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Saturday, September 24, 2011

All Blacks Choke the Chickens Neck - Nice one Richie!

Go the All Blacks!
Say no more.

AWESOME! good win from the boys in the All Black vs france rwc 2011 match 37 17... Except, Sweet! I know this is shit quality but it was a great tackle that set the mood for the match, nice work Nonu chur chur from Bs As

Friday, September 23, 2011

CHOKE??!!! You´d better watch yaself! Choke you mate.

France fanker Julien Bonnaire looks on, Canada v France, Rugby World Cup, McLean Park, Napier, New Zealand, September 18, 2011


England v Romania at Dunedin
(18:00 local, 06:00 GMT, 03:00 ART)

New Zealand v France at Auckland
(20:30 local, 08:30 GMT, 05:30 ART)

Leicester Tigers v Saracens at Leicester
(14:30 local, 13:30 GMT, 10:30 ART)

Gloucester Rugby v Bath Rugby at Gloucester
(15:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 11:00 ART)

London Irish v Newcastle Falcons at Reading
(15:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 11:00 ART)

Worcester Warriors v Harlequins at Worcester
(15:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 11:00 ART)

Aironi v Edinburgh at Viadana
(15:00 local, 13:00 GMT, 10:00 ART)

Scarlets v Leinster at Llanelli
(18:30 local, 17:30 GMT, 14:30 ART)

Toulon v Stade Français at Toulon
(16:00 local, 14:00 GMT, 11:00 ART)
Julien Bonnaire believes the expectations of an entire nation could derail the All Blacks © Getty Images
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France back row Julien Bonnaire has begun the mind games ahead of Saturday's crucial World Cup clash with New Zealand by questioning whether the All Blacks will buckle beneath the weight of expectation.
Test rugby's greatest team have dominated the game since the inception of the World Cup yet have won the tournament just once, the inaugural event in 1987. With the 2011 competition being staged at home, the pressure is building like never before and Bonnaire is keen to inject doubt in their minds.
"The All Blacks know we are unpredictable, both in a good and a bad way actually. We can either fail or pull it off - and that is what they fear," he said. "Clearly there are high expectations from a whole nation who support them fully - perhaps too much even. We experienced that ourselves in 2007 in France."
Much of the build-up to the match has concentrated on what has been described in the New Zealand press as a second-string line-up. The claim does not stand up to scrutiny with a host of big names - among them captain Thierry Dusautoir, scrum-half Dimitri Yachvili and winger Vincent Clerc - starting.
The main area of discussion has been on the selection of Morgan Parra at fly-half in what will be his first Test start in the position. Muddying the waters on the debate over whether Marc Lievremont has selected a weakened side is the knowledge that defeat would place them in the easier half of the quarter-final draw where two of England, Ireland or Wales will lie in wait.
"Controversy is part of the deal," said Bonnaire. "The media are looking to get their hands on anything. It doesn't affect me. It's up to us to prove them wrong on the field."
France have become something of a World Cup nemesis for New Zealand after staging famous upset victories against them in 1999 and 2007. All Black lock Brad Thorn admits Les Bleus can be unpredictable.
"The French can play a really attractive game of rugby. It can be out of the box, it's quite unique," he said. "They can throw the ball wide off their own try line, so it makes for interesting footy.
"My message to spectators would be to enjoy the rugby. Cheer their hearts out. Get every cent's worth out of their admission and just express themselves and have fun. Hopefully the two teams can put on a performance that can really excite fans from not only New Zealand, but from everywhere."

Monday, September 5, 2011

World Cup - Match Facts: South Africa v Wales

World Cup - Match Facts: South Africa v Wales

Match Facts: Check out the facts and figures ahead of South Africa's clash with Wales in the rugby world cup on Sunday.
Morne Steyn of South Africa's Springboks kicks under pressure from Will Genia (R) of Australia's Wallabies during their Tri-Nations rugby union match in Sydney July 23, 2011 - 0
Wales have lost all but two of their 25 matches against South Africa, a 6-6 draw in 1970 and a 29-19 win in 1999 being the exceptions, yet this will be their first RWC meeting.
Wales have only been prevented from scoring in three of their matches against South Africa (1906, 1912 and 1960).
Wales’s 96-13 defeat to South Africa in Pretoria in 1998 was the heaviest defeat in their history.
South Africa need six more tries to reach the landmark of 100 World Cup tries.
Defending champions South Africa have won their last seven World Cup matches and indeed have the best win percentage (87.50) of any nation in the competition.
South Africa have won all of their opening World Cup matches and have averaged 51 points in these four fixtures.
If Shane Williams scores a try in this game he will stand alone as Wales’ top try-scorer in World Cup games. He is currently tied on seven with Gareth Thomas and Ieuan Evans.
If John Smit starts this match he will become the seventh South African to have started 10 World Cup matches.
South Africa have been given two red cards in their RWC history, James Dalton in 1995 and Saracens’ technical director Brendan Venter in 1999, only Tonga and Canada have accrued more.
Wales won all four of their games in New Zealand at the 1987 World Cup, finishing third after losing in the semi-finals to New Zealand in Brisbane.
c/o Eurosport