RUGBY WORLD CUP 2011
In retrospect, the All Blacks might have played their final in the semi-final against the Ozzies.
France seemed to have left their best until the last and the All Blacks their worst. The AB's won the first half but failed to convert their dominance into a big points lead - I thought they needed at least 15 points.
In the second half the All Blacks hung on desperately and played really dumb. During this half, it was France who failed to convert three penalty shots at goal into points and one was a reasonable kick. If any had gone over I can't see that we would have won.
We were extremely lucky.
If someone had suggested when the tournament started that Stephen Donald would kick the winning penalty for New Zealand in the final they would have been thought as mad.
As for the IRB: Its chief executive, Mike Miller, who does not come to the administration of the game with a rugby background, just does not appear to understand rugby matters. I have commented earlier about him not realising that Fiji, Samoa and Tonga exist. His rejection of the SANZAR complaints that their countries lose $50 million in a World Cup year was just brain-dead. He also seems to be opposed to changing the schedule of World Cup tournaments to October-November. The current schedule suits French rugby clubs. So we had the CEO of the IRB rejecting claims from rugby nations that have won six of the seven World Cups to favour some millionaires who have invested in French rugby clubs. There was also the nuttyness of the mouthguards and the scheduling of matches for the minnow countries that disadvantaged their chances of defeating the major teams in their pools. SANZAR may have got some agreement on these issues. We shall see!
One real conflict of interest is the appointment of the RWC refs - it was headed by the Welsh Unions Chair.
How prophetic is this Tom Scott cartoon - a week before the final.
