WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND – The Rugby World Cup came down to the final four after some hard fought matches, 9th and 10th October. Australia edged past the current champions, South Africa 11-9 in a closely fought and bruising encounter. New Zealand had to struggle in the first half but then upped the tempo to beat Argentina 33-10. The Saturday games saw a revived French team sweep past a disappointing England 19-12 while Wales put on a fine show to beat Ireland 22-10. The semi-finals will feature the All-Blacks against the Wallabies and Wales face the much improved French side.
Links to other sites: Rugby World Cup, Telegraph
Twickenham, London, England and Cardiff, Wales (GenevaLunch) - England lost to the Wallabies 9-18 despite the return of Jonny Wilkinson and a much improved performance in the line-outs. Wilkinson scored all the England points and put in some crunching defensive tackles but the England team was short of offensive ideas and was dominated in the second half. The star player for the Australians was their young scrum-half Will Genia.
In the other big rugby union match the New Zealand All Blacks extended their undefeated record against Wales, who last beat the New Zealanders in 1953.
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.
Perth, Australia (GenevaLunch) – South Africa, current world champions, inflicted another defeat on the Australians in the latest Tri-Nations match. The Wallabies have lost their last six matches in the tournament while the Springboks have won the last five. The South African scrum-half Fourie du Preez was the star player on the field in a match that was more one-sided than the 25-32 final score suggests, at one stage South Africa led 13-29 before a late rally by the Aussies.
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.
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
The BBC surely wins today’s award for most fetching headline but Tazmania must win it for the strangest news and the Messenger Newspaper in Tazmania wins the credit for researching and writing the story: “Stoned wallabies make crop circles.” Tasmanian poppy fields, grown for medical purposes, are suffering from marsupials hopping around “higher than a kite” after eating the poppies, the Australian state’s attorney general told a parliamentary commission.
