Paris, Wellington, London (16/10 – 45)

Two former champions are showing their strength, as New Zealand and South Africa are through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup semifinals, at the expense of the two best teams in the world. New Zealand and South Africa – the pair ruining Ireland and France’s dreams of becoming a new champion in this tournament. Ireland and France tried their best, but the pedigree of New Zealand and South Africa as former champions could not be denied.

On Saturday at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, three-time champions New Zealand prolonged Ireland’s quarter-finals curse. Before this year’s tournament, Ireland had never been able to get through to the semifinals. Andy Farrell’s team looked unbeatable as they cruised past the pool stage with a total of 17 successive victories since last year. The world number one must be thinking that 2023 would be their year.

On the other hand, New Zealand suffered humiliation in their first pool stage match when they were defeated 13-27 by France. But, New Zealand regrouped after that defeat and they showed what they were made of. In the quarter-finals, The All Blacks withstood three comebacks from Ireland.

The Irish, always on the backfoot, trailed 0-13 and 10-18 in the first half, and by 17-25 in the second half, before a penalty try made it a one-point contest with a little more than 15 minutes left. The All Blacks held out for an astonishing 37 phases in defence in a thrilling finale to their victory. The game ended 28-24 with New Zealand’s triumph.

“This was a special day for us. I’ve lost my voice. I think the world’s been talking about these two quarter-finals for two years,” said New Zealand’s Coach Ian Foster, mentioning the clash of the titans between France and South Africa in the other quarter-finals.

“Sometimes the sweetest victories are those when your opponent tests you to the limit. What an incredible finish to a Test match. It’s pretty clear defence won us the Test match,” said New Zealand’s Captain Sam Cane.

In the semifinal on 20 October also at Saint-Denis, New Zealand will face Argentina, who eliminated Wales 29-17 in the other quarter-finals on Saturday.

On Sunday, another blockbuster match that was worthy of the Final itself was contested between the world number two France and defending champion South Africa. The hosts’ hopes of winning a maiden Rugby World Cup title were crushed as South Africa won 29-28, in a nail-biting and spectacular contest at the Stade de France. None of them deserved to get knocked out, given the breathtaking display of rugby.

The Springboks withstood a Paris storm and trailed 19-22 at half-time. They twice came from behind with a try by Eben Etzebeth, as a Handre Pollard penalty sealed the narrowest of wins for the title holders.

“It was a hard game. We knew how tough it was going to be with the French team at home and honestly, I just want to say well done to them for what they’ve achieved and how hard they’ve worked,” said The Springboks captain Siya Kolisi.

“Credit to the French. We knew it was going to be this tight. I think everybody knew it was going to be a big battle. Two good teams and unfortunately, or fortunately for us, we were on the right side of things,” added Jacques Nienaber, South Africa’s Head Coach. In the last four on 21 October at the Stade de France, The Springboks will meet another former champion, England. England through to the semifinals, after a 30-24 win over Fiji.

The post The Pedigree of Champions; New Zealand and South Africa Through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup Semifinals, with Blockbuster Performance appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.

Dublin, London (9/10 – 25)

The pool stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France reached its final day on Sunday. The eight quarter-final contenders who will compete on 14 and 15 October are now confirmed.

Host France are the Pool A winner, followed by three-time champion New Zealand. Italy finished third in Pool A, neatly qualifying them for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

From Pool B, current World Number One Ireland are flexing their muscles with a perfect record: four wins out of four matches makes them Group Winner. Defending champion South Africa finished second, with Scotland managing third place.

Wales are the Pool C winner with Fiji through to the quarter-finals as the runner-up. Australia finished the pool stage in third place in Pool C with 11 points, the same as Fiji. But The Wallabies got knocked out because of their inferior record in the head-to-head against Fiji.

England conquered Pool D with perfect results, leaving Argentina in second place and Japan taking third. In the quarter-finals, Wales will face Argentina at Marseille, and Ireland are up against New Zealand in a blockbuster match at Saint-Denis on 14 October. The next day, England play Fiji at Marseille and France will try to eliminate South Africa at Saint-Denis.

With Australia out, there are only three former champions left in the knock-out round of the 2023 Rugby World Cup: New Zealand, South Africa, and England. The possibility of the emergence of a new champion in the Rugby World Cup automatically clicks upward.

The betting odds at the end of the pool stage suggest that this time around, a new country will snatch that Webb Ellis Cup on 28 October. Most betting houses are stacking odds for Ireland and France, as two of the three favorites to win the 2023 Rugby World Cup. They are indeed the worthy ones.

Since their win over South Africa in Pool B, Ireland are practically the new tournament favorite. Johnny Sexton and Co. haven’t lost a test match since February 2022. Andy Farrell’s team also came into this year’s World Cup by winning their third Grand Slam.

Home advantage has been a huge factor for France, as they bid to win their first-ever Rugby World Cup. Since day one, when they humiliated New Zealand in the tournament opener, Fabien Galthie’s team look pretty solid and are brimming with confidence.

France suffered the loss of their star, with the injured Antoine Dupont on the sidelines. But without their mercurial scrum half, France destroyed Italy 60-7 in the last match of Pool A. The demolition of Italy may have shown that France are peaking at just the right time for the knock-out stages.

“After a first ‘World Cup final’ against New Zealand, our match next weekend will be a second ‘World Cup final’, clearly,” said Galthie. “South Africa are world champions and have clearly been preparing to win back-to-back titles and on the other side is the number one team in the world,” he continued. “The draw is what it is, and it’s up to us to do our job.”

Interestingly, given their track records in the tournament, Ireland and France are each burdened with a “curse” that can derail them in their quest to become the champion. In nine appearances at the World Cup, Ireland has never succeeded in reaching the semifinals. They infamously have never been able to get past the quarter-finals. On the other hand, France have never been able to reach World Cup glory as their best finish was runner-up in 1987, 1999, and 2011.

The quarter-finals will furthermore test the credentials of Ireland and France. As if it was destined, the two strongest candidates for a new champion will clash with two former winners. If they can get past New Zealand and South Africa, it looks like nothing will stop Ireland and France from going head-to-head at the final to determine who is the new champion.

“We’re in the quarter-finals against the toughest opposition we could get,” said Sexton. “The way the draw was made three years ago turned out to be a bit unfair, but it’s the hand that we were dealt and we have to be ready for New Zealand next week,” said the 38-year-old, who is due to retire after this tournament.

The post In Their Quest for the Championship, Ireland and France Face Their Curse appeared first on Ankara Haftalik.

Paris, Dublin, London (24/9 – 32)

Undefeated in 17 games in the last 15 months, Ireland has beaten every rugby union world champion, three of them twice – just for humiliation. Historically, the Irish never got past the last eight of a Rugby World Cup. In this year’s tournament they are on fire: fans have faith that Ireland will finally seize The Webb Ellis Cup on 28 October, final day of the struggle.

Low-scoring but epic: a 13-8 win over the defending champion South Africa in Pool B of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Saturday – a brutal statement from the Irish. Poor flummoxed South Africa never knew what hit them: they had only conceded 3 points from their previous two games in Pool B (creaming Scotland and Romania). Not only did the Springboks not concede tries in those two games – in fact, they only conceded two tries in their last eight Rugby World Cup games.

Ireland managed to breach that defense with Mack Hansen’s try, the second time in the last 15 months that Ireland has walloped South Africa: a 19-16 win when the two sides met in Dublin on 5 November 2022, with tries from Josh van der Flier and Hansen.

Hansen succinctly declared what the win to his team means: “They are the defending champions and they know exactly what it takes to win this World Cup”. “To get a win over them is as good as it can get really. It gives us a lot of strength and a lot of belief.”

Ireland has every right to assume this year’s tournament will be theirs: hey, they are the current world number one, on a burning winning streak since July 2022. What a campaign: Ireland shellacked every rugby union world champion, three of them twice. Johnny Sexton and Co. whomped New Zealand 23-12 and 32-22 on July 2022.

In November 2022, Ireland snatched a 19-16 win over South Africa, a feat that they repeated last Saturday. In the same month, Ireland was triumphant 13-10 in a match against Australia. This year, Andy Farrell and his team managed to defeat England twice: 29-16 on 18 March at the 2023 Six Nations Championship and 29-10 on 19 August, for good measure.

The victory over South Africa leaves Ireland clear at the top of Pool B, aiming them at host France or New Zealand in the quarterfinal. Ireland already did the job on France at a humiliating 32-19 last February, at the 2023 Six Nations Championship.

Ireland glows with an aura of invincibility – but they’re on their guard. “It doesn’t get any easier at all. We’ll take this win and enjoy it for now, then it is straight on to the next,” said Hansen, pointing out that his side will switch their focus to Scotland on 7 October, to ensure their place in the knockout stages. “We have a tough week against a really good Scotland side and if we get the win there, and everything goes well, it’s either France or New Zealand.”

“We are glad to keep rolling and get another four points on the board, but we have to dust ourselves off now and remain focused on Scotland in two weeks’ time,” added Farrell. “As the competition goes on we’ll need to be better,” he concluded.

Yeah, win the battle but don’t lose the war.

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