Who’s Nicola Alesbrook? She’s the IRB’s RWC Tournament Manager.
You Don’t Notice the Good Ones
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Author Archives: dementedmole
Bastille Day Never falls in October
14 July 1979 – Bastille Day.
France triumphed over the All Blacks in Eden Park, Auckland by 19-24 for their first ever victory in New Zealand. Although they had played fixtures since 1906, France had never conquered the All Blacks on their turf until this auspicious day. Games against the All Blacks and South Africa were always referred to by French commentators as Fiasco aux Antipodes. Continue reading
Report Card: Back Three
I wanna be a superstar
Tommy Bowe: Could have put a nail in Australia’s coffin with a flourish if he hadn’t missed the summer through injury as he looked to tie up in the last few yards. Or he could have put in a cross kick. Bowe caused the Welsh a bit of trouble and was denied two tries against the Italians by dodgy refereeing decisions. Continue reading
Keith Murdoch
http://davidhaviland.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/whatever-happened-to-keith-murdoch/
The lack of a NZ v Wales final means that this story won’t get a good airing. Not going to stop the Mole.
The manager of Led Zeppelin was a big man named Peter Grant. Zep had made it big by ’72 so its unlikely that the Cardiff bouncer was also “one of the shrewdest and most ruthless managers in rock history”.
And The Winner Is …
You're looking at the arse of one of the best six rugby players in the world, apparently
The nominees for the IRB International Player of the Year Award are out, and there are a few curious choices and notable omissions. Continue reading
Report Card: Centres
Nice barnet
Gordon D’Arcy: Fell asleep on the blindside of a ruck and created an uphill struggle. Nuff said. D’Arce rolled back the years against the Italians but that’s not a cast iron midfield. Continue reading
Report Card: Half Back
I'll have a monkey on the jolly at the next in Lingfield.
Conor Murray: It seemed that Murray made the plane only because Tomas O’Leary had one howler too many against France and three scrum halves were needed in the party. Once selected, he continued his meteoric rise and became first choice scrum half before the end of the tour. At times against the Welsh, he seemed a bit off the pace, no doubt a consequence of exposure to a higher pace of game than he was used to. Murray offered a physical presence with a well rounded skill set and was a definite plus from the tournament. Continue reading
Red Cards
Answers question, eats microphone
Kobus Wiese, ex-Springbok man-mountain, commentator and World Cup-winner, had an interesting take on Sam Warburton’s red card in the Welsh loss to France. Continue reading
Report Card: Back Row
Stephen Ferris: Bueller… anyone, Bueller? The injury plagued Ulster man rivals Luke Fitzgerald and the camera shy Donncha O’Callaghan for media utterances. It was his form in this World Cup that created the headlines. Ferris is a very talented athlete who hasn’t consistently produced at the international level. In this tournament he showed good ball skills as well as some feats of power that few players could match. His tackle on Genia was iconic while his hit on Castrogiovanni brought the battle to the Italians. The Welsh stopped him with some great tackles and stopped Ireland. Continue reading
Report Card: Second Row
The Gold Standard.
Paul O’Connell: Paulie had a welcome return to fitness and form. He made it his job to go looking for James Horwill in the Australian match and nailed him a few times. As noted here before, second rows have a long shelf life and it’s not unreasonable to expect Paulie to have another World Cup in him. Benefitted from losing a bit of bulk and became more mobile. Still not a great ball carrier although he puts his hand up. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 