England France
Final score: England 14 France 9

Johnny Wilkinson’s kicking boots ensured a place in the Final for England along with a great opportunistic try from Josh Lewsey in the opening moments. France were favorites going into this match however the bookies have been wrong many times in this years Rugby World Cup. The French managed to to into the half time break with a one point lead thanks to 2 penalties. However the second half only saw the French slot one more penalty while Johnny Wilkinson managed to get a drop goal and 2 penalties. England, who beat Australia in the quarter finals consigning them to a winter of  only cricket and horse racing success,  now have a place in the Final against the Springboks.

South Africa Argentina
Final score: South Africa 37 Argentina 13

South Africa went into the match as strong rugby bet favorites how ever with the Pumas current form it was due to be a tough match. Both teams forwards played extremely well. The Pumas looked strong in the first half however seemed a little one dimensional. The Springbok defense was solid as we have come to expect and the Pumas failed to turn their possession into points. At half time the score was 24-6 in favor of the Boks. The second half saw the Pumas attck and they were rewarded a try for their efforts, closing the gap to 11 points. That was however the last points the Pumas would put on the board as the Boks ended up with 37 points. Well Done Argentina on a wonderful Rugby World Cup Campaign! Well done Springboks for getting to the final.

Here are the starting line ups for both England and France for Saturdays all Northern Hemisphere Semi Final.
The game will be played at Stade de France in Paris. South African Jonathan Kaplan will be the ref for this game.

England:
1 Andrew Sheridan
2 Mark Regan
3 Phil Vickery (c)
4 Simon Shaw
5 Ben Kay
6 Martin Corry
7 Lewis Moody
8 Nick Easter
9 Andy Gomarsall
10 Jonny Wilkinson
11 Josh Lewsey
12 Mike Catt
13 Mathew Tait
14 Paul Sackey
15 Jason Robinson

France:
1 Olivier Milloud
2 Raphael Ibanez (c)
3 Pieter de Villiers
4 Fabien Pelous
5 Jerome Thion
6 Serge Betsen
7 Thierry Dusautoir
8 Julien Bonnaire
9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde
10 Lionel Beauxis
11 Cedric Heymans
12 Yannick Jauzion
13 David Marty
14 Vincent Clerc
15 Damien Traille

Will Ibañez lead his men to victory on home soil?

This years Rugby World Cup Semi Finals will set up a North vs South final.

England - France
England was in tatters in the group stages and managed to get through to the Quarters while many thought that they would not. As we all know England stepped up and knew what they had to do to beat the Auzzies and played to their strengths. Giving them a chance to meet the Host nation France in the Quarter Finals. The French did not have a great start to the RWC when they lost to a fired up Argentina. However the French rose to the challenge when they played Ireland and were rewarded with a Quarter final against the top rated, tournament favorites, the All Blacks. In a game that will forever be remembered by French rugby fans they fought back from a 13 point deficit to beat New Zealand. Both teams are feeling the confidence from last weekend. Who will be able to carry it over to this weekend?

Argentina - South Africa
For the second time in History a major football match was moved forward so that the entire nation of Argentina would be able to watch “Los Pumas” Quarter Final against the Scottish. Argentina has had a fairytale story so far, now they face the Springboks. Will the fairytale stop here or will it become even more of a glorious story. South Africa was rated by the bookies as second favorites to win the RWC. They totally smashed England in the group stages however their other games saw the Boks perform in patches. Tonga and Fiji managed to give the Springboks a good run for their money. I’m predicting a major battle in the forwards.

Without a doubt this was the most surprising weekend in international rugby i have ever experienced. Each match went as unpredictable as a hand in a poker table, you just can’t tell when a team’s gonna wilt and succumb to the pressure and bluffing their counterparts are giving. When someone bumped, the other makes sure they bumped back…harder. Classic rugby!”

Australia- England:
Final score Aus- 10 ENG- 12
Most people thought that the Australians would send England packing. However it was not to be. England’s forward pack found a gear that didn’t seem to have the whole tournament so far and gave us a winning performance. Simon Shaw and Andrew Sheridan were out standing. Australia seemed extremly slow at the breakdown and paid the ultimate price. The only try came from massive winger Tuqiri however Johnny Wilkinson slotted 4 penalties that gave the English the win.

France - New Zealand
Final score: FR-20 NZ-18
The fact that the French were playing their Quarter Final match against the top rated team in the world away from their home crowd made me believe that it could in fact be the end of their campaign. However with 2 tries and 2 penalties a piece it all came down to a missed conversion. France had a amazing tackle count of 178 and showed amazing discipline. A lot of talk is going around about a possible forward pass that lead to a French try, however it doesn’t matter anymore because the try was awarded and the French turned the Rugby World on it head.

South Africa - Fiji
Final Score RSA- 37 Fiji-20
South Africa was expected to walk all over the Fijian team with their structured play and beefy forwards. The World Cup of the underdog showed through in the second half when the score board showed 20-20 with 20mins to go. South Africa seemed to find their structure and grinded away at the Fijians in the forwards and kept it tight. This did not allow Fiji to play their free flowing game and got the critical points while the starved the fast paced Fiji back line of the ball. The score seems a little flattering to the Springboks, but that doesn’t matter they are through. Well done on a great performance Fiji.

Argentina Scotland
Final Score Arg- 19 Scot- 13
Argentina were the strong favorites in this game due to their recent performances against the French and Ireland. Scotland seemed to be their own worst enemy in this game. Handling errors and choosing to chip kick the ball in the dieing mins of the game when a converted try would have put them ahead. Argentina didn’t seem to have the form that they showed against the Irish or French however they pulled off the win with all of Argentina watching. The Argentinian football derby was moved a few hours earlier so that the Argentinians could watch their beloved “Los Pumas” in action.

Our first quarter final for the RWC 2007 will be a replay of the 2003 final.

Australia:
This years RWC highest try scorer Drew Mitchell has been left out of the starting line up. Adam Ashley-Cooper will be taking Mitchell’s place on the wing in the quarter final clash against England. Stirling Mortlock will be returning from his shoulder injury and will take his place at no 13. Berrick Barnes will be playing in the number 10 jersey. George Gregan will also be in the starting line up after being rested against Canada.
Starting Line up Australia:
C Latham
A Ashley-Cooper
S Mortlock (c)
M Giteau
L Tuqiri;
B Barnes
G Gregan
M Dunning
S Moore
G Shepherdson
N Sharpe
D Vickerman
R Elsom
G Smith
W Palu

England:
Good news for England is that Jason Robinson will be returning to the starting line up after he suffered a hamstring injury against the Springboks. This will be Robinson’s 49th test match and could very well be his final in international rugby if England fail. Andy Farrell has been ruled out with a strained calf muscle. Englands forward pack will be looking to dominate over the Auzzies however Phil Vickery has warned that it will be no easy task.
Starting Line Up England:
J Robinson
P Sackey
M Tait
A Farrell
J Lewsey
J Wilkinson
A Gomarsall
A Sheridan
M Regan
P Vickery
S Shaw
B Kay
M Corry
L Moody
N Easter

Mortlock returns to the Auzzie Backline 

Here are the Quarter Finalists fixtures

After a long month of Rugby we are now down to 8 teams.

Australia Vs England (6th of October)

New Zealand Vs France (6th October)

South Africa Vs Fiji (7th October)

Argentina Vs Scotland (7th October)

Mosese Rauluni has let the Boks know there will be no walk over 

Argentina have come out tops of Pool A after their great performances in the Pool Stages. Los Pumas beat the Irish to ensure this on Saturday. Argentina 30 Ireland 15.

Ireland started the game under a great deal of pressure as they had to score 4 tries and also win by more than 7 points. Against a inform Argentina this was no easy task. O’Driscoll and Murphy managed to score 2 of the four tries that were needed. However the Argentina defense was unbelievable and their forwards work rate was through the roof. It was clear from the get go that Argentina was not going to play in their own half and pinned the Irish back for most of the match. Los Pumas have proven again why they are a force to be reckoned with this tournament.

Winning Pool A means that Argentina will face Scotland next while France will play the All Blacks.

Will Agustín Pichot lead his troops to victory 0ver the Scott’s?

The All Blacks have had to make a late change to their starting team for Saturdays match against Romania. Dan Carter the star All Black flyhalf suffered a calf muscle strain at training.

The up and coming youngster Luke McAlister will be starting the game in the number 10 jersey this saturday as Carter’s replacement. Doug Howlet, the record holding try scorer for the All Backs will be filling in McAlister’s spot on the bench.

It is still unknown if Carter will be available for the quarter final. His condition will be re-assessed next week.

Carter’s strain is McAlister’s gain

Friday night we will see the Pool A death match when Tonga and England clash. Tonga has impressed many this tournament. They beat Samoa (for the first time in 7 years) and they also gave Pool A favorites the Springbok’s a major scare. England however has not had a great world cup so far. Their best game was against Samoa when we saw the return of Mr Johnny Wilkinson.

Tonga captain Nili Latu has said that his team see this a major moment in their countries sporting history and will be throwing everything that they have at the English. Hale T Pole will also be making his return after a suspension.

What if there is a draw? Well Tonga will go through over England due to the points difference.

England’s coach Brian Ashton has total confidence that his side will not have the worst Champion defenced campaign in World Cup history. The fact that Johnny will be playing is a definite plus for the English as he will punish any penalties that the Tongans hand out.

Who will meet Australia next, we will only know on Friday!

Judicial Officer Terry Willis had dismissed the charges that were brought up against the young Springbok player. Terry Willis head the explanations and watch the footage from the game. There was no evidence so the charges were dropped.

The citing commission has come under heavy fire due to their inconsistencies. For instance the Lima tackle on André Pretorius was never even mentioned and in my opinion was way worse than what Burger did. Lima was also involved in a dangerous tackle against England which resulted in a penalty. American player Paul Emerick was banned for 5 weeks for a spear tackle whilst Drew Mitchell was not cited for his dangerous spear tackle.  The rules should be consistent.