"Ya, might have mentioned that the oiks in the press give the family a hard time." "How far do you think I could throw that little fellow?"
Romanian rugby fans may well look back wistfully at the glorious days of the Ceausescu regime when the Oaks beat Wales, Scotland and France twice each, as well as running the All Blacks close in 1981. Probably not, though. Continue reading
There have been suggestions from a few quarters, including Clouseau himself, that France wouldn’t try too hard against New Zealand in their pool game. Lievremont’s assertion that France could probably only hope to beat New Zealand once intimated that they would hope to pull some kind of West Germany 1954 rope-a-dope* on the best team in the world to deny them the World Cup for which they seem destined. Continue reading
Get used to that feeling, Kurtley
Australia re-enter the fray after the Ireland upset with Will Genia as captain. Dingo Deans has chosen to give game time to a number of players returning from injury, notably Slipper, Mitchell and a slimmed down Cliffie Palu. Polota-Nau could be thrown into that category except he started against Ireland. Scott Higginbotham starts at blindside and has a chance to stake a claim for the 6 jumper. Pocock was unlikely to start this game due to rotation policy but the diggers must have concerns over his fitness. Continue reading
"This guy thinks he's going to win ... oh."
This game is huge, particularly for Wales. After running South Africa so close last week with a daring performance, a loss here would probably see them out of the World Cup at the same stage as Namibia. Continue reading
The corresponding fixture in the last World Cup was a belter of a game, played on a sunny Marseille afternoon. South Africa won 37-20 en route to their second World Cup but with the scores tied at 20-20 after an hour, every neutral was willing the islanders to an unlikely victory and wishing that Caucau was playing. Continue reading
Happier times in Cardiff
Mole’s greatest concern about hosting the RWC in NZ is: what happens if the All Blacks lose? A fanatical rugby public expects nothing less than victory. Anton Oliver compared last tournament’s exit to Passchendaele*. “It feels desolate, decay, the putrid smell of, I don’t know, death.” Steady on, old boy. What a cocktail for a good time! Continue reading
Matt Williams has been vocally suspicious of Taff hopes in recent days, and it’s pretty funny just how dismissive he is of them. However, one of the writers on the excellent ESPN Scrum.com has made the very valid point that the Welsh are coming into the tournament without the usual hoopla or barely-veiled truckload of acrimony that usually forms the body of their luggage. Continue reading
By providing the Rugby World Cup with undoubtedly the worst finalists in the tournament’s history in 2007, England proved that they know more than a thing or two about thriving in cup match rugby. A big scrum and an incredibly reliable place-kicker maintaining both physical and scoreboard pressure can get you an awful long way. Continue reading
Maradona heads one in against Angleterre in a typically unemotional sporting encounter between the two countries
England don’t have many options but to pick a huge pack, and they haven’t veered very far from the form book. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 