Category Archives: RWC 2011

Report Card: Back Row

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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

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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 →

Has Fate Already Decided?

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Danny Blanchflower - loved a bit of fate with his greens and chips

The Mole was recently reminded by a friend who is a Spurs fan that for more than
60 years, every fan of Spurs – Tottenham Hotspur, the English football team – knew that no
matter how bad things were at White Hart Lane, it was only a question of waiting for the
year ending in the numeral 1 and things would be different. Continue reading →

Wales v France

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Last week’s results came as a surprise to the Mole who didn’t expect either of these teams in the semi final. The chance of a shot at the greatest prize will be available to one of these teams next weekend. Did you expect the N-G Dragons to produce two thirds of the world champions’ back row? I didn’t either, but it could well happen. Continue reading →

At Thixes and Thevens: Australia vs New Zealand

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Last Week’s Legacy

If we were to draw conclusions from the quarter finals, its that “out-and-out groundhogs” playing at seven proved hugely important in getting the right result. This was due in part to the interpretation of the referees and in particular the games on the bottom half of the draw. Continue reading →