Sometimes you want to write poetry. Sometimes you don’t want to talk about it.
The weekend started with an intense close encounter between Wales and the Springboks. By this stage of the tournament, the cupboard was bare for Wales. They didn’t have anything left except trying to bash through the Boks. And if anyone is the master of bashing, it’s the Springboks, tirelessly taking the ball up, until the Welsh were absolutely exhausted and South Africa could nick it at the end. It’s no frills, bare necessities from the Springboks, enough to win, enough to take them any further though?
After that, a rugby masterclass from the All Blacks, decimating France, tearing them limb from limb. Imperious from New Zealand, but just so sad to see France with so few ideas, and so uncompetitive.
Then it was our turn to step up and take the challenge, and this occasion, we came up short. No lack of effort, but, apart from a 20 minute purple patch, we were always on the back foot. And whatever about our performance, Argentina played out of their socks, they looked they could score at will. That French match just took too much out of us, we didn’t have the energy, and missed our three forwards. Madigan was superb, and so was Best. Just wasn’t to be.
In the final match, Scotland had a win cruelly snatched from their grasp in the last minute. There was definitely a touch of luck about how they took the lead at the end, but not about how they played the game, their best game of the last 10 years. Australia looked brilliant and ordinary in equal turns. I will say this though, that group of death with England, Australia and Wales, took a huge amount out of the Welsh and the Wallabies.
South Africa 23 – 19 Wales
France 13 – 62 New Zealand
Ireland 20 – 43 Argentina
Australia 35 – 34 Scotland
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