Translated material
North vs South
England and France stood up for the honor of Europe at the World Cup
Without exception, all the matches of the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, the main host of which is France, turned out to be spectacular and extremely interesting, were full of amazingly dramatic plot twists in the course of the game and gave fans of the oval ball a lot of aesthetic pleasure.The first two quarterfinals saw the favorites being toppled. The current World Cup holder England, who performed unstable and without inherent brilliance in the preliminary stage, was able to defeat Australia in the final - 12:10, just like four years ago. The biggest sensation of the entire tournament occurred in the capital of Wales, Cardiff, where one match of the opening round of the playoffs was played. Through their own fault, because of the second place in the group at the end of the preliminary stage, France went abroad. The Tricolors rocked the rugby world with their amazing 20:18 win over New Zealand.
The next day, South Africa prevailed over the team of the island nation of Fiji - 37:20, and, despite the difference in the score, even 10 minutes before the end of this battle the question of the winner remained open, although the South African team was considered a 100% favorite. And finally, Argentina reached the semi-finals for the first time, being stronger than Scotland - 19:13. It is almost certain that the South Americans will appear in leading positions in various polls for the title of the best team in world sports at the end of 2007, as they have achieved a colossal breakthrough.
Even without being particularly versed in the intricacies of rugby, before the quarter-finals anyone could draw conclusions about the balance of power in the pairs of rivals, at least based on the quotes of the most famous bookmakers. There was complete unanimity here. In the matches England - Australia and France - New Zealand, preference was given to teams from the Southern Hemisphere, and the chances of the Europeans were equalized only if a conditional handicap of 13-15 points was provided. In rugby, unlike, for example, football, big surprises do not happen very often, but the current World Cup is an extraordinary event in this regard.
Fans and experts have already become accustomed to the fact that in a number of matches the skill and teamwork of rugby players of one team are inferior to the moral and volitional qualities of opponents and the non-standard tactical moves of their coaching staff. A textbook match in this regard was the match between the French and the “all blacks,” as the New Zealanders are called for the radically black color of the main playing uniform. The islanders, winners of the 2007 Three Nations Cup (the unofficial championship of the Southern Hemisphere), were widely predicted to triumph in this World Cup. This team looked very powerful at the preliminary stage, earning five points in all four matches - 4 points for a victory, plus permanent bonuses for four or more attempts. 40:0 - this was the smallest victory for the All Blacks in Group C.
The “black” car was stopped by the coaching genius of French coach Bernard Laporte. The Tricolors' starting line-up was without a number of leading players, and by the 30th minute the Southerners were leading 13-0 - a try from Charles McAllister, a conversion and two free kicks from Dan Carter. After the break (rugby is played in two halves of 40 minutes each), a cult figure appeared on the French field - the colorful Sebastien Chabal, a big guy with a beard and long hair, who has the ability to transmit his energy to the entire team. Laporte gradually made a few more changes, and the New Zealanders suddenly found that the initiative in the match had passed to the French. In the 54th minute they equalized the score - 13:13. At the same time, the hosts of the World Cup, but not of a specific match, by that moment had a lot of lost fights and lineouts, were two and a half times inferior to their opponents in terms of percentage of ball possession and four times inferior to the time the ball was in the 22-meter zone near the opponent’s in-goal field .
New Zealand nevertheless turned its territorial advantage into a lead - Samoan native Rodney So'ojalo scored an attempt - 18:13. But even in this critical situation, Laporte's move worked - Frédéric Michalak, released from the bench, organized a breakthrough, and his partner Yannick Jozion grounded the ball in the All Blacks' in-goal. The conversion immediately followed, that is, the French added seven points at once - 20:18. The southerners could only regret that five minutes earlier So'ojalo's breakthrough was not supported by two points - McAllister's shot did not hit the H-shaped target of the goal. Laporte's men successfully held out on defense for the final quarter of the half and will now play a classic European derby against England in the semi-finals in France. This will happen on October 13 at the 80,000-seat Stade de France stadium in the Parisian suburb of Saint-Denis.
"In a tournament like the World Cup, the courage and fortitude of the team can be more important than the skill of the opponent's individual players," said French captain Rafael Ibáñez. All Blacks veteran Anton Oliver, who has been in the national team since 1996, stated: “In the second half, the opponent made us fall from heaven to earth. I am not inclined to dramatize sports, but this fall literally meant death for us. We're all just devastated by this loss."
No less tragic mood reigns in the Australian team. The Kangaroos did not allow the British to organize at least one try, and all the points for the British were brought by the hero of the previous World Cup, Jonny Wilkinson, who scored four free throws. This was enough for the victory, although the southerners had a goal scored by Fiji-born Tugiri. The story of four years ago almost repeated itself. Then, in the World Cup final, this native opened the scoring and brought his team the first five points, and the Kangaroos’ hopes of winning the trophy were buried by the same Wilkinson with his truly “golden” leg.
The Fiji team managed to bounce back against South Africa, losing 6:20. In the second half, the Islanders put on a real show - a couple of attempts with conversions within two minutes in the minority. The Africans were still able to avoid failure in the remaining 20 minutes. This coming Sunday, South Africa will compete with Argentina at the Stade de France to reach the final.