Archive for November, 2008
Aussies sore losers after World Cup final loss to Kiwis
Posted by: | CommentsJust two days after their shock loss to New Zealand in the Rugby League World Cup final, the Australian coaches and players are showing their true colours with some bizarre outburst about the game.
There were a couple of controversial incidents in the game, and both decisions did go the Kiwis way. First Jerome Ropati scored a try after Benji Marshall appeared to knock on, then the Kiwis were awarded a penalty try after Lance Hohaia was taken out by Joel Monaghan.
Australian coach Ricky Stuart made the bizzare claim that his team had been “stitched up” by tournament organisers, saying that a victory by anyone other than Australia would dampen the claims that this tournament had been a one horse race. Stuart apparently had a verbal altercation with ARL chief Geoff Carr immediately after the match.
Prop Brent Kite was also critical of the decision to award New Zealand a penalty try when Hohaia was taken out by Monaghan chasing a grubber kick into the in goal. When asked if fullback Billy Slater would have got to the ball ahead of Hohaia had he not been taken out Kite replied “Of course he would have, I think anyone could have seen that.”
Unfortunately for Australia, unaccumstomed to losing in rugby league, the penalty try decision was probably a good one. Hohaia was a metre from the ball when he was taken out, and probably would have taken the ball before it next bounced and scored at Slater’s feet.
Even the laws of the game seem to be against the Australian conspiracy theory. Law 6.3 (d) the Referee may award a penalty try if, in his opinion, a try would have been scored but for the unfair play of the defending team.
Front rower Anthony Laffranchi also criticised the decision to award Ropati’s try after Marshall appear to knock on and a number of Kangaroos stopped playing, despite there being no whistle. “It was terrible, to be honest,” said Laffranchi.
But the way these incidents have been refereed has not changed in a number of year, as Laffranchie attempted to rake the ball from Marshall’s grasp in the tackle, negating any knock on. Channel 9′s Peter Stirling, himself a rugby league legend, put it best when he said, “If Laffranchie doesn’t play at that football, Marshall doesn’t lose it.”
While the controversial decisions did not help the Australians, the reason for their loss were best summed up by Fairfax league writers Jacquelin Magnay and Glenn Jackson who said: “While Stuart might have been upset with a few decisions, it was the errors of his team, coupled with a lacklustre forward pack, that cost them the game. Captain Darren Lockyer failed to ground a try, Billy Slater threw a ball direct to try-scoring Kiwi Benji Marshall and Joel Monaghan handed the Kiwis a penalty try after a deliberate and high tackle on Lance Hohaia.”
And I thought the Irish were laid back
Posted by: | CommentsAhead of their clash with Ireland, the All Blacks have been met by a venomous column by Irish Independent writer Vincent Hogan, who among other things calls the All Blacks “bullies” and relishes their World Cup losses. Here’s a few choice quotes:
When they look at us they see lifelong losers
How many World Cups has Ireland won exactly?
The bullying gene in their rugby DNA practically froths and bubbles at the threat of losing to opposition of our calibre.
Bullying gene? Or it could be that they are in a no win situation, beat the Irish and it’s what was expect of them, lose to the Irish and, as Hogan puts it, go home in ankle chains.
They have a view of themselves that is routinely validated in competition.
To quote Kid Rock: “It ain’t cocky motherfucker if you back it up.”
Yet, once every four years, they go into spectacular meltdown. And when that happens, rugby has a grin on its face.
Nobody finds the All Blacks inability to win the World Cup more frustrating than New Zealanders, but I suppose when you support a team who has wins over the mighty Scots, Italians and Canadians this year, you need to find pleasure in other’s misery.
Outside of their own, few people love the All Blacks.
So Munster recruited Christian Cullen and Doug Howlett because they hate them?
Take golfer Michael Campbell out of the equation and exactly what else do they bring to mainstream sport on the global stage?
I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Our three gold medals in Beijing to Ireland’s none, Blackburn Rover’s captain Ryan Nelson, or Steve Williams, caddy to a guy you might have heard of: Tiger Woods.
The Haka is, essentially, a leery war dance.
Now he’s grasping at straws, taking shots at a tradition that is over 100 years old.
When the mood takes them, the Blacks embellish it with a gesture that, to the naked eye, looks uncannily like a promise to slit the opponent’s throat.
Ah yes, the controversial ending to the All Blacks’ alternate Haka, Kapa O Pango. This throat slitting gesture hasn’t been used in over a year because of the stir it caused among our own fans, and besides, before going into battle, what’s wrong with a little intimidation?
(Clive Woodward) also sent O’Driscoll to meet some Maori elders for advice on how to meet the Haka ‘challenge’ (and we all know how that ended).
Are there some people out there who still think that was some kind of retribution for O’Driscoll’s “disrespect”? Whether or not it was intentional on the part of the All Blacks, it had nothing to do with O’Driscoll’s gesture after the Haka, but I think we’ve uncovered the root of Hogan’s bitterness here.
In his fine autobiography, Ronan O’Gara refers to the mauling he took in the New Zealand media after the Lions opening tour game of ’05. O’Gara missed a few tackles in the victory against Bay of Plenty and the locals didn’t spare him.
“Ronan Keating would be a better tackler,” wrote one chap in the New Zealand Herald.
And now he turns his sights on the media. I’m a big fan of O’Gara, he’s a fantastic player who can control the game with his running, passing or kicking but in that particular game he was crap. The Bay of Plenty loose forward kept running at him and his attempts at tackling looked like something you’d see from a 10 year old. Comparing him to Irish pop star Ronan Keating is pretty funny in my book.
Face it, Dan Carter could run around in circles waving daisies for an hour next Saturday and he wouldn’t face that kind of guff from our own noble hackery.
I’m sure your fellow hack Steven Jones would delight in it actually.
Maybe that’s the thing about the Blacks. We pay them too much respect when, essentially, they pay us none.
Perhaps because of the four home nations, Ireland and Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks, Wales last beat them over 50 years ago and only England have consistently provided a challenge. The All Blacks deserve that respect, and on the paddock only England have earned it.
The All Black players themselves have shown themselves off the field to be humble and full of respect for their opponents. But on the field is where it counts, and no amount of bleating from an Irish journalist is going to change that.
Can anyone stop the All Black’s from another Slam?
Posted by: | CommentsAfter easily accounting for Scotland with a mixture of first and second choice players, are any of the home nations capable of preventing the All Blacks from achieving their second Grand Slam in three years?
Up next for the All Blacks are Ireland who have not been having the best year in internationall rugby. Picking up wins against Scotland and Italy in the Six Nations and beating Canada last weekend are the only successes the men in green have had this year.
Their tour down under in June was something of a disaster for the team, losing to New Zealand and Australia in consecutive weeks, neither time really challenging their southern rivals. No, Ireland will not be the team who denies the All Blacks a Grand Slam.
After a midweek fixture against Munster, the next opponent will be Wales and this is where things get interesting for New Zealand. Wales, coached by kiwi Warren Gatland, have been something of a Jekel and Hyde team this year, going unbeaten in the Six Nations, then losing three in a row to South Africa including a 20-15 loss last weekend.
It is well documented that coach Gatland wanted his team together earlier than he got them, so it could be difficult to read much into their loss to the Boks. In fact, after another hit out against Canada, it will be the match with the All Blacks that the Welsh will be targetting for their November test schedule.
Wales have the kind of creative back line that could trouble the All Blacks, particularly with James Hook back at the helm, but it will up front where Wales will need to dominate if they are to deny New Zealand a Grand Slam.
If the All Blacks can over come Wales, the only thing between them and a Grand Slam will be England. At Twickenham England are at their best, able to stifle opponents attack, grind them down with relentless forward pay and beat them with precision goal kicking.
The England side which toured New Zealand back in June will bear little resemblance to the side which will take the field on November 30. Coach Martin Johnson is now firmly in charge, taking over from caretaker Rob Andrew, leading his inexperienced side to a good win over the Pacific Islanders.
Danny Cipriani, filling in for the once again injured Johnny Wilkinson, played especially well, slotting 14 points and directing the backline well.
England will also be match hardened, much like Wales, playing the other two Tri-Nations countries ahead of New Zealand so will be well adapted to the southern style of play, however the tough clashes could backfire as the team need to get themselves ready physically and mentally for three games in three weeks against the three top ranked sides in the world.
The All Blacks will most likely complete their Grand Slam tour unbeaten for their second Slam in three years, but Wales and particularly England will be no push overs. Expect to see full strength line ups take the field in the final two tests as coach Graham Henry looks to end the year on a high note.
Young Football Ferns do their country proud
Posted by: | CommentsThe U17 Women’s World Cup may be over for hosts New Zealand, but this team of schoolgirls showed such heart and passion that they’ve done the country proud – and won a few fans in the process.
No New Zealand team has ever won a game at a Fifa World Cup, either at international or age group level, male or female, until the Young Football Ferns defeated Columbia 3-1 in their final outing of the tournament. Neither team had much to play for, both already eliminated, but New Zealand took the bull by the horns and sewed up the win they so richly deserved.
Opening the tournament against Canada, New Zealand put in a fantastic account of themselves in a 1-0 loss, providing some tense moments towards the end of the game as they battled for the equaliser. In front of 13,000 fans, a record for any female New Zealand team, the young girls did themselves proud even if they did feel the sting of defeat.
A win against Denmark could have kept them alive and looked to be on the cards when the team took the lead through Annalie Longo but it was not meant to be. Longo could have made it two, which may have sealed victory, but her shot hit the post and bounced to the keeper who started a move which gave Denmark the equaliser. Denmark went on to win 2-1.
Up against Columbia, New Zealand could have folded and just played it safe, instead they went all out in cold and wet conditions and came away with the win. Rosie White was the clear star of the game, netting all three goals for the home side in a performance which saw her leap up to fourth on the goal scorers’ list, although she fell back to sixth after the round robin finished.
While White and Longo were the only ones to get their names on the score sheet, there were plenty of other notable performances. Captain Bri Fisher anchored the team’s defense and provided wonderful leadership, Hannah Wall’s blistering pace down the wings troubled most defences, Caitlin Campbell provided a rugged and uncompromising defence and Victoria Esson filled in magnificently in goal after first choice keeper Charlotte Wood was injured in training.
A staggering eight member of this team now head to Chile to contest the U20 Women’s World Cup, but to the entire Young Football Ferns squad I say congratulations, you’ve done your country proud!
U17 Women’s World Cup: Pure football, pure enjoyment
Posted by: | CommentsAfter two rounds of the group phase, the Fifa Under 17 Women’s World Cup is proving to be a major success in New Zealand, drawing record crowds in a country notoriously dismissive of football, and showing that football in its purist form provides a wonderful spectacle.
Talk to the average Kiwi about football and the likely responce will be that they dislike the theatrics often seen at the top level, the diving and swarming around the referee, as well as the negative defensive play as teams try to sit on a 1-0 lead or attempt to play for the draw.
But has any of this been seen at the Under 17 World Cup? No, although one Brazilian committed an outrageous dive, had a free kick awarded against her and was just about laughed out of the stadium. Perhaps an isolated incident in an otherwise sparkling display of all that is good about football.
The skills on show, the emotions and the passion almost make you forget that you’re watching a group of schoolgirls playing the beautiful game with stunning strikes, amazing saves and tough tackling coming from all teams.
The hosts may be out of the tournament, with a dead rubber to play against Columbia, but they have also provided some of the most entertaining moments as well. They lost both their outings by a single goal to Canada and Denmark, but in both games laid siege to their opponent’s goal in the final 10 minutes and were unlucky not to pick up an equaliser.
The contenders in this tournament have also shown themselves to be a joy to watch, the Japan vs France game clearly the match of the tournament so far. Japan played absolutely magnificently, showing flair and class in abundance as they hammered the French 7-1, showing skills well beyond their years.
Germany have also sounded a warning to the rest of the tournament, with striker Dzenifer Marozsan leading the way as the tournament’s leading scorer. Marozsan’s play, combined with some outstanding play from midfielder Isabelle Linden, has propelled Germany into the knockout phase and shown them to be a real contender.
The other team showing they have what it takes to win this inaugural tournament is England, who are the only team assured of going through from Group D after beating Brazil and Nigeria so far. The play of striker Danielle Carter, who has been compared to her All Black namesake, against Brazil was breathtaking as she netted two goals and set up the third.
Finally, this tournament could be signalling a shift in the balance of power in women’s football as all three teams from Asia, Japan, North Korea and South Korea, have played outstanding football and are all capable of making the knockout phase. Japan’s drubbing of traditional powers France was nothing short of astounding.
Perhaps New Zealand will never be a football nation and rugby will alway be king here, but the standard of play in this tournament and the passion shown by the player will win over a lot of fans. And on a side note, the New Zealand team broke down in tears after their second heart breaking loss at the weekend, why did the Silver Ferns not do the same thing after their loss to Australia?
