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Former All Black's wild Rugby World Cup conspiracy theory
Ireland has never made it past the quarterfinals at a Rugby World Cup. It’s an unbelievable stat, but the Irish are reminded of this painful truth every four years.
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But with thousands of travelling supporters donned in green flocking to the streets of France, there’s a genuine belief that Ireland can break that curse and go all the way at the sports showpiece event.
The world’s top-ranked side dispatched of minnows Romania in their tournament opener earlier this month, and have extended their long-lasting winning streak with wins over Tonga and South Africa.
Ireland can secure the top seed in Pool B with just a sole bonus point against Scotland in Paris next weekend. If they’re successful, a potential knockout clash with the All Blacks looms.
It would be a rematch of their 2019 quarterfinal in Japan which saw New Zealand win 46-14. The All Blacks have only failed to make the semis once, and that was at the ’07 World Cup in France.
Former All Blacks playmaker Stephen Donald believes the world champion Springboks may have thrown their clash with Ireland to avoid New Zealand in the quarters.
“Deep down, would you ever put it past the South Africans to go, ‘Do we want the All Blacks in a quarter-final? I think we take this route,’” Donald said on SENZ.
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New Zealand-born centre Bundee Aki has been a man-possessed during a series of Player of the Match performances at the World Cup.
Aki, 33, stole the show during the big win over Tonga in Nantes, and backed up that display with another impressive performance against the Boks.
With flyhalf Johnny Sexton leading the team around the park, Ireland has never looked this good at a Rugby World Cup. It would be naïve to write them off because of historical struggles.
But their strategy, which Donald said was “the best phase play in all of rugby,” could come back to haunt them later in the tournament.
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“It was a brutal old thing, wasn’t it? It was everything you’d hope for in a game… it could’ve been the final, it was that sort of intensity and that sort of quality,” Donald added.
“But for me, and I’m looking at it through my All Black rose tinted glasses, if you’re the All Blacks, you’re sitting back and watching that, you disrupt the Irish set-piece and therefore you win that first contact and that first phase, I don’t know what Ireland’s got to go to.
“You watch that first half where a South African lineout absolutely destroyed the Irish, they couldn’t get any of their game going.
“The Irish got one lineout, one five-man lineout going, and all of a sudden they got within an inch of scoring.
“It’s a done deal that they’re probably the best phase play attack in all of rugby. When they get going and humming they’re phase play is brilliant.
“However, if you can stifle them at the set-piece and stifle them at that first ruck which goes hand in hand, there’s not a whole lot they go to.
“Yes Bundee Aki was brilliant in the midfield – I can’t believe that Bundee Aki will have that sort of freedom against anyone else now.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Andy Goode cant kick to 12
161 Go to commentsDoxed himself. Great work Johnny. You are well suited to the Saders
1 Go to comments_Best game players _
1 Go to commentsWho's Jarrad Hohepa?
1 Go to commentsSo let me get this straight. Say you have the dominant scrum. You are 99% sure you can go for a scrum pushover try on the line to win the game. The opposition knows it too. They give away a silly tap kick instead. You are now not allowed to scrum. This is ridiculous! *%@ing the game up as usual! The fact that the attacking teams are not allowed to scrum from a held up over the line is just as ridiculous. Really world rugby? Careful people might start a rebel league called True Rugby or Real Rugby.
76 Go to comments12 subs during a game? How has that been allowed to happen NB? I hate when the game goes in this monopolistic direction closing up shop, it just becomes non sport. Btw have you seen anything of how Liam Coltman was tracking for Lyon? He has just signed to return to Otago though we have a couple of young hookers developing here. He was a popular gentle natured character down here and I’m glad to see him back but maybe he will be a mentor primarily?
4 Go to commentsGreat breakdown and the global politics always confuses me a little. The southern hemisphere seems to be left out a bit but I wouldn’t even know where to start with fixing it. Club challenge could be a step in the right direction
4 Go to commentsSince he coached Free state, from that time onwards, I maintained he was the coach for the Boks. A nice, no nonsense guy with an excellent brain, who gets results.
11 Go to commentswell - they only played against 14 men and had the TMO team on their side - and still should have lost… so actually that makes sense.
33 Go to commentsSouthern hemisphere Rugby is exactly that, boring. Northern Hemisphere Rugby is soooo much more entertaining and better with better players.
2 Go to commentsIf he was to be cited for a dangerous behavior, then it’s natural that he should be. Then NTamack too, yes? And I’ll add a good whataboutism - Yeandle eye-gouging on Richie Arnold: not cited. Eye-gouging. Not high tackle. Eye-gouging. It was on French TV, with French TV directors.
5 Go to commentsReally poorly written rambling piece ..
4 Go to commentsIt was so boring
2 Go to commentspersonally I’d go with : 1. France 2. NZ 3. England 4. Ireland 5. Scotland
33 Go to commentsAndy everything becomes easier with experience therefor counting etc straight after a match becomes easier when you have 100+ caps vs 17 which is the experience you speak from.
161 Go to commentsGetting rid of the Dupont Law is a good thing and ought to have been done months ago! Officially getting rid of the croc roll is a good thing. The law about no scrums from a short arm is well intended in terms of speeding the game up but it’s an overreaction to a clever yet calculated gamble that could have blow up in South Africa’s face if they conceded a penalty from the scrum that was set after Willemse took claimed the mark in the World Cup QF.
76 Go to commentsRassie The GOAT
11 Go to commentsOf their 5 big matches in RWC Scotland and NZ were the easiest. They took a 12-3 lead against NZ and after the red decided it was best to hold the lead and take chances that came. None came and it was tight but they dug a lot deeper in the other two knock out matches. They had trounced NZ in Twickenham in a fixture that NZ must now regret. Psychology was clearly with SA in the final as a result.
33 Go to commentsMy favourite line/exchanges from Chasing the Sun 2. News headline: “SA. The last hurdle in ABs World Cup glory”. Something like that. “You’re all just a hurdle. A hop, skip and a jump”. Coming from Rassie and Jacque. Basically - nobody thinks you’re going to win. You’re just a pushover team. Nobody respects you. When the camera shows the players faces, you can see the effect. You can see the rev meters (die moer metertjies) firing up. Mitchell said he felt it prior to the 19 final. He said to Eddie watching the teams warming up that it was going to be a tough day at the office. Wave a red flag in front of South African, and you can expect a reaction. This is not unique - many teams rev themselves. And Bok teams in particular. With horrific consequences (discipline, poor thinking under pressure) because that’s the drawback to using emotion right? But what this Bok team does better than many since 2007 is channel the emotion and stay on task. Despite the emotion. Why, because while Rassie might play mind games - he talks about creating a safe environment. Listen to his recent honorary doctorate acceptance speech. While he uses psychology he creates psychological safety. He’s a damn fine coach. Can’t wait for Pretoria. It’s going to be a hummer.
11 Go to commentsWhat Rassie does for SA is big. It has helped people to unite and see we can win with the right people in place.
11 Go to comments