Rugby World Cup

[Gob]

You know how to make a Welshman happy, Meade, post a funny like that.



ETA: And the Aussie or South African that normally served him his beer weren't there either...

[Gob]

South Africa: (12) 23
Try: Du Preez
Pens: Pollard 5
Drop-goal: Pollard

Wales: (13) 19
Try: Davies
Con: Biggar
Pens: Biggar 3
Drop-goal: Biggar

Fourie du Preez's 75th-minute try ended battling Wales' World Cup dream in a colossal quarter-final against South Africa at Twickenham.

Wales led going into the final 10 minutes but finally succumbed after enduring a second-half battering.

Fly-half Handre Pollard kicked five penalties and a drop-goal for the Springboks.

Wales' Dan Biggar scored 14 points and created the chance for Gareth Davies to score his fifth try of the tournament.

Veteran scrum-half Du Preez had to be persuaded to play in the tournament by South Africa coach Heyneke Meyer after a series of career-threatening injuries, but repaid the faith with a moment of coolness in a tumultuous atmosphere.

South Africa now face New Zealandl.

[Gob]

Some good news from today

New Zealand (29) 62
Tries: Retallick, Milner-Skudder, Savea 3, Kaino, Read, Kerr-Barlow 2
Cons: Carter 7
Pens: Carter

France (13) 13
Try: Picamoles
Con: Parra
Pens: Spedding, Parra

Defending champions New Zealand hit top gear to demolish France and set up a semi-final against South Africa.

The All Blacks were almost out of sight at half-time, Julian Savea scoring two tries and Brodie Retallick and Nehe Milner-Skudder one apiece.

A try by Louis Picamoles had kept France afloat but when he was sent to the sin-bin French hopes evaporated.

Savea completed a fine hat-trick and Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read and Tawera Kerr-Barlow (two) also crossed.

France had hoped to draw inspiration from their World Cup upsets over the All Blacks in 1999 and 2007, when they beat them in the quarter-finals in Cardiff, as well as their near-miss in the 2011 final, when they narrowly lost 8-7.

But New Zealand, who have now beaten France nine times in a row and equalled Australia's record of 12 consecutive World Cup wins, never looked like losing against a Philippe Saint-Andre side forced to deny they are in outright rebellion.

And while the French simply did not have the requisite talent or a game-plan to trouble New Zealand, the performance of Steve Hansen's side was undoubtedly the most impressive of the tournament so far

[MajGenl.Meade]

Two items of good news! Bonus! Frogs dead and the taffys chewed up

[Gob]

[Lord Jim]

[Gob]

Not a single Northern Hemisphere team left!!!!

Australia (15) 35
Tries: Mitchell (2), Ashley-Cooper, Hooper, Kuridrani
Cons: Foley 2
Pens: Foley 2

Scotland (16) 34
Tries: Seymour, Horne Bennett
Cons: Laidlaw 2
Pens: Laidlaw 5

Scotland suffered a devastating loss as Australia won a thrilling quarter-final with a controversial late penalty.

In a pulsating eight-try match Mark Bennett's interception try with seven minutes to go seemed to have sealed one of the great World Cup upsets.

But with time running out referee Craig Joubert called a deliberate offside when replays seemed to indicate the ball had come off a Wallaby player.

Bernard Foley stroked over the three points to steal the game away.

At the final whistle Joubert ran for the tunnel to a deafening chorus of boos, Scotland's players and vast support shattered by the cruel finale.

Ireland (10) 20
Tries: Fitzgerald, Murphy
Cons: Madigan 2
Pens: Madigan 2

Argentina (20) 43
Tries: Moroni, Imhoff 2, Tuculet
Cons: Sanchez 4
Pens: Sanchez 5

Argentina's early scoring blitz helped them dash Ireland's hopes of earning a first World Cup semi-final spot.

Brilliant tries from Matias Moroni and Juan Imhoff saw the Pumas take a 17-0 lead over the under-strength Irish by the 13th minute.

Luke Fitzgerald's terrific score helped cut the margin to 20-10 by the break.

A Jordi Murphy touchdown reduced the gap to three points but late tries from Joaquin Tuculet and Imhoff sealed a deserved Argentina win.

The victory sets up a semi-final for the Pumas against Australia at Twickenham next Sunday, with all the remaining teams in the competition from the southern hemisphere.

[Gob]

Argentina (9) 15
Pens: Sanchez 5

Australia: (19) 29
Tries: Simmons, Ashley-Cooper 3
Cons: Foley 3
Pens: Foley

Australia will play New Zealand in the World Cup final after they held off an inspired Argentina fightback to win another thriller of a semi-final.

A three-try first-half blitz, including two from Adam Ashley-Cooper, helped the Wallabies into a 13-point lead.

Argentina refused to yield and Nicolas Sanchez's flawless boot - he kicked five penalties in all - saw them trail by seven points with 26 minutes to go.

But Ashley-Cooper completed a hat-trick of tries late on to secure victory.

Roared on by a passionate support that included football World Cup winner Diego Maradona, Argentina had chances in the second half as they took control up front and utilised their explosive runners.

But they lacked the composure to exploit several possible overlaps and Australia will now face neighbours New Zealand in the final.

The two great Antipodean rivals have never met before in a World Cup final, and a tournament that has been blessed with so many epic contests may yet have one more.

South Africa (12) 18
Pens: Pollard 5, Lambie

New Zealand (7) 20
Tries: Kaino, Barrett
Cons: Carter 2
Pen: Carter
Drop-goal: Carter

Reigning champions New Zealand are into their fourth World Cup final after slogging past South Africa in another Twickenham epic.

The All Blacks were five points behind at half-time with a man in the sin-bin as four penalties from Handre Pollard cancelled out Jerome Kaino's early try.

A Dan Carter drop-goal and a Beauden Barrett try put the champions ahead.

South Africa replied with two penalties but a Carter effort in between secured victory despite ferocious Bok defence.

It was seldom pretty but once again in this World Cup there was a gripping finale, the All Blacks holding that two-point lead for the last 12 minutes as their opponents finally tired.

I'll be supporting the Kiwis in the final, natch!

[MajGenl.Meade]

Well, that was entirely predictable. I'm afraid the Boks are showing their age. Victor Matfield for crying out loud? Even Habana looked done in. As to the game plan of having NZ keep the ball forever... and not bother to string together any decent passing (or is it the inability to do so?)... I guess it almost worked. No, I'll have to back Oz for this one - that should doom 'em!

[Lord Jim]

So the Rugby championship will be decided between two Third World Asian countries...

[MajGenl.Meade]

They were promoted???

[Gob]

So the Rugby championship will be decided between two Third World Asian countries...

Yes, with the USA not even making the play off stages.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Don't forget England.....

[Gob]

Who?

[MajGenl.Meade]

Them

[Long Run]

So the Rugby championship will be decided between two Third World Asian countries...

I thought Australia was its own continent.

Was impressed they had the semi-finals on a major network (NBC) in the middle of the day, and I believe it was live coverage. I mean, it was still rugby, but the high level of television coverage here was impressive.

[MajGenl.Meade]

... that and the low level of the commentary. They'd have done much better to get a couple of Oz or Saffer blokes in there - people who actually know how to call the game.

[Lord Jim]

They'd have done much better to get a couple of Oz or Saffer blokes in there - people who actually know how to call the game.

Yeah, and then they could also have included a translator...

[Gob]

South Africa (16) 24
Tries: Pietersen, Etzebeth
Con: Pollard
Pens: Pollard 4

Argentina (0) 13
Try: Orlandi
Con: Sanchez
Pen: Sanchez
Drop-goal: Sanchez

South Africa finished third at the World Cup as they eased past Argentina.

A JP Pietersen try and Handre Pollard's boot gave South Africa a 16-0 half-time lead before Nicolas Sanchez finally got the Pumas on the scoreboard.

But Eben Etzebeth's try put the Boks out of sight and Juan Pablo Orlandi's late reply was little consolation.

The only disappointment for the Boks was that Bryan Habana was unable to claim the all-time World Cup try scoring record on his own.

The 32-year-old winger came within inches of scoring in the first half, only to be denied by the fingertips of Argentina full-back Lucas Gonzalez Amorosino as they both chased a kick.

But with the record on his mind - he entered the game tied on 15 World Cup tries with New Zealand legend Jonah Lomu - he had a mixed game, and several spilled passes suggested it was not to be his night before he was taken off to a rapturous farewell from a packed Olympic Stadium with 15 minutes remaining.

[Guinevere]

This is going on longer than a cricket match. Or the US election season....