By Jonathan Bowen
With Ireland having the weekend off, Scotland and the All Blacks put in some impressive performances to provide the Irish management team with something to think about with the teams do-or-die game against Scotland being played this weekend and a potential quarterfinal match against the All Blacks in Paris to follow if Ireland were to draw or beat Scotland.
Scotland faced Romania in their Pool B match. Scotland needed to not only win the match but put in a performance that would send a message to the Irish team that their spot in the quarterfinal was not guaranteed. Scotland thumped Romania 84-0 in a game that they started slowly but eventually found their groove.
Scotland played with a vigor and initiative that they seem to have been lacking for a while now and with ex Irish and Munster player Ben Healy in fine form, scoring eleven conversions and one try, they certainly made the statement that they will be no walk over in their final group game against Ireland.
Ireland will be confident going into the match against Scotland and what I like about the Irish team’s attitude currently is they are talking up this one match at a time plan and let’s not look any further than the match in front of us.
Andy Farrell will be looking for his team to make a statement against Scotland this Saturday in Paris. A big bonus point win for Ireland and the All Blacks will be certainly nervous about facing the team they have lost their last three out of four games to. If Ireland fail to notch up a convincing win, Joe Schmidt will no doubt have the All Blacks primed to take down the current top ranked rugby team in the world!
The All Blacks have suddenly come back into World Cup attention with a huge 96-17 win over Italy. Now Italy was not just bad but appalling however, to say the All Blacks were not good is to not do them justice. The All Blacks were not just good, but they were clinical in the way they tore apart Italy. Every mistake the Italians made was punished with a try to the All Blacks. They ran in fourteen tries with Arron Smith collecting a well-deserved hat trick. The All Blacks looked like a team that had re-found its confidence after losing to France in the opening game and losing that now famous warm up game in Twickenham to South Africa.
The All Blacks are still expected to finish second in their pool behind France, however, with France to face Italy in the last group game and Italy having a history or defeating France in Paris when they are least likely to do so, there still maybe a surprise to come out of this pool.
Italy will be looking to redeem their reputation against France after suffering such a humiliating loss to the All Blacks. They will be eager to shut down the conversations that some pundits are having about whether Georgia or Romania should replace them in the Six Nations tournament in the future.
Pool D suddenly came back to life when Japan secured a hard-fought win over Samoa to set up a tie-or-die game against Argentina to lock in the last quarterfinal spot in the pool. Samoa was very unlucky in the game and potentially could have secured the win but Japan, led by its greatest ever play Michael Leitch, ensured that was not to be and secured a 28-22 win. It was a case for Samoa that the World Cup probably turned up a little too early and as a team they needed to play more games together to be a serious threat in this pool. Samoa certainly had the team with ex Wallaby Christian Leali’ifano playing in the number ten position but like Tonga and Fiji, the World Cup is proving to be a difficult prospect because as a team they do not play enough competitive rugby each year.
Samoa, like Tonga, should be so proud of their efforts at this year’s World Cup. They have certainly given world rugby something to think about when it comes to expanding the number of competitive games the Tier Two nations are exposed to. This World Cup has proved that the gap between the Tier 1 and Tier 2 countries is not as great as it used to be.
Argentina defeated their South American counterparts Chile by 59-5 in a game that according to my South American friends was more impressive on paper than in the stadium. Argentina have struggled at this World Cup and have been less than impressive in their pool games.
Many pundits are saying if Argentina can get past Japan, it will be by luck rather than hard work. I am not sure about that. Argentina’s coach Michael Cheika is a solid rugby coach with success in Australia and in Europe. If anyone can turn this team around it will be him. With the winner of the match likely to play a Welsh team who to everyone’s surprise seems to be finding form at the right end of the tournament there may be a few surprises still be had at this Rugby World Cup.
In Pool C Fiji had a fortunate win against Georgia, 17-12, to all but guarantee Australia’s exit in the group stage. Fiji had to dig deep to win it and with them scoring two converted tries, what almost cost them the game was their indiscipline with Georgia scoring four penalties. Fiji needs either a draw or a win against Portugal to secure their place in the quarterfinals alongside Wales and what an achievement that will be.
If Fiji are to qualify, they are likely to face England in the quarterfinal in what could be the game of the tournament. Too contrasting styles of rugby coming face to face with each other.
If you are like me and are a rugby nut who will not want to miss a minute of this year’s Rugby World Cup, ensure you book your spot early at New York City’s premier rugby bar the Pig’n’Whistle on West 36th Street. Call (212) 239-4820 to make a booking. All Rugby World Cup games will also be shown live on NBC. Check your local guides for kick off times this weekend.
If you want to keep up to date with all the latest rugby news, you can find me on Instagram @jb052006 or drop me an email at jonathan.joseph.bowen@gmail.com.