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International Rugby

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All Blacks way too good after overcoming Japan’s brilliant start in Yokohama by 19-64

by Sports Benches

Good to see International Rugby back for  the final leg of 2024 up North of the world that began with the All Blacks taking on the Brave Blossoms (Japan) at Nissan Stadium in Yokohama. 

It was a close contest over the first few minutes when Japan unexpectedly had the early lead thanks to a TRY from Jone Naikabula but for the most part though, the ABs showed off what they can do best as they were too good all along from start to finish. 

They were leading by 31 points (12-43) at half-time before the ABs stretched their lead way further through half-century towards the end with the win by 45 points (19-64). Now it’s up to the ABs to make the most out of their European tour as their next game will be against England next weekend at London’s iconic Twickenham rugby venue – now known as England’s Allianz Stadium.

The man of the moment belongs to first-time All Blacks skipper Patrick Tuipulotu following his A-game performance tonight on the second row 5. He’s got all sorts of power to outmuscle the Brave Blossoms every time Japan tried to score one over the TRY line defensively while he’s well proven with the ball on hand – he’s been there & done that by scoring one over (by himself) and several more set-up tries for the ABs. He knows what it takes to win a Super Rugby Final & he wants to make sure that not all of the ABs best talent is lost when going up v the North’s best over the next couple weeks from next weekend.

Next up, here comes Ruben Love who was unreal on his All Blacks debut as the reserve back 23 with back-to-back late tries. He proved his worth throughout the first half year with the Hurricanes when they were mostly unbeaten up until the home semis defeat by the Chiefs while he could’ve been fast-tracked to the ABs sooner much like a few other first-time impact stars. But hey, he’s ready to do more damage as that next big challenge will come to him soon enough v the Northern Hemisphere’s best sides starting next weekend – let’s see if can fulfil his SR potential for the ABs there over in Europe.

And Japanese half-back Shinobu Fujiwara has been sensational off the back of the Brave Blossoms’ brilliant early start v the ABs. Every time Japan launches on the counter-attack, he’s been so destructive – despite not being so tall – where he’s got the players around him to help get the job done like that quick ball pass, and the tries were to there to see. Yes, he may have only played for Japan a few times while he was up against a team that is always so dominant. But glad he made a name for himself with he experience he picked up against veteran overseas players in the Top League – more to come.

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Argentina v Wallabies Game 1 of 2024: Wallabies came out unscathed with the last-minute win over Los Pumas by a single point 

by Sports Benches

Well, that was close when the 1st of the two Pumas v Wallabies games ended up in a huge tug-o-war under difficult conditions over in Mar Del Plata but happy to see the Wallabies take that last-minute win by a single point (19-20) thanks to Ben Donaldson’s successful three-point penalty conversion. Now they will need to make a 2-0 clean sweep next weekend also away from home to try & reclaim the Puma Trophy off Pumas in Santa Fe. 

The first half saw the Pumas getting a headstart with a few points lead by 13-7 at half-time, although Wallabies got one back with No.9 Jake Gordon other than a few missed late opportunities. Then 2nd half saw the Wallabies close in again via Rob Valetini while Pumas tried to hold on their lead with a series of three-point penalty goals when the Wallabies went on to lead for the first time before the Pumas snatched one back as the game wasn’t over just yet with a few minutes to go. 

But at the end of the day though, it was the Wallabies who came out strong under pressure over the Pumas – still lots more to come under the tutelage of Head Coach Joe Schmidt as congrats with the win.

Sure, he may be injured many times before including the 2nd-half Super Rugby 2024 season where the Tahs really missed his on-field services. However, Angus Bell’s class is permanent every time he puts in a shift including that crucial last few mins to seal the Wallabies last minute win v Pumas after he came back on all at loosehead. He is simply excellent in all forms of both attack and defense where his side wasn’t far behind at half-time before he came back on to finish off the job – no matter how ugly that is – as everyone in Australia needs him and we got the 2nd Game next week to make up that clean sweep v Pumas.

Then we’ve got Rob Valetini being a huge mainstay of the Wallabies three-man loose forward glue at blindside six, who doesn’t disappoint every time he starts & produces in a high-standard game, as seen both at Super Rugby & International level so far in 2024. His all-round tackling, physicality and skillsets allowed the Wallabies to play catch-up including his one & only 2nd half TRY through the toughest of conditions whether under rain or the cold Canberra weather. More to come next weekend & if he can help the Wallabies win again, I’m sure the ABs won’t have an easy time later this month under his watch.

And Tomas Lavanini unexpectedly came on that early in the Pumas locks when their starting No.5 Pedro Rubiolo was down with an immediate impact to get the ball rolling where his side was a few points in front at half-time. Gotta say he’s in the right place at the right time to create the perfect storm based on his towering height, a mix of tough tackling & brute and also his vast experience via the best of both hemispheres including last year’s 4th-placed World Cup. What the Pumas could’ve done when they were so unlucky at full-time was not keeping him on; Without him, the Wallabies had a great sniff to nail them down under pressure & there goes that 1st game in the end with the loss.

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Rugby News: Springboks wrap up their Australian tour with an 2-0 clean sweep following a 18-point win over the Wallabies

by Sports Benches

Round 2 of tonight’s Rugby Championship game between the Wallabies v Springboks at Perth’s Optus Stadium was a huge physical battle under rainy weather. Both sides were neck and neck to begin with where Wallabies got away with a few penalty goals while Boks also scored a few but hold a one-point buffer by 11-12 at half-time. But at the end of the day, the winner belongs to the World Champion Boks team once again who continues to extend their winning share off the back of another few fresh faces off the bench despite fielding a B-team starting line-up by Head Coach Rassie Erasmus.

The final score was 12-30 as the Boks wrap up their two-game Australian tour with a 2-0 clean sweep by 18 points that includes retaining the Nelson Mandela Challenge Plate once again. Boks will now head home as all four teams (All Blacks, Los Pumas, Springboks and Wallabies) will each get a week-long rest next week before they will be back on the road towards the end of this month. The Boks’ next two games will be v All Blacks at home while the Wallabies next two games will be in Argentina v the Pumas. 

Please note: you will need a Stan Sport subscription to watch the Wallabies away games including the next two games v Pumas as Nine/9Gem only covers the home games including one when they play in NZ v All Blacks.

One of the world’s best locks continued to shine tonight in Perth for the Boks with no introduction to Eben Etzebeth. He ticks off everything that the Boks need to get on the board that ranges from the experience, leadership and skillset as do understand the big changes Rassie Erasmus did for Game 2. But again, any opposition team will have to get through him first who is really, really tall & at the end of the day, that access has been denied while his Boks has been simply unstoppable with the win all night long.

Malcolm Marx also made a big difference when he came on in the 2nd half as the Boks reserve hooker that safeguarded his country’s two-match clean sweep Australian tour. Like Eben, he too brings a wealth of experience; Although he’s based in Japan though nowadays & can still play for them thanks to the Boks free selection policy. He’s simply outstanding with a mix of throwing and physical power after he scored back-to-back 2nd half tries, especially when playing in the rainy cold weather as Marx is well used to tackling the brave as being tested in the Top League & he’s done that again tonight.

For the Boks, it’s great seeing them play on our turf this year since it’s been a while from the last time they’ve played each other here two years ago. We wish them all the best of luck for the rest of this Rugby Championship tournament.

And how about we give the journeyman and WA local for the Western Force Carlo Tizzano who’s grown so much over these last few years & he’s never let anyone down in his 2nd Wallabies Test at the blindside No.6 position. Building a solid defensive structure is a good start where winning penalties and turnovers were there that led to an okay first half performance. It’s a shame the Wallabies were unable to grasp the way they attack v the World Champs – maybe our backs firepower aren’t as good as them to rattle the Boks at their own end unfortunately.

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Rugby Union Today: Wallabies break away from Georgia’s 2nd half improvements with the eleven-point win at Allianz Stadium

by Sports Benches

It’s been an excellent contest of International Rugby throughout the afternoon at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park between the Wallabies v the emerging Georgia team as we now turn our attention to the Rugby 7s over in Paris for the Olympics next week followed by another year of the Rugby Championship campaign that will begin early next month. 

Georgia opened the scoring first off the back of the three-point penalty goal but it was the Wallabies at home who dominated the first 40 including another set of tries right on half-time, 26-10.Second half saw Georgia improving their game at the restart where we witnessed two quick sensational tries that puts them back on track to the Wallabies radar at one point.

At the end of the day though, the Wallabies have held their lead baton through full-time with the 11-point win, 40-29. They benefitted a series of opposition handling errors & ill-discipline with no disrespect to Georgia, who gave them a hard time all along, as Wallabies now has three wins now so far in 2024 under the tutelage of coach Joe Schmidt. 

The Wallabies long-term back rowers are safe with Fraser McReight on the openside 7 following his A-game performance this afternoon v Georgia. He’s the go-to man who can lock up defenses every time the opposition lack numbers. Not only that, he has power of physical steel that makes a big difference with a few tries off the back of Georgia’s silly mistakes/handling errors, especially in attack having ensured the win for the Wallabies at the end of the day.

Then we have another Wallabies main man at the back in Tom Wright at 15. He knows how to make that attack flow as seen regularly with the Brumbies where he never stops running while Tom can smash the opposition blocks – all of this has been created so they can get the job done with both hands. That’s without saying this contest was a practice match v Georgia which wasn’t easy & he’ll make sure the Wallabies continues with the Rugby Championship set to begin next month.

And shoutout to Aka Tabutsadze following his sensational 2nd half display on the Georgian right wing at 14. You can’t underestimate his abundance on pace who can win these 1 v 1 battles from out of nowhere as if he’s competing in the 100m sprint Final – Georgia should get him on their Track & Field team now to Stade De France for the Olympics next month!!

Yes, he had some mistakes including the ill-discipline that forced the Wallabies hand at times but he won’t be short of suitors as better competition v the top teams more often including domestic level as they hope will make him & his country reach new levels – such as getting Tier 1 status so Georgia can look to crack the Top 10 rankings as well as the chance to play in the Europe’s elite United Rugby Championship competition in the long run. We’ll keep a good track on them as time goes by.

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Top 3 Rugby Union news this week: Trans-Tasman’s perfect start to the two-match July Internationals, ACT Brumbies to hand over control to Rugby Australia & Club Rugby is back on 9Gem for another year this weekend

by Sports Benches

There has been plenty of rugby news over the last couple of days ahead of another big weekend of International Rugby where a couple of two-match tours is about to come to an end, although they do have another match left to play but this time it will be against the lesser sides before we turn our attention to the Rugby 7s at the Summer Olympics in Paris towards the end of this month. Not only that, there’s a huge change coming at the ACT Brumbies in Canberra when it comes to the off-field operations and Club Rugby is back on free-to-air once again via 9Gem that will go for little over a month including Finals beginning this weekend whether if you’re tuning in for the Shute Shield in New South Wales or Hospital Cup in Queensland.

International Rugby

All Blacks were relieved to see off England unscathed by a single point 15-16 in Dunedin while the Wallabies may have a huge task ahead following their disastrous World Cup pool stage run last year but at least a win is a good start to get on top of the under-pressure Wales side 25-16. What’s even better that both sides were able to hold onto their respective series plates, even though the final Test results aren’t guaranteed to see out for sure when they retained them last time around. Now the ABs will head off to Eden Park in Auckland which is place they do so well all the time and Wallabies play at AAMI Park in Melbourne this Saturday. The reception there in Melbourne is going to be mixed when Rugby Australia decided to axe the Melbourne Rebels at season’s end towards the end of May & it won’t be the same without rugby fans going there as if they have no home-supporting player to cheer on for the Green and Gold – despite the team’s one & only rare good season that wrapped up the Rebels’ 14 year existence but again, it was due to financial reasons & the board moved on with the times now.

Predictions: All Blacks to win v England by 13 points and Wallabies to win v Wales by 8 points – so another Southern Hemisphere/Tasman clean sweep then to round off their respective two-match July tours.

Super Rugby 1: Australia

Speaking of Rugby Australia, their plans to have their Super Rugby teams being centralised (similar to the setup in New Zealand and Ireland) has taken another step this week as the ACT Brumbies now became the second team after the NSW Waratahs to hand over their off-field operations to the governing body – such as the high performance, players/staff and the commercial departments. That way, RA will look after both the Brumbies and Waratahs in the hope of getting back to their best while the state-run organizations will focus on getting the best out of Club and Grassroots Rugby – even though the Brumbies is by far the No.1 Australian Super Rugby side every year. They won’t be leaving Canberra after all which is good news, although they might be open to host some games in Melbourne since the Rebels is now gone (again not a merger).

If that happens, then it will be great to see Melbournians return to AAMI Park by getting behind the best Australian Super Rugby team in the Brumbies and that is gonna help inspire the kids there to start playing Rugby in their local area before they can make a name for themselves once they’ve grown up through the junior representative ranks with Rugby Victoria. All of that can be done while the Brumbies will always remain first and foremost in Canberra hoping they can make the Grand Final at last by knicking the championship. Even though Western Force will stay on as Australia’s 4th Super Rugby team, hoping they can get some support from Japan like reviving to boost their on-field performances if they can’t do well next season when a national third-tier competition is back on the cards – as if Japan is the perfect nation to replace South Africa in Super Rugby without having to sacrifice their own Top League competition thanks to the huge amount of seasoned Internationals they’ve got there. Again, most of the home games would come from Perth with some over in Tokyo and Singapore.

Super Rugby 2: New Zealand

Looking across the Ditch a bit in NZ, the Highlanders have re-installed Jamie Joseph as their head coach once again with Clarke Dermody demoting as his No.2 assistant coach. Yes, it was great seeing them enjoy some success in 6th this season but the Highlanders still have a long way to go if they want to challenge the Blues, Chiefs and Hurricanes someday since their last championship back in 2015 under Joseph during his 1st spell before he went on to coach Japan and is now back at home to turn things around for Otago. Their attack has been somewhat hesitant at times that consigned them to losses, especially when playing against the Australian teams but most of home games they’ve played though ain’t bad. Watch this space as this is the team they wanted to reclaim its former glory having last won the Super Rugby title under the six-team Playoffs format before its complicated expansion between 2016-2024, which is expected to be revived as a 11-team competition next season.

Club Rugby

And last but not least, while the respective Shute Shield and Hospital Cup competitions are ongoing since the start of April, it’s great to see both Club Rugby competitions return to free-to-air a bit relatively early this weekend via 9Gem for another year in 2024 starting with the last five regular rounds followed three weeks of Finals. That gives you a huge Saturday viewing line-up of Rugby there with Club Rugby in the afternoon before finishing off the rest of your evening with some of the Wallabies action when playing at home including the 2nd Test v Wales in Melbourne. Although it remains to be seen whether if next weekend’s Shute Shield free-to-air viewing would bump into Sunday or be pitted at the same time as the one-off Wallabies match v Georgia that is going to be aired on the main channel at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park. The same thing should apply with the Hospital Cup for those tuning in from Queensland. The Shute Shield commentary team will look a bit different when Will Davies will be out for a while to commentate Field Hockey at the Olympics soon for Nine with former Hockeyroo Georgie Parker, but he should be back after this to call the Shute Shield Finals like he did last year – having also called a series of Super W games more often, as well as some Wallaroos Tests and the odd Super Rugby match (Force v Fijian Drua) so far this year.

UPDATE: Next round’s Shute Shield game for Round 15 is scheduled on a rare Sunday afternoon next weekend at 3pm between reigning champions Randwick v Warringah, so this should be on 9Gem while Nine will showcase Wallabies and Georgia to fill up the primary 3pm Saturday afternoon slot on the main channel. For Queensland viewers though, not so much where you would need both a TV and a portable device or a computer to watch both rugby games at the same time.

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Wallabies are back in business that gave Joe Schmidt his first win on the job in Game 1 of 2 v Wales by nine points at Allianz Stadium 

by Sports Benches

What a night it has been for the Green & Good to walk away with the win v Wales at Allianz Stadium in Moore Park as they now retained the James Bevan Trophy ahead of their 2nd and final Test next Saturday at AAMI Park in Melbourne.

The first half kinda scrappy where Wales opened the scoring account first via the three-point penalty goal including a penalty TRY, but the Wallabies had a narrow three-point advantage off the back of their first TRY by Taniela Tupou in between two successful penalty goals from Noah Lolesio going into the break 13-10. Nothing much happened into the second half despite some glimpses of promise from the Welsh when they were not far away from the Wallabies radar for the lead. However, a series of missed opportunities in open play including an observation that denied them the TRY forced the Wallabies hand later on where it ultimately came back to bite them as Wales still yet to taste victory this year off the back of a poor Six Nations campaign. Meanwhile, Wallabies continued to maintain their dominant ball off the back of a receiving Wales kick & their poor conversion play where they found the gaps well with pace of nowhere that surprised everyone including the opposition team.

They went on to touch down decent tries through the wide channels courtesy of Filipo Daugunu and Tom Wright before the Wallabies won in the end for the first time in a while off the back of a painful 40-7 Wales loss at the World Cup in France last year that consigned to their first-ever pool stage elimination. The final score was 25-16 with the Wallabies win by 9 points.

Tom Wright kickstarted the new Wallabies year with the bang from the back at 15. He had a really great night in the way he supported his wingers that got the best out of him and his team with thanks to the dominant possession while Tom had excellent recovery ball including from up high to kick his way out of trouble as being tested defensively. But what made him so special is his explosive pace that wowed everyone from out of nowhere. He read that gap well where no one was Wales was able to stop him before Tom got the job done that finally got the Wallabies talking following their worst ever campaign throughout last year as he hopes to give them better days more often like he does to the Brumbies every week of the season.

Although yet to commit to a club next season after good year for the one & only good Rebels season, but Taniela Tupou did well to keep the Welsh quiet on the front row at tighthead. Every time the Welsh couldn’t the best out of their counter-attack in open play or bottled the ball down, Taniela’s there to turn things around thanks to his excellent read and brute physicality that turned out to be his side’s way for the majority. Plus, he never put a foot wrong with great patience thanks to the dominant possession before he left the field in great hands for the Wallabies to get the job done with the win. He made Wallabies supporters in Sydney had a good night, why not do that more often if he goes to the Waratahs? We shall see…

And Wales No.8 Aaron Rainwright did the best he can to keep the Wallabies in check. He’s the man who never stopped working hard while being brave to smash the Wallabies defense that opened up plenty of opportunities for his Welsh side to get over the line. But unfortunately, Wales just couldn’t cut it that frustrated their fans every time when balls go out into the full/touch – despite winning a few penalties. Plus, they had less ball on top of poor line-outs, discipline & defense which was very disappointing. Wales still needs get the job done in order to build on their 2023 World Cup run to the Quarter-Finals & not blow it out like it was before where constant chopping & changing isn’t enough to make them win matches more often.

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2023 Rugby World Cup Final Review from the weekend: Springboks hold out the All Blacks by just one point en route towards being the first four-time Webb Ellis Cup holders in Paris

by Sports Benches

Wow!! How dramatic and thrilling it was to close out the 2023 Rugby World Cup Final in the 47th & final match of the six-week tournament at Paris’s Stade De France where one of the two almighty nations will become the first 4 x Webb Ellis Cup winners – All Blacks & the Springboks. The first half has been full of penalty kicks where the Boks led the way from the beginning & while the ABs have caught them up at times, but then they lost skipper Sam Cane for the rest of this match due to a high jaw tackle on Jesse Kriel – which was initially seen as a yellow card before being upgraded to red by the referee Wayne Barnes. Half-time: 6-12. Although the ABs may have scored the one & only TRY by closing in on the Boks by just a single point later during the 2nd half. Unfortunately, not only they struggled to get away these kicks between the sticks from a difficult & long range, but they also couldn’t find a way to get past a scrambled Boks defense before it was too late. Despite no 2nd half score & seeing both skipper Siya Kolisi & Cheslin Kolbe sitting in the naughty chair, the Boks held on their one-point buffer really well en route towards their 4th World Championship title after full-time, 11-12.

Pieter-Steph Du Toit is one of the Boks’ most important players out there thanks to an all-round display in the Openside role at No.7. He’s extremely tall who did well to limit the All Blacks’s attacking play while he puts his body on the line through their wall every time the Boks have the ball on hand, which shows how much they need him so badly as the longer they hold on, the better it will be to see light at the end of the tunnel that saw the ABs struggle under pressure. Next up Handre Pollard ends up as the No.1 kicker and No.10 player for the World Championship winning Boks team. He’s an excellent team member who can give them everything as his kicking conversion accuracy was spot on as always thanks to these winning penalties, even though all the points his side has accrued has been three-point kicks. Both of them have been stronger as ever that reflects the Bokke’s rebuild from the top since 2018-19 whereas nearly all of their four original Super Rugby franchises now ply in Europe – congrats on being the first team to lift 4 x Webb Ellis Cup trophies now in Rugby World Cup history.

And Mark Telea rounds off the Top 3, having done the best he can to try and get the All Blacks over the line on the wide right at No.14. He’s an excellent communicator who backs up really well as being tested both in attack & defense before Mark was able to make good use of the ball such as the pace including these 1 v 1 battles against defenders that saw him found the quick ball assist to fellow Blues player Beauden Barrett with the team’s only big score. Sadly, ill-discipline has hit them very hard where the ABs were so behind before they couldn’t get it done under pressure in the end as runners-up.

After 47 games over the last six weeks, the 2023 Rugby World Cup has come to a close as we look forward to the next World Cup edition in four years time at our own backyard in Australia. It’s been great seeing the Southern Hemisphere teams dominate once again despite some early round defeats against 1-2 best Northern sides out there including some first-time moments from the Tier 2 nations, such as Portugal’s win v Fiji 23-24 in Pool C & Uruguay def. Namibia 36-26 in Pool A respectively. Now we’re going to swap the Gilbert rugby ball with a cricket bat and ball for the summer as always following a long season this year before we go back all again beginning with a brand new season of Super Rugby in February 2024 followed by the Wallabies & Club Rugby (Shute Shield & QLD Hospital Cup) campaigns during the 2nd half of the year.

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England def. Los Pumas for the best of third as the All Blacks-Springboks Final awaits to finish off the 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament in Paris tomorrow at 6AM AEDT

by Sports Benches

We’re now one match left to wrap up the 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament with the All Blacks v Springboks final around the corner tomorrow AM AEDT time where we look back at the Bronze match final between Los Pumas v England. England got off to a great start while Pumas made up some lost time with their first TRY not long from the break 10-16. Although the Pumas found the breakthrough for the lead at one point, but then England responded really well by regaining the lead before they went on to shut them out on the run home for the best of 3rd – 23-26.

Commiserations to the Pumas who didn’t play bad where they’ve caught up to the English really well including a short 2nd half lead not long after the break. But just couldn’t hold it off or get the job done under pressure where England’s great start & the way they regroup themselves with patience has saw them fell short towards the end there. Hope things will get better & strong for the Argentinians going forward to next year under the helm (Head Coach) of Aussie’s own Michael Cheika.

And England played really well as we’ve seen by taking a few safe plays with the number of three-point penalty goals for a start. Glad they’ve made some improvements here & there when it comes to collecting these big points as the game goes on, which is something they should’ve done (like five-metre line-out when it comes to a close winning penalty from the TRY area for example) against a scrambled Springboks defense during the 2nd semi last weekend. But all in all, great seeing England collect the bronze/3rd place, who has been good in the last two World Cup campaigns. They’re still the only Northern Hemisphere team so far to lift the Webb Ellis Cup once back in 2003 against the Wallabies at Stadium Australia in Sydney when No.10 Jonny Wilkinson broke their hearts at extra time courtesy of that winning drop goal through the posts, 17-20.

2023 Rugby World Cup Final Preview: All Blacks-Springboks at Stade De France

Now the tables have turned to one of the world’s long-time rivalries in World Rugby that takes place every year – All Blacks v Springboks. The Boks have won against them a few times in recent years after struggling for the majority between after the 2007 World Cup win to around 2017 beforehand including the warm-up game in London back in August, even though they’re no longer in Super Rugby & instead ply themselves in Europe. All Blacks on the other hand have been one of the world’s greatest sporting teams that everyone looks up to as their source of inspiration & they too have always been winning lots of matches here & there, but they had some downtimes too including the opening WC game v France as well as the three-match series v Ireland at home last year & they also lost to England during the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final in Japan.

Given the Boks have won three of the last six games v the ABs since 2021, their scrambled defense & the way they gradually get themselves into the game by being right on the money will be the key to their success that will leave the ABs bereft of options before being haunted at the opposition’s own danger zone. If not, look out for the ABs possession-based tactics where they will look to get the best out of their attacking football through the gate before being able to defend at ease & that is going to be the secret weapon by making the Boks difficult to chase them up during 80 minutes of play tomorrow AM.

It all comes down to just two top-quality teams in the 47th & final game of this tournament where one of them will be the first four-time Webb Ellis Cup winner in Rugby World Cup history at Paris’s Stade De France since its inception in 1987. And if I was going to pick a winner between those two, it’s going to be the All Blacks  – even though it will be a close one by seven points.

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2023 Rugby World Cup, the best of two Southern Hemisphere teams all set for the Final after the All Blacks too good for Los Pumas while Springboks hold off England by one point off the winning penalty goal

by Sports Benches

The 2023 Rugby World Cup Final is all set through the best of the two Southern Hemisphere teams & also both 3 x champions, whom they’ve shared a lot of history together as rivals that happens every year via The Rugby Championship & also the Freedom Cup Series trophy. It’s the All Blacks v Springboks for the Webb Ellis Trophy next Sunday AM at 6am AEDT at Stade De France in Paris (You can watch that big final match-up live & free on 9Gem). Plus, Los Pumas will take on England the day beforehand (also 6am Saturday AM AEDT) when it comes to the best of 3rd place in the Bronze Medal Final.

Los Pumas might have opened the scoresheet first via the penalty goal (and also collected the 2nd three-pointer later during the first half), but the ABs were too good fair & square all along from 6-20 at half-time to 6-44 in the end off the back from the Will Jordan hat-trick brace on his wide right role. Meanwhile, the 2nd semi game was a close one where the first half was full of three-point kicks with England leading the way v the Boks 12-6. Later on the Boks responded to Owen Farell’s drop goal with the one & only big score of their own before a successful scrum penalty saw their own No.10 Handre Pollard kick that winning three-point conversion from such a long distance with four minutes left towards the end by a one-point win 15-16.

Not the day the Pumas was hoping for where the first points were there off the back of the winning penalties, even though it’s just through a penalty kick conversion. But their open play performances wasn’t the same where the Pumas unfortunately didn’t score any big points as the ABs were simply too good for them. Speaking of ABs, they were outstanding from start to finish. They’ve  been patient with the ball on hand that dominated easy possession v the Pumas, while the passage of play & execution with the safety of their numbers has been effective in order to get the job done.

Looking at England now, they weren’t bad for a start in the way they use their winning penalties towards a shot between the sticks. I don’t blame them for that strategy one bit but it would’ve been better if they took a bit more risk by dismantling a robust Boks defense when it comes to the big points where holding on such a small lead was sadly backfired towards the end there. And the Boks are on their way on what is going to be another World Cup final at the same place they’ve last won back in 2007 also against England. They did so well to keep up with the English initially with the winning penalties before the Boks finally found a way to split their territory while dominating the rest of the match in all areas with the match-winning penalty goal to savour as a fourth title awaits to whichever winning team comes out first alongside fellow 3 x World Champs the ABs.

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2023 Rugby World Cup, England hold off Fiji while Springboks def. France in front of their home supports where there will be a 2019 Final rematch now in the last 4 this weekend

by Sports Benches

The last two remaining Quarter-Final Rugby World Cup matches are now done & dusted where we’ve just witnessed something that was so extraordinary & unreal to watch. England saw off Fiji’s 2nd half comeback bid (30-24) while current champs Springboks just locked up the doors of the host nation France with a one-point win (28-29) – having came from a few points down at half-time (22-19) that sets up a 2019 Final rematch against England for semi-final 2 this Sunday AM.

Hats off to England with the win where they’re the one and only Northern Hemisphere team in the hunt for that Webb Ellis Cup after the eliminations of France, Wales & Ireland. They fired off really well to bring in the early big points as they can while their opponents were playing catch up. Yes, they may have been under threat at times, having scored no tries in the 2nd half. But England showed that were the better team thanks to holding off their small lead where another series of three-point goals was enough to see them move into the last four v Boks.

Also, how good was the Boks who absolutely broke the home nation’s hearts in front of their national stadium as the defending champs are still chasing World Cup title No.4. Gotta love their fight back and the way they controlled with the ball before the rewards were there to see every time when given the opportunity. Yes, they might have suffered some ill-discipline earlier on but they kept on scoring while showing excellent defense to stop the French in its tracks with the close win.

Meanwhile, as said with the host nation, it’s hard to see a loss at home when they came in this tournament as one of the few favourites to lift the trophy alongside Ireland & South Africa. The French opened the scoring account first as reflected with their first half display, having never been out of place to try and stop the Boks from going past their lane. But sadly the French’s 2nd half form just wasn’t the same; Yes, they’ve made some lost time as said where France were still alive all along but couldn’t escape them in the end.

And for Fiji, love their response to the opposition’s early start, especially when looking to close England down after half-time in the hope of a late win. But if the Flying Fijians scored the big points first that reflects a full 80 performance, then they would’ve knocked England out where they’ve made this deep into the last 8 thanks to some excellent growth via Fijian Drua in Super Rugby. Sadly, it’s too little, too late when they levelled the scorecard before England went on to rebound by extending their lead a bit further before their elimination was confirmed that would’ve seen Fiji round out an all Southern Hemisphere semis shootout.

All in all, here’s a few questions that we’re about to see ahead of the weekend’s semi-finals. Can the All Blacks put in another amazing show like they did the other day v World No.1 Ireland en route towards the main event final for the first time since 2015? If not, will it be Michael Cheika’s turn this time as the Los Pumas coach? Having lost to the ABs once in a World Cup match back in 2015 when the Wallabies had to settle as runners-up. Plus, will England go one better and make the Boks pay after their 2019 Final loss to the reigning champs in Japan under coach Steve Borthwick? Or can the Boks go all the way for their fourth possible big final & hopefully light up Paris once again like 2007 since they got the favourites cap on?

We shall find out by Sunday AM where two winners will go into the main event for the Webb Ellis Cup trophy while the losing two teams will play in the Bronze final for third place going into the last weekend of October.

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