I don’t comment much on football — strange rules and a peculiar ball — but why exactly does Steve McClaren still have a job?
Guus Hiddink has a (mischevious) point:
I don’t know if you should hang the coach because of one result. England had a bad game against us, but it is difficult to judge from the outside. The people on the inside and the press should do that.
But, as Guus well knows, failling to qualify, under their own power, from that group took more a lot more than one bad result.
England 6—15 South Africa: the Boks ground out a victory and ground down England in a match that was effectively over by half-time: though the score was only 3—9, England were beaten before Mark Cueto’s ‘match-changing’ non-try (and yes, his foot did brush the line before he lifted it, though I wouldn’t have wanted to make that call in real-time). Defiance and team spirit had done a remarkable job in transforming a bunch of nondescript no-hopers into quarter-finalists, semi-finalists, and ultimately finalists: it wasn’t enough when faced with a side who could match their commitment and physicality, and out play them
And what of Brian Ashton: was he hero or villain in this remarkable — and almost universally unexpected — revival? Did he lose the dressing room or administer brutal shock treatment to force the players to take responsibility on the pitch? We’ve heard the rumblings about that players’ meeting, and today’s Telegraph article will no doubt be the first of many articles on the ‘players’ revolt’. I’ve no idea, but I suspect that, however the players now interpret it, someone must have administered a red hot poker.
update 22/10/2007: a less than resounding endorsement of Brian Ashton continuing as coach from Lawrence Dallaglio to the BBC:
There are system changes that need to be made — whether that’s personnel is not my decision. Everything isn’t rosy just because we got to a World Cup final… Brian Ashton turned things around, but then again so have the players and all the coaches. I think a review will be done, by the right people. Rob will head it up and I’m sure he’ll make the right decisions.
England 14—9 France: a stunning start as Josh Lewsey took advantage of Damien Traille’s momentary hesitation when faced with a bitch of a bounce, but then it settled down to an ugly, nervous but thrilling semi-final. Until the last five minutes I thought this was the one England would lose because Jonny missed his kicks — missing a conversion, two drop goal attempts and a penalty. But ultimately France paid the price of attempting to sit on a one point lead, while Jonny Wilkinson demonstrated that he really is a big-gamer player, getting a penalty and a drop goal to seal the victory. Mike Catt is right England have ’shocked the world’.
To do it again next week will be harder, whether South Africa or Argentina: either team will face England as the only unbeaten team in the competition; Argentina would bring unmatched hunger, and South Africa the memory of smashing the same England team once already in the tournament; both are capable of matching England physically.
Australia 10—12 England: they still can’t score tries but the English scrum ‘destroyed’ the Australians and Wilkinson’s boot did enough to get them through to the semi-finals. Watching some of the highlights, I can’t say I’m disappointed that I spent the afternoon at my son’s birthday party at Upper Limits. If a team playing this uninspiringly manages to reach the final, it would be a tragedy for rugby — it should be unthinkable.
New Zealand 18—20 France: now that was a game worth watching. At half-time I thought the all Blacks were on their way, but the French fought back and defended magnificently. Two minutes to go and McAlister tried for the drop-goal that would have won the match but in this half the luck was all French; if it had been through the posts he would have been a hero — like Jonny in 2003 — instead he will probably go down as having made the wrong choice.
After their awful non-performances in their opening games, who’d have believed either of these teams could come back from dead to get to the semi-finals?
Whatever, two quarter-finals and two wrong predictions: at least, I’m not alone. Who knows, next week Scotland could be playing Fiji.
After the least successful World Cup campaign in All Black history, I think that if I were Graham Henry I would give serious consideration to not going home.
update 15/10/2007: it will be no comfort at all without that ‘little yellow cup’ to prove it but Bernard Laporte called it right:
This World Cup has been crazy. Who has played any rugby? The only ones are the All Blacks. They have the power and the genius, something that no-one else has. They are the best team in the world… The All Blacks are the only team who can put 30 points on everybody else.
France 64—7 Georgia: Georgia were well beaten by France, but, beaten by Argentina, France must now face New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
Argentina 30—15 Ireland: s desperate Ireland were over-powered and out-played by Argentina, and their World Cup agony comes to an end. Argentina deserve to top their group; and win the quarter-final against Scotland, one of the two weakest teams to get through the pool stage. Quite an amazing achievement to come through the closest group conceding the lowest score against them of any team in the competition, and conceding only two tries (both in this match).
South Africa 64—15 USA: just before half-time South Africa were comfortably heading for a bonus-point victory as expected when the USA scored what the BBC accurately described as ‘one of the most unexpected and thrilling tries of the tournament’ — from an interception on their own try line! But after half-time it was business as usual as South Africa put another 40 points on the board to the USA’s 5. In the closing minutes USA brought on Thretton Palamo who thus became the youngest player in World Cup history, though as by that time I was busy putting the kids to bed I never saw whether he actually managed to touch the ball.
Quarter-Final predictions:
Australia—England: Australia
New Zealand—France: New Zealand
South Africa—Fiji: South Africa
Argentina—Scotland: Argentina.
England 36—20 Tonga: the BBC describes this as an ‘ultimately convincing win’, and so the scoreline was; but if you took out one inspired Wilkinson kick (and great Sackey take) and a Sackey’s 80 metre solo try (a fortuitous gift from Hola) it would have been be one hell of a lot tighter. It was a hard-fought rather than a comfortable victory. Amongst all the puff about about the quarter-final, Will Greenwood called it honestly, saying that England need to improve a lot more to ‘give Australia a game’. Tonga can go home proud after their most successful ever World Cup.
