All Blacks storm past Springboks

Updated October 07, 2012 07:28:04

New Zealand scored 20 unanswered second-half points to complete a perfect Rugby Championship campaign with a 32-16 triumph over South Africa in Soweto.

Down by 10 points early on and trailing 16-12 at half-time, the All Blacks reclaimed the lead 22 seconds into the second half through a try from veteran inside centre Ma'a Nonu and never looked back.

Lock Sam Whitelock, scrum-half Aaron Smith and outside centre Conrad Smith also scored tries and fly half Dan Carter kicked three conversions, a penalty and a drop goal.

"We could not get our hands on the ball in the first half and you can put the fact that we were still in the match down to a wonderful bunch of guys who have been together for some time," said All Blacks captain Richie McCaw.

"It was much better for us during the second half and the boys were able to build pressure. What we worked so hard on during the week paid off," added the bruised and cut flanker.

Springboks captain and inside centre Jean de Villiers said: "We had to play catch-up rugby for too much of the game and that is pretty difficult against a quality team like the All Blacks.

"This is a young team and let us hope that we all learn from our mistakes. The team panicked at times in the closing stages and conceded some stupid penalties."

Bryan Habana claimed his seventh try this season in the competition early on to raise South African hopes, but that was the only time the Boks crossed the line.

Fly half Johan Goosen kicked the conversion and a penalty before retiring injured late in the first half and replacement Elton Jantjies landed two penalties.

Coach Heyneke Meyer warned the Springboks before the battle of the highest ranked teams in the world that nothing less than an 80 per cent place-kicking success rate would give his team a chance, and his words proved prophetic.

Youngsters Goosen and Jantjies missed two kicks each to leave South Africa with only a 50 per cent success rate and so the poor record continued when aiming at the posts during the Championship.

While the South African pack held its own, there was a yawning gap in class between the back lines with New Zealand managing to score two first-half tries despite being virtually starved of possession.

New Zealand defeated South Africa, Australia and Argentina home and away and also picked up two bonus points for a total of 26 - 14 more than South Africa, which could surrender second place if Australia beats Argentina.

The All Blacks can now adjust their sights to creating two world records - the most consecutive victories by a top-tier rugby nation (18) and by a rugby nation (19) - with a Test in Australia and an end-of-season tour to Europe looming.

New Zealand: 32 (S Whitelock, A Smith, M Nonu, C Smith tries; D Carter 3 cons; penalty; drop goal)

South Africa: 16 (B Habana try; J Goosen con; penalty; E Jantjies 2 pens)

AFP

Tags: super-rugby, rugby-union, sport, south-africa, new-zealand

First posted October 07, 2012 07:15:44

View the original article here

Chambers seals NRL deal to return to Storm

Updated January 19, 2012 13:58:33

Will Chambers will return to his former NRL club Melbourne after a two-year dalliance with rugby union.

The tall centre has signed a three-year deal with the Storm, who the 23-year-old played 42 games with between 2007 and 2009 before switching codes to play with the Queensland Reds.

Chambers had a topsy-turvy stint in Brisbane, making a quick impression in his first season to be touted as a Wallabies contender before a shoulder injury halted his development.

However, on return from surgery, Chambers spent more time on the bench than on the field as the Reds swept to the Super Rugby title last year.

Chambers was subsequently released by the Reds and joined Irish club Munster on a short-term deal before the Storm's operations manager, Frank Ponissi, travelled to Limerick to discuss a return to Melbourne.

"I have been following Will's progress over the past two years and when I caught up with him in Limerick, it was clear he had a desire to come back to rugby league," said Ponissi.

"Pleasingly we (have completed) our 2012 roster, adding quality depth to our centre position with Dane Nielsen, Maurice Blair and Justin O'Neill."

Chambers, whose last game for Melbourne was in the 2009 grand final-winning team who beat Parramatta - a title later stripped due to the Storm's salary cap rorting - is excited to have sealed a long-term deal following the uncertainty of recent months.

"This was a very difficult decision with several things to consider," Chambers said.

"The overriding factor was a return to Melbourne to be coached by Craig (Bellamy) and being part of the Melbourne Storm culture once again."

AAP

Tags: nrl, rugby-league, rugby-union, sport, melbourne-3000, vic, brisbane-4000, qld, australia

First posted January 19, 2012 13:58:33

View the original article here

The Perfect Storm - Rugby World Cup 2011

The 2007 Rugby World Cup in France proved just how big rugby is. Spectator figures for the live championship bashed though the 2 million barrier in true rugby form for the first time in the tournament's history according to the sport's ruling body, the International Rugby Board (IRB). An estimated 4.2 billion television viewers were glued to their T.V. screens during the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Television coverage doubled throughout the world in countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and across Asia. There wasn't any doubt that television viewers in South Africa and the entire southern hemisphere would be responsible for a giant megawatt spike during the championship, but there was surprise that the broadcast viewings shot up dramatically in Russia, India, Canada, and the USA, proving that rugby is hitting global market in a major way.

And no wonder. Both the pool stages and the knock-out rounds at the 2007 Rugby World Cup were of an exceptionally high standard, gripping fans with megawatt levels of intensity. The fight and skill played out on the pitch was relentless. Rugby is a game with a complex psychology that requires the tactics to match and of course the "will to kill" studded with great punch ups, stomping and eye gouging etc. that make it like no other game on earth.

If 2007 was anything to go by the world can expect the perfect rugby storm to hit down in New Zealand in 2011.

After months of speculation whether the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, the IRB announced on Friday 30th November 2007 that the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament would again feature 20 teams. Twelve teams have already qualified as a result of finishing in the top 3 in each pool in the 2007 tournament, leaving 8 qualifying berths up for grabs. Argentina, Australia, england, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, and Wales have qualified thus far.

There are sure to be many twists and turns between now and 2011. Three long years stand between us and championship - plenty of time for heavy arsenals to be built. The 2011 World Cup is set to be an all-out war.

Before the existence of the inaugural Rugby World Cup hosted by Australia and New Zealand in May and June of 1987, there were only regional international rugby union competitions. Although the Rugby World Cup is a relatively recent event, the raw, complex and beautiful game of rugby has been around for time. The legendary "Six Nations Championship" began in 1883 as the "Home Nations" championship between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. In 1910 the "Home Nations" became the "Five Nations" with France stepping across the Channel to join the tournament. From 1931 to 1939 France did not participate and the championship again became the "Home Nations". In 2000 Italy joined to make it the "Six Nations".

The Tri-Nations is the oldest rugby series held in the southern hemisphere with the first match played between Australia and New Zealand in 1903. South Africa first toured both nations in 1921.

Rugby union was played at the Summer Olympics for the first time at the 1900 Paris games where France won the first gold medal. The London 1908 Olympics saw the rugby union again with the gold going to Australasia. At the Antwerp games in 1920 and the 1924 Paris games both golds went to the United States. However rugby union was soon removed from the Summer Olympic program.

In the 1950s the idea of a Rugby World Cup was thrown back and forth but met with opposition from most of the unions in the IRFB. In the 1980s the notion was in the air again when the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) wrote independently to the IRFB in hopes of staging the first Rugby World Cup tournament. In 1985 it was clear that Australia, New Zealand and France were in favour of a world cup. Even the South African delegates voted in favour with the knowledge that the international sports boycott for their apartheid regime would prevent their participation in a world cup. The English and Welsh delegates switched sides and with 10 votes to 6 the IRFB approved the inaugural cup.

Preparations for the 2011 Rugby World Cup are running like clockwork. As of February 19, 2008, New Zealand's progress in preparing and implementing plans for the event received an A+ rating from the International Rugby Board's chairman and chief executive.

The 2011 rugby World Cup is expected to cost about NZ$310.0 million to run and will generate NZ$280 million in ticket sales. The 2011 Rugby World Cup will be the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 2003 America's Cup and 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand. Around 70,000 visitors from overseas are expected to travel to New Zealand as a result of the 2011 Rugby world Cup.

Accommodation solutions for the 2011 Rugby World Cup will have to be creative in order to house the expected 70,000 visitors. Auckland may use cruise ships and campervan sites to help ease any potential accommodation shortage. Many rugby fans can look forward to sleeping on plush cruise ships in the stunning Auckland Harbour.

Visit the official site of Tourism New Zealand to plan your holiday and find out what's on.

Ticket prices for the 2011 Rugby world Cup are expected to be based on international prices and will reflect the kind of the charges for semi-final and final tickets for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. The average price for a 2007 Rugby world Cup semi-final ticket was about $500 and the average price for the final was around $750.

You can buy and sell rugby tickets here at this site [http://www.theonlineticketexchange.com/] for fans who have tickets they can't use anymore to sell to fans who need a fes tickets.

It's looking good for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Brace yourself.