Williams.
Links to other sites: The Guardian, The Times
Croke park, Dublin,Ireland (GenevaLunch) - Irish captain Brian O’ Driscoll celebrated his 100th cap for Ireland with a last minute try that allowed the home team to draw their match with Australia 20-20. In other matches a dull England side plodded their way to a 16-9 win over Argentina. The New Zealand All Blacks struggled against a tough Italian side before winning 6-20 in front of 80,000 fans in the San Siro stadium in Milan.
Links to other sites: Irish Times, The Times
Wellington, New Zealand (GenevaLunch) – The New Zealand All Blacks crushed the Australian Wallabies 33-6 in the final match of the Tri-Nations season. South Africa’s Springboks had already won the series. The Australian coach Robbie Deans criticized the lack of commitment of his players, especially in the final 10 minutes.
Capetown, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – South African fly-half Morne Steyn scored 24 points as the Springboks won their third successive Tri-Nations match of the season 29-17. The Wallabies were overpowered but contributed to their loss by poor discipline and careless mistakes. At one stage there were only 13 Aussies on the field as Matt Giteau and Richard Brown were given yellow cards.
Durban, South Africa (GenevaLunch) – South African fly-half Morne Steyn scored a record 31 points: a converted try and eight penalties, as the New Zealand All Blacks lost again. The All Blacks error-strewn performance meant that the South Africans could control the game and simply wait for the mistakes to come. Steyn smashed the previous record for an individual against the All Blacks.
Details: New Zealand Herald
Auckland, New Zealand (GenevaLunch) - The Wallabies lost again at Eden Park, Auckland, as they made too many errors against the New Zealand All Blacks. The kiwis were not that impressive but managed to maintain their composure and eliminate mistakes to take the game 22-16. Details, RugbyHeaven
(GenevaLunch) – France scored a rare but entirely justified victory over the All Blacks, their first in New Zealand since 1994. The win was built around a solid defence that took advantage of their younger opponents, combined with rapid couter-attacking in traditional French style. France soon moved into a 17-3 lead but the New Zealanders fought back to 17-17 before conceding a try from an interception by Maxine Médard that allowed the French to win 22-27.
