Rugby World Cup in New Zealand

Well, I am a Kiwi and I watched the game in Curacao, and I saw a completely different match to you Fishtigua.

The Aussies played a good game, very good in fact, but they were shut down, locked out and intimidated in every phase by a team that were just too hungry to be beaten.

Call it "the home crowd effect" behind the ABs, but the Aussies were lucky the ABs kicking was below percentage otherwise the scoreboard would be reading 30+ points

Excellent work Agent COOPER and Agent DEANS, you served your homeland proud!

Operation 'sabotage' was a complete success!

You can return home now and your sacrifices will be rewarded!

Oh Yeah, how right!
As my son said: Cooper should have got "man of the match" FOR how he played FOR New Zealand.
well they are all the young guys now, so in the next 4 years we will see a real Wallabies Team!

Hi,

I was sent this little note which you two might get a laugh out of.

Dear Robbie

Congratulations on reaching your 50th Test as Coach of the Wallabies.
Can I start by saying what a choice job you’ve been doing since you first started working for New Zealand Rugby in 2008. It has been a long-term task, but the plan to ensure the All Blacks win the World Cup at home in 2011 is coming together perfectly.
My idea of getting you to be hired by Australian Rugby as their national coach and then sabotage the Wallabies from within, in my own modest opinion, was an absolute masterstroke.
While our plan had many doubters, I always knew in my heart that the Aussies would fall for it. After reaching 50 tests as coach on the weekend, I think its only fitting to mention what I think is your top 10 highlights of sabotage to date:

1. Losing to Ireland
2. Giving Rocky the captaincy of the country he hadn’t played for in over two years, then stripping it off him right before the World Cup
3. Losing to Scotland
4. Not even getting close to winning the Bledisloe Cup back
5. Not picking a backup for Pocock in the World Cup squad
6. Never using the Wallaby bench effectively
7. Not having a back-up game plan
8. Using words like “contest, willing, collision, contact-zone, adaptation” to describe rugby
9. Losing to Samoa
10. Winning only 54% of all your games as coach of historically one of the most successful teams in Rugby

I can’t believe after all this they then extended your contract for a further two years?!?!?! How they didn’t work out our plan after you coached them to 10 Bledisloe cup losses in a row is full credit to you and were all very proud of you back at home bro.
Well done once again and as planned we’ll see you at Ritchie’s after the World Cup to celebrate pulling the wool over the Aussies' eyes.
Cheers
Graham Henry

Aaah well - on Friday night the Wallabies will have a chance to redeem themselves somewhat - 3rd in the world aint too bad to aim for - yeah right!

The popular favourite amongst us locals for the team to win the play-off for third are the Welsh. Good luck Fishtigua!

You got to love those Welsh fans - their many supporters here are passionate much like the Irish and that was illustrated when they had 60,000 packing in the National Stadium back home in Cardiff just watching on screens.

Whatever the final result the atmosphere over the 6 weeks was/is amazing but friends and myself will need to while to dry out afterwards. Haven't been out in our boats at all really so that's is the next cunning plan as the weather warms up.

The Final

Well, given that there are almost as many New Zealanders living on the Mainland (Australia) as there are in NZ itself, it's not surprising that so many Aussies are supporting an All Black win!

So, go the All Blacks, lets see you guys break the "mokkie!" and FINALLY WIN the World Cup.

Well as much as we compete to the ultimate I am happy to see the team that truly deserved to win actually WIN:
GO All Blacks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi,

I was so nervous that I did not have any beer till the final whistle.

I sent and received a number of texts from other Kiwis at home , some forecasting doom and some just full of abuse for the recipient I and I am sure a relieved Nation are very happy that the end result was NZ with 1 more point.

I even got an e mail from an ex shipmate watching in the same bar in BCN as we watched the French push the Kiwis out last time. He says the atmosphere is completely electric.

The French played very well and showed just how dangerous they can be at anytime.

Thank you to you Fish and my Western Neighbour Kafue for your support in the end.

Hey K1W1!
WHEN THE SH1T HITS THE FAN WE ARE ALL BROTHERS IN ARMS!!
If only wars were fought on the fields of PLAY and not on fields of graves!
Well done our fighting Mates!
G

A lot less than there was earlier, I have an old shipmate here and he seems to be as thirsty as I am.

I guess the garden duty will have to be postponed yet again, - hopefully it will rain and snow now till next summer.

was a great game, i've seen it in westport and i think almost all people living there where in that pub
well done all blacks!

I got so nervous during Sunday before the game started I took the boat out for a fish to occupy the time! Lousy fishing but by the time I got back, cleaned up and put her to bed, it was close enough to start sweating.

The neighbours decended on us, the wine flowed and ultimately a sigh of relief with the close win as much as anything.

For all the US members, this may be very boring and irrelevant but you be comforted to note that you are the current Olympic Champions at rugby - I believe it was last played in the 1920's though. Some US fans who made the trip to the RWC told me the game is going through a healthy resurgence in the States at present.

Rugby making a resurgence in the U.S. It's always been a good way to draw some blood and earn some beer at the college level , but this is the first I've heard. Raising the drinking age to 21 has put a damper on it. Soccer is doing OK at the pre-elementary level, but I doubt either will ever be much more than a passing fancy here in yankland. I think we just like the sound of shoulderpads, helmets and necks cracking atop 300 lb guys too much. (Sort of a human Demolition Derby) Plus, it's easier to follow the action. Hockey is probably the closest we'll come. Although if they keep trying to tame that, who knows.

I believe the resurgence is very strong. My eldest son is heading to Florida for 3 months and has been asked to do some coaching for the local team in Orlando. Not sure what grade but he is looking forward to it. Straight out of school and 3 months in Florida, hell, who wouldn't be happy about that!

There was some comment on TV by one of the US team members from Michigan that their State competition had gone from 16 to 60 teams in just a few years. I guess an attraction is that as adults they can maintain playing an affordable contact sport (if not hockey) as an amateur after they leave high school/college.

One thing is clear, the US rugby teams over the years have played hard! Many had been good gridiron players but used their education for different careers but perhaps still wanted to play something with a bit of testosterone - or it might have been the beer?

Comparatively speaking and especially with the crazy space suits and helmets worn, College and NFL is pretty tame stuff isn't it? Should make it a women's sport and changeover the teams to rugby.

The cornerback who got his neck broken the other day might differ with you on that one. Anthony Conner of Louisville Cardinals has surgery on broken neck - ESPN

Hi,

Neck Injuries are a common occurrence in Rugby.

Neck Injuries - Rugby Injuries

The most dangerous part of the game is the Scrum.
Scrum collapses have resulted in a lot of neck injuries throughout the years.

Scrum (rugby) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia