Wallabies now major threat to AB's at next year's Rugby World Cup...

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The Wallabies are now the major threat to the All Blacks at next year's Rugby World Cup


The Wallabies have superseded South Africa as New Zealand's closest challenger and major threat at next year's Rugby World Cup, according to All Blacks star Jerome Kaino.



While New Zealand logged their 10th straight win over Australia in the last Tri-Nations match of the season in Sydney on Saturday, the Wallabies' performance gave their supporters more cause for hope following the drought-breaking win at altitude over the Springboks in Bloemfontein the previous week.



Australia led by 13 with 15 minutes to go, but conceded two late converted tries to lose 23-22.



Fatigue caused by a short turnaround following a long flight from South Africa and Tests in successive weeks against the Springboks appeared to take a toll.



Regular starting blindside flanker Kaino, who sparked New Zealand after coming off the bench on Saturday, lavished praise on what he perceived as an improving Australian side.



"The Wallabies have young players, keen players, that are willing to improve and they are improving," Kaino said.



"They have got a lot of enthusiastic players. I've seen them grow from 12 months ago.



"The Springboks, no disrespect, a lot of what they do is quite predictable.



"Seeing these Wallabies out there, it poses a new threat, just thinking on what they are going to present in 12 months time, at World Cup time."



Kaino pointed to New Zealand's dramatic change of fortune over the last year as evidence of how much a team can improve in just 12 months.



Since losing a third straight game to the Springboks, the All Blacks have reeled off 15 successive victories, just two short of the world record streak for top flight nations.



"Twelve months ago, people weren't really thinking much or saying much about this Wallabies team and all the new players that are in there," Kaino said.



"Nowadays a lot of these players are key figures in the Wallabies team and international rugby.



"Just seeing them improve and how much these young players are going to learn, from these tough times, it's going to be huge."



He described Wallabies openside flanker David Pocock as 'a menace', who was filling the gap created by the retirement of George Smith.



While Australian goalkicker Matt Giteau missed four shots on Saturday, All Blacks halfback Piri Weepu landed all five of his attempts.



Weepu revealed he had a disastrous practice session the day before, making only three or four of 15 shots before deciding to stop.



"Before the game I was thinking to myself 'I hope this doesn't come down to goal kicks' and obviously it did come down to that," Weepu told reporters.



"You've got to be able to kick under a whole lot of pressure and 'Gits' is pretty good at kicking under pressure and tonight probably wasn't his night."



Acnowlegements: © 2010 AAP

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NZ Black Ferns win womens Rugby World Cup for fourth time...

Image via Wikipedia Rugby World Cup  -  New Zealand's fourth straight women's World Cup win this morning, after narrowly beating England 13-10 in the final at London, was built around composure, veteran first five-eighth Anna Richards said.


Richards, 45, was one of three Black Ferns shown the yellow card during the keenly contested match which was not settled until the 66th minute when Kelly Brazier slotted home a penalty.



The Black Ferns' defence then proved impenetrable for the final 14 minutes as England, playing New Zealand in a final for the third consecutive time, launched a series of attacks from deep inside their half in a desperate attempt to snatch victory.



For Richards, it was a fourth World Cup medal in a Black Ferns career that began in 1990.



Today's final marked her 49th test for the Blacks Ferns after having been called up when first choice No 10 Amiria Rule was ruled out of the tournament with a knee injury.



"It feels awesome, it feels kind of surreal," Richards said at a post match interview.



"It was an awesome atmosphere tonight and kind of a strange game with all the sin-binnings. It was a weird game actually, but nice to come out on top.



"It definitely ebbed and flowed. I thought we had the better first 15 or 20 and then England came back when we had a couple of sin-binnings.



"Our composure (helped us win), especially when we were down to 14 and 13 at some stages, and we believed in ourselves."



It felt good to collect her fourth winner's medal.



"I am tired but it is kind of surreal, I will believe it later but I am really happy. This one is exactly the same, it doesn't get any better - it's the best."



Otago winger Carla Hohepa crossed in the 33rd minute to score the opening try of the match while the Black Ferns had 14 players on the field.



Richards had been shown the yellow card for not rolling away in the 22nd minute and was joined in sin bin seven minutes later by prop Mel Bosman.



Otago second five-eighth Kelly Brazier converted Hohepa's try and New Zealand went to the break leading 7-0.



England's Katy McLean narrowed the lead with an early second half penalty but New Zealand came back.



Hohepa nearly added a second try when she pounced on an England turnover but lock Joanna McGilchrist produced the cover tackle of the tournament.



Brazier stretched New Zealand's lead to 10-3 with a penalty but the Black Ferns lost skipper Melissa Ruscoe to yet another yellow card in the 57th minute.



England took advantage of their superior numbers to equalise in the 62nd minute.



They opted to scrummage from the penalty and, after great work from the pack, the ball was popped onto the blindside for Charlotte Barras to score her fourth try of the tournament which McLean superbly converted.



New Zealand's winning points came from a penalty after they drove deep into English territory and Brazier slotted home from just inside the 22m line.



Ad Feedback "I was pretty nervous (with the penalty at 10-10)," Brazier said.



"The crowd were making a lot of noise. I just thought of it as another kick and thankfully it went straight through the posts.



"Obviously there was still a bit of time on the clock so I knew it wasn't over yet."



But New Zealand defence was up to the task as they calmly repelled England.



"We knew if we could just get back down their end, no one has scored on us from their own 22, so we were happy," Brazier said.



Ruscoe said the team's response to the sin-binnings had been "massive and that doesn't come down to fitness".



"It doesn't come down to how much you do down at the gym - that comes down to pride and passion and the jersey that you are wearing. The girls just put their whole heart into it and got us through the game."



Australia finished third, downing France 22-8 in the playoff.



Results:



Final: New Zealand 13 England 10



3rd Place Play-Off: France 8 Australia 22



5th Place Play-Off: USA 23 Canada 20



7th Place Play-Off: Ireland 32 Scotland 8



9th Place Play-Off: Wales 29 South Africa 17



11th Place Play-Off: Sweden 8 Kazakhstan 12

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Just 12 months to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand...

Image via WikipediaJust 12 months to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand...








Just 12 months to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand...



Its just 12 months to the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. It will be the third biggest sporting event after the Olympics and the Soccer (Football to some) World Cup. So its a huge sporting event and undoubtably will be the biggest sporting event in New Zealand's history.



The game draw has just been released(NZ play Tonga in game one,England play Argentina in game five and Australia play Italy in game six). Ticket prices have also been released and applications can be made in NZ from Sept 10 to October 10 2010. Apply RUGBYWORLDCUP.COM/TICKETS Use your Master Card.



While New Zealand won the inaugural event in New Zealand and Australia in 1987, with the final at Eden Park in Auckland, the historically superior rugby nation has not been able to win another since, despite being ranked 'Number One' every year.



I believe the Rugby World Cup has assumed too much prestige at the expense of other rugby competitions and tours to each other's countries.



After pool play where each country plays each other in that particular pool, the games from quarter finals, semi finals and through to the final are knock outs. So if a country's team has a bad game they are eliminated from that World Cup.



Some say New Zealand is peaking too early after being unbeaten in the Southern Hemisphere Tri-Nations competition which they have just won, having beaten South Africa three times and Australia twice, with one match still to go.



But in fact New Zealand is actually building up depth in their squad to ensure there are specialist replacements in the event of injuries during the Rugby World Cup tournament in 2011. It has been injuries to key players in previous tournaments that prevented NZ from having a winning chance.



It is unlikely that NZ will have a home tournament again for decades, even if ever, if the costs of holding such a tournament sky-rocket like the Olympics and the Soccer World Cup, making it prohibitive for such a small country like NZ being able to afford another tournament. Therefore it is important that NZ wins its home tournament next year!



RUGBYWORLDCUP.COM/TICKETS


http://huttriver.blog.co.uk/



http://blogevolve.com/blog/huttriver12

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Can the All Blacks keep it up?

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Can the All Blacks keep it up?

 After watching the All Blacks rip apart the Springboks and then canter past the Wallabies to retain the Bledisloe Cup, I had one thing on my mind — how long can this last for?



I don't want to be negative or jinx the team. There are so many positives to take from the way the All Blacks are playing, but I just can help feeling a little uneasy when things seem to be going a little too well.



I've read a few articles saying New Zealand were a bit "lucky" in the second clash against Australia. Some have suggested the Aussies gave us a real challenge and could have pulled out a win. Really? Am I the only one who was not worried at any stage of that game?



Even when Kurtley Beale tied the match with a break-away try I didn't think they were really back in the contest. He scored via a rare All Black error, not genuine Australian pressure. Despite the Aussies retaining plenty of possession and putting together umpteen phases, the Kiwis tackled and tackled some more. Australian players were always going to sabotage their own chances with a mistake. You could see it coming.



I’ll admit the Australians played better than a week prior, but New Zealand are on another level. As for South Africa, well, they look to be in total disarray. It’ll take a herculean effort on home soil for them to take something other than embarrassment from their Tri Nations campaign.



So where to now for the All Blacks? Can they play at this level all the way into next year and the World Cup?



I'd like to think so, but age and history are working against them. Brad Thorn will be 36, Mils Muliaina 31 and Richie McCaw 30 by the time the World Cup rolls around. All three have been in brilliant form and instrumental in the All Blacks' victories this season. I just hope they can continue to play that way through another Super 14 and international season next year.



Athletes generally don't get better after the age of 30 and rugby's high physicality has to take its toll eventually. For the All Blacks, I hope that toll doesn't hit too soon

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Kiwis flock to watch All Whites thriller 1-1 draw with Slovakia...

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Kiwis flock to watch All Whites thrillr draw with Slovakia
  


The All Whites applaud the crowd after their 1-1 Soccer World Cup draw with Slovakia.



Almost three-quarters of a million New Zealanders watched the All Whites last night, with some bars around the country reporting their biggest night in recent memory.



One pub in Auckland's Viaduct, Fox's Ale House, had to turn away more than 500 people before kick off, said general manager Justine Grace.



"The numbers we were turning away was just insane. I couldn't believe it when I saw it.



"It was definitely the biggest night we've seen for a long time."



Nobody left before the game ended, and the crowd exploded at Winston Reid's last-minute equaliser, Ms Grace said.



"That was just crazy. The whole pub just exploded.



"Everyone went absolutely mental - they were jumping and cheering and chanting. For about 10 minutes you couldn't hear anything."



Even on a Bledisloe Cup All Blacks test match the bar rarely turned away more than 200, Ms Grace said.



In Christchurch, a barman at Holy Grail Sports Bar said it had up to 1000 people packing the b

"It was chocker, mate. It really went off. The whole place erupted. We've never seen anything like it," he said.



Extra staff were called in and the momentum from the All Whites' match carried on to good crowds at other World Cup matches, he said.



"It was just as big if not bigger than an All Blacks test. It's the talk of the town."



Wellington's Four Kings bar said its two floors had filled with about 400 people, while Public, just down the street on Courtney Place, also said it had had a "fantastic", "crazy" and "huge" night.



In living rooms, meanwhile, Television New Zealand said 593,800 people watched the game on TV One and 150,500 watched on Sky TV - a total of 744,300.



That means more than one in six New Zealanders stayed up on a Tuesday night for the broadcast, from 11.30pm till 1.20am.



The All Whites' 1-1 draw with Slovakia gives New Zealand their first World Cup point, and puts them level with other teams in their group.



Their next game is Sunday, against Italy.

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Former All Black Carl Hayman to play in France...

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Rugby: Former All Black Hayman will stay in Europe and play in France.
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Carl Hayman wants to be a dairy farmer, family man but obviously not an  All Black.



However, he could not find a way to blend all three parts of the puzzle and, after months of agonising, the tighthead prop has accepted a lucrative contract in France to achieve his strongest goals.



Hayman signed what is believed to be a multimillion-dollar deal with the Toulon club at the weekend.



"Toulon is very excited about securing Carl's signature but we would also be happy to release Carl to play international rugby for New Zealand if they were to pick him," club owner Mourad Boudjellal said.



"I would be most surprised if he wasn't selected for the World Cup as he is the best tighthead prop in the game."



That offer will test the New Zealand Rugby Union's resolve and edict that anyone selected for the All Blacks has to be playing in New Zealand competitions.



For months, Hayman fretted about his decision.



"In fact, I think it has been in the back of my mind all the time I have been here at Newcastle," he told the Herald yesterday.
It came down to a choice between pragmatism against emotion. The 1000th All Black wanted to tackle the challenge of another World Cup campaign.


"After that tournament it was time to move on," he said.



"But it was not as clear this time. There were a lot of variables, what-ifs and trying to look into the crystal ball.



"I could see the positives and negatives on both sides. In the end, it came down to a financial and lifestyle move."



Hayman wants to own a dairy farm in Taranaki, he wants to settle and raise a family in his home province once his playing days are done. He had more chance of achieving those goals if he signed on for Toulon.



The NZRU made a generous late pitch to change his mind but there were some matters that needed more work and time.

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All Blacks will play every test under revised rules this year...

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All Blacks will play every test this year under the revised rules...

The All Blacks The All Blacks will play every test this year under the revised rules which have gathered growing favour during the Super 14 and which will be showcased at next year's World Cup.

International referees boss Paddy O'Brien confirmed his officials were using the rule alterations in the Six Nations and would persevere with the changes when Ireland and Wales toured New Zealand in June.

"We want everyone to be on the same hymn sheet and from June there will be 16 months for all teams to get used to the changes before the World Cup," he said.

"We have been pleased with what we have seen in the Super 14 and Lyndon [Bray] has done a great deal of work getting the messages through about what is needed ..."

O'Brien said games looked different in the hemispheres because of weather conditions, but the same laws applied. There was room in rugby for all sorts of styles but the laws and their application needed to be uniform.

Under the changes in emphasis this season, referees have penalised tacklers who do not roll away or release their victims before they contest possession.

They have also insisted on a slower scrum engagement sequence, and been vigilant about obstruction in the mauls and the offside line in chasing kicks.

"There are still other things we need to clean up like infringing at the breakdowns because we are looking to create space on the field," O'Brien said.

"The game seems to be settling down well in the Super 14 and we are clearly seeing a better game. We are emphasising the same things up north. There is no divide in interpretations."

O'Brien could not say who would referee the June tests in New Zealand but he thought those appointments would be announced next month.

"We want to have the top referees doing the top games, it does not matter where they come from."

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans believes the revised interpretations have been a success.

"We're very close to perfection I think, so if they can get the whole picture right and lift the height of the ruck we'll have a great game - and I think we've seen evidence of that already," he said.

"Dealing with the first event [the tackle] is relatively easy and having dealt with that they can now turn their focus to the arriving support players and insist that they play the game on their feet, because there is no need now to launch with your shoulders below your hips to remove bodies off bodies.

"So given the referee is going to cater for that, they should be able to enter the ruck higher, there's still an incentive to go there for both sides so there'll be a genuine contest.

"The risk is if referees don't insist on attacking support players playing on their feet then essentially the defence will opt out of the contest and then we'll end up with a cluttered D-line that we had a couple of years ago."

Acknowledgements: Wynne Gray