England crush Australia to set up mouth-watering showdown
Aaron Smith runs in two tries, while Beauden Barrett is man of the match
The All Blacks are just two wins away from an historic third successive Rugby World Cup triumph. And after the demolition job the Kieran Read-captained side unleashed on Ireland during their sensational 46-14 quarter-final win at Tokyo Stadium last night, you’d be brave to bet against them.
Read’s men blew the Irish off the park, setting up a semifinal showdown against England next Saturday night. The pre-tournament confidence spouted by Ireland’s fans and media was torn to shreds as the world’s fourth-ranked team had no answer to wave after wave of All Black attacking flair and defence which resembled a black brick wall.
The roar of All Black fans in the stadium — and no doubt in homes and pubs up and down New Zealand — was deafening when halfback Aaron Smith scored the opening try of the match in the 14th minute.
When he scored his second, the lead extended to 15-0.
And by the time a shell-shocked Ireland trudged off 22-0 down at halftime the game was all but over.
The black-out continued straight from the restart.
But Ireland were powerless to do anything to halt the onslaught, with the loss being the sixth time they have been knocked out of a World Cup at the quarter-final stage.
The All Blacks wore black armbands during the game as a tribute to Ted Barrett, the grandfather of Barrett brothers Beauden, Scott and Jordie, who died last weekend aged 78.
All Black fans were in a confident mood in the build-up to the quarterfinal, with a Herald online poll showing 77 per cent of respondents were backing Read’s side to beat Ireland.
And that confidence also saw big bets being placed with the TAB, including one punter pocketing $119,000 after placing a $100,000 bet on the All Blacks.
The TAB also confirmed yesterday that three punters had placed $50,000 bets on the New Zealanders to win the Rugby World Cup, at odds of $2.25.
But not everyone was in the mood
for celebrating last night.
Several rugby fans took to social media complaining about Spark Sport streaming and demanding refunds. But the telco said there were “no issues with the Spark Sport streaming platform”. Instead customers were “clearly having problems tonight relating to their in-home connectivity, tech or devices”.
Also gutted last night was defeated Wallabies coach Michael Cheika, who told media after his side’s 40-16 quarter-final loss to England: “I was supposed to get this done for the people here and for Australians. F***en so disappointed.”
The reaction was swift and brutal with media slamming the Aussies’ performance as “humiliating” and “pitiful”.
The Rugby World Cup’s second semifinal next Sunday will see the winners of tonight’s two quarterfinals go head-to-head — France or Wales against South Africa or Japan.
The TAB has listed Wales and South Africa as strong favourites for the respective matches.
The All Blacks’ return to action last night followed a near two-week absence from the playing arena after their final pool-play match against Italy was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis.
And in the lead-up to the must-win clash against Ireland, assistant coach Ian Foster revealed it wasn’t only tactics that had consumed some of the players’ thoughts.
Talking to media on the eve of the top-eight showdown, Foster said a visit from local hairdressers had been “the highlight of the week”, before taking a light-hearted jab at the hairdo wing George Bridge had been left with.
“They line up six or seven chairs in the team room and then they come in. It’s quite a show,” Foster said.
“There have been some mis-cuts I guess — George Bridge for one. He is hoping for some very sunny days to get rid of the white line around the back of his head. Don’t look at it, because it will embarrass him.”
But Bridge — like all his team-mates last night — proved to be a star turn.
Warren Gatland believes Wales go into their quarter-final against France in the best possible state of body as well as mind, as he allayed fears that a mounting injury toll would affect the team’s chances by naming a full-strength XV to play at Oita Stadium tonight.
As Wales look to make it through to their second World Cup semifinal in three tournaments, the head coach is upbeat. The Welsh have become genuine contenders, a more savvy outfit at peace with themselves.
“We are very focused on wanting to stay in this tournament,” Gatland said. “There is a lot of confidence in this squad, given we feel we have not given an 80-minute performance yet. We have been good in patches but we have been building this week.”
Gatland was relieved to name a full-strength side, with injury doubts easing over Hadleigh Parkes (shoulder), fellow centre Jonathan Davies (knee), wing George North (ankle) and first five-eighths Dan Biggar (head knock).
France were their semifinal conquerors in 2011, aided enormously by an early red card shown to Sam Warburton, and even though Gatland takes solace from Wales having won seven of their past eight encounters, he will know the line-up announced by France contains 14 of those who started so well against Argentina on the opening weekend of the tournament.
France had their own injury concerns over wing Damian Penaud and halfback Antoine Dupont. Their presence in the team adds zest.
“There has been an edge this week because we know it’s now the knockout stage,” Gatland said. “The message to the players we’ve been driving is you’ve got two choices here: we are either on the plane on Monday going home, or we are here until the end of the tournament.”
Gatland reported that defence coach Shaun Edwards had been “edgy and pumped up” in recent days, angered the team had conceded a try against Uruguay last Sunday, knowing only the sternest, steeliest resistance would do to combat the threats France present, even if only sporadically.
Captain Alun Wyn Jones spoke to the team in the changing room after their last pool game and gave them a tantalising target of “240 minutes to glory” but emphasising the need to perform in every minute.
There is little doubt Wales go into this quarter-final in better shape than against South Africa four years ago, when they were filleted by injury and unable to replicate the form shown to beat England in their pool encounter.
Since then, they have a recordsetting streak of 14 wins and another Grand Slam. What was once considered exceptional is now considered the norm.
Wales know that within their management, and in players such as Jones and Davies, they have a bank of rugby intellect as well as hard-headedness that has enabled them to win key matches. On the big stage, they do not tend to fluff their lines.
“[Wallabies coach] Michael Cheika said we were favourites against Australia and we handled that,” Gatland said. “It comes with the territory.
“If you take out the World Cup warm-up games, we have won 18 competitive games in a row, we are Grand Slam champions and we know as we go on in tournaments, we get stronger and more confident and more cohesive.
“As coaches and players, this is what you do all the hard work for. It’s all for big moments and to try to get to finals. As a coaching group, we’ve had success in big matches when it’s really counted, whether that’s been in Grand Slam games, European finals or Premiership finals with Wasps or even on Lions tours.
“We’ve got a pretty good formula about getting things right. It’s not just about the physical preparation, it’s about being mentally right and the top two inches. If you get that right in big games, it can often make a big difference.
“It is important to keep the scoreboard ticking in knockout games and we did what we needed to do in kicking two dropped goals against Australia. We’re in a good place.”
France are nowhere near that sort of settled state, neither sure of themselves as a team nor even of each other. Hooker Guilhem Guirado has been restored to the captaincy despite reports of friction with coach Fabien Galthie.
There is no place for barnstorming wing Alivereti
Raka in the match-day squad, with France opting for the experience of Yoaan Huget.
But Gatland knows how to project self-assurance. He was asked for his worst and best memories of games against France. The 2011 semifinal loss was the worst. And the best? “This Sunday,” he replied.
We know as we go on in tournaments, we get stronger, more confident and more cohesive. Wales coach Warren Gatland