Wallabies 22 France 6
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Wallabies continued their winning start to the 2009 International Rugby season with a 22-6 win against France. In a tough and uncompromising performance the French were never in the game save for some early attacking opportunities where they had the Wallabies on the backfoot.
The Wallabies won convincingly in the end but would be disappointed with their attack only scoring one try and scoring the rest of their points through Matt Giteau’s boot. The Wallabies defence was inspirational at times and is forming as a major area of strength leading into the upcoming Tri-Nations.
France 12 defeat Argentina 6
France defeated Argentina 12-6 in what was a generally uninspiring matched played at Marseille.
France sought revenge for their two defeats in the 2007 World Cup and defeated Argentina in a tough and dour match where no tries were scored and the French boot won the match.
France defeated Argentina with three penalties and a drop goal while only Contemponi could muster two penalties for the Argentina side.
Les Bleus to bring stars to NZ in 2009
It was reported yesterday in the NZ Herard that France will bring their star players to New Zealand in 2009 for their two-test tour on 13 & 20 June 2009.
France went on to guarantee their domestic competition, the Top 14, will conclude earlier in 2010 after the final was scheduled for 6 June 2009. This late date for the final heavily compromised the start to the international calender for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Marc Lievermont the French coach had previously indicated that players in the final would not be selected.
But the New Zealand Rugby Union have confirmed they have received written confirmation from the French Rugby Union that the best side available will travel, this includes players from the final.
This is excellent news as the All Blacks will be able to hopefully attract more fans to the game and higher revenue as a result.
Could Rugby have a World Series?
Reports from the Daily Mail in the UK have claimed the IRB are looking at organsing a Rugby World Series that would occur every two years.
The World Series would start as a round robin as part of the Six Nations and the current Tri-Nations teams including Argentina with results counting towards the World Series. Tests between the hemisphere’s rugby teams would continue to take place between June and November.
The top two teams would play-off every two years, most likely at the new Wembley Stadium in front of 90,000 people where the winner could take over in excess of AUD $20 million.
Chances are any plans of getting this up and running before the next World Cup would be unlikely but if the IRB can get all the Union’s on board then it could start by 2010.
All Blacks 2009 Test Schedule
The New Zealand All Blacks announced their 2009 Test Schedule today. The good news for All Blacks fans is they get to see their team all over the country with 2 matches to be held in Wellington and one each in Dunedin, Christchurch, Auckland and Hamilton.
The real winner of the 2009 schedule is Hamilton who missed out on an international this year and will be keen to impress next year.
Sat 13 June - All Blacks v France - Carisbrook, Dunedin 7.35pm
Sat 20 June - All Blacks v France - Westpac Stadium, Wellington 7.35pm
Sat 27 June - All Blacks v Italy - AMI Stadium, Christchurch 7.35pm
Sat 18 July - All Blacks v Australia - Eden Park, Auckland 7.35pm
Sat 12 Sept - All Blacks v South Africa Waikato Stadium, Hamilton 7.35pm
Sat 19 Sept - All Blacks v Australia Westpac Stadium, Wellington 7.35pm
IRB World Rankings
South Africa have reclaimed the second spot on the IRB World Rankings after their win over Australia 53-8 in Johannesburg. Australia can reclaim second spot with a win against New Zealand in Brisbane.
No other changes occured in the Top 10 due to a lack of international rugby matches.
The list of the top 10 are below;
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
IRB World Rugby Rankings
The IRB latest world ranking’s have been a major blow to the South African Springboks as they have dropped from No 1. at ths start of the year to No 3. behind the New Zealand All Blacks and Australian Wallabies.
South Africa have had a horror Rugby Tri-Nations series while Australia have improved dramatically after being fourth at the start of the Rugby Tri-Nations series.
The list of the top 10 are below;
New Zealand
Australia
South Africa
Argentina
England
Wales
France
Ireland
Scotland
Italy
Rugby World Cup 2007: Golden Moments All Blacks Haka vs France
I was thinking back to my time at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France and some of the best moments. I will feature some of the golden moments over the next few weeks.
For the first golden moment of the 2007 Rugby World Cup I have chosen the haka performed by the All Blacks against France in the quarter-final at the Millennium Stadium in Wales. This venue is amazing and the vibe and buzz was amazing.
France were playing away from home for the first time in the World Cup and it was widely expected New Zealand would win the match and knock France out. The home quarter final France were expected to get was taken by Argentina who shocked the Rugby world by beating France on the opening night of the World Cup.
The haka against France was perhaps the most impressive I have seen. The intensity between both teams was amazing and the French edging towards the All Blacks during the haka was spine tingling. The lasting image for me is of Sebastien Chabal.
Check out the clip below featured on You Tube.
Top 10 International Rugby Appearances
The recent appearance of Percy Montgomery in his record making 100th international appearance for the Springboks got me thinking of all time record appearances for international teams.
Below is the top 10 players who have made the most international appearances for their country.
139 - George Gregan (Australia 1994-2007)
118 - Fabien Pelous (France 1995-2007)
114 - Jason Leonard (England 1990-2004)
111 - Philippe Sella (France 1982-1995)
102 - Stephen Larkham (Australia 1996-2007)
102 - David Campese (Australia 1982-1996)
101 - Alessandro Troncon (Italy 1994-2007)
100 - Gareth Thomas (Wales 1995-2007)
100 - Percy Montgomery (South Africa 1997-Current)
98 - Raphael Ibanez (France 1996-2007)
A number of players in the above list signed off at the last Rugby World Cup such as George Gregan and Fabian Pelous. Both sit at the top of the list. The most capped players list is likely to be re-written in coming years as the amount of internationals played now is much higher than even a few years ago. Stars such as George Smith for the Wallabies will blow these records away providing he maintains his fitness and current form.
IRB World Rankings - All Blacks No. 1
The IRB have updated the latest rankings for all Rugby nations. After the win by the All Blacks against the Springboks the All Blacks have stolen the top spot followed by South Africa. Australia have also replaced Argentina in third place after the recent poor performance of the Pumas against Scotland and the shock loss to Italy.
The top 10 teams are;
1. New Zealand
2. South Africa
3. Australia
4. Argentina
5. England
6. Wales
7. France
8. Ireland
9. Scotland
10. Italy
Click here to see a complete list of all rankings.