France didn't deserve to win, but somehow did. Thought Jones should tried a drop goal around eight minutes before the final whistle, but for some reason, he didn't even try. Poor goal kicking cost Wales the game- Hook converted a great first one and then muffed up two straightforward ones. 1/2p's kick went mighty close too.. if Wales had a Morne Steyn in their ranks, they would have been in the final. Disagree with your opinion on Warburton's red card though- the law is clear enough, and while somebody would say " It is a World Cup semifinal, and you should look at intent", that kind of spear tackle is dangerous. You don't want folks like Clerc to become another Max Brito, do you? Warburton is an excellent No.7 though- will probably be as good as McCaw some day. AB's to hammer France in the final- cricket score very likely. The only way the AB's will lose to the Frogs is if they have two or three people sent off, and even then, I'm not sure!
AllBlacks going to do it this time. They look really strong this year and they have beaten the France by 20 points in the group stage before. Unless there is a miracle, I doubt that France will be able to overcome New Zealand this weekend.
Not many rugby lovers by the looks!I am a Kiwi and am travelling from Australia to NZ to go to the final. I am absolutey pumped.Bit worried with everyone writing off the French. Again.
So far France haven´t really showed their flowing rugby style, so hopefully they will in the final. Should be an memorable match, but, without England in the final, the cup will be worthless. (Only joking)
@bar182, looks a tad weird that your first post on a webmaster forum is about rugby France have no chances of winning. Even if the AB's play at half the level they did against Australia ( the forwards were just awesome for them), they'll win this. However France being France, their big game is yet to arrive. France's best rugby in this tournament was in the first half of their quarterfinal, and the 16-0 scoreline was more due to England's stupidity than their own brilliance. Still their backs are good- Medard, Clerc and Pallison are a decent bunch, but Jane, Kahui and Dagg have been simply incredible, especially against the Wallabies.
Haha well technically my second post (First was an introduction) I can never write off France not after 99' and 07', They are just too unpredictable. The game we did against Australia was immense though, god I enjoyed it...
Oops The introduction forum doesn't add to your post count- which is why I thought it was your first post. The ghosts of '99 and '07 are still there, but some of it has been put to rest with that crushing group stage win. France were dodgy in that game and that late Trinh-Duc try should not have been allowed- it distorted the scoreline a bit. The only area where France are better than the AB's is in the kicking department. Weepu had a great QF and a so-so semi. Parra and Yachvili seem to be netting most of theirs and both are astute kickers of the ball. It is still the ABs' to lose though, rather than France's to win.
They just about shaded the final imo. Joubert didn't have a great game as a ref- he was too lenient on the AB's and McCaw in particular. What a day for Stephen Donald though!