DxJayRock's Notes.

The   2011 Rugby World Cup Final   was a   rugby union   match, played on Sunday, 23 October 2011 at   Eden Park,   Auckland, in   New Zealand   and won by New Zealand. The match determines the winner of the   2011 Rugby World Cup   and the   de facto   world champions for the next four years. The participants in the 2011 final will be   France   and   New Zealand   which will be a repeat of the   1987 Rugby World Cup Final   which was held at the very same venue 24 years earlier. Similarly to the   2007 Final, both participants had already played each other previously by being in the same   pool. Per   IRB   policy and evolved customs of international rugby the match was adjudicated on field by a referee and supporting officials of 'neutral' (i.e. non-participant) nationality. The two finalists met earlier in the competition during the   pool stage. The match will featur...

AUCKLAND, 21 Oct. - A reshuffled Australia backline expertly overcame the shock of losing full back Kurtley Beale and fly half Quade Cooper to injury and led their team to a 21-18 win in the Bronze Final. Taking centre stage in a composed effort at Eden Park on Friday was Berrick Barnes, who has spent most of Australia’s World Cup campaign on the bench. With Cooper hobbling off with a serious knee injury in the 22nd minute, the inside centre suddenly found himself at the helm of the Wallabies back line and turned in a man-of-the-match performance that included a try, timely drop goal and an array of deft kicks for field position. It must have felt like history repeating for Barnes, who made his made his second appearance for Australia in a RWC 2007 match against Wales, filling in at fly half for the injured Stephen Larkham. By comparison Wales fly half James Hook appeared out of sorts and missed a couple of early penalties before being replaced by Stephen Jones...

AUCKLAND, 15 Oct. - Stand-in captain Gethin Jenkins laid the blame for Wales' narrow semi-final defeat to France on the sending off of inspirational skipper Sam Warburton. Lacklustre Les Bleus battled to a place in the final of Rugby World Cup 2011 with a 9-8 win at Eden Park on Saturday. After the match, crestfallen prop Gethin Jenkins said Warburton's dismissal had made all the difference. "It was always going to be tough in the second half. We gave it our all," he said. "It changed the game when Sam went off, we had to play a different style of rugby. When you are playing the French, they keep it up for the full 80." Wales coach Warren Gatland said: "He is not a dirty player so what's the point in spoiling a semi-final by giving him a red card? I am absolutely gutted about it. "But we showed great character and if we'd have slotted a goal we might have won the game. But we were down a man against world-class opposition and the fact we h...

AUCKLAND, 16 Oct. - Australia captain James Horwill was gracious in defeat after his side lost 20-6 to New Zealand in the second semi-final of Rugby World Cup 2011 at Eden Park on Sunday. "Credit to the All Blacks. They outplayed us and deserved to win," Horwill said. "The All Blacks are a great side. When you miss tackles like we did, we hung in there very well but they ticked the scoreboard over in the second half." Horwill's opposite number Richie McCaw described the win, which will bring about a repeat of the inaugural final in 1987 against France, as "awesome". "We realised that we were going to have to front up and be on the job for 80 minutes. The intensity was there and every man out there did their bit tonight. I am very happy with that." McCaw said that while it was a good performance, the focus now moved to the final next Sunday. "We won't get too carried away, but I am very proud," he said. The All Blacks dominated ...

WELLINGTON, 17 Sept. - The 49-3 scoreline pointed to irresistible attacking, but victorious South African captain John Smit was equally satisfied by the way his side's defending shut out Fiji. The world champions ran in six tries to overwhelm their Pool D rivals at Wellington Regional Stadium on Saturday, but they also kept the free-running Fijians to a solitary penalty. "We had some work to do and we put in a quality first 40 (minutes)," Smit said. "It was what we needed and I'm happy to keep a team like Fiji off our try-line." Morné Steyn weighed in with 21 points, including a try just after the hour mark to bring up a bonus point for the Springboks as the Fijians were overwhelmed by an impressive display of pace and power. Fiji captain Deacon Manu admitted: "It was a difficult game today and South Africa showed why they are world champions. They played with intensity for 80 minutes and it was a difficult old time for us." Intense ...

AUCKLAND, 17 Sept. - Ireland put the boot into Australia's Rugby World Cup hopes with a 15-6 victory in their Pool C game at Eden Park on Saturday night. Boasting one of the slickest backlines in the tournament, the Wallabies struggled to live up to their billing and the Irish got home on the back of four penalties and a drop goal before a crowd of 58,678. As much as full back Kurtley Beale tried to weave his magic, Ireland stood firm with a defence that refused to buckle. "It was the performance we knew we had in us," said Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll. "You could swear you were in Dublin with this crowd and it was our job to give them something to cheer about." Wallabies skipper James Horwill said: "Ireland did well and we played some dumb rugby. We were not good enough." Having won 20 of their 29 clashes with Ireland, with another match being drawn, Australia were favourites on paper, though these two countries have produced some ...

NVERCARGILL, 17 Sept. - Argentina bounced back from their narrow defeat to England by running in four first-half tries before sealing a 43-8 bonus-point win in their Pool B clash with Romania on Saturday. Although the match was billed as a battle between the two powerful packs, the Pumas were having none of it and chose to run at every opportunity on a bright but breezy afternoon at Rugby Park Stadium. Despite their progress being slowed by injuries and rugged Romanian resistance after the interval, they still managed to cross the whitewash twice again and kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the knockouts. After the match, captain Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe expressed his satisfaction with the crucial victory. "We were desperate to get a win, that was our only option today," he said. "We were looking for a win today that gave us confidence and that game gave us confidence." A week after their attritional battle with England the Pumas opened their ...

Hougaard breaks Wales' hearts   South Africa's JP Pietersen's path to the try-line is blocked   WELLINGTON, 11 Sept. - Replacement Francois Hougaard was the South African hero with a try in the 65th minute which was enough to beat Wales 17-16 in a Pool D match at the Wellington Regional Stadium on Sunday. He capped a sustained South African period of pressure to score under the posts and wrest the lead from the heroic Welsh. South Africa, the defending champions, had taken a 10-6 lead into the break after an action-packed first spell. Wales, playing at breakneck speed which harried the Springboks, reduced the lead to a single point when James Hook kicked a penalty goal from in front just after the break. And Wales took a 16-10 lead after more sustained pressure when number 8 Toby Faletau dived over for a try in the 54th minute, which was converted by Hook. Minutes later Faletau made a storming burst down the middle and passed to Jonathan Davies, only for the ...

O'Connor inspires Wallabies victory   Replacement James O'Connor scores Australia's third try against Italy   AUCKLAND, 11 Sept. - James O'Connor inspired Australia to a 32-6 win over Italy after coming off the bench to spark a second-half revival in their Pool C opener at North Harbour Stadium. The sides were locked 6-6 at the break with two penalties apiece as errors and offences marred a first half played in damp and blustery conditions. But after O'Connor was introduced shortly after the interval in place of Anthony Faingaa, the Wallabies scored 26 points in 20 minutes without reply to destroy the Azzurri's hopes of the tournament's first upset. The Italians kept tackling bravely but the free-running Australia backs had found their feet and repeatedly found the gaps. After the game, try-scorer Adam Ashley-Cooper paid tribute to O'Connor's influence. "The guys coming off the bench had a real impact," said the winger. ...

Source:www.rugbyworldcup.com England fight back to beat Pumas   England's Ben Youngs scored the only try of the match   DUNEDIN, 10 Sept. - England captain Mike Tindall hailed replacement Ben Youngs after the scrum half scored a crucial late try to help his team to a 13-9 victory over Argentina in Pool B at Otago Stadium on Saturday. Martin Johnson's side were trailing 9-3 when Youngs crossed the line with a quick five-metre break 13 minutes from time for the match's only try. Fly half Jonny Wilkinson kicked the conversion from under the posts to put England 10-9 ahead before wrapping up victory five minutes from time with a penalty. Tindall said: "Ben played brilliantly when he came on and his effort was rewarded with his try, which ultimately won us the game." The English struggled to find their best form in a match littered with poor kicking. Wilkinson failed with five of his seven penalty attempts while Pumas full back Martín Rodríguez had an...

Scotland survive scare against Romania   Two late tries by wing Simon Danielli helped Scotland beat Romania 34-24   INVERCARGILL, 10 Sept. - A resilient performance by Romania gave free-running Scotland a scare before two late tries handed the Scots a 34-24 victory in the opening Pool B match at Rugby Park Stadium on Saturday. Scotland displayed their attacking intent from the start and scored two tries to take a 15-3 lead within 20 minutes. But the hard-tackling Romanians refused to lie down and bounced back to 21-17 midway through the second half. With 15 minutes remaining, a Romanian scrum 10m out steamrollered the Scots before number 8 Daniel Carpo crashed over. The conversion took the Romanians 24-21 clear. Just before it was too late, the Scots backs slipped into gear again with two tries by wing Simon Danielli in the final five minutes that helped to spare their blushes. Full back Chris Paterson, playing his 106th Test, had opened the scoring with a penal...

All Blacks cruise to opening-night win   Richard Kahui crossed for two first-half tries   AUCKLAND, 9 Sept. - New Zealand kicked off Rugby World Cup 2011 with a display of pace and power to see off Pool A opponents Tonga 41-10. The result was all but sealed by half-time thanks to full back Israel Dagg and wing Richard Kahui each crossing for two tries. Cheered on by their rapturous support at Eden Park, the Tongans tore into the All Blacks from the whistle, but the defence held firm, and it wasn't long before New Zealand conjured some attacks of their own. Fly half Dan Carter, who opened the scoring with an early penalty, was soon orchestrating his backline with aplomb, and centre Sonny Bill Williams increasingly came into the game with some deft offloads. Tonga found some resilience after the break and their aggressive tackling thwarted the All Blacks' continued raids on their line. Isaia Toeava went close for the All Blacks but the video referee ruled he had b...

  Rugby football union is thriving and is now gaining interest in schools across Metro Manila. And leading real estate advisory firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Philippines intends to support this growth by encouraging a more active community of players and supporters of this sport.               CBRE Philippines recently hosted the CBRE Juniors Rugby Tournament, at the British School Manila field. This is the second consecutive year CBRE successfully hosted this tournament together with the Philippine Rugby Football Union (PRFU)—the governing body of rugby football union in the Philippines. The tournament gathered eight teams and more than a hundred players from different institutions and is the largest youth rugby football tournament in the country. Participating teams included the Makati Mavericks, the Manila Hapons, British School Manila, Eagles Rugby, European International School, Bahay Bata, Tuloy, ...