Dan Carter has torn a tendon in his groin and will take no further part in RWC11. Continue reading
Dan Carter Out of RWC11
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Tag Archives: New Zealand
Settling in Thoughts
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
Tomorrow Morning …
Match Preview: NZ v Japan
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
Match Review: New Zealand 41 – 10 Tonga
In what was a classic example of a game of two halves, New Zealand lurched past an overawed Tongan team 41-10 in Eden Park, Auckland. Continue reading
New Zealand v Tonga
The Tongan gameplan
New Zealand and Tonga kick off the 2011 World Cup. It’s customary for NZ to pummel the other teams in their group and this match shouldn’t be much different. Tonga will be out to level a few big names – I’m looking at you Sunny Bull – and Tonga’uiha is a giant who destroyed some big names during the Northern Hemisphere season. Continue reading
One To Watch: Israel Dagg [New Zealand]
Israel and Mils in happier times
Thank you, Graham Henry. The charismatic Kiwi funny-man [que?] made the Mole’s mind up for him, dropping 98-cap Kiwi legend Mils Muliaina from the starting line-up of the New Zealand team that faces Tonga in the opening match of RWC11. Continue reading
Crystal Ball Gazing #1
Pool A: NZ, France, Tonga, Japan, Canada
Pool A hosts the opening game of the World Cup so look forward to discussion about the merits of warm up games ending and the real stuff beginning.
The first Rugby World Cup opened with New Zealand annihilating Italy and winning by massive margins in the pool stages has become a New Zealand tradition. New Zealand and France will qualify from this pool, in that order. None of the other teams really have a chance of upsetting the top two, who could pick any selection from their squads and win the three games required. Of more interest will be the composition of Henry and Lievremont’s first choice XVs. Who will Graham Henry allow into his prefect’s club? His rotation of the starting halfbacks could be the rock upon which this World Cup tilt perishes. There’s a nagging suspicion that Lievremont picks his team blindfolded, after a few glasses of red wine. France have the personnel to go far in the competition but rarely set the pool stages alight and often make heavy work of less talented opposition. Continue reading
Australia v New Zealand Review
Big Kev Knows ... How To Win 'Em.
James Horwill has long been a focal point for any team he is a member of. His appointment as captain of Australia’s World Cup squad confirmed his leadership role. His influence was immediate as a confident Australia got stuck into New Zealand from the first whistle and showed no respect for reputation. Horwill has already captained Queensland to the Super 15 title this season and this victory meant that his team won the Tri Nations title for the first time in a decade. Continue reading
Ruhspuct thuh Huhkuh, Smuddy: NZ World Cup Squad Review
Graham Henry has named his squad, and the most striking news is that neither Sitiveni Sivivatu nor Hosea Gear are in it. As mentioned in the match review of the recent SA vs NZ test from Port Elizabeth, New Zealand have an absolute rake of top-quality wingers who would find a place in the starting line-up of many other teams in the world cup – the two lads join ‘Walk Away’ Rene Ranger, Joe Rokocoko and Lelia Masaga at poolside, or possibly in one of those big Auckland bars like the one that’s in the start of Once Were Warriors. If Uncle Bully tries to do a runner again, he’s not going to get very far. Continue reading
Digging Like a Demented Mole 