It was a shame to see France capitulate so badly but the ABs played typical solid rugby that we see from them so often for 46 minutes and then the showboat came out which gave us all something to watch, appreciate and applaud for the last half hour.
Therefore I rated it a 7
]]>So simple. Running good lines, loads of support. Straightening! Having watched Wales SA and seen two of the most blunt attacking sides around; it was welcomed!
Yeh ok France were awful but I did enjoy some of the Kiwi rugby. The semi against SA should be close just by the way that SA play the game. But I can’t see them having enough to win.
]]>Tonga would have beaten France on that performance. France rebelled against Livremont in their usual disrespectfulness, as they’re spoiled brats, rugby’s version of the football Premiership – the top 14, that are over-paid and don’t know their station. They didn’t have any game plan whatsoever to take on New Zealand as a result, and as sensational as New Zealand were against Tonga, they (only) beat them 47-9. France went down worse than that. France’s problem is not their players’ skill or their mangers skills. It’s their character. They surrendered. Scotland, on the other hand, have bags of character and should be in the semis.
]]>I won’t bother explaining why your second paragraph is incorrect, when a simple copy and paste will do…
decimate
?d?s?me?t/Submit
verb
past tense: decimated; past participle: decimated
1.
kill, destroy, or remove a large proportion of.
“the inhabitants of the country had been decimated”
The irony of your comment is almost painful; it is interesting to note your preference of the historical definition of a word, when Wales, in world cup terms at least, are also history
…and people slate England for ‘living in the past’.
]]>Who gets beaten 62 to 13 in a World Cup? Moreover in quarter final? Tonga? No they’re better. Canada, better as well, USA? Weak but still would have been proud enough not to end up like that.
Unless you’re a Kiwi, you can’t fail to notice that the game the French offered was ridiculous, shameful and humiliating.
You can always blame the coach but here is a generation of players who give up at the first obstacle, who capitulate at the first difficulty and who simply just stop to fight as soon as their adversaries have more than 7 points than them.
So far, except for Argentina who challenged them rightly, the All Blacks have only played very weak teams. And they’re are now in semi final with not one real challenging game!
It is as though the way had been paved for them while other pools have seen teams like England, Wales, Australia really battle their way through…
Ireland beat easily the worst French rugby team ever, Argentina would also have beaten them, the All Blacks don’t really have proven anything there facing such a weak side.
]]>Decimation does not and never has meant ‘destroyed’. It is however frequently misused in the press, by politicians and here on this page. (Egg Chaser above)
My South Wales Valley Grammar School Latin Master (sadly now deceased) taught us the difference when we were only 11.
Perhaps Egg Chaser ought to contact his former school and explain how the staff failed to equip him with a reasonable level of literacy.
]]>Famously the ABs have a “no d1ckheads policy” for the team. Shame it doesn’t apply to their fans.
]]>The SA/NZ SF will be a great contest
]]>