The sorry end to a career of great service to French rugby
The Mole enjoyed a very good article on ESPN Scrum.com by Ian Moriarty about Marc Lievremont and his appalling relationship with the media/his players/the French public. Continue reading
Well done New Zealand: It’s a relatively small country a long way from anywhere else and the weather hasn’t been the best but the atmosphere and organisation, bar some opening night nerves, seem to have been very good. Beating the French will have cheered up the Kiwis and put some ghosts to rest, while seeing the Aussies lose has been very well received. The Ireland v Russia game sounded like it had been organised by the best hostel in the world and the crowd were suitably lubricated. Continue reading
Kiwi commentators play a blinder!
For those of you who didn’t get to see the Setanta broadcast of the hard-fought but error-ridden game between Georgia and Romania – a high-concept crossover between Over The Top [a film about arm-wrestling] and Ireland’s 2011 Six Nations match against Italy [a film about knock-ons] – you missed some absolutely cracking commentary from the NZ host broadcaster. Some gems below: Continue reading
Hell of a lot of wingers out there. Hell of a lot. Good ‘uns, too. Continue reading
Don't think we'll see the same sort of result this time round
If we look at the last game between the two teams, Italy dominated two of the set-pieces: the scrum and the lineout. Continue reading
The All Blacks take on Portugal in 2007 with a 20 minute turnaround.
Mole has heard a few discussions about the fairness of World Cup schedule, the protracted nature of the tournament and the slim chances of any minnow beating a big fish. They’re all legitimate comments and Mole recognises that it’s not a fair world. Sometimes though it pays heed to listen to what isn’t being said.
He's not so tough
The big news from this game is that the Italians fourth try, eked out from the intense pressure that their scrum could exert on the American set piece. This means that Ireland have no get out clause next week and that, just like we assumed would happen at the beginning of the tournament, we have to beat Italy to qualify* for the quarter-final stage. Continue reading
Five criminals. One line-up. No co-incidence.
The biggest question facing Declan Kidney and the Irish coaching staff as they look towards to the match against the Italian team is who they’re going to select in the No12 jersey. Continue reading
Cliffy at his fearsome 2009 best
Australian No8 Wycliff Palu is out of the World Cup. His hamstring tear seems to have been complicated by a history of similar injuries, and the prognosis of a six-week recovery period means that for him, the war is over. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 