The Final

[againstthehead]

It's been quite a few weeks of rugby with some memorable games. The group stages kept us interested with Japan's shock win over SA, England's turmoil in the group of death and Ireland blowing the Frenchies off the park. The QF's were fabulous affairs with cracking tries and some nail-biting finishes. Yesterday, we saw a massive physical confrontation and today we saw two sides throwing the ball about and having a go at eachother. I think most folk would agree that the 2 best sides in the competition have made the final. So here's my take:

Ozzie
Transformed under Cheika, this side has done incredibly well to top Group A. Surprised many by struggling against the Scots in the last round and perhaps should have put the Pumas to the sword today a bit more convincingly. Pocock and Hooper have been phenomenal at the breakdown and I think this is one of their few areas of strength V the ABs. Against an aging McCaw and an out-of-form Kieran Read I fancy them to make some head-way. Of course Hansen will be spending the week working out how to counteract that problem but it's a tricky one to solve as team 'Pooper' are so bloody good at what they do.
Barnes gave their scrum a bit of a blasting today but generally it's been an attacking weapon for them. If Nige refs the final, I doubt it will influence the game too much unless it's very wet. Will be intriguing how they approach the game. Do they play their natural game and take on NZ or do they try a more SA-based forwards approach? I don't think they have the pack to dominate NZ up front so it's going to have to be high-tempo play with a few off-loads.

NZ
Funny year for NZ. Many believe Hansen has kept an awful lot under his hat for the latter stages of the RWC and I'd be inclined to agree. I hardly saw them kick or maul all year - even when it was blatantly on. Back moves have been non-existent, rather they have relied on brute strength, skill and athleticism. In previous world cups, everyone knew what was coming from NZ. They have learned from that and have intentionally kept a few things in the locker. I can see them using the boots of Smith, Carter, Nonu and Ben Smith to play quite a territorial gameplan in the final, at least for the 1st 50 mins or so.

One of the things that I keep hearing is how brutal the RWC is on players and I wonder how much could be left in that Ozzie tank. Fiji, England, Wales, Scotland? and the Pumas have battled hard against the Australians. In contrast, NZ had a relatively straightforward group, albeit they had a titanic battle against the Boks yesterday. With an extra days rest, I suspect the ABs might just have a little more in the legs come next weekend. Ozzie missed a tonne of tackles today which might be indicator to where they are physically.

So an interesting battle ahead. The pressure is going to be immense on both sides. I suspect there won't be too much in it, so a moment of magic, an error or a couple of ref calls could be the margin of difference. If NZ can contain Hooper and Pocock then they should overpower the ozzies but that will be a formidable task in itself. With Nige on the whistle, it could be one hell of a game.

[Spiffsson]

It's been quite a few weeks of rugby with some memorable games. The group stages kept us interested with Japan's shock win over SA, England's turmoil in the group of death and Ireland blowing the Frenchies off the park. The QF's were fabulous affairs with cracking tries and some nail-biting finishes. Yesterday, we saw a massive physical confrontation and today we saw two sides throwing the ball about and having a go at eachother. I think most folk would agree that the 2 best sides in the competition have made the final. So here's my take:

Ozzie
Transformed under Cheika, this side has done incredibly well to top Group A. Surprised many by struggling against the Scots in the last round and perhaps should have put the Pumas to the sword today a bit more convincingly. They outscored them 4-0 in tries. I find that convincing in a RWC semi final Pocock and Hooper have been phenomenal at the breakdown and I think this is one of their few areas of strength V the ABs. Against an aging McCaw and an out-of-form Kieran Read No he's not. He's still the best and most intelligent footballing 8 in the RWCI fancy them to make some head-way. Of course Hansen will be spending the week working out how to counteract that problem but it's a tricky one to solve as team 'Pooper' are so bloody good at what they do.
Barnes gave their scrum a bit of a blasting today but generally it's been an attacking weapon for them. If Nige refs the final, I doubt it will influence the game too much unless it's very wet. Will be intriguing how they approach the game. Do they play their natural game and take on NZ or do they try a more SA-based forwards approach? I don't think they have the pack to dominate NZ up front so it's going to have to be high-tempo play with a few off-loads.

NZ
Funny year for NZ. Many believe Hansen has kept an awful lot under his hat for the latter stages of the RWC and I'd be inclined to agree. I hardly saw them kick or maul all year - even when it was blatantly on. Back moves have been non-existent, rather they have relied on brute strength, skill and athleticism. In previous world cups, everyone knew what was coming from NZ. They have learned from that and have intentionally kept a few things in the locker. Aw Jaysus - not more of the old moves up the sleeve stuff. They don't need moves up the sleeve. They just play whatever is in front of them and do what it takes to win. Their secret is basic skills and pace. They don't bother too much about fancy training ground moves and mostly just pass the ball around until they can probe an opening and score. If they launch the odd up and under or kick for territory it's because it looks like a good thing to do at the time. This is one team not overburdened with complex game plans, in which the coach trusts his on-field leaders to make decisions, not play by numbers. I can see them using the boots of Smith, Carter, Nonu and Ben Smith to play quite a territorial gameplan in the final, at least for the 1st 50 mins or so.

One of the things that I keep hearing is how brutal the RWC is on players and I wonder how much could be left in that Ozzie tank. Fiji, England, Wales, Scotland? and the Pumas have battled hard against the Australians. In contrast, NZ had a relatively straightforward group, albeit they had a titanic battle against the Boks yesterday. With an extra days rest, I suspect the ABs might just have a little more in the legs come next weekend. They have an extra day over the course of a week. It will mean mext to nothing. These lads are all fit Ozzie missed a tonne of tackles today which might be indicator to where they are physically. The Oz tackle rate was 79% (argies 71%) admittedly it could have been better, but in the last quarter they tackled like demons. They prevented Argentina from scoring a single try. I'd call that pretty good defence

So an interesting battle ahead. The pressure is going to be immense on both sides. I suspect there won't be too much in it, so a moment of magic, an error or a couple of ref calls could be the margin of difference. If NZ can contain Hooper and Pocock then they should overpower the ozzies but that will be a formidable task in itself. With Nige on the whistle, it could be one hell of a game.

[Neill_M]

The final will take place at Twickenham between New Zealand and Australia on Saturday (kick-off 16:00) with Owens being joined on the line by Jérôme Garcès of France and England’s Wayne Barnes with Shaun Veldsman of South Africa being the television match official.

http://www.rugbyworldcup.com/news/119101

The night before, at The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London, Argentina will take on South Africa in the bronze final (kick-off 20:00) and John Lacey of Ireland will take charge of that match. His assistant referees will be Glen Jackson and Chris Pollock, both from New Zealand. Graham Hughes of England will be TMO.

[againstthehead]

Ozzie first up defence was horrific for a semi final. Their covering defence was excellent. They won't be that bad again but if they did and had a sub 80 percent tackle rate they would get slaughtered.

[Setanta]

Good analysis of the final:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... ef=Default

[againstthehead]

very cool Setanta - have seen a piece like that before. Nice find.