RWC: The Southern Hemisphere Strikes Back!
Sadly, Ireland’s Rugby World Cup dream came to an end last night with a narrow defeat (24-28) to the All Blacks. After being 13-0 down at one stage, Ireland clawed their way back into the match and at one stage trailed by only a point with New Zealand with a player in the sin bin. But the All Blacks defence held firm as wave after wave of Irish attacks broke on them. It just wasn’t to be. It was another titanic struggle between two excellent teams, which would have made a worthy final. Both teams looked exhausted at the end. For the record I have to say that, on the balance of play, I think the All Blacks deserved their win, just.
Unfortunately, the peculiarities of the draw meant that only two of the top four teams in the world rankings could make the semi-finals. Ireland won’t be one of them.
Earlier yesterday, in the other Quarter Final, there was an upset when Argentina beat Wales. That’s a great result for the Pumas, but Wales can justifiably argue that Argentina should have had a player sent off for a dangerous tackle. Inconsistencies in refereeing are a major issue in this tournament.
It’s interesting that the four teams who came top in their pools (Ireland, France, Wales and England) are all from the Northern Hemisphere. Now two of them are out. Today, France play South Africa and England play Fiji. It’s possible, though I would say not likely, not that all four semi-finalists will be from the Southern Hemisphere. I think if Fiji play their natural game they can give England a scare, and the game between France and South Africa is hard to call. I think the Springboks’ lack of a goal kicker may cost them dear.
At the start of the competition I thought that, with home advantage, France were clear favourites. I still think that’s the case, though I may have to revise that opinion after tonight’s match!
P.S. It’s raining today in Barcelona
UPDATE: England 30 Fiji 24. Fiji certainly made England work for that result! I can’t see England beating either France or South Africa in the semi-final though.
UPDATE: France 28 South Africa 29. Another pulsating match, with 6 tries in the first half, but South Africa just sneak it. Tight margins again, and especially one very dodgy penalty decision. Heartbreak for the hosts. I’m not often right but I was wrong again.
So the semi-finals will be New Zealand v Argentina and England v South Africa. The team that Ireland beat in their pool game goes through with New Zealand, the team that France beat in their pool.
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This entry was posted on October 15, 2023 at 11:00 am and is filed under Barcelona, Rugby with tags ireland, New Zealand, Rugby World Cup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
In the Dark 
October 15, 2023 at 2:36 pm
I thought France were favorites because at home too, but their best player has a broken cheekbone. Not impossible all southern teams in the semi-final, especially since England have picked “Red card” Farrell and left Ford out, with some other strange selections. Think All Blacks v South Africa the most likely final now.
October 15, 2023 at 8:11 pm
Dupont is playing.
October 15, 2023 at 9:41 pm
Yes, amazing recovery.
October 15, 2023 at 10:30 pm
Utterly brilliant quarterfinals Ireland vs New Zealand and France vs South Africa, and the northern hemisphere lost both to my regret. In the 1970s I think Englishmen would have supported NZ vs Ireland and South Africa vs France, but my local pub (just on the English side of the Welsh border) was, like me, generally for the northern hemisphere. The reasons for the change are complex and perhaps controversial.
I maintain that Ireland and France lost because they failed to score a point during the 10 minutes when they were a man up.
These two quarterfinals should have been the semis, but the seedings were done long ago when things were different. I’m not sure I want to watch the inevitable victories of New Zealand and South Africa in the semis. I’ll watch the final for the quality of the rugby, though.
I’ll add that one thing let down tonight’s match, in England anyway: the commentary. I’ve never heard so many cliches about heart and commitment. They should talk less about those things and more about skill, fitness and courage.
October 20, 2023 at 9:59 pm
Well the first semi-final certainly went to form..
October 22, 2023 at 9:30 am
Well the second Semi-Final wasn’t a great game, in poor playing conditions, with lots of handling errors, and two particularly ridiculous penalty decisions. England’s kicking put South Africa under a lot of pressure and they also defended well. Hopefully the final between NZ and SA will be better quality.
October 22, 2023 at 10:03 am
I doubt it will live up to either of the NZ or Boks quarter finals and, as I don’t want either team to win, I probably won’t watch.
England have just been beaten by South Africa in cricket and rugby inside 6 hours!
October 22, 2023 at 10:40 am
For me it will probably evoke memories of the 1995 final, which I watched on a big outdoor screen in Cape Town amid a very tense crowd!
October 22, 2023 at 10:53 am
You were in South Africa when that happened? I can guess which scientist you were visiting, but was your timing with the rugby world cup held there deliberate?
October 22, 2023 at 10:56 am
Yes, I watched the England v New Zealand semi-final at Newlands after miraculously managing to get a ticket.
It was a planned research visit, but I chose the dates to coincide with the latter stages of the World Cup.
October 22, 2023 at 11:03 am
You’ll remember Jonah Lomu scoring by running through one defender as if he wasn’t there? (My cat would have done better than Mike Catt…)
October 22, 2023 at 11:05 am
I remember Lomu trampling all over several defenders. His last try, in the second half, was scored right in front of where I was standing in the terraces.
October 22, 2023 at 11:09 am
I also remember No. 8 Zinzan Brooke’s drop goal from 50 metres out!
October 22, 2023 at 11:22 am
I remember Rob Andrew’s drop goal to defeat world champions Australia in the quarter final.
Last night I drove the 5 minutes to my local (“too long in The Sun”) while England were 15-6 up, just in time to see South Africa score 10 unanswered points…
October 22, 2023 at 11:24 am
Farrell’s drop goal to make it 15-6 was impressive…
October 22, 2023 at 11:48 am
One of the funniest comments I heard was from a New Zealand cricketer on the BBC commentary team for a cricket Test vs England. He had not distinguished himself in a trial for an Auckland rugby team, and the coach asked him, “Son, do you still want to run out at Eden Park wearing black?”
“Yes”, he replied.
“Well, give up rugby and join the St John Ambulance Brigade!”
October 17, 2023 at 3:23 am
The outlier game in the tournament was England v Argentina, why were Argentina so poor? Because of that I thought Wales would beat Argentina relatively comfortably.
We also have to remember the final in 2019 when everyone, including me, thought England would win by 20 points, and in the end South Africa won by a similar margin. And they’ve spent the next 4 years proving it wasn’t a fluke.
October 17, 2023 at 9:46 am
Yes, it should be remembered that whereas New Zealand have won three out of nine World Cup tournaments they have entered to date, South Africa has won three out of seven, as the first two World Cups took place during the apartheid era – after which they won it on their first attempt after years of playing little or no international rugby. That’s an impressive tradition.
I understand that the Boks have a tacit policy of bringing on promising black players in less crucial games, and playing their pure-merit best team in the biggest matches. That explains English over-confidence in 2019 and also what actually happened.
I would bet on South Africa to beat the All Blacks in the final.
October 17, 2023 at 9:54 am
Shades of 1995. I thought the All Blacks were unstoppable then, but South Africa stopped them in the Final.
October 17, 2023 at 12:56 pm
If South Africa do win at least Ireland can say that they beat them!
October 17, 2023 at 1:23 pm
Yes, sport isn’t transitive.