31-08-15 rugby

IRELAND 10-16 WALES

SERIOUS PROBLEMS FOR IRELAND

Wales boosted their World Cup preparations as Justin Tipuric's excellent display and desperate late defence edged out Ireland in Dublin.

Hooker Sean Cronin crossed in the final seconds, but was held up under the posts to deny Ireland a decisive score.

Earlier Tipuric, brilliant with ball in hand and at the breakdown, had driven over before the superb Iain Henderson crossed to make it 10-10 at the break.

But Leigh Halfpenny's two second-half penalties proved enough for Wales.

The match saw Paul O'Connell making his final home appearance for Ireland while George North was back in action for Wales after a five-month concussion absence

In my opinion the difference here was that Wales were a lot better in this match from the start but having more possession in the second half and scoring nothing that is a serious concern and something that needs to be fixed now. I think that it will be interesting in some positions where Joe Shmit and Warren Gatlin go for as wales have hard matches before the quarters.

ITALY 12-16 SCOTLAND

PYRGOS TRY GIVES SCOTS A BOOST

A late Henry Pyrgos try gave Scotland their first win of 2015 as Italy were beaten in an uninspiring World Cup warm-up match in Turin.

Duncan Weir sent over three first-half penalties for the Scots, but Gonzalo Garcia's reply and two more penalties from Tommaso Allan levelled matters.

After the break, Allan's third penalty put Italy ahead for the first time.

But substitute scrum-half Pyrgos went over against the run of play before Weir added the conversion.

Italy are definitely an improving side and I think that they will do well in this competition but I would worry about how far Scotland can go 

 

 

WORLD CUP WARM UPS 24-8-15

FRANCE 25-20 ENGLAND

 

 

HUGET PROVE HE CAN FLY WHEN NEEDED

France dealt England's World Cup plans a blow as for 70 minutes they battered a side widely believed to be close to Stuart Lancaster's favoured XV. Frederic Michalak's boot saw the hosts lead 15-6 at half-time, George Ford landing two penalties for England. A converted try from Yoann Huget looked to have killed the game with well over half an hour remaining. But England came alive and late tries from Danny Cipriani and Jonathan Joseph made it close on the scoreboard

SCOTLAND 16-12 ITALY

PYROS THE HERO AT MURRAYFIELD

 

A late Henry Pyrgos try gave Scotland their first win of 2015 as Italy were beaten in an uninspiring World Cup warm-up match in Turin. Duncan Weir sent over three first-half penalties for the Scots, but Gonzalo Garcia's reply and two more penalties from Tommaso Allan levelled matters. After the break, Allan's third penalty put Italy ahead for the first time. But substitute scrum-half Pyrgos went over against the run of play before Weir added the conversion. http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/34004953

17-8-15 RUGBY WORLD CUP PREVIEW

MAGAGAN LOO0KS IN LINE TO BE SECCOND BEHIND SEXTON WITH THE KICKING BOOTS

IRELAND 28-22 SCOTLAND

 

Ian Madigan went up through the gears during the final quarter of this contest as Ireland producing some cutting rugby to see off Scotland in Dublin

After a sluggish first half, these teams combined to offer up five second-half tries, but it was the final two from Ireland which showcased Madigan’s attacking talents.

Just on the hour mark the Ireland out-half cut a pass that allowed replacement Dave Kearney to hare into the Scottish 22 before the Leinster man got back in possession and stuck a lovely inside ball to Simon Zebo on the angle to give the hosts a 21-15 lead after the conversion

Just 10 minutes later Madigan produced the moment of the match with an inch-perfect, cross-field kick to Luke Fitzgerald, who grabbed only his third try for Ireland.

Madigan has been a hot topic in the Irish game for more than three years now. One of the most naturally gifted and game-changing players available to coach Joe Schmidt, the Dubliner has been seen by the previous Leinster coach Matt O’Connor as a maverick playmaker who could not always be trusted.

To me personally this tells me that they can win while playing badly which as a important as winning when playing well  maybe they can win the world cup.

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/ireland-vs-scotland-match-report-maverick-ian-madigan-proves-his-worth-in-irish-victory-10457437.html

ENGLAND TRIES ENOUGH TO BEAT FRANCE

ENGLAND 19-14 FRANCE

 

England survived a pounding up front to beat France in their opening World Cup warm-up game at Twickenham.

The hosts took an early 12-3 lead after two stunning Anthony Watson tries.

But the strength of France's pack gave Morgan Parra the chance to kick two penalties to make it 12-9 at the break.

A superb Jonny May try saw England pull clear again and although the power of the French saw them cut the margin to five points as Fulgence Ouedraogo drove over from a maul, the hosts held on.

NEW ZEALAND 41- 13 AUSTRILIA

MC CAW IN A DREAM WORLD

 

It was a historic night for captain Richie McCaw, who broke former Ireland centre Brian O’Driscoll’s record as the most-capped Test player of all time, while Dan Carter had an almost perfect night from the tee to kick 16 points

McCaw was quick to pay tribute to both current and former international team-mates after his record 142nd Test appearance.

Quade Cooper’s early penalty put Australia in front but Carter levelled in the 18th minute and New Zealand went ahead when hooker Dane Coles showed enough burst to get away from the chasing defenders for the opening try.

Carter converted and added his second penalty but Cooper’s long-range shot made it 13-6 at half-time as Carter came up short with a penalty from 49 metres and sent a drop-goal wide.

The All Blacks stepped up a gear early in the second half and earned a penalty try when Ben Smith’s run to the line was halted by a wild high tackle from Cooper.

The Wallabies fly-half was sin-binned for the offence and against 14 men Nonu came to the fore, blasting through on 51 minutes to score New Zealand’s third try.

Another break three minutes later was stopped short of the line by a strong tackle from David Pocock but the ball was recycled and Nonu displayed the more subtle side of his game with a lofted pass to send fellow centre Conrad Smith over.

Carter converted all three scores and though Australia briefly steadied the ship, with their defence holding firm for the next 10 minutes, they were breached again with a quarter of an hour to go.

Again it was that man Nonu, taking Carter’s pass and sending the first tackler the wrong way with a side-step before charging for the line.

Carter converted from the left touchline and New Zealand took the opportunity

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/rugby/rugby-union/international/new-zealand-vs-australia-match-report-recordbreaker-richie-mccaw-inspires-demolition-job-10457432.html

 

RUGBY WORLD CUP WAM UP 14-8-15

WARM UP FIXTURES

 

There are a few important matches being played this weekend in preparation for the Rugby world cup that starts in September. With these being the final matches for the teams playing in the four nations before they set themselves up for the world cup and hope to get settled in England very quickly

NEW ZEELAND V AUSTRILIA 8.35 Eden Park

IRELAND V SCOTLAND 17.00 Aviva

ENGLAND V FRANCE 20.00 being played in Twickenum  

ARGENTENA V SOUTH AFRICA 2040 Vélez Sársfield  

NETBALL WORLD CUP FINAL GROUP MATCHES 14-8-15

ENGLAND 62- 46 SOUTH AFRICA

ENGLAND SHOW THEY CAN DO IT IN BIG MATCH

 

England cruised to a simple win against South Africa and they never seemed to have lost control of the game as they lead by 10 goals and half time and won by 14 goals at half time this was not as difficult as it could have been. England never took their feet of the pedal when they knew the match was won.

AUSTRILIA 89-24 WALES

ONE WOMAN OUTSCORES WHOLE TEAM

Australia found it very simple to beat Wales and took control very early leading the first quarter by 20 goals to 8 but it was completive at the early stage. At the start of the second it was also completive but Australia took control to lead the match by 48 goals to 13 at half time. Australia won the third quarter by 24 goals to 5 and showed they were on a different level. Catlin Walls scored 43 goals again more than the wales team. Wales do need to look at their fitness if they are going to progress.

Here is the final table for pool F

Team	Played	Won	Lost	For	Against	Points
Australia	3	3	0	206	96	6
England	3	2	1	181	130	4
South Africa	3	1	2	145	168	2
Wales	3	0	3	97	235	0

 

JAMICA 90—44 MALAWI

JAMICA SHOW WHAT IT IS THAT THEY ARE

Jamaica got the 4^th semi-final spot but there opponents did not look to be competing at all. Samoa will definitely have to go back and look at themselves before the next match.

NEW ZEALAND 76-33 UGANDA

NEW ZELAND ARE ALL POWERFUL

New Zealand started like they knew they could not be caught with 9 goals without reply and lead the first quarter by 20 goals to 3. Uganda seemed to have something to fight for in the second but still lost the quarter and went in at half time by 34 goals to 16. New Zealand kept complete control in the third and won the quarter by 17 goals to 8 to lead the match by 56 goals to 24. In the fourth they showed control also but there was one New Zealand player who scored more than the entire Uganda team and that should not be allowed to happen.

Here are the table for pool E

Team	Played	Won	Lost	For	Against	Points
New Zealand	3	3	0	188	130	6
Jamaica	3	2	1	170	164	4
Malawi	3	1	2	170	173	2
Uganda	3	0	3	130	194	0

 

Here are the semi-finals and what I think the underdogs need to do to win

England v New Zealand

For England to stand any chance of winning against New Zealand they have to learn as much as they can from the Australia game and improve themselves better than that.

Jamaica V Australia

I have the feeling that Jamaica have got enough to beat Australia in this very important match. The fact that Australia have lost in the group stages shows that they can be beaten  

 

my predictions rwc 13-8-15

RUGBY WORLD CUP PREDICTIONS 13-8-15

POOL A

 

This is the hardest pool to predict as there are three teams that can win the world cup in Australia, England and Wales and one that can beat anyone else in the pool in Fiji. I think that England will top the group with Australia in second but would not be surprised if wales finish second behind any of them. The think that makes me think England will top the pool is the fact they are at home.

POOL B

Pool B is a straight race between South Africa Samoa and Scotland . I feel south Africa will top the pool but an not sure who will win between Samoa and Scotland I think this will be a very close match for second.

POOL C

New Zealand and Argentina will finish in the top 2 in this group but I think New Zealand will win this but I do think that Argentina are improving so nothing will be a surprise here.

POOL D

I think that Italy will not be that easy to beat but to be Honest this will be a group settled between Ireland and France and if Ireland have to play New Zealand in the quarters it might be doomed from the start and if Argentina beat new Zealand will Ireland set themselves out to loose to France and if theat happens what will happen.

10-8-15 rugby blog

RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

AUSTRILIA PULL OF MAJOR SHOCK TO WIN RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

AUSTRILIA 27-19 NEW ZEALAND

 

Dan Carter kicked New Zealand into a 6-3 lead in the first-half, with Matt Giteau responding for the Wallabies.

Nic White's late scoring burst gave Australia victory over New Zealand to claim the Rugby Championship in Sydney.

The scrum-half came off the bench, kicked a penalty and converted his own try as the Wallabies beat the All Blacks for the first time since 2011.

Prop Sekope Kepu and winger Adam Ashley-Cooper also crossed for the Australians with Nehe Milner-Skudder scoring twice on his New Zealand debut.

The All Blacks led 19-17 with 11 minutes left before White took control

SOUTH AFRICA 25-37 ARGENTENA

ARGENTINA  PROVE DREAMS CAN COME TRUE

Argentina beat South Africa for the first time in their history as this year's Rugby Championship drew to a close in Durban.

It was the Pumas' first victory over the Springboks in 20 attempts after 18 losses and a draw.

Winger Juan Imhoff scored a 19-minute hat-trick as Argentina finished off the bottom of the Championship for the first time.

RUGBY WORLD CUP QUALIFERS

WALES21-35 IRELAND

IRELAND SHOW THEY ARE ON CRUISE CONTROL

Ireland had a dream start to their World Cup preparations as they scored five tries in an impressive win over Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

Captain Jamie Heaslip scored the opener as he became Ireland's most capped back-row forward.

Darren Cave, Keith Earls, Simon Zebo and Felix Jones also crossed with Wales replying through Richard Hibbard, Justin Tipuric and Alex Cuthbert

With Tommy O Donnell and Andrew Trimble having a few injuries this was not an ideal winning start for Ireland

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/33821823

rugby friendly wales v ireland

We do hope that there is a lot that can be learned from a match like this and how the teams play and what they are aiming for as this is the first pre season tie for both sides going into the world cup

Wales coach Warren Gatland's team shows 14 changes from their last match against Italy in the 2015 Six Nations.

Ross Moriarty, Tyler Morgan, Eli Walker and Dominic Day will make their debuts in a team captained by Scott Williams.

For Ireland, Mike Ross and Jamie Heaslip are the only players retained from the win over Scotland in March.

Keith Earls and Donnacha Ryan will play their first Ireland games since March 2013 with wing Andrew Trimble playing his first Test in over a year.

Wales: H Amos (Newport Gwent Dragons); A Cuthbert (Cardiff Blues), T Morgan (Newport Gwent Dragons), S Williams (Scarlets, capt), E Walker (Ospreys); J Hook (Gloucester Rugby), M Phillips (Racing Metro); N Smith (Ospreys), R Hibbard (Gloucester), A Jarvis (Ospreys), J Ball (Scarlets), D Day (Bath Rugby), R Moriarty (Gloucester Rugby), J Tipuric (Ospreys, vice-capt), D Baker (Ospreys).

Replacements: R Evans (Scarlets), K Dacey (Cardiff Blues), S Andrews (Cardiff Blues), J King (Ospreys), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), Ll Williams (Cardiff Blues), G Anscombe (Cardiff Blues), M Morgan (Bristol Rugby).

 

Ireland: F Jones (Munster); A Trimble (Ulster), K Earls (Munster), D Cave (Ulster), F McFadden (Leinster); P Jackson (Ulster), E Reddan (Leinster); J McGrath (Leinster), R Strauss (Leinster), M Ross (Leinster); I Henderson (Ulster), D Ryan (Munster); J Murphy (Leinster), T O'Donnell (Munster), J Heaslip (Leinster, capt).

Replacements: R Best (Ulster), D Kilcoyne (Munster), M Bent (Leinster), D Tuohy (Ulster), C Henry (Ulster), K Marmion (Connacht), I Madigan (Leinster), S Zebo (Munster).

RUGBY 4 NATIONS 07-08-15

AUSTRILIA  V NEW ZEALAND

CAN THE AUSSIES PREFORM A MIRICLE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Championship or nothing match on Saturday is the mos important match of the season so far. You still have to understand that this is a warm up match but both coaches are putting out strong teams for this championship match

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 1 Scott Sio, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 3 Sekope Kepu, 4 Dean Mumm, 5 James Horwill, 6 Scott Fardy, 7 Michael Hooper, 8 David Pocock.

Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nic White, 22 Matt Toomua, 23 Kurtley Beale.

New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 1 Tony Woodcock, 2 Dane Coles, 3 Owen Franks, 4 Brodie Retallick, 5 Luke Romano, 6 Jerome Kaino, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 8 Kieran Read.

Replacements: 16 Codie Taylor, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Nepo Laulala, 19 Sam Whitelock, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Malakai Fekitoa.

SOUTH AFRICA V ARGENTENA

A TOUCH OF CONFIDENCE

 

 

 

 

 

There is little on this match in South Africa except the fact that there can be much to learn before the world cup and the fact that they can both avoid finishing bottom which could help argentena a lot.

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux , 14 Jesse Kriel , 13 Jean de Villiers (c), 12 Damian de Allende , 11 Bryan Habana , 10 Handre; Pollard, 9 Ruan Pienaar , 8 Schalk Burger , 7 Marcell Coetzee , 6 Heinrich Brussow , 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth , 3 Vincent Koch , 2 Bismarck du Plessis , 1 Tendai Mtawarira

Replacements:, 16 Adriaan Strauss , 17 Trevor Nyakane , 18 Marcel van der Merwe , 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit , 20 Siya Kolisi , 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie , 23 Lwazi Mvovo.

Argentina

Joaquin Tuculet; Horacio Agulla, Marcelo Bosch, Jeronimo De la Fuente, Juan Imhoff; Juan Martin Hernandez, Tomas Cubelli; Leonardo Senatore, Juan Manuel Leguizamon, Pablo Matera; Tomas Lavanini, Guido Petti Pagadizabal; Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, Agustin Creevy (capt), Marcos Ayerza

Replacements: Julian Montoya, Lucas Noguera, Matias Diaz, Matias Alemanno, Tomas Lezana, Martin Landajo, Santiago Gonzalez Iglesias, Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino

chalenge cup semi finals

LEEDS 24-14 ST HELENS

LEEDS SHOW THEY ARE THE BEST

A merry dance across the line for Leeds and a quality pass to Hardacher so he can score the try for Leeds

The ball is in Leeds half and a couple of quality passes lets Joel Moon in for a simple try

It did not look like Leeds deserved a try as the went into the corner for another try on 35 minutes Leeds 12-0 up and cruising at this point

Greqat run from own half and a couple of passes gives Persivle a try and this did give the Saints hope

Half time Leeds 12-4 St Helens

Jamie gets the ball from a good set move and runs about 60 metres to score he must have ran that in about 8 seconds

Saints get one back on 51 minutes

Saints then score in the corner as a couple of passes from Roche to Parcell to give him a try

Calm Watkins gets the ball from a couple of passes beats 3 defenders and scores a try this all came from a repeat set

WARRINGTON 18-26 HULL KR

HULL KR SHOW THEY CAN PLAY AT TOP TABLE

Atkins scores in the first couple of minutes and all it took was a simple run

Who was able to beat 2 opponents to score with a conversion to come

Good pass and run into the corner from a penalty from Mantalano so Hull have something to play with

Great kick and catch by Sio who runs about 20 metres with no one anywhere near him for the try

HT WARRINGTON 16-12 HULL KR

Hull Kr score an early try

Ball down on the Hull Kr line and a couple of passes give Warrington a try and get them the lead

Goen scores a try for Hull Kr as the ball is able to move from one side to the other and a simple run in for the try

Shaun Lunt scores the try that puts Hull Kr in the driving seat I swore that it was a double movement but it was not