Tag:

Rugby World Cup

Rugby

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.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

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.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

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.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

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.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

2023 Rugby World Cup, Southern Hemisphere teams dominated the first two Quarter-Finals as All Blacks & Los Pumas are through while Ireland & Wales are eliminated

by Sports Benches

Wow!! Couldn’t believe what a Saturday it has been to kickstart the first two Quarter-Final matches of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. The day belongs to two Southern Hemisphere teams who will now be on its way for next weekend’s semi-final match (6am Saturday AM AEDT) against each other – All Blacks (New Zealand) & Los Pumas (Argentina).

Final score: Wales 17-29 Los Pumas & Ireland 24-28 All Blacks

ABs did well to not just get the ball rolling but respond well to Ireland’s fight both in defense and attack, which is brilliant to watch as they’re still alive in the hope of winning a fourth World Cup title. Plus, the Pumas may have only collected just the 1st-half penalty goal, but made a remarkable turnaround by spotting the isolated Welsh attack under pressure before the rewards are there quick smart as the clock ticks down. Credit to Michael Cheika for that tactical masterclass where he could be in a shot for another World Cup final but this time with the Pumas. And for the other two losing Northern Hemisphere sides, Wales fired off well but looked lost as the game goes on to the Pumas & World No.1 Ireland did their best to stay in the fight all along before they just couldn’t get past the ABs under pressure in the end. Wales will now look to stay on the up since Warren Gatland is back for another spell at the top job (Head Coach) while Ireland would want to come back better & win for it next time – having still not yet won a Quarter-Final match in the World Cup knockout stages before.

The tables will now turn to the remaining two Quarter-Final games tomorrow that will set up the 2nd semi-final next Sunday AM AEDT – England v Fiji followed by the Host Nation France v Defending champions Springboks (South Africa). Could we see a 2019 Final rematch between England v Boks? Will the Flying Fijians wow the English with pace en route towards their first ever semi in RWC history? or is it going to be France’s year still in the search of their first World Cup title after entering the tournament as one of the favourites for the Webb Ellis Cup? It all remains to be seen going into the 2nd week of Finals.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

2023 Rugby World Cup Free to Air Programming, Nine will now just show weekly highlights and the Final live following the Wallabies early Pool C exit

by Sports Benches

As the 2023 Rugby World Cups heads into the knockout stage this weekend with four quarter-final matches to kick off, it seems Nine will only air the big Final live now on Sunday 29th October at 5am AEDT since the Wallabies are out of the pool stages for the first time (3rd in Pool C thanks to losses against Fiji & Wales last month).

Other than that, it’s just going to be one-hour weekly highlights show on a Saturday afternoon (2pm tomorrow on the main channel) for the rest of this month. That means, all four quarter-finals, two semi-finals & the bronze medal match will only be shown on Stan Sport – which is Nine’s paid streaming platform where you can watch it without ads. I’m also sure that they will have their own on-air talent for each day of the finals matches as well.

If the Wallabies did make it into the last eight, then we would have at least have two quarter-final games on Nine as well as maybe both semis there and possibly the Bronze Medal match on FTA regardless of their results. But then none of this happened by surprise unfortunately & therefore, Nine will only just air the big Final in order to finish off this tournament.

Then the Rugby season is over for us here as we come back next year with one weekly Saturday night Super Rugby game, as well as selected Shute Shield and Hospital Cup Club Rugby games & the home Wallabies games during the second half of the year live on Nine & 9Gem.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

Fiji through to the last 8 v England despite a one-point loss v Portugal that saw them win their first Rugby World Cup match in France

by Sports Benches

We’ve just wrapped up the pool stage portion of the 2023 Rugby World Cup this morning ahead of the upcoming knockout stages this weekend with a wonderful Fiji v Portugal showdown that has determined both of the team’s final placing status in Pool C. Although Australia may had a week-long off after a difficult campaign, but all they can hope for is for Portugal to win by eight points or more in order to score a miracle QF meeting v England.

The first half saw both sides leave without a TRY as they share the lead pie going into the break 3-3. Portugal went on to snatch the lead later on while responding well to Fiji’s fightback with another 1-2 tries. Although Portugal have won the hearts of World Rugby on what has been their first ever win in RWC history 23-24. 

But despite the close loss & the 2nd half effort, Fiji has finished 2nd in this Pool table by a small points difference of five, even though they ended up at a total of 11 points with 3rd-placed Australia. That means, Fiji will take on England next Monday at 2am AEDT while Australia is out of the Pool stages for the first time in RWC history under Coach Eddie Jones.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

2023 Rugby World Cup, Wallabies finish their difficult Pool C campaign with the win v Portugal as they sit 2nd behind Wales for now

by Sports Benches

The Wallabies has returned to St Etienne for their 4th & final Pool C group stage match v Portugal earlier today where they opened the scoring account first with a three-point penalty goal before they fought back well from their opponent’s brief 1st half lead with three tries ahead of half-time 24-7. Portugal on the hand has made every serious effort all along which is their 2nd time playing in the Rugby World Cup since 2007 also in France, having made a few big scoring attempts to try & get themselves back on track.  Although they eventually found one at last later in the 2nd half, but the refs’ repeated NO TRY decisions saw the Wallabies hold on & extend their winning share via the bonus point 34-14. So Portugal are out now where they will end up 4th with one match left v Fiji next Monday. Speaking of Fiji, all the Wallabies can hope for is for them to lose during their week-long off if their small Quarter-Final chance can be possible v England on the 15th this month.

Nick Frost has made a huge difference in the Wallabies first half display on the Second Row at No.4 just like he has been all along as seen with the Brumbies in Super Rugby level. He’s two metres tall with excellent physical power to not just hold the opponents up through a brick wall but also muscles his way forward when his side has the ball before Nick earned an early rest not long after half-time at 24-7.

There’s another Brumbies player who never stopped working hard also for the Wallabies is Rob Valetini at No.8, having saw off a threatening Portuguese attack whenever possible. He’s got the pace, physical strength, backing up/communication & vision there to help find the Wallabies get past the opposition line with the ball where tries were made there. They too had another great year in Super Rugby where the Brumbies finished Top 4/semis, but here’s hoping they can get some support & create some robust competition in order to win trophies going forward – which is a clear message Rugby Australia must fix ASAP.

And Samuel Marques has been such a huge threat to the Wallabies own half, who has lots of experience playing in France as well for the Portuguese National side at half-back (No.9 shirt). He has great control with the ball while he communicated with his team-mates well in order to strike the best scoring chances possible; Plus, he can be a handy conversion kicker too. Yes, Portugal should’ve scored more than just the two tries if the ref didn’t deny them, but sure they will continue to improve over time – it’s the things we love to see in World Rugby.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

Wales big win v Wallabies sums up their early 2023 Rugby World Cup elimination from Pool C at an all-time low in Lyon

by Sports Benches

It was an alarming and unfortunate day for the Wallabies today where their big loss v Wales at the Lyon Stadium confirmed their elimination from the Rugby World Cup pool stages for the first time in history with one more match remaining v Portugal next Monday AM Australian Daylight time. Yes, the Wallabies may have scored back-to-back penalty goals in reply to Wales’s quick start with their opening TRY. However, not only Wales have stayed ahead with another few three-pointers at the same time (16-6) during the first-half, but they also went on to extend their winning share later on (2nd half) where Wales were absolutely too good (2 x tries + 3 x penalty goals & 1 x drop goal) through the finish line (40-6).

Nick Tompkins has lit up the Welsh attack alight in the No.12 shirt at Inside Centre thanks a quick start to the game followed by by a magnificent 2nd half display v the Wallabies. He just never stopped running as being tested to help out in defense, but his attacking play has been top-notch where the communication was there in order to grasp it out with the ball that led to tries here & there. Next up is reserve No.10 Gareth Anscombe, having made an impressive impact right away after he unexpectedly came on for the injured Dan Biggar earlier in the 1st half. His kicking game has been unbelievable that reflected his attacking creativity through the pitch while his conversions conversions look near perfect including that 2nd half drop goal & he never stopped working without a fight.

They have both been brilliant so far for Wales this RWC with more to come in the Quarter-Final v Samoa or Japan from Pool D sometime next month thanks to Head Coach Warren Gatland who is back from NZ for 2nd spell via the Chiefs Super Rugby side since December 2022.

And lastly, just no words to the Wallabies right now after the worst day ever in their entire existence. There is one person though who did the best possible & everyone should follow his lead in none other than Angus Bell who plays on the front row at loosehead (No.1). He showed lots of physicality with a sound defense including some pace when backing them up while having the ball in attack. It allowed him to catch the Welsh accountable earlier on that led to 2 x penalty goals thanks to his work rate via the towering reach that reflected the importance he has put in as seen both with the Waratahs at Super Rugby level as well as Internationally for a few years now.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
Rugby

Mat Rogers is right, Wallabies on their way towards becoming a Tier 2 Rugby nation and Rugby Australia needs to fix this now

by Sports Benches

It’s time to be very honest and upfront to the board at Rugby Australia that this isn’t working where we keep on losing matches time & time again without any regular silverware for a very long time. 

First of all, please go back to having just three Super Rugby teams – NSW Waratahs, Queensland Reds & ACT Brumbies. It’s something that worked before in the past and they should look to either create a national 2nd tier comp involving both Western Force & Melbourne Rebels or send both teams to some Asia-Pacific comp or even the Top League in Japan where they can compliment each other very well at that kind of standard.

Have a look at South Africa when they had to cut back 2 Super Rugby teams & sending them over to Europe at the same time back in late 2017? It actually worked out well for them, having went on to win a World Cup a few years ago while being able to beat the All Blacks occasionally which is what we should exactly be doing. They’re even one of the four favourite teams to take home this year’s World Cup too & despite not having the Cheetahs onboard when playing against International opposition sometimes in an annual European rugby comp right now, things are currently on the up for them.

Now yes, not everything we suggest can be perfect as we all see Rugby as an International sport compared to Rugby League & Aussie Rules Football. But then with League, they don’t have a Perth & Adelaide team & yet it’s going so well for them being as the fastest game in the country & even on earth. You might also argue that the Melbourne Storm is one of the most successful teams out in League but that sport is also observed by all Aussies, not Rugby where Melbourians would rather pick up a Football and play AFL, VFL or League with the Storm than playing Rugby for the Rebels. 

So no room to have another footy code there sadly no matter how much effort they put in to have an annual Super Round as well as the home Bledisloe Cup test match v All Blacks. The same goes to Perth where they’re not a traditional Rugby state despite a whole heap of investments thanks to Andrew Forrest, but the results isn’t there to back it up compared to our traditional state teams as it’s best if the Force & Rebels play elsewhere – nothing against them. All we want is for Rugby Australia to realise their potential in Super Rugby that would in turn help them win games again v the top International teams as not only we’re frustrated but NZ Rugby as well when the ABs are beginning to slip away from the Top 3-4 thanks to us here.

Please do us a favour and go back to the way things were that made Australia once successful in all fronts before both in Super Rugby (you only need three teams to be really successful v NZ teams every weekend in order to win championships) & Wallabies (selection structure would help too) while maintaining the national footprint by having a National Tier 2 comp or send both Western Force & Melbourne Rebels to another comp as well as investing more in grassroots elsewhere.

0 comment
0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
  • 1
  • 2