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Rugby Union -International (Rugby Union)6 October, 2007 Outright Winner 2007 World Cup
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Spartacus
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http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/rugby/world-cup/2007/results/
team has to go 3-0
actual final game is october 20th
team has to go 3-0
actual final game is october 20th
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World Cup - Backy: England can beat Aussies
Eurosport - Mon, 01 Oct 16:24:00 2007
Eurosport's rugby expert Neil Back believes England have a chance in their World Cup quarter-final against Australia, but they must get their basics right and improve their kicking game.
More StoriesRead Jonah Lomu's latest blog
After all of their problems in the past month, it was great to see England win again last week.
They got the job done against Tonga, it was another improved performance and you could tell they had more spring in their step.
England have now won two games back to back for the first time since the 2004 Six Nations and that can only give them confidence.
I thought England showed much better control against Tonga than they did in their three previous games.
What pleased me most was that they did not go chasing the game when they went behind to an early Tonga score.
They stayed calm and this was evident when Jonny Wilkinson chose to kick across field for Paul Sackey's opening try, rather than opting for goal. To me, that showed that Jonny's head was in the right place.
However, we should also keep in mind that they probably would not have scored that try in the Premiership because the teams now practice defending against such a kick.
We must also acknowledge that to beat Australia, England will have to up their performance again. In particular, they must look after the ball and minimize errors.
It's easy to say but obviously much harder to put into practice.
I think England can win their set piece ball at the scrums and line-outs against the Wallabies, but they must get their basics right.
They must also improve their kicking game. Australia are a much better kicking side than Tonga and England's kicking must be spot on otherwise they will be punished.
If they go for touch then they must find touch; if they kick deep then the ball must bounce behind the Aussie defence. They must not allow Australia to counter from deep because they have some very dangerous runners.
Key to England's chances of victory will be how they cope with the threat of the Wallabies' openside George Smith.
When I was playing for England we had a strategy just for George. It involved taking him out before he had the chance to reach the breakdown, where as we all know he is very effective.
He was targeted and cleaned out so he never made it to the breakdown and this therefore nullified his impact. We went for George and not the ball, and it was not just the number seven who had responsibility for this: it was the job of the whole team
England's forwards coach John Wells will know how we used to cope with George and so do a number of the players in the England pack, so I hope they adopt something similar on Saturday.
But the Wallabies have a number of other forwards who are very useful at the breakdown so England's &lsquocounter-rucking' has got to improve.
This is an area of the game where I think the southern hemisphere sides have moved way ahead of the European teams.
Referees have become very sharp at the breakdown and when they shout &lsquoruck' players must release the ball immediately.
So teams are now encouraging their players to drive past the ball at the breakdown as this alters the perceived offside line.
Argentina and the All Blacks do this very well, so did Tonga against England last week.
Counter-rucking can be very effective after a good tackle, when the defensive line is going forward. Players can pour through as the team with the ball have to return through the &lsquogate'.
It can also be effective when the opposition have few men over the ball, or when their body position is high.
This is an area of the game we are putting a lot of emphasis on at Leicester and I hope England get a better grip of it on Saturday.
England have a chance against Australia and I am much more upbeat than I was a couple of weeks ago.
There will be much more pressure on Australia than England. They are the clear favourites and they will also be looking to make amends for what happened in the final four years ago.
I think the side that makes the least number of errors will win.
I read today that my old rival from Wales Martyn Williams has retired from international rugby. I got to know Martyn very well as an opponent and as a team-mate on the 2001 and 2005 British Lions tours.
We probably disliked each other a lot on the field, but I always admired him as a player. On the Lions tours and it was always a challenge knowing that a player of his quality was competing for your place.
Martyn is a top guy and was a great colleague to have with the Lions. He can be very proud of what he's achieved on the international stage.
As for Leicester, well we managed to sneak another win at the weekend to keep our 100 per cent record intact. But we face Gloucester on Saturday and they have so far been the form team of the Premiership.
They have also won all their games, collected a couple of bonus points and also scored lots of tries.
But we have several players returning from the World Cup who could be available and as the game is at Welford Road we are confident we can continue our winning start to the season.
Eurosport
Eurosport - Mon, 01 Oct 16:24:00 2007
Eurosport's rugby expert Neil Back believes England have a chance in their World Cup quarter-final against Australia, but they must get their basics right and improve their kicking game.
More StoriesRead Jonah Lomu's latest blog
After all of their problems in the past month, it was great to see England win again last week.
They got the job done against Tonga, it was another improved performance and you could tell they had more spring in their step.
England have now won two games back to back for the first time since the 2004 Six Nations and that can only give them confidence.
I thought England showed much better control against Tonga than they did in their three previous games.
What pleased me most was that they did not go chasing the game when they went behind to an early Tonga score.
They stayed calm and this was evident when Jonny Wilkinson chose to kick across field for Paul Sackey's opening try, rather than opting for goal. To me, that showed that Jonny's head was in the right place.
However, we should also keep in mind that they probably would not have scored that try in the Premiership because the teams now practice defending against such a kick.
We must also acknowledge that to beat Australia, England will have to up their performance again. In particular, they must look after the ball and minimize errors.
It's easy to say but obviously much harder to put into practice.
I think England can win their set piece ball at the scrums and line-outs against the Wallabies, but they must get their basics right.
They must also improve their kicking game. Australia are a much better kicking side than Tonga and England's kicking must be spot on otherwise they will be punished.
If they go for touch then they must find touch; if they kick deep then the ball must bounce behind the Aussie defence. They must not allow Australia to counter from deep because they have some very dangerous runners.
Key to England's chances of victory will be how they cope with the threat of the Wallabies' openside George Smith.
When I was playing for England we had a strategy just for George. It involved taking him out before he had the chance to reach the breakdown, where as we all know he is very effective.
He was targeted and cleaned out so he never made it to the breakdown and this therefore nullified his impact. We went for George and not the ball, and it was not just the number seven who had responsibility for this: it was the job of the whole team
England's forwards coach John Wells will know how we used to cope with George and so do a number of the players in the England pack, so I hope they adopt something similar on Saturday.
But the Wallabies have a number of other forwards who are very useful at the breakdown so England's &lsquocounter-rucking' has got to improve.
This is an area of the game where I think the southern hemisphere sides have moved way ahead of the European teams.
Referees have become very sharp at the breakdown and when they shout &lsquoruck' players must release the ball immediately.
So teams are now encouraging their players to drive past the ball at the breakdown as this alters the perceived offside line.
Argentina and the All Blacks do this very well, so did Tonga against England last week.
Counter-rucking can be very effective after a good tackle, when the defensive line is going forward. Players can pour through as the team with the ball have to return through the &lsquogate'.
It can also be effective when the opposition have few men over the ball, or when their body position is high.
This is an area of the game we are putting a lot of emphasis on at Leicester and I hope England get a better grip of it on Saturday.
England have a chance against Australia and I am much more upbeat than I was a couple of weeks ago.
There will be much more pressure on Australia than England. They are the clear favourites and they will also be looking to make amends for what happened in the final four years ago.
I think the side that makes the least number of errors will win.
I read today that my old rival from Wales Martyn Williams has retired from international rugby. I got to know Martyn very well as an opponent and as a team-mate on the 2001 and 2005 British Lions tours.
We probably disliked each other a lot on the field, but I always admired him as a player. On the Lions tours and it was always a challenge knowing that a player of his quality was competing for your place.
Martyn is a top guy and was a great colleague to have with the Lions. He can be very proud of what he's achieved on the international stage.
As for Leicester, well we managed to sneak another win at the weekend to keep our 100 per cent record intact. But we face Gloucester on Saturday and they have so far been the form team of the Premiership.
They have also won all their games, collected a couple of bonus points and also scored lots of tries.
But we have several players returning from the World Cup who could be available and as the game is at Welford Road we are confident we can continue our winning start to the season.
Eurosport
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Spartacus
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hehNobledude said:
Longhorn85
New member
I'm down with the brothers from NZ
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Spartacus
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when I was in ukraine this past week
on the satelite TV in my apartment the rugby world cup dominated the sports news
on the satelite TV in my apartment the rugby world cup dominated the sports news
Longhorn85
New member
Same here in portugal on Eurosport. I'll be in the pub watching it tomorrow with Brit expats.
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Spartacus
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whatcha doin in portugal?
god the women all over europe/eastern europe are beautiful
on my flight back from Kiev(capital of Ukraine) to Paris there was about half a dozen model quality babes
god the women all over europe/eastern europe are beautiful
on my flight back from Kiev(capital of Ukraine) to Paris there was about half a dozen model quality babes
Longhorn85
New member
Spartacus said:
Dude I live here now...NATO assignment. Yes, beautiful women who like to flaunt their beauty.
I'm lucky, I get to travel all over the continent.
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Spartacus
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time running out for allblacks
who's peterproud?
who's peterproud?
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Spartacus
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engalnd upsets the aussies earlier 12-10
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Spartacus
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not to me france looked strong and I watched some rugby info show while flying air france
this sport should grow as it has football and soccer aspects
this sport should grow as it has football and soccer aspects
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Spartacus
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motodawg collects
good bet
avoid the favorite and select from one of the other good prices that have a chance
good bet
avoid the favorite and select from one of the other good prices that have a chance
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Spartacus
Guest
PARIS, 21 October - South Africa captain John Smit and coach Jake White are smitten.
Barely 12 hours after the Springboks defeated England 15-6 in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, Smit and White had the dazed grins of new parents - their eyes fixed on the gleaming Webb Ellis Cup sitting in front of them.
White, looking a little bleary-eyed after going to bed at 3am, admitted the win was still to sink in.
"I must be honest, it hasn't sunk in just yet. I think it is one of those things you will only understand what's happened when you get home. Obviously it has been massive winning the world cup and seeing the supporters last night and enjoying it with our families and our friends, I don't think it sinks in till a little bit later."
Smit, still sporting a swollen left eye from the match, grinned when asked if beer tasted better when drunk from the Webb Ellis Cup.
"Somehow it absolutely does," he said.
"Everyone had a crack last when we got together afterwards once we got to the hotel so, every single guy has had a sip out of the cup. It is hard not to take your eyes off it, we've worked so hard for it."
Massive boost for country
White said the win would be a massive boost for South African rugby and the country as a whole.
"This is much bigger than South Africa rugby. To see our state president on the shoulders of one of the players, with the William Webb Ellis Trophy in his hands, there's no bigger statement in our country than that. What we need as a nation is to understand how big this is. There's no reason why South African rugby and South Africa can't take this as a huge plus and build on it.
"There's a lot we can draw from this little cup."
White's coaching contract is due to end on 31 December. The South Africa Rugby Union have not yet asked him to stay on and he said it would be hard to say goodbye to the team.
"It would be hard to hand the team over to someone else. It's nice when you're world champions and everyone's giving you accolades, but it's a lonely place when you're down.
"I look around and I think to myself so many things have changed. It's amazing how they say in politics a week is a long time, but in rugby I tell you 80 minutes is a fantastic thing."
The squad leave Paris on Monday (22 October) and a series of parades are already being organised in South Africa.
Barely 12 hours after the Springboks defeated England 15-6 in the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, Smit and White had the dazed grins of new parents - their eyes fixed on the gleaming Webb Ellis Cup sitting in front of them.
White, looking a little bleary-eyed after going to bed at 3am, admitted the win was still to sink in.
"I must be honest, it hasn't sunk in just yet. I think it is one of those things you will only understand what's happened when you get home. Obviously it has been massive winning the world cup and seeing the supporters last night and enjoying it with our families and our friends, I don't think it sinks in till a little bit later."
Smit, still sporting a swollen left eye from the match, grinned when asked if beer tasted better when drunk from the Webb Ellis Cup.
"Somehow it absolutely does," he said.
"Everyone had a crack last when we got together afterwards once we got to the hotel so, every single guy has had a sip out of the cup. It is hard not to take your eyes off it, we've worked so hard for it."
Massive boost for country
White said the win would be a massive boost for South African rugby and the country as a whole.
"This is much bigger than South Africa rugby. To see our state president on the shoulders of one of the players, with the William Webb Ellis Trophy in his hands, there's no bigger statement in our country than that. What we need as a nation is to understand how big this is. There's no reason why South African rugby and South Africa can't take this as a huge plus and build on it.
"There's a lot we can draw from this little cup."
White's coaching contract is due to end on 31 December. The South Africa Rugby Union have not yet asked him to stay on and he said it would be hard to say goodbye to the team.
"It would be hard to hand the team over to someone else. It's nice when you're world champions and everyone's giving you accolades, but it's a lonely place when you're down.
"I look around and I think to myself so many things have changed. It's amazing how they say in politics a week is a long time, but in rugby I tell you 80 minutes is a fantastic thing."
The squad leave Paris on Monday (22 October) and a series of parades are already being organised in South Africa.
