Ever since I arrived in New Zealand I’ve had a distinct lack of sleep – but it’s been worth it. As well as seeing three cracking games over the weekend I’ve also been out whale watching! I may have developed something of a green pallor halfway through the four-hour trip – the sea was pretty choppy – but the sight of a whale with a blowhole as big as my head and scores of dolphins gliding gracefully through the water by the boat more than made up for that.
First on my RWC 2011 agenda was South Africa-Samoa and boy did the Samoans give the reigning world champions a fright. Samoa’s World Cup was really hampered by the schedule; if they’d had more than a four-day turnaround before the Wales game they could well have beaten them, and the same applies with the South Africa match.
This is Samoa’s best back-line for a long time, creative and powerful, but they were outplayed by the Boks at the breakdown. Still, the Boks looked limited and offered little in attack, so Australia may well have the edge in their quarter-final.
Twenty four hours later, it was England’s tussle with Scotland. It was hardly a classic encounter but it was certainly tense. England were dismal in the first half and Scotland played some great rugby, but it was the men in white who provided the clinical and ultimately winning finish.
Wales v Fiji was a far more one-sided encounter but it was a great display by Warren Gatland’s side. They were ruthless in attack, have brought more variety to their game and proved solid in defence – it’s the first time they’ve nilled a team in a World Cup and they’ll certainly go into their quarter-final against Ireland with confidence.
And if there was plenty of drama on the field, it was matched off it. Dan Carter’s been ruled out of the World Cup, which is a bitter blow for the All Blacks. They have been far and away the best team at this tournament, but can they win the Webb Ellis Cup with Colin Slade or Aaron Cruden in the No 10 shirt? Their biggest challenge will be mentally; Carter is their talisman, the leader of their attack and if the players see his loss with the same desperation as the New Zealand public they could be in trouble. The question marks over Richie McCaw’s fitness don’t help matters and the All Blacks could well pay the ultimate price for their over-reliance on those two men.
England have been misbehaving again, too, getting caught in another two tabloid scandals – Mike Tindall lying and another trio upsetting a hotel worker. If I’m honest I think both stories have been blown way out of proportion, particularly the incident involving Haskell, Ashton and Hartley. I was in fits of laughter when reading the story because it’s been so over-dramatised; it was just some typical blokey banter and the girl couldn’t take the joke. If she was so embarrassed, why does she feel the need to tell millions of people about it?
Hopefully we’ll be able to focus purely on the rugby this week. I’m down in Wellington for Ireland v Wales and Australia v South Africa. The rain has been lashing down ever since I arrived but the prospect of those two quarter-finals is ensuring my spirit isn’t dampened!
Tags: Aaron Cruden, Dan Carter, England, New Zealand, Scotland, World Cup
