Australia's Quade Cooper is always worth the price of admission, but Wales against Ireland should be the highlight of the potentially enthralling Rugby World Cup quarter-finals
Four quarter-finals, two hemispheres, one hell of a weekend. Which raises an immediate question: given the opportunity and a pocketful of dollars ? and there are still tickets available for all the games ? which of the four matches would you send a neutral to watch to sample the ultimate World Cup experience? Ireland v Wales, England v France, South Africa v Australia or New Zealand v Argentina? The choice is yours.
It is not the simplest of calls. If you relish gladiatorial hand-to-hand combat, England v France should be right up your boulevard. Ireland v Wales has enough potential Celtic colour and fury to be a seesawing classic. Australia have the most lethal back line in the tournament, South Africa have arguably the best defence. The All Blacks and the Pumas will be a collision of cold-hearted power and hot-blooded passion. It is a wonderfully rich and contrasting list.
That, as most people appreciate, is the beauty of rugby union. If everyone played the same way, it would not be half as fun. England have attracted plenty of flak for the way they have performed but, remarkably, have conceded only one try in 320 minutes. It is the sort of statistic the best team in the world would be proud of. But rugby heaven? Only, perhaps, if you happen to be a defence coach from a northern hemisphere nation.
Different people, of course, want different things from their matchday experience. Who, for example, would you pay more to watch: Quade Cooper or Heinrich Br�ssow? Both of them are exceptional talents in their own contrasting ways but, while Br�ssow has transformed South Africa's year, only one of them is truly box office. One of the more fascinating things about Cooper is his complete lack of fear when it comes to attempting things most sane people would reject as way too risky. Just imagine, for one second, him playing at fly-half for England? No, me neither. You suspect, if he were English, Martin Johnson would not allow him anywhere near his side.
Then again, I'm not sure South Africa would pick him either. It makes the Boks' clash with the Wallabies more fascinating still. Personally I'd select Cooper every week, as much for the way he challenges his own team as the opposition. Yes, the Wallabies have lost the odd big game this year they should have won but they did likewise when David Campese was in his prime and nobody ever dismissed him as a luxury item. If Australia do go home early they will at least be able to say they did not die wondering. Will England be able to say that if they lose to the French?
Or will Johnson's belief that the prosaic will always triumph over the poetic prove accurate? We will soon find out. It would certainly not surprise me to see South Africa, England and New Zealand fill three of the four semi-final slots. The Boks may have stuttered in the second half against Samoa but they were outstanding for the first half-hour, good enough to revive memories of their glory days. England cannot possibly start as badly again as they did against Scotland, and New Zealand, even without Dan Carter, do not have to contain the injured Puma warrior Juan Mart�n Fern�ndez Lobbe.
Which leaves Wales v Ireland in Wellington. What a story it would be if one of those two sides were to make it all the way to the final for the first time. Wales have looked as impressively focused at this tournament as they have done in years, modern grand slam campaigns included. Ireland had an edge about them in the second half against Italy which strongly suggests they will not be knocked over without a huge struggle.
It is some prospect, for patriots and neutrals alike. The swelling emotion of the Welsh anthem, the mad-for-it Irish support, Paul O'Connell's face whenever he is addressing his fellow forwards ? regardless of the quality of the contest, it is bound to be a memorable occasion. With the greatest of respect to the southern rhythm kings, this weekend is set to be dominated by northern soul.
Too much of a good thing
The pool stages of the World Cup, give or take some of the scheduling, have been a conspicuous success. Overall 1.34m tickets have been sold and there has been plenty happening on and off the field. The tournament's only problem? It is achingly long for players, coaches and spectators. So, following on from last week's blog, here is a possible alternative: five pools of four, which reduces the number of pool matches from 40 to 36 and lops a week off the competition without any huge commercial downside. It would also ensure a better spread of games for all the competing nations. The five pool winners and the three best second-placed sides would go through to the knockout stages, as per the Heineken Cup. It is certainly worth thinking about.
Worth watching this week ?
Sean O'Brien (Ireland) v Sam Warburton (Wales). The two fast-rising back-row stars of British and Irish rugby. Watch them clatter each other in Wellington this weekend and keep fingers crossed that both of them will be available when the Lions go on tour to Australia in 2013.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/blog/2011/oct/04/rugby-world-cup-2011-quarter-finals
No comments:
Post a Comment