Thursday 30 October 2014

Namibia power past Germany

Namibia's national team, the Welwitchias, secured a convincing 58-20 victory over Germany in Windhoek on Wednesday.

The Welwitchias led 36-6 at the break.  Watched by 3000 spectators the match produced 11 tries, nine of which were scored by Namibia.

The hosts' centre Johan Deysel opened the scoring as early as the third minute after Namibia won a line-out on Germany's 22 and went through a number of phases before Deysel crossed.

Two penalties from Germany's fly-half Christopher Hilsenbeck gave the visitors a 6-5 lead on the 10 minute mark, but that was the last time Germany looked like winning the match.

Led by Western Province Currie Cup flanker Rohan Kitshoff, the Namibian pack dominated and secured quality possession for their backline and had too much pace for their opponents to cope with.

In the 11th minute try-scorer Deysel turned provider for left wing Johan Tromp who crossed for the second try of the match.

This was pretty much the trend for the remaining 25 minutes of the first half.  Namibia's forwards were in complete control with Germany finding the pace too hot to handle.

The Welwitchias added three more first half tries through their captain Kitshoff who scored back to back tries and Ryan de La Harpe.

The England based scrum-half dealt Germany a hammer blow just before the break when the visitors were on the attack but de le Harpe intercepted and ran 70 meters for the try.

Namibia started the second half in the same fashion as they did the first and when loose forward Thomasua Forbes and full-back Danie Dames both scored inside the first eight minutes of the second half, a record score looked a strong possibility.

The handy lead allowed Namibian coach Danie Vermeulen the opportunity to give his replacements bench a run.  This lead to the inevitable loss of momentum and the rest of the second half was pretty much uneventful.

Namibia reached the half century mark when left wing Tromp scored his second of the evening.

The next 20 minutes saw the German team playing with more composure and they were rewarded with two tries, the first by loose forward Kehoma Brenner after an impressive line-out drive and the second by their captain Sean Armstrong.

New cap JC Greyling scored Namibia's ninth try of the match four minutes before the end.  Germany were on the attack when the final whistle went, victory to Namibia and an important confidence booster before they leave for their three-match northern hemisphere tour this weekend.

The match was refereed by South Africa's Marius Jonker who after the final whistle confirmed that he had retired from first class refereeing and that this was his last match in charge.

The Scorers:

For Namibia:
Tries:  Johan Tromp 2, Rohan Kitshoff 2, Thomasua Forbes, Ryan de la Harpe, Danie Dames, JC Greyling
Cons:  Shawn Kaizemi 5
Pens:  Kaizemi

For Germany:
Tries:  Kehoma Brenner, Sean Armstrong
Cons:  Christoper Hilsenbeck 2
Pens:  Hilsenbeck 2

Saturday 18 October 2014

Last-minute All Blacks edge Wallabies

Malakai Fekitoa scored a try in the last minute as the All Blacks overturned a 10-point deficit to beat the Wallabies 29-28 in Brisbane on Saturday.

Written off before kick-off following a tumultuous fortnight off the field, the Wallabies answered their critics in defiant fashion and looked on course to end a three-year losing streak against their rivals from across the 'ditch.'

But rugby is a game of 80 minutes.  And once again the All Blacks showed they are the masters of the fast finish.

Ewen McKenzie's side produced arguably their best performance of 2014 and willing be kicking themselves for not closing out from a winning position as they failed to match the Kiwis' intensity in the last quarter.

The result means New Zealand win the 2014 Bledisloe series at 2-0.

Australia led 15-12 at half time thanks to tries from half-backs Nick Phipps and Bernard Foley while New Zealand replied through scores from wing Cory Jane and hooker Dane Coles.

Centurian Adam Ashley-Cooper scored for the Wallabies in the second half but an Aaron Smith try for the All Blacks ensure the game went down to the wire.

The Wallabies drew first blood when Phipps scored in the 14th minute.  Christian Leali'ifano stepped inside Fekitoa to break clear and combine with Israel Folau to set up the attack.  Phipps dummied right and then sniped on the side of a ruck for the opening try.

Bernard Foley added the conversion but New Zealand replied immediately, scoring from the restart as Conrad Smith regathered the kick-off before Kieran Read's offload found Jane, who did well to evade two defenders and the touchline to dive into the corner.

Beauden Barrett's excellent conversion levelled the scores at 7-all at the end of the first quarter.

Wallaby skipper Michael Hooper turned down a couple of kickable penalties in favour of chasing a try but the hosts' set piece was not secure enough for the gamble to pay off.

When Richie McCaw was penalised for not rolling away the sensible thing to do was take the points and Foley duly put the Wallabies in front.

But once again the All Blacks hit back immediately as Coles sold Ashley-Cooper an audacious dummy before showing an impressive turn of pace to race home.  Barrett missed the conversion.

The Wallabies' were doing great work in keeping ball in hand and moving the point of attack.  Hooper was stopped just short but Foley was on hand to dive into the corner.

The fly-half couldn't convert his try though, meaning Australia led by just three points at the interval.

The hosts stretched their lead after the break though as Ashley-Cooper became the first Wallaby to score a try in his 100th Test, finishing off good work from Folau and Tevita Kuridrani.  Foley added the extras.

Barrett pulled three back following a ruck infringement but Foley could restore the 10-point margin when the All Black replacement front row buckled at scrum time approaching the hour mark.

Hopes of a Kiwi comeback were dealt a blow when Patrick Tuipulotu saw yellow for taking Rob Simmons out in the air but the visitors were next to score, despite the numerical disadvantage, as Aaron Smith took a penalty quickly and caught the Aussies napping to sneak over.

Barrett's conversion cut the deficit to three points and set up a grandstand finish.

McCaw was the guilty party once again at a ruck allowing Nic White to land a long-range penalty to give Australia some breathing room.

But six points were enough as Fekitoa found a gap after a period of sustained pressure and Colin Slade made no mistake from the tee to crush Wallaby hearts.

Man of the match:  Richie McCaw gave away a few penalties but was a tackle machine, as was Brodie Retallick.  A mention for Michael Hooper for pulling his side together and contributing massively as a ball carrier but we'll go for Bernard Foley, not only for his 15 points, but his tireless work in getting back in defence.

Moment of the match:  There can only be one candidate.  Malakai Fekitoa's try at the death broke Aussie hearts.

Villain of the match:  No real nasty stuff to report

The scorers:

For Australia: 
Tries:  Phipps, Foley, Ashley-Cooper
Cons:  Foley 2
Pens:  Foley 2, White

For New Zealand: 
Tries:  Jane, Coles, A. Smith, Fekitoa
Cons:  Barrett 2, Slade
Pen:  Barrett
Yellow card:  Tuipulotu

The teams:

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Christian Leali'ifano, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 James Horwill, 20 Matt Hodgson, 21 Nic White, 22 Quade Cooper, 23 Rob Horne.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Liam Messam, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Wyatt Crockett.
Replacements:  16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Patrick Tuipulotu, 20 Sam Cane, 21 TJ Perenara, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Charles Piutau

Venue:  Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Referee:  Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Assistant referees:  Jaco Peyper (South Africa), Marius van der Westhuizen (South Africa)
Television match official:  Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Sunday 5 October 2014

Pumas fight back for historic win

Argentina came back from a 14-0 deficit to record their first-ever Rugby Championship victory, 21-17 over Australia in Mendoza.

Tevita Kuridrani and Scott Higginbotham went over early for Australia as they threatened a rout, but Argentina fought back with two tries of their own.

Leonardo Senatore and Juan Imhoff crossed either side of half-time, as the Wallabies paid the price for their indiscipline, losing Nick Phipps and Michael Hooper to yellow cards.

There was some controversy however as Bernard Foley missed an easy shot at goal late on that would have put Australia back in front as a result of a laser being shone in his eyes.

A year ago in Rosario it was the Israel Folau show with the full-back helping himself to a hat-trick as the Wallabies stamped all over Argentina.

Australia had made two changes for this game, with Higginbotham and James Horwill coming into the team, but the bigger news was the absence of Kurtley Beale, who is currently under investigation for an incident with a team manager on the plane trip to Argentina.

And with Juan Martin Fernandez-Lobbe absent for the birth of a child, and the odd decision to drop Marcelo Bosch and Ramiro Herrera to the bench, there were fears that it could be the same again when they conceded two tries in the first quarter of an hour.

But from there the Pumas dominated possession and territory, and were able to take advantage of Australian infringements to work their way back into the game, and they eventually came away with a famous win.

Under Daniel Hourcade, Argentina have shown a lot of ambition and a desire to play with ball in hand and they were rewarded for that enterprise in this game as they weathered an early Wallaby storm.

Argentina showed their intent from the off, running the ball out of their 22 but it was Australia who got the first try with their first possession of the game.

Hooper snaffled the ball in midfield from a forward pass and after making ground up to the 22 he fed Higginbotham who was in support.  When Australia recycled, the Pumas defence was stretched and with a huge overlap, Kuridrani was on hand to finish after being fed by Folau.  Foley, who had made his debut in this fixture a year ago, converted to make it 0-7 after just three minutes.

The game was being played a frenetic pace and while Argentina looked dangerous with ball in hand, they seemed to be at sixes and sevens in defence.

Every time Folau got the ball he made ground, and Phipps at scrum-half was getting such quick ball that Australia were constantly finding gaps.

The second try came after 12 minutes, with Phipps picking out Saia Fainga'a in the Pumas 22, and he popped it to Higginbotham outside him.  The returning number eight had far too much power and broke through some desperate tackles to dive over.  Foley was again on target from in front.

Argentina's already stretched back-row stocks were then dealt another blow with Benjamin Macome forced off and replaced by Javier Ortega Desio.

Australia were looking ominous, but on their first incursion into the visiting 22, Argentina earned a five-metre scrum.  The first set-piece saw an infringement from the Wallabies, but they got a let-off at the second when Higginbotham forced Martin Landajo into a knock-on.

Nicolas Sanchez had the chance to get Argentina on the board when Higginbotham was penalised at a ruck, but his effort from 45 metres out fell short.

And there was more frustration when Hooper produced a vital turnover on the Australian line after Sanchez had got the Pumas on the front foot in Australian territory.

Still, Argentina had clearly weathered the storm and they were able to set up in the Australian 22 once more when Rob Horne, who had come on for a groggy Matt Toomua, failed to roll away at a ruck.

The Pumas then produced 13 phases of ferocious charges, with bodies flying all over the place.  In the end the try came with Australia's players sucked in tight and Argentina spread it wide to Senatore for a simple finish in the corner.  Sanchez's conversion from the touchline was well wide.

Australia were struggling to cope with the intensity of their hosts, and after another penalty conceded by James Horwill, Sanchez slotted three points to make it 8-14 at the break, with the Wallabies facing the threat of a yellow card for persistent infringements.

It took just two minutes of the second half for that threat to come to fruition, with Phipps sin-binned for kicking the ball out of a ruck in an offside position.  Sanchez converted the simple penalty to bring the Pumas back to within three points.

But that didn't stop Australia getting back into Argentinian territory, with Sanchez dropping the ball under no pressure, and Kuridrani thought he'd scored his second try after an acrobatic pass from Folau.

The full-back flipped the ball back inside as he was being pushed into touch on the right, but with no clear evidence of Kuridrani touching down after he'd scooped up the ball, they came back for a penalty which Foley slotted to stretch the lead back to six.

The Pumas clearly had the upper hand in the scrum though and after a Horne drop in his 22, they used a powerful scrum to set up their second try.

With an extra man in the backline they played the overlap perfectly, with Horacio Agulla delivering the final pass for Imhoff on the right wing.  Sanchez converted from the touchline to give Argentina the lead for the first time.

The try came just before Phipps' return, but they were nearly back to 14 men immediately when Folau was shown a yellow card for taking out Joaquin Tuculet in the air.  Nigel Owens called him back, however, after it became clear that the contact came following a push from Agulla.

Still, the Australians were getting on the wrong side of Owens, and another penalty, conceded by Scott Fardy, gave Sanchez a shot at goal, but this time his effort drifted wide.

Three minutes later it was Foley who had the chance to put Australia back in front after a Pumas scrum infringement, but his effort from nearly halfway was well off.

With 12 minutes remaining Argentina were penalised for failing to roll away when Horne carried in midfield, but again Foley was off-target with a much easier shot with clear footage of a green laser on his eyes as he stepped up for the kick.

The ball came back off the posts but Argentina were alive to it and secured possession and got out of trouble.  And when Will Skelton was penalised for a high tackle, Bosch had the chance to extend the lead, but he was also off-target from halfway.

However it got worse for Australia with seven minutes left when Hooper was sin-binned for taking out Sanchez after an up-and-under, the Australian skipper perhaps a touch unfortunate having gone for the charge-down.  To add insult to injury, Sanchez added the three points from where the penalty landed to make it 21-17.

Australia tried to come back, but came up against a wall of Argentinian defence.  A scrum on halfway proved to be their last chance, but in a rather unsatisfactory finish a succession of reset scrums ended with a Pumas penalty and they were able to kick the ball into touch to seal the win.

It wasn't enough to lift Argentina off the bottom of the table but the result marks the Pumas' first success in the Rugby Championship at their eighteenth attempt, and comes after a number of promising displays this year.

And while Australia were not at their best in Mendoza, the Pumas did enough to deserve the win with a committed display.

Man of the match:  Israel Folau was very dangerous for Australia once more, and the Wallabies probably would have won if they'd brought him into the game more.  It was a real team effort from Argentina with a number of players chipping in.  But for his leadership and cool head, we're going to give the nod to Agustin Creevy.  Very active around the park, and as consistent as ever in the set-piece, Creevy kept his head when Australia took an early lead and captained his team to landmark victory.

Moment of the match:  Australia were under pressure at the end of the first half, but the loss of Nick Phipps early in the second really proved decisive.  The scrum-half thought he was within his rights to play a ball in a ruck as the tackler, but given the warning issued by Nigel Owens just before the break, it was a gamble that didn't need to be made.  Argentina scored ten points in his absence to take control of the game.

Villain of the match:  Whoever the idiot in the crowd was with the laser.  One suggestion offered was that the kicker should be allowed another shot at goal in those circumstances.  You could go one step further and just give the team the points, maybe that will convince these knuckleheads to stop this nonsense.

The scorers:

For Argentina:
Tries:  Senatore, Imhoff
Conversion:  Sanchez
Penalties:  Sanchez 3

For Australia:
Tries:  Kuridrani, Higginbotham
Conversions:  Foley 2
Penalties:  Foley 2
Yellow Cards:  Phipps, Hooper

The teams:

Argentina:  15 Joaquin Tuculet, 14 Juan Imhoff, 13 Horacio Agulla, 12 Juan Martin Hernandez, 11 Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino, 10 Nicolas Sanchez, 9 Martin Landajo, 8 Leonardo Senatore, 7 Benjamin Macome, 6 Rodrigo Baez, 5 Tomas Lavanini, 4 Mariano Galarza, 3 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 2 Agustin Creevy (c), 1 Marcos Ayerza.
Replacements:  16 Matias Cortese, 17 Bruno Postiglioni, 18 Ramiro Herrera, 19 Matias Alemanno, 20 Javier Ortega Desio, 21 Tomás Cubelli, 22 Marcelo Bosch, 23 Jeronimo De la Fuente.

Australia:  15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Toomua, 11 Joe Tomane, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Nick Phipps, 8 Scott Higginbotham, 7 Michael Hooper (c), 6 Scott Fardy, 5 James Horwill, 4 Sam Carter, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Saia Fainga'a, 1 James Slipper.
Replacements:  16 Josh Mann-Rea, 17 Benn Robinson, 18 Ben Alexander, 19 Will Skelton, 20 Jake Schatz, 21 Matt Hodgson, 22 Nic White, 23 Rob Horne.

Referee:  Nigel Owens (Wales)
Assistant Referees:  Craig Joubert (South Africa), Leighton Hodges (Wales)
TMO:  Deon van Blommestein (South Africa)

Saturday 4 October 2014

Sensational Springboks topple champs

South Africa ended New Zealand's 22-game unbeaten streak on Saturday with an incredible 27-25 victory in Johannesburg.

The result also sees the Springboks break a three-year losing streak against the world champions and Rugby Championship winners, claiming their first win against the All Blacks at Ellis Park in ten years.

The sides scored three tries apiece but a Pat Lambie penalty from 55 metres out in the 78th minute gave the Boks an epic win and laid down a marker ahead of next year's World Cup in England.

It was hard to imagine that this year's showdown could even come close to the thriller of twelve months ago at the same venue but we were wrong.  The Boks took on the world's number-one ranked side at their own game, playing with volume and pace.

It was breathtaking.

The Springboks led 21-13 at half thanks to brilliant tries from half-backs Francois Hougaard and Handré Pollard, who scored twice.

Deprived of territory and possession, New Zealand typically converted every chance presented to them and Malakai Fekitoa's try on the half-hour meant they were still in the contest at the interval.

The second half became a much tighter affair as Richie McCaw's team concentrated on keeping ball in hand and their patience paid off as Ben Smith and Dane Coles both crossed in the final fifteen minutes to take a one-point lead into the dying minutes.

The rest is history.

The Boks kept everyone guessing over the participation of the influential Duane Vermeulen until the very last minute but the big number eight ran out with the home side as Jean de Villiers hit 50 Rugby Championship caps and McCaw set a new record for All Blacks appearances.

Kieran Read conceded the first kickable penalty for not rolling away but Pollard missed the target from long range.  Beauden Barrett had no such troubles to open the score after eight minutes.

The Boks were first to cross the whitewash, however, with a sensational length-of-the-field try finished off by Hougaard.  The hosts were rewarded for their enterprise as they spread it wide from deep inside their 22 metre area.  Cornal Hendricks collected De Villiers' chip ahead before offloading to Jan Serfontein, who provided the link for his scrum-half to race home and score under the sticks.  Pollard added the easy extras.

The All Blacks had hardly seen the ball as the first quarter drew to a close but Barrett could close the gap to a single point after Marcell Coetzee was penalised for not allowing the ball out of a ruck.

South Africa's second try was as good as the first.  Again it started in the hosts' half with Bryan Habana making good ground.  The finish was out of the top drawer as Pollard slalomed his way past three defenders to score.  The fly-half's conversion from dead in front took the scores to 14-6.  The Boks were simply bubbling with energy.

In typical fashion, New Zealand struck back as Julian Savea, chasing his own chip ahead, charged down the blindside touchline to open up the Bok defence.  Barrett found Fekitoa on a great line and he jinked his way over for a superb try.  Barrett's conversion was a formality.

Pollard had the last laugh though, beating his opposite number and twisting through McCaw's tackle to get the ball down on the line.  The young fly-half's conversion gave the Boks an eight-point lead at the break.

Conrad Smith's fingertips denied De Villiers a try in a footrace back soon after the restart but Pollard could extend SA's lead from the kicking tee after a deliberate knock-down from Jerome Kaino.

The All Blacks thought they had a try on the hour mark but Coetzee was able to get it down in-goal at the bottom of a ruck.

The Boks were running out of gas though and when Conrad Smith split De Villiers and Serfontein to put Ben Smith over in the corner, the words Déjà vu were whispered around the stadium.

Barrett held his nerve to slot the conversion from the touchline to set up a grandstand finish with the scores at 24-20 and twelve minutes on the clock.

Three minutes latter, with the Springboks looking dead on their feet, Dane Coles crossed in the corner to give the world champions a one-point lead.

Lambie tried a drop goal with four minutes, but unlike at Newlands a week ago, he would not snatch the lead back for his team.

He was on target from his own half with the match-winning penalty though as Liam Messam paid the price for a high tackle on Schalk Burger.

Man of the match:  A mention for Duane Vermeulen, who defied injury to make an outstanding contribution.  But we'll go for 20-year-old Handré Pollard, who not only scored two tries but belied his tender years with a mature performance.

Moment of the match:  Plenty of great moments but Hougaard's try marked a new age in Springbok rugby.  Box kicks?  No, tries from 90 metres!

Villain of the match:  No one nasty enough for this award.  What an advertisement for rugby.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries:  Hougaard, Pollard 2
Cons:  Pollard 3
Pens:  Pollard, Lambie

For New Zealand:
Tries:  Fekitoa, B. Smith, Coles
Cons:  Barrett 2
Pens:  Barrett 2

South Africa:  15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cornal Hendricks, 13 Jan Serfontein, 12 Jean de Villiers (c), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Handrè Pollard, 9 Francois Hougaard, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Tebo Mohoje, 6 Marcell Coetzee, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Tendai Mtawarira.
Replacements:  16 Adriaan Strauss, 17 Trevor Nyakane, 18 Marcel van der Merwe, 19 Bakkies Botha, 20 Schalk Burger, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Pat Lambie, 23 JP Pietersen.

New Zealand:  15 Israel Dagg, 14 Ben Smith, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Malakai Fekitoa, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Joe Moody.
Replacements:  16 Dane Coles, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Steven Luatua, 20 Liam Messam, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Colin Slade, 23 Ryan Crotty

Referee:  Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees:  Pascal Gauzere;  JP Doyle
TMO:  Graham Hughes