Results for tag: New Zealand
Posted by:
WillGreenwood
on Oct 21, 2011 at 10:24:59 AM
I backed New Zealand to win the World Cup at the outset and you won't be surprised to hear that I'm sticking with them in the final. I liked Australia following their Tri-Nations victory and thought that if anyone could upset the All Blacks it would be the Wallabies. But my word, Robbie Deans' men were humbled at Eden Park last Sunday. Those boys took one hell of a beating.
It was one of the great occasions and a great privilege to be there. New Zealand supporters have waited a long, hard 24 years since their team last won rugby's biggest prize. On Sunday night hope and expectation swarmed around Eden Park, turning it into a cathedral of passion and intensity and I was delighted that Graham Henry's men gave a worthy performance. Australia are one of the best sides at absorbing pressure...
Posted by:
WillGreenwood
on Sep 23, 2011 at 12:12:11 PM
[u]New Zealand v France - Saturday 09:30 (ITV1)[/u]
Bettors who believe this is a second string French side are kidding themselves. Marc Lievremont is a coach of firm convictions. He axes those who do not play well and sticks with those who deliver: performance is his only criteria for selection.
Francois Trinh-Duc has been punished for a couple of indifferent displays but if Lievremont was resting key men, he would not have selected Morgan Parra. The fly-half/scrum-half, who will play at ten against New Zealand, is essential to French progress at the World Cup and, on a wet night in Auckland, his kicking could be vital. The battle between Parra and Dan Carter is an intriguing prospect but France have stealth amongst the forwards too. Lionel Nallet, aka "the caveman," is a formidable...