France fail in game of small margins
23 Oct 2011
Thierry Dusautoir says France lacked the extra skill and luck needed to beat the All Blacks in Sunday’s World Cup final.
Addressing the media after the game, Dusautoir and coach Marc Lievremont said that they were proud of the team’s efforts in spite of the 8-7 result. France weren’t given much of a chance in the build up to this clash, but came within a couple of points of one of the great upsets in World Cup history.
‘We are very disappointed with the result, we didn’t do enough,’ the France captain said. ‘We’ve been lucky in previous rounds of this tournament, but we weren’t lucky tonight.
‘We did everything we set out to do except get the points and win the game. I was very happy when I scored that try [in the second half], because I knew it was close to the poles and it would mean the scoreline would be closer. But that was the last time I was happy, as while we continued to put pressure on the All Blacks, we just couldn’t convert that into points.
‘It was very difficult against this All Blacks team, and we needed just a little bit more tonight. Rugby is also about the mental [aspect], but perhaps we needed more skill on this occasion.’
The All Blacks defended brilliantly in the second half, effecting some telling turnovers deep inside their own territory. Both Dusautoir and Lievremont said they would not criticise referee Craig Joubert for blowing against the French in those situations.
‘I will not criticise him, he is one of the best in the world,’ said the captain. ‘Rugby is always difficult to ref, especially in that area. There were a lot of penalties against us, and maybe we weren’t close enough [to our ball carrier] in support.’
Lievremont, who will stand down as coach now that the World Cup has come to an end, also refused to make a negative statement about Joubert’s officiating at the breakdown.
‘I met with him two days ago and I said that he would have a great pressure on his shoulders. I promised him that what ever happened [in this final] that I would not criticise his performance.’
The fiery French attitude was apparent even before the kickoff, as the team joined hands and moved towards the All Blacks while the hosts performed the haka. Dusautoir said it was something the team had decided to do on the morning of the final.
‘It was a great moment and probably would have been remembered even more if the performance had been capped with a victory. We didn’t win and get the trophy but it was still fantastic, it was still a good story.
‘We had spoken about doing something [to counter the haka] during the week. We thought it would be a good idea, and made the call this morning [to go through with it].’
By Jon Cardinelli, at Eden Park
47 Comments
23 Oct 2011, 13:46 pm
What they lacked was a fair crack. I had the Australian commentary and they felt NZ got away with murder today. I guess this is the way the IRB wanted it to go.
A world cup ruined by some of the worst officiating in living memory.
SA vs Wales
SA vs Samoa
Aus vs Ireland
South Africa vs Australia (worst of the lot)
France vs New Zealand
Crucial games where the ref allowed the opposition to spoil the contest or a host of poor calls. All for television ratings.
Worst world cup ever.
23 Oct 2011, 13:55 pm
@Kiefpant(Kiefpant)-1:
ja, but the ozzies idea of a “fair crack” is pockock holding onto the ball and tackler for dear life and never releasing.
or coming in from the side
or flopping on the wrong side
or….
the 2 worst cases of reffing were the sa vs samoa and sa vs oz games.
the other games i saw were more a case of sh refs vs the nh refs interpretation which better suited the relevent teams.
23 Oct 2011, 13:57 pm
@Kiefpant(Kiefpant)-1:
some of those skew lineouts not called against nz was just a ffukken joke.
and thats just the lineouts…there was other stuff.
23 Oct 2011, 14:00 pm
there was the forward passes not called against nz and more
23 Oct 2011, 14:00 pm
Ugly win, sad
23 Oct 2011, 14:16 pm
What about sealing off the ball, not rolling away after the tackle and driving through to take out the defense around the fringes.
Basically the cherry on top of a farcical world cup.
NZ deserve the world cup because they have been the best side for the last 4 years. No one deserves to be called world champs more than they do, however does not change the fact that the officiating has been diabolical at times and we wont hear a damn thing about it from the IRB
Joubert is a good ref. Probably acting under orders.
23 Oct 2011, 14:17 pm
Every time a french player was injured, play had to continue, france even penalised once for taking too long. Yet when cruden went down play was stopped for almost 5 minutes, at the end play was also stopped to wait for richie mccheat to recover. More blatant than that is rather difficult to find.
23 Oct 2011, 14:19 pm
Some of you guys need to be careful.Libel laws. “Acting under orders”. What ****.
23 Oct 2011, 14:25 pm
Be carefull of what exactly? Now I’m amused.
23 Oct 2011, 14:26 pm
Amused, imagine you were French.
I guess what goes around comes around. They were done a few favours in 2007, NZ were done a few today.
23 Oct 2011, 14:48 pm
@Kiefpant(Kiefpant)-6:
as well the defensive blocking
23 Oct 2011, 15:23 pm
Very modest comments by the French … we were lucky … they almost had us forked
23 Oct 2011, 15:26 pm
It is hard to admit that Joubert got several calls wrong but he did. In the last ten minutes it was clear that Kaino had played the ball on the ground just outside his own 22. He knocked it on right in front of Craig Joubert – and instead of being penalised (he was lying on the ground at the time), the scrum was given to the ABs. In that moment, the WC was lost. It would have been a relatively easy kick to win the game (similar to all those missed by Weepu!).
It is unfortunate as Joubert had a good Semi but today he just seemed to miss a lot – the crowd, the occasion, the “spell” of McCaw? Who knows? I dont buy the “overt IRB agenda” bit but he certainly let Richie continue to obstruct, play on the ground and slow the ball down. In fact at times I felt that the ABs were being kept in just as Aus had against the Bokke.
ABs did NOT deserve to win this one – but perhaps the had a lucky win coming after all this time.
23 Oct 2011, 15:29 pm
@WhatIf(WhatIf)-13:
What minute?
23 Oct 2011, 15:30 pm
@WhatIf(WhatIf)-13:
I am laughing at you … you knobb
23 Oct 2011, 15:35 pm
@chch(chch)-15:
Gracious winner? The ABs froze at one point as they contemplated losing again. You could see the cold tide of panic creeping in. They won … but even a one-eyed Git like you should recognise that it was more luck than skill on the day.
I honestly thought that the ABs would win by 20 but the French surprised me and I think they deserved it. CHCH – you remain a small-minded loser.
23 Oct 2011, 15:38 pm
@WhatIf(WhatIf)-16:
“Gracious winner?” I was reponding to your sore arsse loser post 13 … you trying to take the moral high ground after that
23 Oct 2011, 15:40 pm
WhatIf
I thought the ABs were very poor
I was just repsonding to post 13 where you were a sore arsse loser trying to say that we did not deserve it
Suck it up **** head
23 Oct 2011, 15:41 pm
WhatIf
You can check http://www.rugbyworldcup.com or post 13 … both say you are a loser
23 Oct 2011, 15:43 pm
@chch(chch)-17:
Sad to see you twisted up in knots. I was supporting neither France nor the ABs. I was merely commenting that the ABs got the rub of the green on the day from the SA Ref Joubert. It suprises me that you feel the need to defend what is self-evident – the ABs won a match they should have lost!
23 Oct 2011, 16:30 pm
@WhatIf(WhatIf)-20:
“I was merely commenting that the ABs got the rub of the green on the day” so that was all you were saying … how about “ABs did NOT deserve to win this one”
seems you can’t remember what you said 5 mins ago
can’t go playing gold fish then playing moral high ground
I thought ABs were awful today but undeserving? anyway… the point was that you are lying saying that was all you were saying
23 Oct 2011, 20:52 pm
So, who from SARU was there to receive the KWV Gripe-and-Whine Chalice for being the undsputed world’s number one ref-moaning nation?
23 Oct 2011, 20:54 pm
i
23 Oct 2011, 21:25 pm
Saffas eh, some of you just can’t accept the fact NZ are the best rugby nation on earth. We are . Through all age groups and genders, we are the best. The best. Better than all the rest
23 Oct 2011, 22:31 pm
@chch(chch)-12: gracious, mate gracious
24 Oct 2011, 05:16 am
Congratulations to all New Zealanders. You really are the best at rugby. But all of you would agree that officiating in rugby is not up to scratch. Can you imagine how you would have felt if the AB’s were Bryced out of contention. Surely the best team would always win in a fair contest, so New Zealand more than any other country would like to fix this.
24 Oct 2011, 05:29 am
Oh, even if you buy into their whinge, the yarps only got “bryced” out of a QF which — with that degree of dominance in territory, possession etc — any decent captain with experience would have been totally bryceproofed. Not declining penalties dead in front 30m out to go for a 5m lineout in the hope of scoring a 5pointer. Not declining the viable droppie option camped out within range and with 10 mins to go and only a 2pt deficit.
Naah, pilgrim. They gobbered their chances. Brycelessly.
NZ got Barnesed out of the last RWC at the semis when a pass 4m forward was ruled “flat” by two officials — the awful Wayne Barnes AND the nearside touchie — a certain myopic balding yarpie called J. Kaplan…
It’s called Karma, chameleon.
It comes and goes,..
24 Oct 2011, 05:35 am
fark me
4m forward, it was 4 more years Tackle, not 4 meters forward jou plank!
But tell me, why do you talk about yourself in the 3rd person? We all know you as much a ‘yarpie’ as me…
24 Oct 2011, 05:39 am
@Dwis(Dwis)-26: “Bryced out of contention”? yeah we know how it feels alright, we were Barnesed out of contention in 07
24 Oct 2011, 05:41 am
Some wonderful posts of thanks from many of you Saffas – thank you kindly, its well received, cheers, and look forward to locking horns again next year.
Well said Capt Fantail – the RWC is a farce of a tournament tho, yes its exciting, but doesnt reward the best teams.
Play as top 10 v each other, 4 days rest in between, squads of 45, top play off in a best of 3
24 Oct 2011, 05:43 am
As for being bryceproof, on 3 occiasions the Boks managed to break down the defence with only daylight betweem the ball carrier and the tryline just to be bryced. How many scoring opportunities did the Blacks miss in 2007 due to the ref?
But that is all water under the bridge, time to move on and for the real Kiwis to enjoy the moment. Yes you right Tackles, that does exclude you! They have been the best team for a long time and the WC is but the cherry on top of a massive cake.
In the long run I do hope that the irb understand that there is something amiss with the current laws and officiating and act quickly to fix it. If not they will lose many supporters from all over…
24 Oct 2011, 05:51 am
@KiaKahaNZ(KiaKahaNZ)-30:
Kia, the WC won’t go away as it is the easiest and most money the irb can make and all they have to do is be wined and dined, select a nation and make sure all advertising funds go to them. All the hard work is left to the hosting nation…I see Millennium Stadium will be hosting WC games in 2015 because of its ‘convenient location’…
* Iconic venue to provide maximise access for supporters to RWC 2015
* Stadium will provide the gateway to Rugby strongholds in the West and
South West of England
Yip the 74,500 capacity has nothing to do with it!
24 Oct 2011, 05:54 am
@KiaKahaNZ(KiaKahaNZ)-30:
On that note Kia, who is retiring from the ABs and when will the new coach be announced? I understand one of the sidekicks are all but a shoe-in for the job, do you think that is wise or should they have looked for some fresh blood instead? This will be years 9 to 12 for him, won’t it?
PS I assume Brad Thron will be there in 2015…
24 Oct 2011, 06:01 am
27. Tackler
Hate ref-bashing but, let’s face the facts; Barnes’s miss of a forward pass in the ’07 QF was ONE incident in a game. Lawrence missed probably 10 penalisable incidents and affected the entire flow of the game. A huge difference indeed!
24 Oct 2011, 06:05 am
And one more thing, from a neutral pov, our SA ref was poor on the day (but not as bad as BL). How many times did McCaw not release the tackled player while on the ground, so that the tackled player could turn and place the ball? Watch the game again!
24 Oct 2011, 06:14 am
@Maljan(Maljan)-34: In “a game of small margins” one HUGE error easily equals 20 little ones. And Bryce probably didn’t “miss” them as much as what he judged them differently to what you did.
But, then, in the rugby lawbook it is written — unambiguously — “the referee is the sole judge of fact”. NZ fans had to swallow that in 2007 and SA fans have to swallow it now.
It really ought to be far easier to swallow if you’d lost 5 out of 6 Tri-nations tests barely a month and a bit earlier and you were being bested by an opponent who’d spanked you six times in your last seven encounters. Home and away. You were, frankly, their bunnies.
24 Oct 2011, 06:15 am
@Maljan(Maljan)-35: If the ref didn’t ping him, it simply wasn’t an offence. Sole judge of fact, remember?
24 Oct 2011, 06:22 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-31: Hey, if the yarpies stay away, who would even notice? In this NZ edition of RWC there were 20000 visitors out from the UK, 30000 from Oz and only 3000 from SA — just as many as from the USA! So South African visitors really have no marketing heft. If you all stayed at home, nobody’d really even notice.
24 Oct 2011, 07:14 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-38:
I see the magazine convenietly left out the 60,000 Saffas already living in NZ!
But you missing the point, I am not talking about South Africans only but a much wider audience that WILL move away from Rugby unless it is fixed.
Check out the empty stadiums in your adopted country for starters and accept the truth rather than using it as another opportunity to have a dig at your own…
24 Oct 2011, 07:28 am
This dragon had a *HUGE* game!
24 Oct 2011, 07:34 am
Can’t claim expats as part of the extra income stream generated by a RWC. They earn, pay tax and spend in situ anyway. And the post-hoc grouchiness of yarpies is really not shared by anyone else — it’s just your typical SA unsporting ungraciousness. Such as wishing opponents get injured.
There were NO “empty stadiums” — every single game met its target and most were sell-out packed at eye-wateringly high prices. But then, walk in crowds aren’t the money-spinners anyway — it’s the TV audience (which is why the main games happened quite late at night NZ time).
24 Oct 2011, 07:42 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-41:
Such as wishing opponents get injured. You mean unlike the Kiwi mob who cheered when Cooper got injured?
Yip, filled by the same said visitors you were gloating about before…but you know and everyone else know I was referring to stadia outside of the World Cup i.e. most S15 games played in NZ and the ITM Cup.
24 Oct 2011, 07:53 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-39: And it doesn’t count the 400000 immigrant Poms, the 150000 Pacific Islanders, the 130000 Aussies, the 2500 Somalis, the 50000 Croatians, the…(bla bla)
They’re now all New Zealanders, living, working, earning and (mostly) thriving in NZ . Mostly backing black too. When the RWC visitors go home, they all remain behind. THEY don’t withdraw support for a RWC tournament because a handful of bad losers from SA are determined to spit the dummy and pack a fat sad. Even though they were 3N easybeats and really came in and played as no-hopers in anyone’s mind other than their inflated own.
A4Y, pilgrim. A4Y.
If you dish it out, be ready to suck it up.
For A4Y.
24 Oct 2011, 08:04 am
@TheTackler(TheTackler)-43:
Tackles jou plank, you are missing the point!
Besides, your little digs at your very own (yes, I will tell you again, you are one of us!) has zero impact, you lost your edge about 4 years ago…
24 Oct 2011, 08:22 am
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-44: Except that WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS my friend….
For four more years! At least. Probably much more.
Heh heh !
24 Oct 2011, 09:54 am
Tackler – The All Blacks were the best team during the entire tournament however on Sunday i think France were the better team. Even on home gournd the Blacks needed all the luck to win the RWC! You wont defend the cup in four years time.
But congratulations to the country of New Zealand.
24 Oct 2011, 22:23 pm
@Slartibartfast(Slartibartfast)-33: new coaches to be appointed before Xmas, Hansen looks most likely, but who will assist is anyone’s guess. Hopefully we will see Henry in a role not too dissimilar to Brian Lochore, like a mentor/advisor. I think Henry is over the amount of travel required.
Retirements, etc Thorn, Mils to Japan. DC & McCaw have both been signed on for another 4 years, most of the squad are reasonably young. Woodcock & Ali Williams may not last another 4, average age is 28 so you have to start looking at the careers of Nonu, Smith, Kaino, Weepu, Mealamu, Hore, Afoa, Flynn and Cowan, and say, will these guys be right for the AB’s in 2015 ?- probably not.
New coach will need to start building a new core out of the existing players, with some fresh meat to fill in the holes
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