this link - BC Rugby News

Transcription

The 1999 Rugby World Cup
in Review
Compiled by MC Bryant
From material on the following Internet sites:
www.sporting-life.com
www.planet-rugby.com
Preface
I originally produced this document for my own use but as the project began to
take shape it became apparent to me that this document would be appreciated
by other rugby fans. I made the decision to make the Adobe Acrobat .pdf file
online.
available to
other rugby fans.
In the past it may have taken months to produce a document with all this
information but nowadays, in the zenith of the information age, it takes a matter
of hours. Albeit, a considerable amount of hours. All the information you see
in here is taken from the Internet and compiled into a readable format with an
extensive index. The time consuming part is searching for the information,
reformatting the text, generating the index, and trying to give a consistent look
to the document.
It is interesting to ponder the idea that people around the world, whether at
school, the office, or at home, may be sending this document to their printer and
keeping it as a reminder of that wonderful competition in October of 1999.
Like throwing a stone in the pond and watching the ripples, I would like to hear
how this document has had an impact. You can reach me by email at:
[email protected]
[email protected]
Yours in rugby,
MC Bryant
Table of Contents
Tournament Overview
Results at a Glance
Referees
11
Coaches
15
Team Profiles
9
10
16
ARGENTINA 16
AUSTRALIA 18
CANADA 20
ENGLAND 22
FIJI 24
FRANCE 25
IRELAND 27
ITALY 29
JAPAN 31
NAMIBIA 33
NEW ZEALAND 35
ROMANIA 37
SAMOA 39
SCOTLAND 41
The 1999 Rugby World Cup in Review
Great Events of the Twentieth Centuryv
v
Table of Contents
SOUTH AFRICA 43
SPAIN 45
TONGA 46
URUGUAY 48
USA 50
WALES 52
Match Reports
54
Wales 23 - Argentina 18 54
Fiji 67 - Namibia 18 56
Spain 15 - Uruguay 27 57
Canada 20 - France 33 58
England 67 - Italy 7 60
Ireland 53 - USA 8 61
Samoa 43 - Japan 9 63
New Zealand 45 - Tonga 9 65
Scotland 29 - South Africa 46 67
Australia 57 - Romania 9 69
Scotland 43 -Uruguay 12 71
France 47 - Namibia 13 73
England 16 - New Zealand 30 75
USA 25 - Romania 27 77
Wales 64 - Japan 15 78
Fiji 38 - Canada 22 80
South Africa 47 - Spain 3 82
Argentina 32 - Samoa 16 84
Italy 25 - Tonga 28 86
Ireland 3 - Australia 23 87
Canada 72 - Namibia 11 88
Australia 55 - USA 19 89
New Zealand 101 - Italy 3 91
Wales 31 - Samoa 38 93
England 101 - Tonga 10 95
South Africa 39 - Uruguay 3 97
Ireland 44 - Romania 14 99
France 28 - Fiji 19 101
Scotland 48 - Spain 0 103
Argentina 33 - Japan 12 105
Argentina 28 - Ireland 24 107
England 45 - Fiji 24 108
Scotland 35 - Samoa 20 109
Wales 9 - Australia 24 110
vi
vi
Great Events of the Twentieth Century
Table of Contents
Argentina 26 - France 47 112
Scotland 18 - New Zealand 30 114
England 21 - South Africa 44 116
Australia 27 - South Africa 21 118
France 43 - New Zealand 31 120
New Zealand 18 - South Africa 22 122
Australia 35 - France 12 124
Photo Gallery
125
Thomas Castaignede runs from John Hutchinson 125
Samoan centre Brian Lima on his way to score a try 126
All Blacks 'Haka' vs. Tongan 'Ikale Tahi' 127
England centre Phil de Glanville goes over for the score 128
Ireland hooker Keith Wood touches down against the USA 129
Fijian centre Viliame Satala gets a lift from Emile N'tamack 130
Samoan fullback Silao Leaega touches down against Wales 131
Lomu and Dallaglio come to blows 132
Martin Leslie tries to repel All Black surge 133
Ripol is tackled by Panizza 134
Burke adds to his points total 135
Fabien Pelous takes on Namibia 136
Tournaire is attacked by Pichot 137
Springboks celebrate after win over England 138
Elwood breaks free against Romania 139
Matt Pini clears danger for Italy 140
Tim Horan - player of the tournament 141
John Eales receives trophy from the Queen 142
Betting Odds
143
Previous World Cup Records
Final Pool Standings
146
1999 RWC Statistics
148
Index
144
151
Great Events of the Twentieth Centuryvii
vii
Table of Contents
viii
viii
Tournament Overview
Tournament Overview
There were several interesting stories from the '99 World Cup. New Zealand were
expected to walk away with Webb Ellis trophy. They had just won the Tri-Nations
and were looking unbeatable. No one could have guessed that France would pull a
huge upset. France had won the wooden spoon in the previous 5 nations
tournament and were looking very ordinary. They were already planning victory
parades in New Zealand, anticipating an easy walk through France in the semis and
then either Australia or South Africa in the final. Needless to say there was huge
disappointment in the land of the long white cloud.
Wales became the first host nation not to make the finals. They looked impressive
going into the World Cup tournament, previously defeating reigning champions
South Africa at the new Millennium Stadium. They were shocked by Samoa in the
pool matches and defeated by Australia in the quarter finals.
Ireland didn't even make the quarter finals being dispatched by a spirited Argentinian team. Their fly half, Quesada, went on to become the leading scorer in the tournament by virtue of his accurate boot.
Who were the tournament winners? Australia, obviously, for winning the
tournament. They were impenetrable in defence and focused on attack, making
very few errors. France, for exceeding expectations and playing one magnificent
game against the All Blacks. Argentina, for making the quarter finals for the first
time in their history. Fiji, for finishing second in their pool and just narrowly
missing a victory over France in the pool matches. Tim Horan, the official player
of the tournament. Jonah Lomu, for living up to his reputation as the most exciting
player with the ball in hand.
What were the disappointments? The New Zealand team for falling short of expectations and media hype. The Welsh team for falling short of their pre tournament
form and failing to stay in the tournament until the end. The Scottish venues which
were virtually empty during many of the pool matches. The refereeing in the pool
matches which was inconsistent and stifling.
The following pages document the 20 teams and the 41 matches played during the
‘99 World Cup. We’ll see you in Australia in 2003.
9
Results at a Glance
Date
Sat 6 Nov
Thu 4 Nov
Sun 31 Oct
Sat 30 Oct
Sun 24 Oct
Sun 24 Oct
Sun 24 Oct
Sat 23 Oct
Wed 20 Oct
Wed 20 Oct
Wed 20 Oct
Sat 16 Oct
Sat 16 Oct
Sat 16 Oct
Fri 15 Oct
Fri 15 Oct
Fri 15 Oct
Thu 14 Oct
Thu 14 Oct
Thu 14 Oct
Thu 14 Oct
Sun 10 Oct
Sun 10 Oct
Sun 10 Oct
Sun 10 Oct
Sat 09 Oct
Sat 09 Oct
Sat 09 Oct
Sat 09 Oct
Fri 08 Oct
Fri 08 Oct
Sun 03 Oct
Sun 03 Oct
Sun 03 Oct
Sun 03 Oct
Sat 02 Oct
Sat 02 Oct
Sat 02 Oct
Sat 02 Oct
Fri 01 Oct
Fri 01 Oct
10
Teams
Australia vs France
New Zealand vs South Africa
France vs. New Zealand
Australia vs South Africa
England vs South Africa
Scotland vs New Zealand
Argentina vs France
Wales vs Australia
Scotland vs Samoa
England vs Fiji
Argentina vs Ireland
Argentina vs Japan
Scotland vs Spain
France vs Fiji
Ireland vs Romania
South Africa vs Uruguay
England vs Tonga
Wales vs Samoa
New Zealand vs Italy
Australia vs USA
Canada vs Namibia
Ireland vs Australia
Italy vs Tonga
Argentina vs Samoa
South Africa vs Spain
Fiji vs Canada
Wales vs Japan
USA vs Romania
England vs New Zealand
France vs Namibia
Scotland vs Uruguay
Australia vs Romania
New Zealand vs Tonga
Scotland vs South Africa
Samoa vs Japan
France vs Canada
Ireland vs USA
Spain vs Uruguay
England vs Italy
Fiji vs Namibia
Wales vs Argentina
Result
35 - 12
18 - 22
43 - 31
27 - 21
21 - 44
18 - 30
26 - 47
9 - 24
35 - 20
45 - 17
28 - 24
33 - 12
48 - 0
28 - 19
44 - 14
39 - 3
101 - 10
31 - 38
101 - 3
55 - 19
72 - 11
3 - 23
25 - 28
32 - 16
47 - 3
38 - 22
64 - 15
25 - 27
16 - 30
47 - 13
43 - 12
57 - 9
45 - 9
29 - 46
43 - 9
33 - 20
53 - 8
15 - 27
67 - 7
67 - 18
23 - 18
Venue
Cardiff-Millennium Stadium
Twickenham
Twickenham
Stade de France,Paris
Murrayfield
Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
Murrayfield
Twickenham
Lens
Murrayfield
Toulouse
Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
Glasgow-Hampden Pk
Twickenham
Huddersfield
Limerick
Toulouse
Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
Leicester
Llanelli
Murrayfield
Bordeaux
Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
Twickenham
Bordeaux
Murrayfield
Belfast-Ravenhill
Bristol-Ashton Gate
Murrayfield
Wrexham
Beziers
Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
Galashiels
Twickenham
Beziers
Referees
Referees
Derek Bevan
Nationality: Wales
Occupation: Electrical Training Officer
Started refereeing:1973.
First International: 1985 England v Romania
Previous World Cup matches: 8
[NZ v Fiji, Fr v Z 1987; Fr v Fiji, Sc v WS, E v A 1991; SA v A,
NZ v Sc, SA v Fr 1995]
Brian Campsall
Nationality: England
Occupation: Referee
Started refereeing: 1983
First International: 1996 Ireland v Scotland
Andrew Cole
Nationality: Australia
Occupation: Referee/Dentist
First International: 1997 Samoa v Tonga
Stuart Dickinson
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1997 Papua New Guinea v Tahiti
11
Joel Dume
Nationality:France
Occupation: Director of Administration.
First International: 1993 Wales v England
[WS v It 1995]
Wayne Erickson
Occupation: Referee.
First International: 1994 Argentina v Scotland
[NZ v Ir, Fr v Sc 1995]
Jim Fleming
Nationality: Scotland
Occupation: Quantity Surveyor
First International: 1985 England v Ireland
[A v Jp, Fiji v Arg 1987; E v NZ, Arg v WS, I v A, NZ v A 1991; E
v Arg, SA v WS 1995]
Colin Hawke
Nationality: New Zealand
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1990 Ireland v Argentina
[C v R 1995]
12
Referees
Paul Honiss
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1997 Tahiti v Cook Islands
Peter Marshall
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1993 France v New Zealand
David McHugh
Nationality: Ireland
Occupation: Referee
Started refereeing:1985
First International: 1994 Romania v Wales
[SA v C 1995]
Ed Morrison
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1991 France v Scotland
[S v Jp, A v WS 1991; NZ v W, F v I, SA v NZ 1995]
13
Paddy O'Brien
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1995 Wales v Fiji
Clayton Thomas
Nationality: Wales
Occupation: School Teacher
First International: 1995 Scotland v Canada
[Arg v It, 1995]
Andre Watson
Nationality: South Africa
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1996 Australia v Canada
Chris White
Occupation: Referee
First International: 1998 Georgia v Russia
14
Coaches
Coaches
Argentina - Alex Wyllie
Australia - Rod Macqueen
Canada - Pat Parfrey
England - Clive Woodward
Fiji - Brad Johnstone
France Jean Claude Skrela
Ireland - Warren Gatland
Italy - Massimo Mascioletti
Japan - Seiji Hirao
Namibia - Rudy Joubert
New Zealand - John Hart
Romania - John Phillips
Samoa - Bryan Williams
Scotland - Jim Telfer
South Africa - Nick Mallett
Spain - Alfonso Feijo
Tonga - Polutele Tu’ihalamaka
Uruguay - Daniel Herrera
USA - Jack Clark
Wales - Graham Henry
15
Team Profiles
ARGENTINA
World Cup record
Best: group stages
Played: 9
Won: 1
Lost: 8
Coach: Alex Wyllie/Jose Luis Imhoff
Squad
Backs: I Corleto, M Contepomi, J Fernandez Miranda, G Camardon, F Contepomi, O Bartolucci, D Albanese, E Simone, J Orengo, L Arbizu (Capt.), JL Cilley,
G Quesada, N Fernandez Miranda, A Pichot.
Forwards: R Grau, M Reggiardo, F Diaz Alberdi, M Scelzo, O Hasan, M Ledesma,
A Canalda, I Fernandez Lobbe, R Norberto Perez, P Sporleder, A Allub, L
Ostiglia, S Phelan, M Ruiz, R Martin, G Longa Elia.
Profile
For a country with such a rich rugby union tradition Argentina’s World Cup record
has been poor.
They have qualified for all three tournaments so far but that’s as far as it has gone,
the last time they had a World Cup win was against Italy in 1987.
This time under the watchful eye of coach Jose Luis Imhoff and the guiding light of
former All Black coach Alex Wylie they intend to make amends.
The politics of professionalism affected Argentinian Rugby quite badly prior to the
last World Cup causing them to lose some of their best players.
The Argentine authorities strictly refused to admit professionals into their game
and sanctioned players with a three year ban and ineligibility to play for their
homeland if caught playing abroad.
In response 12 of their best players moved away and two have since become regulars in the national sides of opposing powers.
Ernesto Noriega is now playing for Australia while Diego Dominguez playing for
Italy, is the world record points scorer.
16
Team Profiles
Wylie injected a more realistic view of international rugby and Federico Mendez
and Lisandro Arbizu, who both play outside Argentina, are now cornerstones of the
national side.
They have a kicker in Gonzalo Quesada who aims to be the next Hugo Porta and a
man mountain at second row, their 6ft 6in 20 stone skipper Pedro Sporleder.
Argentina have always been at their strongest at home, winning some memorable
matches - Scotland got done twice in 1994,the 1990 England side went down 15-13
and five years earlier the world beating All Blacks were held to a 21-21 draw.
In contrast they can be poor on their travels which is why the World Cup has
always been an uphill struggle.
However, the bold facts do not tell the entire story of their performance last time.
They were better than England but missed seven penalty attempts to lose and were
also beaten by Samoa in the last ten minutes having seemingly had it in the bag.
Whatever the opposition they face, Argentina's pack gives them a chance. They are
genuine World Cup dark horses.
17
AUSTRALIA
World Cup record
Best: Winners 1991
Played: 16
Won: 12
Lost: 4
Coach: Rod Macqueen
Squad
Backs: Matt Burke, George Gregan, Nathan Grey, Daniel Herbert, Tim Horan, Rod
Kafer, Stephen Larkham, Chris Latham, Jason Little, Joe Roff, Ben Tune, Chris
Whitaker, Scott Staniforth.
Forwards: Andrews Blades, Dan Crowley, Matt Cockbain, Mark Connors, John
Eales (capt), Michael Foley, Owen Finegan, David Giffin, Richard Harry, Phil
Kearns, Toutai Kefu, Patricio Noriega, Jeremy Paul, Tom Bowman, Tiaan Strauss,
David Wilson, Jim Williams.
Profile
They come from the land of Neighbours and Crocodile Dundee - but unlike those
dreadful productions there is nothing third-rate about the Australian Rugby team.
The 1999 Wallabies are coming to a rugby field near you and are certain to present
a huge obstacle to any nation with dreams of lifting the Webb Ellis trophy.
Fiercely committed, hugely talented and with an attitude to losing that makes John
McEnroe look like Mary Poppins on a good day, Rod Macqueen’s team are justifiably one of the favourites for World Cup glory.
Having watched their cricket cousins triumph on these shores in July, the Wallabies
will be desperate to make it a green and gold double and serve the perfect sporting
aperitif ahead of next year’s Sydney Olympics.
And knowing their predecessors triumphed on British shores in 1991, these Australians will be hugely confident of repeating a smash and grab raid for the second
time around.
Led by the magnificent second row forward John Eales, the Wallabies possess a
team of outstanding quality.
A truly world class back line featuring the outstanding Matthew Burke at full back
and veteran centres Tim Horan and Jason Little, is complemented by a streetwise
pack who can mix it with the worlds best.
18
Team Profiles
Throw in the combative half-back pairing of George Gregan and Stephen Larkham
and you can see why many pundits think it will be a case of advance Australia fair
come the final in Cardiff.
But despite their undoubted talent and iron will to win, the Wallabies have displayed a worrying inconsistency this year, looking unbeatable one match and
downright average the next.
They humbled South Africa at the beginning of the tri-nations series, only to be
humiliated two weeks later by a rampant All Blacks in Dunendin.
England too gave the Wallabies a real fright in the first match played at the Sydney
Olympic stadium, and may have even embarrassed the hosts were it not for typical
poor finishing.
But when the Aussie machine does get it right then they are a force to be reckoned
with. And there is a feeling in rugby circles that after their 28-7 Bledisoe Cup
thrashing of New Zealand in August, Australia may be peaking at just the right
moment.
Whether the Wallabies get their hands on the game’s most coveted prize for a
record second time remains to be seen.
Much will depend on whether the golden three of Burke, Eales and Larkham are
firing on all cylinders after much publicised injury problems.
But for rugby fans who like to see free-flowing moves and audacious back play the
message is simple - waltz the matilda with the boys from down under.
19
CANADA
World Cup record
Best: Quarter-finalists 1991
Played: 10
Won: 4
Lost: 6
Coach: Pat Parfrey
Squad:
Forwards: Duane Major, Brian McCarthy, Dave Penney, Rod Snow, Richard Bice,
Jon Thiel, Pat Dunkley, Mark Cardinal, Mike James, Chris Whittaker, John Tait, Al
Charron (Vice-Capt), Dan Baugh, John Hutchinson, Rob Robson, Mike Schmid,
Ryan Banks
Backs: Morgan Williams, John Graf, Julian Loveday, Gareth Rees (Capt), Bob
Ross, Kyle Nichols, Scott Bryan, David Lougheed, Winston Stanley, Courtney
Smith, Jeremy Cordle, Joe Pagano, Scott Stewart.
Profile:
The World Cup is the vehicle which put Canada on the map and they haven’t
looked back since.
They came from nowhere before the 1987 competition to emerge ranked 12th after
beating Tonga at the group stage.
In 1991 they had improved enormously and entered the competition with a real
chance having completed a four-match winning-streak over Argentina, Scotland,
Japan and the USA.
They beat Fiji and Romania before losing to France in a real battle, leaving them
faced with New Zealand in the quarter-finals.
Again they presented a genuine threat before bowing out of the tournament losing
29-13 to the All Blacks, but leaving them ranked as high as 8th in the world.
Four years later brought memories they would be less proud of – a brawl with
South Africa saw the dismissal of three players, two Canadian, at the end of a 20-0
defeat to the eventual winners.
But they beat Romania before the group of death killed them with Australia and the
Springboks proving too good.
One player remembers all this, the only man to have played in every World Cup is
this year’s Canadian captain and stand off Gareth Rees.
20
Team Profiles
The Canucks as they are known have not had an ideal build up this summer but
their squad does not lack talent or experience.
Rees will line up with Liecester Tiger’s wing Dave Lougheed, veteran of two
World Cups, and Mark Cardinal, the 38-year-old hooker who would also have
appeared in all three competitions had it not been for work commitments in 1991.
Canada’s Group C opponents this time round are France, Fiji and Namibia so any
hopes they have of emulating their feat of 1991 may not be misplaced.
21
ENGLAND
World Cup record
Best: Finalists 1991
Played: 16
Won: 10
Lost: 6
Coach: Clive Woodward
Squad
Backs: Matt Perry, Nick Beal, Austin Healey, Dan Luger, Leon Lloyd, Jeremy Guscott, Will Greenwood, Phil de Glanville, Mike Catt, Jonny Wilkinson, Paul Grayson, Martyn Wood, Matt Dawson.
Forwards: Jason Leonard, Darren Garforth, Phil Vickery, Victor Ubogu, Richard
Cockerill, Phil Greening, Neil McCarthy, Martin Johnson (capt), Tim Rodber,
Danny Grewcock, Garath Archer, Richard Hill, Neil Back, Joe Worsley, Lawrence
Dallaglio, Martin Corry.
Profile
With side issues resolved and a majority of the squad fit and injury free many people believe England could be peaking at the right time.
England came closest to winning the tournament when they were beaten 12-6 in the
1991 final by Australia at Twickenham.
And although they paid The Wallabies back in the 1995 quarter-final, New Zealand
put an end to the dream in the semi-final that year.
Moments of history for England in the World Cup would include Rob Andrew’s at
the death 40-yard drop goal to steal the win over the Aussies in ‘95.
And in the next match Jonah Lomu’s introduction to Tony Underwood - one of the
great all time mismatches.
England coach Clive Woodward was forced into a change of skipper when revelations earlier this year forced Lawrence Dallaglio to resign the captaincy.
But Woodward was relieved to have the Wasps back row man available for selection and playing some of the best rugby ever after accepting his punishment from
the disciplinary panel.
Martin Johnson was the new choice for captain, he had already led the victorious
Lions in South Africa and this excellent pedigree has stood him in good stead for
the role he accepted with both hands.
22
Team Profiles
Woodward has had his squad training with the Royal Marines and playing a variety
of practice matches in order to sharpen up in time for the start.
With only Kyran Bracken a doubt England are in good shape to threaten to be the
first Northern Hemisphere side to win the Web Ellis trophy.
23
FIJI
World Cup record
Best: Quarter-finalists 1987
Played: 7
Won: 1
Lost: 6
Coach: Brad Johnstone
Squad
Backs: Manasa Bari, Fero Lasagavibau, Lawrence Little, Nicky Little, Tabai
Matson, Meli Nakauta, Jacob Rauluni, Mosese Rauluni, Viliame Satala, Waisale
Serevi, Waisake Sotutu, Imanueli Tiko, Alfred Uluinayau, Marika Vunibaka.
Forwards: Alifereti Doviverata, Emori Katalua, Inoke Male, Alifereti Mocelutu,
Apisai Naevo, Epeli Naituivau, Niko Qoro, Simon Raiwalui, Isaia Rasila, Daniel
Rouse, Koli Sewabu, Greg Smith (captain), Ilivasi Tabua, Ifereimi Tawake,
Setareki Tawake, Joeli Veitayaki.
Profile
Undoubtedly the world kings at sevens rugby, Fiji now hope to transfer their dominance to the 15-a-side game.
New Zealand-born coach Brad Johnstone has transformed the country’s approach
to rugby, he reveals that training before he took over was 99% on attack and 1% on
defence, line-outs and scrums.
Fiji now have in place a front-row that can mix-it with the best while their
three-quarter line remains a threat to even the tightest of defence.
Their good run in qualification means Group C awaits and clashes against France,
Canada and Namibia offer genuine hope that progress can be made.
Fijians expect nothing but victory in World Cup 1999 and while that may be hard to
deliver, they should spring a surprise or two
At last this wonderful rugby nation recognises the importance of 15-a-side tournaments and have a coach in place who has successfully identified the areas which
required strengthening in their game.
Johnstone has indicated that he will not be renewing his contract at the end of the
year and he is determined to guide his side into the last eight of the tournament at
the very least. If they gel as a unit, Fiji could even surpass their coach’s goal.
24
Team Profiles
FRANCE
World Cup record
Best: Finalists in 1987
Played: 15
Won: 11
Lost: 3
Drawn: 1
Coach: Jean-Claude Skrela
Squad
Backs: Stephane Castaignede, Jimmy Marlu, Emile Ntamack, Philippe BernatSalles, Xavier Garbajosa, Christophe Dominici, Ugo Mola, Christophe Lamaison,
Stephane Glas, Olivier Sarramea, Richard Dourthe, Cedric Desbrosse, Thomas
Castaignede, Pierre Mignoni.
Forwards: Franck Tournaire, Christian Califano, Peter de Villiers, Cedric Soulette,
Raphael Ibanez (capt), Marc Dal Maso, David Auradou, Abdel Benazzi, Olivier
Brouzet, Fabien Pelous, Arnaud Costes, Christophe Juillet, Marc Lievremont,
Thomas Lievremont, Olivier Magne, Lionel Mallier.
Profile
French rugby is reeling after a summer of discontent that appears to have seriously
undermined World Cup prospects.
France, back-to-back Five Nations champions and Grand Slam winners in 1997
and 1998, were on course for an unprecedented hat-trick after beating Ireland at
Lansdowne Road almost seven months ago.
But then the unthinkable happened, a first Paris defeat by Wales since 1975, and
wheels started falling off in every direction.
Raphael Ibanez's shell-shocked team were no match for England a fortnight later,
and then Scotland clinched championship glory by turning the Stade de France tartan with a startling 36-22 success.
While the Scots celebrated, France were left holding the Five Nations wooden
spoon, having slumped from champs to chumps in spectacularly quick fashion.
Predictably, coaches Jean-Claude Skrela and Pierre Villepreux - two legendary
former French internationals - came under fire, but worse was to follow as they battled on in the southern hemisphere.
25
A shock defeat by Tonga merely underlined the French demise, which New Zealand confirmed beyond all doubt with a record 54-7 win in Wellington that was just
as one-sided as the scoreline suggests.
After a short summer break, Skrela and Villepreux took their players off to the
mountains for some intensive physical training in preparation for a first appointment with Wales at Cardiff's superb new £120million Millennium Stadium last
weekend.
Wales coach Graham Henry expected the French to have been "eating barbed wire"
and come out "frothing at the mouth" against his team, but nothing could have been
further from the truth.
France were feeble, losing 34-23 as they conceded back-to-back defeats to Wales
for the first time since 1976 and once again raised serious questions over whether
they can make any impact at this autumn's World Cup.
On paper, they have a comfortable-looking group, having been drawn alongside
Canada, Namibia and Fiji, suggesting a routine quarter-final passage.
Also on paper, France possess so much talent as to be the envy of most rugby-playing nations - who wouldn't want Thomas Castaignede, Emile Ntamack, Christian
Califano, Abdel Benazzi or Olivier Magne on their side?
Yet such is the frustrating French tendency to self-destruct that no one really knows
what they will bring to World Cup 99 - not even assistant coach Villepreux.
"Honestly, I don't know about our World Cup prospects," he said, trudging away
from Cardiff to pick up the pieces.
"France has a little chance in the World Cup, but people did not see a good French
team out there against Wales.
"The players have worked hard on their physical preparation, and now we must try
and improve our rugby.
“We outscored Wales 2-1 in tries, which is an encouraging statistic, and now we
will go away and concentrate on making improvements.
"By the time the World Cup starts and we play our first game against Canada in
Beziers on October 2 I think it will be a better French team."
No one seriously knows what their chances are - neither Castaignede nor the
coaches. But don't dismiss them as a spent force; they possess too many
world-class players to suddenly become also-rans.
26
Team Profiles
IRELAND
World Cup record
Best: Quarter-finals, 1987,
1991, 1995
Played: 12
Won: 6
Lost: 6
Coach: Warren Gatland
Squad
Backs: Conor O'Shea, Gordon D'Arcy, Justin Bishop, Matt Mostyn, James Topping, Jonathan Bell, Kevin Maggs, Mike Mullins, Brian O'Driscoll, Eric Elwood,
David Humphreys, Brian O'Meara, Tom Tierney.
Forwards: Peter Clohessy, Reg Corrigan, Justin Fitzpatrick, Angus McKeen, Paul
Wallace, Robert Casey, Ross Nesdale, Keith Wood, Jeremy Davidson, Paddy
Johns, Malcolm O'Kelly, Trevor Brennan, David Corkery, Kieron Dawson, Eric
Miller, Dion O'Cuinneagain (Capt), Andy Ward.
Profile
Ireland’s results in the Five Nations championships these last two years could make
gloomy reading for their prospects on the biggest stage of all.
But scratch the surface and luck has not been with them at crucial times when performances have merited wins they have lost by the odd point.
They almost beat France home and away and deserved to win both games.
The on-field reception at Lansdowne Road is usually uncompromising and the
weather generally suits the tough forward style the Irish employ.
While there is not much depth in Irish rugby, there are international quality players
in the right positions and on their day the team will compete with the world’s best.
Keith Wood at hooker is passionate, strong and skilful and a fine example to those
about him. At second row Paddy Johns and Malcolm O’ Kelly are a strong pairing
while British Lion Jeremy Davidson can certainly stake a forceful claim.
In the backs Connor O’ Shea is an attacking full back with loads of pace and
instinct while Kevin Maggs of Bath is blossoming into a powerful centre with an
eye for a gap.
27
But Ireland’s not so secret weapon is coach Warren Gatland who has concentrated
on making his side play for the entire match whilst retaining the power and passion
they have always shown in the first 20 minutes.
The last World Cup memorably saw Ireland take on the All Blacks and lose thanks
to the devastating impact of Jonah Lomu and Josh Kronfeld.
The time before saw them heart-broken by Australia with the last movement of the
game when the Aussies won by a point when it seemed the Irish had it all sown up.
It is not often the Irish can claim a hard luck tale but they have been neither outplayed nor outclassed, could this be the year they put the record straight?
28
Team Profiles
ITALY
World Cup record
Best: group stages
Played: 9
Won: 3
Lost: 6
Coach: Massimo Mascioletti
Squad
Backs: Sandro Ceppolino, Diego Dominguez, Luca Martin, Francesco Mazzariol,
Giampiero Mazzi, Nicola Mazzuccato, Matthew Pini, Fabio Roselli, Cristian Stoica, Alessandro Troncon, Paolo Vaccari, Nicolas Zisti.
Forwards: Orazio Arancio, Mauro Bergamasco, Carlo Caione, Andrea Castellani,
Carlo Checchinato, Walter Cristofoletto, Giampiero DeCarli, Mark Giacheri, Massimo Giovanelli (captain), Andrea Moretti, Alessandro Moscardi, Franco Properzi,
Paolo Pucciariello, Stefano Saviozzi, Laurent Travini.
Profile
Italy’s rise through the rugby union ranks culminated with the news that they are to
become members of a new Six Nations tournament from the year 2000.
The annual clashes against England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France will
increase the sport’s profile in a country where football is king but a successful
World Cup would undoubtedly speed up the process.
Coach Massimo Mascioletti has already created one surprise, selecting 27 players
rather than the 30 permitted under tournament rules, and he will need the shocks to
continue if his side are to progress beyond the pool stage.
An opening game against England on October 2 isn’t the ideal starting point for
their campaign and with New Zealand in the same section, progress to the last eight
would be a fine achievement.
Their hopes of achieving the goal rest with an experienced squad who are developing into a real force.
Fly-half Diego Dominguez is his country’s record points and penalty scorer and he
needs to convert every opportunity that comes his way.
Reports of a threatened strike by eight members of the squad over a pay dispute
have thankfully proved inaccurate as Italy prepare for arguably the biggest test to
date of their rugby credentials.
29
Most pundits feel the Italians are facing ‘Mission Impossible’ as they attempt to
progress through Pool B but this could work in their favour.
With no obvious pressure on them, Mascioletti’s side could be the surprise package
of World Cup 1999.
30
Team Profiles
JAPAN
World Cup record
Best: group stages
Played: 9
Won: 1
Lost: 8
Coach: Seiji Hirao
Squad
Backs: Graeme Bachop, Wataru Murata, Keiji Hirose, Kensuke Iwabuchi, Andrew
McCormick (capt), Yukio Motoki, Akira Yoshida, Atsushi Koga, Terunori Masuho,
Daisuke Ohata, Patiliai Tuidraki, Ryohei Miki,Tsutomu Matsuda, Takafumi Hirao.
Forwards: Shin Hasegawa, Toshikazu Nakamichi, Masahiro Kunda, Masaaki
Sakata, Naoto Nakamura, Kohei Oguchi, Robert Gordon, Naoya Okubo,Yoshihiko
Sakuraba, Hiroyuki Tanuma, Greg Smith, Yasunori Watanabe, Hajime Kiso, Ryuji
Ishi, Jamie Joseph, Takeomi Ito.
Profile
Tall is not a word you would usually associate with the Japanese, for all their qualities, height and weight has always been in short supply.
They have had to be inventive, ingenious and technically superb in an attempt to
overcome their lack of size.
But rather than bumbling along in acceptance of their shortcomings steps have
been taken to try and compete on a level playing field.
Japan’s last World Cup campaign was a disaster – hitting depths never before
plumbed when losing 145-17 to New Zealand.
As part of Japanese determination to not let that happen again one of the architects
of that defeat will actually be donning the Red and White of Japan this time out.
At 6ft 6ins Jamie Joseph adds much needed height and aggression to the back row
alongside fellow former All Black Greg Smith and Takeomi Ito.
Second row Rob Gordon completes the New Zealand influence up front but it
doesn’t end there - Graeme Bachop will play scrum half and captain Rob McCormick was an All Black trialist.
The world may also see 20-year-old Jyunji Hiratsuka who is 6ft 7ins and weighs
nearly 20 stones.
31
With a more competitive pack the requirement of a reliable goal kicker takes on
greater significance, and in Keiji Hirose they have a kicker who has proved his
worth.
Hirose, who was coached by All Black legend Grant Fox, kicked a world record
nine penalties in Japan’s 44-17 win over Tonga.
The addition of such notable recruits in tandem with some home-grown stars has
worked wonders and from languishing at the bottom of the Pacific Rim table Japan
are now top and looking to make their mark as a genuine rugby force.
Group D is a very evenly balanced group, Japan’s opponents are Wales, Argentina
and Samoa.
While the hosts may prove a tall order the Cherry Blossoms have beaten both
Argentina and Samoa recently and will not unreasonably harbour hopes of doing it
again when it matters most.
Japan’s J-League is regarded as one of the tougher domestic leagues and it is producing some exciting prospects, as the World is about to see.
32
Team Profiles
NAMIBIA
World Cup record
Best: Played: 0
Won: 0
Lost: 0
Coach: Rudy Joubert
Squad
Backs: Lean van Dyk, Deon Mouton, Glovin van Wyk, Dirk Farmer, Arthur 'Attie'
Samuelson, Rudie Jansen van Vuuren, Lukas Holtzhausen, Cliff Loubsher, Francois van Rensburg, Johan Zaayman, Ronaldo Pedro, Riaan Janjies, Sarel Janse van
Rensburg.
Forwards: Sybrand de Beer, Mathys van Rooyen, Jaco Olivier, Schalk van der
Merwe, Quinn Hough (capt), Sean Furter, Herman Lintvelt, Heino Senekal, Eben
Izaacs, Pieter Steyn, Johannes Theron, Gerhard Opperman, Mario Jacobs, Eben
Smith, Andries Blaauw, Hugo Horn, Frans Fisch.
Profile
Rugby Union was imported to Namibia by visiting South African troops in World
War One.
Namibia itself was run as a colony of South Africa and only became independent in
1990 but in that time rugby flourished.
Originally Damaraland they competed in the Currie Cup as South West Africa and
were always regarded as one of the weaker provinces.
However, they do boast perhaps the best backrow player in the history of world
rugby in the legendary Jan Ellis who amassed a then record of 38 Springbok caps
until his retirement in 1972.
Today Namibia, technically the smallest to qualify in terms of numbers, were surprisingly ousted from the last tournament in qualification by the Ivory Coast.
But they put the record straight by beating the Ivorians to qualify this time, topping
a group which included Morocco, Tunisia and Zimbabwe.
Namibia is a massive country with a small population so travelling for practice and
squad sessions is horrendous, let alone the week to week matter of club games.
33
But they bare this with the fortitude of people who play the game for love, a good
thing too because there is next to no money in their game - a real shock to the system for manager Rudy Joubert.
Joubert used to be part of the wealthy former Transvaal province and is now on
loan from his job as the South African RFU’s manager of coaching where money is
no object.
The cash-strapped Namibian union organise events according to a very limited
budget and their players will be supplying their own pocket money in the World
Cup.
One of Joubert’s problems is that Namibia’s best players have Super 12 experience
but harbour hopes of playing for the Springboks and politically there is a pressure
to select only Namibian nationals.
So Joubert can’t just select good players with questionable Namibian heritage nor
can he pick some of the best Namibians playing in South Africa because they don’t
want to give up their Springbok dream.
But these are just part of the job for coach and captain Quinn Hough who himself
travels around 600km just to make practice and play for his side Windhoek.
Namibia’s chances rest in the organisation of Joubert and the direction of Hough
and the hope that they can upset the odds on the world’s greatest stage.
34
Team Profiles
NEW ZEALAND
World Cup record
Best: Winners 1987
Played: 18
Won: 16
Lost: 2
Coach: John Hart
Squad
Forwards: Andrew Blowers, Robin Brooke, Craig Dowd, Greg Feek, Mark Hammett, Carl Hoeft, Ian Jones, Josh Kronfeld, Norm Maxwell, Kees Meeuws, Dylan
Mika, Anton Oliver, Taine Randell (capt), Scott Robertson, Reuben Thorne, Royce
Willis.
Backs: Pita Alatini, Tony Brown, Christian Cullen, Rhys Duggan, Daryl Gibson,
Alama Ieremia, Byron Kelleher, Jonah Lomu, Justin Marshall, Andrew Mehrtens,
Glen Osborne, Carlos Spencer, Tana Umaga, Jeff Wilson (vice-capt).
Profile
The men in black once again shoulder the weight of World Cup expectation and
there are no broader shoulders in the game.
By their own astronomically high standards the last two World Cups would probably have been something of a disappointment.
They were the best team in the competition back in 1995 but came up short in the
final to South Africa.
Something got to them in that final, may be someone did poison their food as legend has it or may be they came up against a side driven by years in the international
wilderness.
Whatever, the Springboks won as did the Wallabies in the semi-final of 1991 it
seems whoever finishes ahead of New Zealand wins the tournament – no one did in
1987, when David Kirk lifted the inaugural trophy.
The All Blacks have always been innovators, combining great skill with a shrewd
view of how the game should be played and almost immediately the rest of the
world follows suit.
This time the point of attack seems to be in the centre where Alama Ieremia and
Daryl Gibson look likely to start, both are solid and dependable but not as you
might expect billowing over with natural flare.
35
But they do have great presence, their decision-making is out of the top draw and
with Andrew Mehrtens at stand off the three players will be expected to run the
show.
For all their ability and will to win the All Blacks do not always get it their own
way and 1998 is a year they will want to forget.
Outplayed in the Tri-Nations and shorn of three of their most experienced players
and captain they lurched from one defeat to another, confidence in new captain
Taine Randell waned and coach John Hart nearly lost his job.
They are still a little raw and if it was any other side they might be considered
lightweight up front.
But a year on from their annus horribilis they are a force once more and despite the
Tri-Nations defeat in Sydney they are settled and equipped to cope with the massive expectation from their fans.
36
Team Profiles
ROMANIA
World Cup record
Best: group stages
Played: 9
Won: 2
Lost: 7
Coach: Jon Phillips
Squad
Constantin Tudor (capt), Razvan Mavrodin, Constantin Stan, Laurentiu Rotaru,
Nicolae Dragos Dima, Adrian Salageanu, Petru Vladimir Balan, Stefan Demci,
Ovidiu Tonita, Adrian Alin Petrache, Catalin Sebastian Draguceanu, Tiberiu Eugen
Brinza, Daniel Chiriac, Florin Corodeanu, Stefan Slusariuc, Erdinci Septar, Petre
Mitu, Marius Lucian Iacob, Lucian Mihai Sirbu, Lucien Roland Vusec, Mihai
Leonard Ciolacu, Tonut Razvan Tofan, Romeo Stefan Gontineac, Gabriel
Brezoianu, Christian Lupu, Radu Fugigi, Gheorghe Lucian Solomie, Cristian Daniel Sauan, Cristian Nicolin Hildan, Mihai Horia Vioreanu.
Profile
Romania are on the long road back to rugby prominence a decade after revolution
sent their sporting fortunes plummeting.
Nicolea Ceaucescu’s regime nurtured and funded sport as a way of promoting his
political system on an international stage.
In days when the game was still regarded as amateur throughout the 70’s and 80’s,
a well paid Romanian outfit were a force to be reckoned with and entry into a European six nations tournament might have come sooner than Italy.
But the bloody events of 1989 saw the destruction of the oppressive regime and
with it the economy, so the plug was pulled on financial support for rugby.
It’s ironic that just as most of Europe was moving towards a professional game
Romania went rapidly the other way and the major job now is to bridge the ever
widening gap.
The domestic game suffered with the top quality players leaving for France mainly
and the exodus still goes on.
Players defected before the revolution - envious of hard currency countries, but the
trickle became a flood after 1989 and any semblance of order was gone at most levels of the game.
37
Things have settled down but with many of their top professionals playing in
France and those clubs unwilling to release the players for qualifying it was touch
and go as to whether they would make it to Wales ’99 at all.
Without five of their first choice pack members they lost 53-35 to Ireland at
Lansdowne Road but qualified by beating Georgia in a nailbiter that ended 27-23.
Coach Mircea Paraschiv has a monumental task of moulding some very good players into a team before the beginning of the tournament.
Romania face Australia, Ireland and the USA in Irish based group E and third is
their realistic aim.
Shortly after the fall of their communist dictator, Romania beat a full strength
French side 12-6 in Auch, they will need to reproduce that form to continue on the
road to recovery.
38
Team Profiles
SAMOA
World Cup record
Best: Quarter-finals, 1991, 1995
Played: 8
Won: 4
Lost: 4
Coach: Bryan Williams
Squad:
Backs: Silao Leaega, Mike Umaga, Tanner Vili, Brian Lima, Afato So'oalo, Va'aiga
Tuigamala, Filipo Toala, To'o Vaega, George Leaupepe, Terry Fanolua, Stephen
Bachop, Earl Va'a, Steven So'oialo, Jon Clarke
Forwards: Pat Lam (captain), Junior Paramore, Sene Ta'ala, Kalolo Toleafoa,
Craig Glendinning, Semo Sititi, Isaac Feaunati, Lio Falaniko, Lama Tone, Opeta
Palepoi, Kepi Faivaai, Robbie Ale, Brendan Reidy, Mike Mika, Trevor Leota, Onehunga Matauiau.
Profile
They have already produced one of the biggest shocks in World Cup history but
Western Samoa circa 1999 want to go further.
Widely-regarded as being a team of immense flair, the south sea islanders have targeted a semi-final berth at the very least and there is a steely determination within
their squad.
A 16-13 win over Wales at Cardiff Arms Park in their opening World Cup game
back in 1991 rocked the rugby world and they are determined to grab the headlines
once again.
Bryan Williams’ side arrive at the finals courtesy of a third place in the final
Pacific-qualifying tournament although their recent form has been somewhat
mixed.
Battling victories over Fiji and the United States read well enough but a 71-13
reverse at the hands of New Zealand is a cause for concern. The Samoans defended
tenaciously for the opening 25 minutes at the North Harbour stadium before falling
away tamely as the game progressed.
They will need to perform at their very best for 80 minutes to live up to the hype
over the coming weeks although few can argue against the quality of their squad.
39
The likes of Stephen Bachop, Brian Lima, Va’aiga Tuigamala, Junior Paramore and
Mike Umaga have invaluable experience while Pat Lam remains one of the finest
flankers in the game.
Western Samoa are already one of the most entertaining teams in the world. By the
end of this tournament they intend being hailed as the best.
40
Team Profiles
SCOTLAND
World Cup record
Best: Semi-finalists in
1991
Played: 14
Won: 8
Lost: 5
Drawn: 1
Coach: Jim Telfer
Squad
Backs: Glenn Metcalfe, Chris Paterson, Cameron Murray, Kenny Logan, Shaun
Longstaff, Alan Tait, John Leslie, James McLaren, Jamie Mayer, Gregor
Townsend, Duncan Hodge, Gary Armstrong, Bryan Redpath, Iain Fairley.
Forwards: , Tom Smith, Paul Burnell, George Graham, Dave Hilton, Gordon Bulloch, Robert Russell, Scott Murray, Stuart Grimes, Doddie Weir, Andy Reed, Cammie Mather, Martin Leslie, Budge Pountney, Gordon Simpson, Peter Walton,
Stuart Reid.
Profile
You simply cannot write Scotland off with Ian McGeechan and Jim Telfer in
charge.
The two coaches between them have won everything from Five Nations Championships, a Grand Slam, a Lion’s tour - everything that is apart from a World Cup.
This could well be the year - prior to this year’s Five Nations Scotland were written
off by many as the worst team in the competition.
Nothing could have been further from the truth as they won the Championship
thanks to England losing to Wales on the final day.
They lost to England at Twickenham but many observers were of the opinion that
Scotland were the better side notwithstanding the result.
There were two main highlights of the 1999 vintage - Scott Murray’s coming of
age in the line out and the combination of Gregor Townsend, Alan Tait and John
Leslie in the midfield.
McGeechan and Telfer do make the best of comparatively limited resources in
terms of numbers of Scots playing the game.
41
But in order to swell the ranks the last couple of seasons have seen the influx of
many expatriot Scots such as Glen Metcalf at full back and the Leslie brothers.
Not only are the Scots tactically very aware, they are also able to boast some
strength in depth, particularly at stand off where record capped Craig Chalmers
could not even get in the squad.
The only real criticism may be that they have a lightweight pack but they combat
that by being aggressive at lineouts and play a quick expansive game involving
many phases through the midfield.
It works too, so any side thinking the Scots will be a pushover are likely to be on an
early plane home this Autumn.
42
Team Profiles
SOUTH AFRICA
World Cup record
Best: Winners in 1995
Played: 6
Won: 6
Lost: 0
Coach: Nick Mallett
Squad
Backs: Percy Montgomery, Breyton Paulse, Pieter Rossouw, Stephan Terblanche,
Deon Kayser, Brendan Venter, Pieter Muller, Robbie Fleck, Wayne Julies, Kaya
Malotana, Henry Honiball, Jannie de Beer, Joost van der Westhuizen (capt),
Werner Swanepoel.
Forwards: Bobby Skinstad, Anton Leonard, Johan Erasmus, Andre Venter, Andre
Vos, Ruben Kruger, Krynauw Otto, Mark Andrews, Fritz van Heerden, Albert van
der Berg, Os du Randt, Ollie le Roux, Adrian Garvey, Cobus Visagie, Chris Rossouw, Naka Drotske.
Profile
When Joel Stransky's extra-time drop goal soared between the posts to seal a
nerve-jangling 15-12 World Cup final victory for South Africa over New Zealand
in Johannesburg on June 24, 1995, the host nation rejoiced.
The Springboks officially became the best team in the world at Ellis Park as skipper Francois Pienaar received the Webb Ellis Trophy from Nelson Mandela, who
endeared himself to the watching world by symbolically wearing a replica of Pienaar's number six shirt.
The Apartheid era had seen South African rugby ostracised from the international
sporting arena for decades.
But as Pienaar, an Afrikaner, and Mandela, South Africa's first black president,
stood united under the Rainbow Nation banner, a new era beckoned.
Four years on and the Springboks are facing a mini-crisis.
Pienaar, the talisman of the South African renaissance since their readmission to
international rugby, is now player-coach of English Premiership One club Saracens
and knows his days of wearing the Springbok shirt are over.
43
Scrum-half Joost van der Westhuizen now wears the skipper's mantle and the legacy of World Cup-winning coach Kitch Christie, who died from cancer shortly
after the famous triumph, is now in the hands of Nick Mallett.
Mallett knows he must deliver following a series of poor results in 1999. He was
given the dreaded vote of confidence after the Springboks were hammered 28-0 by
New Zealand in their opening Tri-Nations game and followed that up with a 32-6
reverse in Australia. Skipper Gary Teichmann was dropped from the squad after
those setbacks but Mallett has so far survived.
Mallett's credentials remain impressive but he knows Springbok fans are among the
most demanding in world rugby and anything less than a successful defence of the
World Cup will be viewed as failure.
Since losing to England at Twickenham last December after a world record-equalling run of 17 consecutive victories, South Africa's form has been mediocre.
In addition to comprehensive defeats by the All Blacks (twice) and Australia in the
Tri-Nations this year, the Springboks lost for the first time ever to World Cup host
nation Wales. Two emphatic victories over Italy and the home 10-9 Tri-Nations win
over Australia have done little to ease the pressure on Mallett.
To be fair on the man currently occupying the hottest of coaching hot seats, the
Springboks have been decimated by injuries to key players.
Van der Westhuizen, rated by many as the best scrum-half in the world, has finally
won his fitness battle after injuring his knee against England at Twickenham.
His absence, and that of his regular half-back partner Henry Honiball, has disrupted
the fluency of South Africa's potent three-quarter line - but both are expected to be
fit for the tournament.
Influential wing forward Bobby Skinstad and lock Mark Andrews have both been
sidelined through injury at various stages of the build-up.
The notion that the Springboks have strength in depth evaporated as those drafted
in to replace injured first-choice players failed to make their mark.
44
Team Profiles
SPAIN
World Cup record
Best: Played: 0
Won: 0
Lost: 0
Coach: Alfonso Feijoo
Squad
Backs: Aratz Gallastegui, Jaime Alonso, Andrei Kovalenco, Aitor Etxeberría,
Alvar Enciso, Fernando Díez, Rafael Bastide, Alberto Socias, Sebastien Loubsens,
Oriol Ripol, Antonio Socias, José Ignacio Inchausti, Angel Frechilla, Ferrán
Velazco, Francisco Puertas.
Forwards: Jordi Camps, José Ignacio Zapatero,Víctor Torres, Luis Javier Martinez,
Fernando De La Calle, Diego Zarzosa, José Miguel Villaú, Steve Tuineau, Sergio
Souto, Alberto Malo (Captain), Carlos Souto, Oscar Astarloa, José Díaz, Agustín
Malet, Alfonso Mata.
Profile
Most countries have lofty ambitions for World Cup 1999 but Spain only have one,
to win a game.
One of the genuine outsiders for the tournament, Alfonso Feijo’s side are under no
illusions about the size of the task they face in a group that also includes South
Africa and Scotland. The game against Uruguay on October 2 represents their
final although a recent 20-3 defeat at the hands of the same opponents does not
inspire confidence.
Spain qualified for the finals with a heart-stopping victory over Portugal at Murrayfield but recent performances in Japan do not augur well.
Scoring points has been their main concern of late although in fly-half Andrei
Kovalenko they possess a play-maker of real quality.
Coach Feijo has ignored the claims of several players who hail from outside the
country but qualify to represent them in the World Cup in the belief that he is building a side for the future. It is a commendable attitude.
They deserve a good tournament and are determined to give it their best shot. It
may not be enough to qualify but this dedicated squad are determined to ruffle a
feather or two before boarding the plane back to Spain.
45
TONGA
World Cup record
Best: group stages
Played: 6
Won: 1
Lost: 5
Coach: Polutele Tu'ihalamaka
Squad:
Forwards: David Edwards, Ta'u Fainga'anuku, Kuli Faletau, Puku Faletau, 'Isi
Fatani, Benhur Kivalu, Sonatane Koloi, Falamani Mafi, Latiume Maka, Tamieni
Penisini, Ngalu Ta'u, Tevita Taumoepeau, Mat Te Pou, Va'a Toloke, Katilione
Tu'ipulotu, Fe'ao Vunipola (captain).
Backs: Semisi Faka'osifolau, Salesi Finau, Sililo Marten, 'Epeli Taione, 'Isi Tapueluelu, Taunaholo Taufahema, Siua Taumalolo, Semi Taupeaafe, Fepikou Tatafu,
Tevita Tiueti, Sateki Tu'ipulotu, Sione Mone Tu'ipulotu, 'Elisi Vunipola, Brian
Wooley.
Profile
A steady stream of high quality Tongans leave the shores of the small pacific island
every year to pursue their rugby fortunes elsewhere.
Not only does every South Sea Islander - Fijian, Samoan and Tongan alike want to
play for the All Blacks but also there is no money in the game in Tonga and incentives to stay are thin on the ground.
Hence Willie Ofahengaue, Jonah Lomu, Pita Alatini and Carl Hoeft among others
will be appearing for other sides this year.
If the only factor to dictate the make up of a rugby team was nationality then Tonga
would be challenging the world’s best. For their players are rugby naturals with
pace, skill and aggression.
In fact, the last of these three attributes has been their downfall in the past with far
too many sendings off and penalties they get severely punished by opposition kickers.
The players that still call Tonga home need serious persuasion to forfeit a month of
a lucrative foreign club contract money to come and play internationals.
But when it seemed they would not qualify the exiles rallied round to beat South
Korea in the repechage by an aggregate score of 140-41.
46
Team Profiles
Tonga’s population is small at a little over 90,000 but every male plays rugby, their
national game.
Their scattered players make preparing for matches difficult but they have a cool
head in coach Polutele Tu’ihalamaka, the capital’s fire chief.
And although on the bigger stage it will always be a case of what might have been,
their unpredictability makes them a perennial threat.
47
URUGUAY
World Cup record
Best: Played: 0
Won: 0
Lost: 0
Coach: Pablo Ferrari
Squad
Backs: Diego Aguirre, Sebastián Aguirre, Alfonso Cardoso, Martín Cerviño, Pablo
Costabile, Martín Ferres, Juan Martín Marques, Juan Menchaca, Martín Mendaro,
Fernando Paullier, Federico Sciarra, Fernando Sosa Diaz, Pedro Vecino, José
Viana.
Forwards: Juan Alzueta, Juan Carlos Bado, Eduardo Berruti, Nicolás Brignoni,
Francisco De Los Santos, Lenardo De Olivera, Nicolás Grille, Guillermo Laffite,
Mario Lamé, Diego Lamelas, Pablo Lemoine, Diego Ormaechea, Martín Panizza,
Agustín Ponce De Leon, Rodrigo Sanchez, Guillermo Storace.
Profile
Uruguay are newcomers to the World Cup stage, their arrival here is testimony to
many years perseverance.
The history of Uruguayan rugby is actually quite long and was first played in 1880
at the Montevideo cricket club, but it wasn’t until 1951that the Uruguayan Rugby
Union was formed.
Since then the game has evolved in the top echelons of Montevidean society and
these days its power base is at the Carrasco Polo club who are the Uruguayan
champions and home to the national captain Diego Ormaechea.
Their seven’s side gained recognition last year when they beat the French at their
world renowned Punte del Este tournament only narrowly losing to Fiji.
To reach the finals Uruguay have had to play nine qualifiers, more than any other
side and displayed some fierce scrummaging to win their repercharge matches
against Portugal.
They play regularly against Argentina and are yet to record a win but the gap is rapidly narrowing – in last year’s South American championship the two sides were
just four points apart in the last five before Argentina won 32-14.
48
Team Profiles
The Uruguayan coach Daniel Herrera’s own career was frustrated by injury but
despite doing the job on an amateur basis he has spared nothing to prepare his team
including five factfinding missions to Europe en route to the finals.
‘Los Teros’ as they are known are in Group A with South Africa, Scotland and
Spain and it’s the Spanish who offer the plucky South Americans their best chance
of a first ever World Cup win.
Minnows they may be, their game lacks money, a player base and world cup experience but they have worked extremely hard to get here and they have heart and
passion and the Spanish are in for an uncomfortable time.
49
USA
World Cup record
Best: group stages
Played: 6
Won: 1
Lost: 5
Coach: Jack Clark
Squad:
Backs:
Vaea Anitoni, Andre Blom, Jesse Coulson, Kevin Dalzell, Juan Grobler, Brian
Hightower, David Niu, Alatini Saulala, Mark Scharrenberg, Rich Schurfeld, Kurt
Shuman, Dave Stroble, Tomasi Takau, Sinapati Uiagalelei, Mark Williams.
Forwards:
Tom Billups, Joe Clayton, Luke Gross, Dave Hodges, Kirk Khasigian, Marc
L’Huillier, Ray Lehner, Rob Lumkong, Dan Lyle (captain), Fifita Mo’unga, Shaun
Paga, Alec Parker, Eric Reed, George Sucher, Richard Tardits
Profile
Your average American would probably be quite hard-pressed to name any of their
current American World Cup squad.
But that lack of recognition has not stopped them bouncing back from the disappointment of failing to qualify in 1995 to the excitement of taking their place in this
year’s tournament.
To be fair to the average American, the stars of the USA squad are from a widely
varied background.
Captain Dan Lyle is as American as Uncle Sam but plies his trade for Bath in the
English Premiership while Tom Billups plays for Pontypridd in Wales.
They have players from the South Pacific such as Vaea Anitoni and Alatini Saulala
and the likes of Kevin Dalzell and David Niu whose main experience comes from
the Super 12.
Homegrown talent does exist – club sides Gentlemen of Aspen and Denver Barbarians provide a third of the squad.
Professionalism could be the dawn of a new age in America with their enormous
potential resources, they could rapidly overtake other emerging nations.
50
Team Profiles
With over 1200 clubs there is certainly a strong playing base, only England boasts
more and negotiations are ongoing with the massive Fox network to set up eight
domestic conferences.
However, this World Cup is likely to be tough for them as their recent record 108-6
defeat by England at Twickenham hinted at.
They face Australia, Ireland and Romania in Group E with the eastern Europeans
their best chance of posting some points.
Number eight Lyle and stand-off Dalzell are genuinely talented though and will be
the base around which the future is built.
With such massive potential a good World Cup would showcase the game back
home and spark off the arrival of a new force in world rugby.
51
WALES
World Cup record
Best: third in 1987
Played: 12
Won: 7
Lost: 5
Coach: Graham Henry
Squad
Backs: Allan Bateman, Neil Boobyer, Leigh Davies, Scott Gibbs, Shane Howarth,
Robert Howley (capt), Dafydd James, Neil Jenkins, Steven Jones, Jason
Jones-Hughes, David Llewellyn, Mark Taylor, Gareth Thomas, Nick Walne.
Forwards: Colin Charvis, Ben Evans, Jonathan Humphreys, Garin Jenkins, Geraint
Lewis, Andrew Lewis, Gareth Llewellyn, Andrew Moore, Scott Quinnell, Craig
Quinnell, Peter Rogers, Brett Sinkinson, Mike Voyle, Martyn Williams, Chris
Wyatt, David Young.
Profile
Wales will enter the World Cup this autumn as favourites to top their group and
secure a mouthwatering Cardiff quarter-final against Australia.
It is a long time since Wales were favourites for anything, particularly in a competition where they have twice let themselves down to such a degree that it became a
national embarrassment.
Wales have become accustomed to World Cup failure following their admirable
third place finish - courtesy of Paul Thorburn's dramatic late conversion - at the
1987 global extravaganza.
In both 1991 and 1995, they failed to reach the knockout stages, winning a pitiful
one Test during each tournament and losing vital matches against Western Samoa
and Ireland when their bottle went.
Eighteen months ago, as the build-up towards World Cup 99 started to gather
momentum, Wales were experiencing further agonies, conceding 60 points against
England and being destroyed by France 51-0 during yet another forgettable Five
Nations campaign.
52
Team Profiles
In Pretoria, on June 27, 1998, the world finally caved in, beaten 96-13 by South
Africa when the rampant Springboks would have racked up a century had they not
wasted at least three try-scoring chances.
Fifteen tries conceded proved more than enough for one evening though, leaving
the Welsh players shell-shocked, especially their captain Robert Howley - and he
wasn't even playing.
Howley, sidelined with hamstring trouble, watched from the Loftus Versfeld stands
as South Africa cut loose, an agonising experience which he readily admits will
never be forgotten.
More than a year on, and Howley's captaincy reign is one of the few unchanged
features of Welsh rugby as the nation reacquaints itself with a tag they never lost
during the 1970s glory years - favourites.
A new coach, the phenomenally successful New Zealander Graham Henry, supported by new faces in forwards guru Lyn Howells and fitness motivator Steve
Black, has helped transform Wales' fortunes.
And it is no wonder that Howley affords himself a little smile when he reflects on
the achievements under Henry - most notably, the victories over England, France
and South Africa.
"I have got the greatest respect for Kevin Bowring (Henry's predecessor), and in
terms of our organisation and preparation under Kevin we weren't very far away,"
Howley said.
"What has happened is that we've seen some subtle personnel changes in the team,
with players like Shane Howarth, Peter Rogers and Craig Quinnell featuring, and
people of that quality can make such a difference at international level.”
"There is competition for places throughout the squad, which is exactly what is
required. The same 15 players won't get us through a World Cup campaign, we
need 30 guys who can slot in immediately when injuries occur and be familiar with
the type of game we are trying to play.”
"As captain, I feel that we've now got that strength in depth, but it has taken a dozen
or so Test matches over the past year to help us get there."
53
Match Reports
Wales 23 - Argentina 18
Venue: Cardiff-Millennium Stadium
Referee: P. O'Brien
Attendance: 72,500
Date: 01 Oct 1999
Two tries illuminated an otherwise dull tournament-opener which never looked like
living up to the pre-tournament hype. The margin of Wales' victory was somewhat
closer than predicted and the Dragons will need to make vast improvements in the
next few weeks if they are to avoid the humiliation of being the first RWC hosts to
be spectators at the Final.
Following the highlights of Max Boyce in full cry, Shirley Bassey's frock, a perfunctory speech from the Prince of Wales, the retracting roof and a resounding
'Land of our Fathers' from the near-capacity 72,000 at the brand new Millennium
Stadium, the opening match in the 1999 World Cup, a traditional kicking game was
the order of play- as it was in the opening match of the only other World Cup held
in the northern hemisphere back in 1991. Nerves obviously played a part in proceedings as pass after pass went astray and moves broke down into confusion. By
the end of the match, a crowd who had been in full cry accompanying Catatonia's
Cerys Matthews in the pre-match entertainment were reduced to a state of
near-silence by a war of attrition that went all the way to the wire.
A try by Colin Charvis was the best moment of the first half, a minute into injury
time after the Welsh had been shocked at finding themselve 9-6 down. Hooker
Garin Jenkins found himself out of place on the right wing, slipped but managed to
retain the ball in order for Howley to fling the ball inside. Charvis was there in
front of the posts to cut through some non-existent Argentinian defence to put
Wales into the lead for the first time.
Eight minutes after the break, Swansea centre Mark Taylor ran onto a ball from
Gareth Thomas to split the Argentinian defence and touch down underneath the
posts. Apart from these flashes of inspiration, the rest of the game turned into a
duel between the two fly-halves, Neil Jenkins and Gonzalo Quesada who traded
penalties throughout the match with Quesada achieving the unusual feat of landing
more successful kicks than Jenkins with six well-taken penalties. The Welsh points
machine will have to wait a while longer before he overtakes Australia's Michael
Lynagh as the world's top points scorer, but his three penalties and two conversions
54
Match Reports
were nonetheless valuable. Most of the penalties resulted from the strong running
of the centres backed up by Wales' major ball-carrier Scott Quinnell. A lack of
quick ball from both sides meant that a lot of possession had to be kicked away and
the stop-start nature of the match definitely favoured the one-paced Argentinians.
Still, one area of Welsh play did live up to its advance billing with the front row in
absolutely rampant form. The trio of Rogers, Jenkins and Young completely
destroyed their opponents to such an extent that the Pumas front row were intermittently in danger of inspecting the Millennium Stadium's retractable roof at very
close quarters as they were muscled skywards by the strongarm Welshmen.
The crowd was also treated to their first sight of Australian-born centre Jason
Jones-Hughes who came on for Scott Gibbs in the second half and the former NewSouth Wales back immediately made his considerable presence felt with a massive
tackle on Octavio Bartolucci. On this showing he is likely to be given more of a
starring role during the rest of Wales' World Cup campaign.
So, a result for Wales but the inevitable question remains, "Have they got a chance
of winning the tournament?". It would appear not on their performance against a
very one-dimensional Puma side. The Dragons have a mighty scrum but are not the
complete outfit quite yet - as coach Graham Henry has been telling everyone who
cares to listen for the past month. It appears he wasn't playing mind games, indulging in devious psychology, or trying to reclaim underdog status for his side. He
was telling God's honest truth.
55
Fiji 67 - Namibia 18
Venue: Beziers
Referee: D. McHugh
Attendance: 10,000
Date: 01 Oct 1999
The magical Sevens-style of the Southern Seas came to Beziers as Fiji clocked up
a national record 67 points over the brave Namibians. Included in their nine tries
were two from flying right winger Fero Lasagavibau, but the influence of coach,
former All Black front row Brad Johnstone was also evident in an amount of forward power that would never have been expected from the side before his reign.
That forward power was most obvious in the set piece, where Namibia won just 52
percent of their own lineouts and lost three scrums against the head. Behind this
dashing performance was the old retainer, mercurial fly-half Waisale Serevi, who
made ten of eleven attempts at goal, several of which were touchline conversions
after dashing scores down the flanks. Fiji racked up 43 points before the break and,
despite allowing two scores from the Southern Africans early in the second period,
stepped on the gas when it was needed in order to preserve a comfortable cushion.
A try from Jacob Rauluni finished off the scoring three minutes into time added on
and the Fijians must now be favourites to go at least as far as the quarter-final playoffs. Tomorrow's game between Canada and pool hosts France will give a better
indication of which teams are strongest in this, the weakest of groups.
56
Match Reports
Spain 15 - Uruguay 27
Venue: Galashiels
Referee: C. White
Attendance: 3,761
Date: 02 Oct 1999
Uruguay recorded their first ever victory in the World Cup finals as the South
Americans beat Spain 27-15 in the 'battle of the amateurs' Pool A match here on
Saturday.
Two late breakaway tries by full-back Alfonso Cardoso and substitute Juan Mancheca sealed the win in a tight match against an enterprising but lightweight Spanish side.
Cardoso raced 50 metres down the left flank to score in the corner two minutes
from time and moments later Mancheca, in his first touch of the match, made a brillian interception to score in the other corner.
With South Africa and Scotland making up the other two teams in the group, this
match - the 100th in the history of the World Cup - provided the only realistic
chance of victory for both teams.
Uruguay, favourites to win after beating Spain 20-3 in a recent warm-up match in
Italy, started slowly but led 10-6 at the interval thanks to a try from Diego Ormaechea, the oldest player in the World Cup at 40.
The veteran number eight, winning his 62nd cap, went over from close range near
the posts providing Federico Sciarra with an easy conversion.
Ukranian-born fly-half Andrei Kovalenco kept Spain in contention with two first
half penalties before putting them in front with two more in the 49th and 51st minutes. But Uruguay, one of only two sides along with Argentina to field entirely
home born-and-bred players, laid siege to the Spanish line and regained the lead
fifteen minutes from time.
English referee Chris White awarded a penalty try for persistent foul play after
eight scrums collapsed on the Spanish line. Diego Aguirre converted to put Uruguay 17-12 ahead but moments later Kovalenco, a translator by trade, struck his
fifth penalty to close the gap to two points before the late tries ended their hopes of
a surprise win.
57
Canada 20 - France 33
Venue: Beziers
Referee: B. Campsall
Attendance: 18,000
Date: 02 Oct 1999
France took some monkey off their backs with this victory over Canada. It was
their first win in six internationals and, while not totally convincing, the victory
puts them in the running to win Group C.
Two turnovers by Canada allowed France to counter attack and score the two tries
they needed to claim the win, although France too could have been faulted for losing ball in possession. However, their loss in contact didn't cost them tries. France
scored four tries in total but left others on the table as they dropped passes and fell
to stiff Canadian tackles in a very tough and physical encounter.
Questions arose before the match as to whether Canada's captain and only fourth
World Cup participant Gareth Rees, would take the field. But take the field he did
to keep his record of playing is every one of Canada's World Cup and World Cup
qualifying matches since 1986. He didn't, however, last the game.
While his strained quadriceps muscle lasted the pace in the first half, he aggravated
an ankle injury which caused him to retire just on half-time. By then he had scored
five points through a penalty and a conversion, but allowed fullback Scott Stewart
to take the touch kicks. He also received a yellow card for a high tackle on Thomas
Castaignede.
His loss at the break allowed Bob Ross to come on for his 37th cap but Canada
missed Rees's leadership and hard tackling close to the scrum. Rees put Canada
into the lead with a penalty in the first minute and many in the crowd must have felt
a certain dread that France was in for a tough afternoon.
However Richard Dourth hit back to even the score a couple of minutes later. On 17
minutes French centre Stephane Glas scored after a Canadian turnover to give the
home team the lead.
Young Morgan Williams, the Canadian scrum-half in only his fourth Test, silenced
the French crowd when he found space at the side of a maul and darted in under the
posts, Rees converted but another Dourth penalty allowed France to recover the
lead at 11-10. Oliver Magne then scored a try from another Canadian turnover to
give France an 18-10 lead going into half-time after Dourth's conversion.
58
Match Reports
Canada began the second-half with a flourish and lock Mike James nearly scored
near the posts, but stiff French tackles denied the big Perpignan forward. At
53-minutes scrum-half Morgan Williams again took the initiative as he hacked a
ball through on the 22-meter mark, followed up, lost the ball in a tackle, retrieved
it, and rolled over to score. A tremendous individual effort.
With Ross's conversion the score lay at 18-17 and the crowd grew silent having
fears that the France might yet again let another international slip through their fingers. It didn't. Forward pressure carried Thomas Castidnede over for France's third
try and in the 70th minute French flair saw Emil Ntamack score the kind of flowing
back-line try France are known for.
Dourth converted and then kicked a penalty while Ross replied with a penalty for
Canada. The French victorious by 33-20.
"I'm always astonished," said Canadian coach Pat Parfrey, "how we can play so
well against professional sides and that we even expect to win. We played with passion, the way people expect Canada to play, but in order for us to beat a team like
France, or any founding nation, we have to get everything right on the day. Today
we didn't. We were good in the line-outs but we faltered in the scrums and turned
the ball over at crucial times."
Rees will receive physiotherapy throughout the week as Canada move to Bordeaux
to prepare to face Fiji next Saturday, and it looks as though the predictions of a year
ago, that Canada and Fiji would play for second spot in Group C, will become a
reality.
59
England 67 - Italy 7
Venue: Twickenham
Referee: A. Watson
Attendance: 70,000
Date: 02 Oct 1999
Poor Paul Grayson. He was the only England substitute not to get onto the field to
celebrate his country's biggest ever World Cup win, against the team who will join
them in the Six Nations championship next season.
So often in the past, when faced by substandard opposition, England have failed to
click, barely scraping a victory. Nowhere was this more obvious than against the
same opposition in the World Cup qualifying match last November when, on a
rainy night in Huddersfield, they could easily have lost embarrassingly, clinging to
a 23-15.
Italian indiscipline was a major factor, resulting in three yellow cards for the fiery
southern Europeans. It was certainly the reason for Jonny Wilkinson's rattling up of
the score in the first half but three wonderfully-made tries confounded any critic
who would have hoped to recognise England's kicking-reliant style of old.
After ten minutes, scrum-half Matt Dawson chipped down the right wing. Austin
Healey at first failed to gain control, either with hand or boot, but he managed to
gather and pop it to the No.9 who had run down in support and then broke two
tackles to go over by the corner flag, and the festival began.
On only one occasion were the Italians in the ascendant. As the hosts relaxed in the
glory of a 17-0 lead with 25 minutes gone, Argentinian-born fly-half Diego
Dominguez snatched Dawson's pass, beat an attempted tackle from Healey and
scored under the posts. The flashy No.10 converted his own try, his side's only kick
at goal all game. In comparison, England's Wilkinson hit 11 of 14 for 27 points.
The only downside to the match was a hamstring pull suffered by Will Greenwood,
only newly returned to the side following a year-long groin complaint. Initial
reports claimed that the problem was not as serious as that injury and the substitution at least had the positive effect of the return of Jeremy Guscott, held out of the
original lineup with a groin scare.
Substitute Martin Corry blasted over the tryline in the 83rd minute to notch up the
67th point, following a behind-the-back pass from Dawson, underlining the hosts'
dominance.
60
Match Reports
Ireland 53 - USA 8
Venue: Dublin-Lansdowne Rd
Referee: J. Dume
Attendance: 30,000
Date: 02 Oct 1999
Dynamic hooker Keith Wood led the way with four tries as Ireland swamped the
United States 53-8 in the opening World Cup Pool E match for both teams at
Lansdowne Road on Saturday night.
The fiery Irish had too much pace, too much poise and too much power for their
largely part-time opponents and Wood completely demolished the feeble American
defence.
Ireland's points came from tries to wing Justin Bishop, centre Brian O'Driscoll,
four to Wood and a penalty try, while fly-half David Humphreys kicked four conversions and two penalties and replacement Eric Elwood kicked two conversions.
Wood scored three of his tries in a sensational five-minute burst late in the game as
the Americans wilted.
The United States got a try from scrum-half Kevin Dalzell, who also landed a penalty, but the Americans dropped too much possession to be a serious threat and
spent most of the match on the back foot in their own half. The United States, trying to bounce back from 106-8 loss to England at Twickenham five weeks ago,
were without back-rower Rob Lumkong, who was ruled out by a knee injury. They
were more competitive this time, but their tendency to overelaborate on attack, and
to bunch their backline, proved expensive against a well-disciplined Irish side.
Ireland, who led 24-8 at halftime, have now won all three meetings between the
teams. The Irish stormed onto the attack from the kick-off and took a 3-0 lead
through a Humphreys penalty within two minutes.
The fly-half also set up the first try with a clever pass after seven minutes that gave
Bishop a clear run to the line. Humphreys converted to make it 10-0. The Americans bounced straight back when Dalzell took an interception in midfield and
scored in the left-hand corner to reduce the margin to five points.
Ireland took control after 15 minutes when American centre Tomasi Takau spilled
the ball 40 metres out and the Irish quickly spun the ball wide for the pacy O'Driscoll to score. Humphreys again converted and it was 17-5. The Americans added
three points through a Dalzell penalty after 26 minutes after Irish lock Jeremy Dav-
61
idson was penalised for throwing a punch in the ruck - but the home side controlled
play for long periods.
The Irish increased their lead after 29 minutes when they scored a pushover try
after winning a 5-metre lineout. British Lions hooker Wood, who is becoming a
prolific try-scorer, was the man who got the ball down. Humphreys' kick appeared
to go wide, but both touch judges ruled the conversion was good and the Irish led
by 16 points at halftime.
It didn't take the Irish long to increase their lead after the break, Dume awarding a
penalty try after peristent American infringements on their own line. Humphreys
again converted to make it 31-8. American captain Dan Lyle earned a caution for a
professional foul with 15 minutes left and Humphreys banged over another penalty.
Wood bullocked his way over the line with nine minutes left to rub salt into the
Americans' wounds then repeated the dose two minutes later and, remarkably,
again a minute later when he collected a kick over the top to score in the corner.
American Luke Gross and Ireland's Paddy Johns earned cautions for a late flare-up,
but by that time it was academic.
Ireland have made the quarter-finals of each of the three previous tournaments and
will be favoured to at least repeat that performance, while the Americans - making
their third finals appearance - have never made it past the first round.
The Irish fans were clearly not tempted by the match and there were several thousand empty seats in the famous old stadium.
62
Match Reports
Samoa 43 - Japan 9
Venue: Wrexham
Referee: A. Cole
Attendance: 15,000
Date: 03 Oct 1999
Big-hitting Samoa, led by their devastating full-back Silao Leaega, overpowered
Japan 43-9 in their Group D World Cup match here on Sunday - running in five
tries.
Leaega's personal tally was 23 points. And when he wasn't scoring he was wreaking havoc with Japan's stuttering attack with some massive hits. Half-way through
the first-half his opposite number Tsutomu Matsuda was bursting through on the
break until Leaega hit him with a tackle that stopped him dead in his tracks.
Matsuda had to go off, clearly suffering from a shoulder injury. His place was taken
by Patiliai Tuidraki. In atrocious conditions, a stiff wind and driving rain, it was
Japan who opened the scoring when Keiji Hirose converted his first penalty after
only four minutes.
Two minutes later Leaega returned the compliment. Leaega put Samoa in front
with his second penalty after ten minutes but in a scrappy, error-strewn opening 40
minutes, Hirose levelled the score two minutes later with another penalty.
As the intensity of the rain increased Samoan winger Brian Lima pounced on a
loose ball just short of the Japanese line in the 23rd minute, shrugged off a tackler
and touched down to put the Pacific islanders 11-6 ahead.
Minutes later winger Afata So'oalo won a sprint to a long kick ahead. With the
Japanese defence in disarray, So'oalo slipped the ball to Leaega bursting through on
his left, who dived over under the posts. The burly full-back converted his own try
and suddenly Japan were trailing 18-6.
With the rain easing and the sun coming out for the second half Japan began to run
at the Samoan defence with centres Yukio Motoki and Terunori Masuho finding
gaps but they were denied by some last-gasp defending.
Masuho was stopped less than a metre from the line during an intense spell of Japanese driving early in the second-half. Hirose closed the deficit with another penalty but Samoa came back and in the 59th minute So'oalo took the ball on the burst
to run through the Japanese defence and go over for a try. Leaega converted. Pat
63
Lam went over for another try four minutes later but it was disallowed for a punch
from Brendan Reidy on Hiroyuki Tanuma as he lay in the ground which was spotted by a linesman.
As Japan began to wilt So'oala and Lima both ran in tries in the dying minutes to
rub salt into the Japanese wounds. Samoa's win was sweet revenge after being
beaten by Japan in the Pacific Rim tournament earlier in the year.
64
Match Reports
New Zealand 45 - Tonga 9
Venue: Bristol-Ashton Gate
Referee:D. Bevan
Attendance: 22,000
Date: 03 Oct 1999
Giant winger Jonah Lomu, the star of the last World Cup, scored two tries as New
Zealand recovered from a poor start to swamp rank outsiders Tonga 45-9 in the
Group B match inn Bristol.
In the first full international between the two countries, Lomu stood out from a
mediocre All Blacks performance as he powered over for a try in each half. New
Zealand captain
Taine Randell admitted his side would have to show a massive improvement when
they face England at Twickenham next Saturday. "We expected to do a hell of a lot
better but we knew the Tongans would be really fired up for this one," said the
number eight, sporting a number of bruises and abrasions on his face. "We have got
a quite a few things to work on throughout our game before we play England who
looked very impressive against Italy yeterday.
"We were pretty rusty at the start when the Tongans came at us with everything, but
we stuck to our game-plan and got it together at the end." The World Cup favourites looked anything but world beaters in a scrappy first 60 minutes, made worse by
windy and wet conditions, as the Tongans disrupted their rhythm with a tough,
well-organised performance. England will have seen little to worry them in the All
Blacks' sloppy display against a team quoted at 250-1 by bookmakers to win the
tournament. New Zealand went into half-time leading just 16-9 but they finally
found their form in the final quarter of the match, running in four tries, as the Tongans began to tire.
Twenty of their points came from the boot of fly-half Andrew Mehrtens who struck
four penalties and four conversions. Josh Kronfeld, Norm Maxwell, Byron Kelleher were the other try-scorers.
Tonga, though, rarely threatened to cross the New Zealand line, setting out instead
to play a spoiling, defensive game with damage limitation clearly uppermost in
their minds. Full-back Siua Taumalolo scored all their points with three penalties.
65
The two teams squared up before kick-off as the All Blacks unveiled their new
more aggressive 'Haka', the traditional Maori war-cry while Tonga, facing them just
yards away, performed their own dance of 'Ikale Tahi'.
New Zealand took just seven minutes to open their World Cup account when
Lomu cut in from the wing and strolled under the posts for his 18th international
try after a neat inside pass from fly-half Andrew Mehrtens. Mehrtens made no mistake with the conversion and then added a penalty eight minutes later to put the All
Blacks 10-0 in front.
Tonga, buoyed by their 20-16 win over France in June, were expected to take an
aggressive approach against a country they resent for 'poaching' a number of their
top players - including Lomu - and for refusing to play them at full Test level.
The Pacific Islanders maintained their discipline in a tight opening half hour as the
much-vaunted All Blacks struggled to impose themselves.
Full-back Siua Taumalolo closed the gap to four points with two penalties midway
through the half. The All Blacks were clearly rattled by their powerful, well-organised opponents, and their play became increasingly scrappy as the half wore on.
The normally unflappable Mehrtens even missed two fairly straightforward penalties before converting his second from four attempts in the 33rd minute. But
moments later Taumalolo struck his third to close the gap to 13-9 before Mehrtens
struck again to restore the All Blacks seven-point lead.
And the fly-half added his fourth five minutes after the interval before Lomu burst
down the right wing for his second try of the match and open the floodgates. Kronfeld, Maxwell and Kelleher all went over in quick succession to put a flattering
gloss on a disappointing performance.
66
Match Reports
Scotland 29 - South Africa 46
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: C. Hawke
Attendance: 57,612
Date: 03 Oct 1999
Holders South Africa survived a mighty scare on Sunday as they overturned a
half-time deficit to beat Scotland 46-29 in their opening Group A match of the
tournament at Murrayfield.
Scotland led 16-13 at the interval but five second-half tries, helped by some
unforced Scottish errors, ensured the Springboks made a winning start to the
defence of their crown.
Scotland haven't beaten the Springboks since 1969 and had conceded 147 points in
their last three matches against them at Murrayfield.
But the home side started in sprightly fashion and two Kenny Logan penalties,
either side of one from South African fly-half Jannie de Beer - in for the injured
Henry Honiball - gave the home side a 6-3 lead after 20 minutes.
Captain Joost van der Westhuizen's dummy sent Brendan Venter charging down
the blind side and over in the corner. De Beer duly converted and soon after added
another penalty to make it 13-6.
Logan replied in kind for 13-9 and that was the cue for Scotland to go for the jugular. Twice they were denied by fierce Springbok defence and the New Zealander
Martin Leslie drove over off the back of a ruck to sent Murrayfield wild, Logan's
coversion making it 16-13 at half-time.
Logan converted to put Scotland on course for a major shock with the losers likely
to face New Zealand in the quarter-finals. But disaster struck for Scotland at the
start of the second half.
Fly-half Townsend fatally failed to find his touch and several attempts at pushing
over South Africa span the ball out to Deon Kayser. The only coloured player in the
team fed centre Robbie Fleck who showed superb pace before diving in at the corner.
67
Townsend then showed the other side of his game, chipping through for John Leslie
who charged towards the posts only for Kayser to make an oustanding try-saving
tackle.
A storming passage of play followed which finally yield penalty and Logan
swerved the ball over to put Scotland 19-18 ahead. Townsend sliced another kick
after 59 minutes and South Africa made them pay as replacement Ollie le Roux
powered through the Scottish defence. De Beer converted and almost from the
re-start South Africa scored again.
Townsend's high pass was missed by Scott Murray and Kayser pounced, sprinting
40 metres to dive triumphantly under the posts. De Beer added the extras and South
Africa were suddenly 32-19 ahead and in control.
Late on Townsend slipped in Alan Tait for a consolation effort and also hit a drop
goal, but further Springbok tries by Andre Venter and Van der Westhuizen sealed
South Africa's victory.
68
Match Reports
Australia 57 - Romania 9
Venue: Belfast-Ravenhill
Referee: P. Honiss
Attendance: 12,500
Date: 03 Oct 1999
Back-rower Toutai Kefu grabbed a hat-trick of tries as World Cup heavyweights
Australia ran in nine to trounce Romania 57-9 in their Pool E match at soggy
Ravenhill ground in Belfast.
Replacement wing Joe Roff grabbed a pair, while Tim Horan, Jason Little, substitute hooker Jeremy Paul and fullback Matthew Burke also crossed the line. Burke
landed five conversions and John Eales one. The Australians dominated throughout. They were simply too quick and too slick for their outgunned opponents in
what was little more than a training run.
The one-sided proceedings were enlivened, however, by the late incursion onto the
pitch of two Australian streakers - one male and one female, who earned one of the
biggest cheers of the night. The Wallabies led after just 90 seconds after they won a
5-metre scrum and the ball passed through the hands of George Gregan and Rod
Kafer to allow centre Horan to cross the line unchallenged.
Burke failed to add the extra points but Tongan-born number eight Kefu scored the
second Australian try after seven minutes when he collected a clever reverse pass
from Gregan. This time Burke was successful and the Aussies led 12-0. The pattern
was set.
The Romanians got on the board after 13 minutes with a penalty from clever
scrum-half Petre Mitu after he had been obstructed but it was a rare success for the
eastern Europeans. Kefu got his second try after 24 minutes when the Australians
won another scrum and were able to push their way over the line. Burke was again
successful with his kick.
A crossfield kick from Horan was fumbled by wing Cristian Sauan and Jason Little
turned to dot the ball down fully five minutes into time added on. This time,
Burke's kick missed. The Australians made three changes at halftime and it took
less than three minutes before Roff, on for Ben Tune, strolled over the line. Burke's
kick made it 31-3.
Roff took only six more minutes to add his second try.
69
The Australians survived a few uncomfortable moments before Paul scored his
third test try in the 65th minute, followed by Burke crossing three minutes later.
Burke converted both. Mitu then landed a pair of late penalties for the Romanians
before Kefu completed his hat-trick with just a couple of minutes remaining. Eales
took over the kicking duties and was successful.
The Aussies made a late change when flanker Matt Cockbain withdrew with a left
knee injury he suffered during the pre-match warm-up and was replaced by Owen
Finegan - but the change was academic given their superiority.
The Australians, world champions in 1991, are undoubtedly one of the tournament
favourites after their Bledisloe Cup win over New Zealand five weeks ago.
70
Match Reports
Scotland 43 -Uruguay 12
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: S. Dickinson
Attendance: 9,463
Date: 08 Oct 1999
Scotland emerged victorious but with little glory from a barely-watched,
error-strewn, hard-hitting encounter at Murrayfield.
It was the 69th minute before the Scots could add to their 29-6 halftime lead, Gregor Townsend cutting through a massive gap to score under the posts, and the hosts
did little to impress, despite their attempt at expansive play.
A brutally high tackle from blindside flanker Martin Leslie proved the main talking
point of a first half in which Scottish handling errors generally prevented them
from capitalising on their territorial advantage.
A Murrayfield crowd which the Scottish Rugby Union were hard-pressed to
describe at numbering 10,000 could have expected far more than the four tries
which they witness.
The best of the four, though, was a run from the half-way line which resulted in
Glenn Metcalfe crossing the line. Scrum-half Gary Armstrong, who had scored the
second try of the match, made a break. He passed to winger Kenny Logan who,
bogged down by South American tacklers, batted it back. Fullback Metcalfe
snatched the ball from the air and, in a move that could have been described as a
second movement, went over in the left corner.
Leslie scored the first five-pointer of the match, the lucky beneficiary of a maul
which pushed ten yards to the line before collapsing, although replays showed that
the ball may have touched the floor before the scorer. He caused more talk, though,
when his shoulder met the face of fullback Alfonso Cardoso, knocking the latter
straight to the floor. Leslie received a yellow card for his effort and will surely be
dealt with severely when the citing committee meet later in the week.
Uruguay, perceived as little more than whipping boys before this tournament, put
in their second battling game north of the border. Having out-battled Spain last
weekend, they came up against supposedly far superior opponents and were certainly not over-awed. If anything, Scotland were intimidated by the brutality of the
South American tackles. Martin Leslie payed for his first half transgressions by
71
being upended and Armstrong had to be tended to on the field after a massive hit
from 20-stone Bristol tighthead Pablo Lemoine.
If Scotland hope to progress beyond the initial stages of this tournament they must
improve, and quickly.
72
Match Reports
France 47 - Namibia 13
Venue: Bordeaux
Referee: C. White
Attendance: 34,030
Date: 08 Oct 1999
French fullback Ugo Mola celebrated a personal triumph of three tries but it simply
flattered a unimpressive French side as they beat Namibia 47-13.
The French, booed off at half-time after a series of elementary errors that had left
them just 23-13 ahead, outscored the Nambibian farmers by six tries to one but
rarely showed the fluency required of a World Cup winner let alone a group winner.
Under fire captain Raphael Ibanez was replaced with 15 minutes to go. France had
extended their lead early in the second-half as recalled fly-half Christophe Lamaison fed Mola on the blindside and the 26-year-old, who had only retained his place
because Thomas Castaignede was ruled out of the tournament on Thursday,
touched down for his sixth international try in the corner.
Mola, who had been dropped from fly-half following the 54-7 thrashing by the All
Blacks earlier this year, added a second seven minutes later after constant French
pressure told on the the weary Namibians, who had repelled the French for five
minutes on their own line.
A pumped up Mola, who had said earlier in the week that he thought he had blown
his chance of keeping his place in the team, claimed his hat-trick minutes later cutting in to take a pass from winger Philippe Bernat-Salles and forced his way over
despite the despairing tackle of Francois van Rensburg.
Bernat-Salles, who was France's outstanding player on a forgettable night for the
team, fed Ntamack for the next try, his 24th in 37 tests, after Lamaison had delivered a clever defence splitting pass to the winger.
It had been Bernat-Salles who had given France some breathing space at the end of
the first-half as he profited from a Namibian error to score a try and give a dreadful
France a 23-13 half-time lead over the African minnows.
Earlier a try by winger Arthur Samuelson had rocked the French.
Bernat-Salles profited from a careless pass by Namibian fly-half Andre Zaayman
to kick ahead and with no Namibian cover touch down.
73
It was a cruel blow to the Namibians who had looked the French equals particularly
after the 24-year-old Samuelson burst onto a van Rensburg pass to get between the
French centres and score under the posts in the 20th minute.
French scrum-half Pierre Mignoni, who had admitted that he had not played well in
the first match against Canada, squeezed over the line aided by his pack to open the
scoring for France - Richard Dourthe converted it.
Namibia's classy full-back turned winger Leandre van Dyk reduced the deficit four
minutes later when he ignored the booes of the French spectators to convert a penalty.
However despite Dourthe converting a penalty to restore the seven point gap it was
the Africans who created the better opportunities as van Dyk intercepted a pass in
his own half and after kicking ahead van Rensburg was only beaten to the line by a
despairing French boot.
The French suffered another blow when number eight Thomas Lievremont went
off injured after he had been brought to ground following a rampaging run in the
26th minute - former captain Abdelatif Benazzi replaced him.
74
Match Reports
England 16 - New Zealand 30
Venue: Twickenham
Referee: P. Marshall
Attendance: 73,500
Date: 09 Oct 1999
After performing a Haka of frightening intensity in front of the hostile Twickenham
hordes, New Zealand proved that they have the substance to complement their
increasingly theatrical pre-match ritual. Outscoring the home side by three tries to
one, New Zealand were much more comfortable on the ball than their opponents,
able to create magic from scraps of possession.
For the home side, it was three missed penalties from young Jonny Wilkinson that
proved crucial in allowing the All Blacks a 13-6 half-time lead. The left-footed
fly-half could consider himself unlucky, though, that all three were to the left of the
field.
England had started well in terms of territory and possession but in the 16th minute
a try from Jeff Wilson that went completely against the flow of play, showed ominous signs that when the ball emerged from the even tussle up front there was only
one side who looked capable of building a cohesive attack and that was New Zealand.
Wilson's score had come from a midfield run by England's traditional nemesis
Jonah Lomu who scattered the England defence, giving Tana Umaga some space to
stretch his legs. The winger was tackled just inches from the tryline but had the
presence of mind to slip the ball to Wilson who made a great finish.
Try as they might, England could not create space for their runners and only looked
dangerous when they brought back row players like Richard Hill and Lawrence
Dallaglio into the line. But they were missing that vital spark in midfield, that creative impulse which opens up the field. Indeed their only try came from a kick ahead
by Guscott which bounced off the post for that tremendous support player Phil de
Glanville to sneak over for the try. The veteran centre actually outshone some of his
more hyped team-mates during this match with some deft handywork in the midfield.
If England needed a touch of luck to cross the tryline, there was no such reliance on
fate for the All Blacks' other two scores. Their second try came from England's
chief tormentor of RWC '95 Jonah Lomu. After a turnover in midfield, the giant
wing suddenly found himself in acres of space on the right as a gaggle of desperate
75
England defenders frantically tried to head the big man off at the pass. As in Cape
Town four years ago, there was nobody in an England shirt who looked remotely
capable of stopping Lomu in full flight as he skipped over the line.
The third try came from a moment of indecision by England winger Austin Healey
who hesitated for a few vital seconds when he found himself as stand-in scrum-half
at the back of a ruck. As he finally opted to pick up the ball, he was hit by All Black
prop Craig Dowd and as the ball went loose it was seized upon by replacement
Byron Kelleher who wriggled out of a Dawson tackle for the try.
England never threw in the towel until the final whistle and performed impressively
close to the breakdown with the much-vaunted pack rumbling on. But when the
ball was moved wide, the moves often stuttered allowing All Black No.7 Josh Kronfeld to snaffle the ball or simply delay it for the vital few seconds needed for his
backline to reset their defensive formations.
Now the All Blacks find themselves on the expressway to the World Cup Final. On
this performance it will need a team with a better all-round game than England currently possess to stop them.
76
Match Reports
USA 25 - Romania 27
Referee: J. Fleming
Attendance: 3,000
Date: 09 Oct 1999
Despite a last-minute fightback by the United States, Romania held on long enough
to record their first ever World Cup victory at Lansdowne Road in the Pool E clash.
In the early stages of the match it had been the USA who looked the stronger side
with their skipper Dan Lyle, one of the few professional players in the Eagles
ranks, crashing over for a try after a protracted period of American pressure.
But not long after his try, the influential flanker left the field with a shoulder injury
and was replaced by Shaun Paga. With their captain sidelined, the USA lost some
of their composure that allowed the Romanians to edge their way back into the
match.
The Eagles took the lead with a penalty from scrum-half Kevin Dalzell after just 12
minutes. But that lead was to be short-lived as veteran centre Gheorghe Solomie
broke through for a try that went unconverted.
Immediately after the break, the USA added a new urgency to their player, powering to another try through wing Brian Hightower after some brilliant inter-handling
between the backs and forwards.
But this score seemed to galvanise the Romanians who began playing an excellent
tactical game, pinning the USA back into their own half with a combination of forward power and the deft kicking of No.9 Petre Mitu.
Tries from skipper Tudor Constantin and Adrian Petrache maintained Romania's
lead and the score as poised at 27-20 in the final frantic few minutes.
The USA mounted a furious last resort attack which resulted in fullback Kurt Shuman going over in the left-hand corner but Kevin Dalzell was unable to convert the
try and Romania held on until the final whistle.
77
Wales 64 - Japan 15
Referee: J. Dume
Attendance: 72,500
Date: 09 Oct 1999
Neil Jenkins moved level with Michael Lynagh as the joint-top points scorer in
international rugby union history as Wales recorded their 10th straight Test win.
Jenkins booted 19 points - eight conversions and a penalty - in the rout but could
not pass Australian legend Lynagh's mark of 911.
Jenkins, along with five of his team-mates, also equalled the record for the most
number of successive victories for an individual, set by Swansea's WJ Trew
between 1907 and 1910.
Rob Howley, Shane Howarth, Craig Quinnell, Peter Rogers and Chris Wyatt have
all appeared in those winning sides and they all played their part in an impressive
performance today.
After struggling to a 23-18 victory over Argentina last Friday, the Welsh public
wanted to see their side deliver a much more convincing display this afternoon.
And Graham Henry's men did just that, tearing Japan apart with an expansive style
which would have been too good for teams far better than today's opponents.
Wales scored nine tries, with Mark Taylor - who also crossed against Argentina leading the way with two.
When Japan managed to get the ball out wide in the first half they hurt their opponents, with the speedy Daisuke Ohata a constant threat. He scored their first try and
it was from his good work that fellow winger Pat Tuidraki went over at the end of
the first half.
But despite typically impressive displays from former All Blacks Jamie Joseph and
Graeme Bachop, the Welsh rarely looked in danger of slipping to a shock defeat
and the visitors fell away rapidly in the final quarter as the tournament hosts piled
on the points.
Wales took the game by the scruff of the neck in the first half, moving 12-0 and
then 26-7 ahead before Japan twice hit back with tries to reduce the deficit.
78
Match Reports
Indeed, they were only 11 points down at the interval - a narrow margin given the
domination enjoyed by Henry's men in the opening period.
Bateman, who missed the opening game with a leg injury, crossed on five minutes,
running through Yukio Motoki's attempted tackle to touch down from close range
after gathering Jenkins' pass.
The fly-half added the conversion and Wales were 12 points ahead in as many minutes when Howley grabbed an opportunistic try in the corner following a five metre
scrum.
Ohata then crossed but the hosts replied with a penalty try, given as the hosts
looked set to score following another 5m scrum.
And 60 seconds later the ball went through four pairs of hands in a flowing move
from inside the Welsh 22 before Taylor touched down following good work by
Howarth.
Tuidraki's try and Keiji Hirose's penalty, to add to his conversion of Ohata's touchdown, kept Japan in touch but their hopes were killed off by an efficient second-half display by Henry's men in which they scored 38 unanswered points.
The score of the match, with Howarth twice involved in a move he started 10m
from his own line before Scott Gibbs crossed on 46 minutes, pushed the game
beyond the Asians.
Jenkins edged ever nearer the record with a conversion and penalty before the effervescent Howarth grabbed the try his efforts deserved, taking a quick tap and charging over from close range.
The Cardiff fly-half improved that score and he was on hand to boot the extras to
Taylor's second, though Gibbs' pass to his fellow centre in the build-up appeared to
be forward.
David Llewellyn, on as a replacement for Howley, snatched a try from close range
as Japan wilted in the dying stages and Jenkins' conversion left him three points
short.
He moved level on points with Lynagh five minutes from time after improving
Gareth Thomas' touchdown but that was the end of Wales' scoring and Takeomi Ito
had a late consolation effort ruled out.
79
Fiji 38 - Canada 22
Venue: Bordeaux
Referee: E. Morrison
Attendance: 27,000
Date: 09 Oct 1999
Fiji set up a table-topping decider with France in Toulouse next Saturday after they
capitalised on Canadian errors to win their Group C match and leave the losers with
remote hopes of making the play-offs.
The 1987 quarter-finalists, who had try-scoring winger Marika Vunibaka sent off
with a minute to go after headbutting Kyle Nichols, ran in four tries to Canada's
one - leaving the Canadians winless and hoping for a big win over Namibia next
week to claim the best third-placed spot.
Earlier Vunibaka, a member of the sevens world championship-winning team who
had been selected after first-choice Imanueli Tikomaimakogai went down with flu,
virtually wrapped the match up with a try on the hour.
Despite being covered by two Canadian defenders, Vunibaka, who had been
thrown an "adapt to the bigger game" gauntlet beforehand by coach Brad Johnstone, escaped and ran unopposed to touch down under the posts.
However, it had been an error by Canadian fullback Scott Stewart which handed
Fiji a try late in the first-half to help them take a 22-16 lead at the turn.
Stewart, winning his 53rd cap, dove to catch a Fijian chip but it eluded his outstretched finger tips allowing Fero Lasagavibau to take it on the bounce and go
clear. Though Lasagavibau was held back by his shirt he still touched down - however, referee Ed Morrison had already awarded a penalty try.
The Fijians capitalised on this sudden swing by scoring another as centre Viliame
Satala swooped to touch down under the posts and suddenly Canada found themselves on the rack.
The Canadians, who beat Fiji on their way to the 1991 World Cup quarter-finals,
had taken the lead five minutes into the match through a penalty try after Stewart
was blatantly obstructed after chipping ahead to the Fijian try-line.
80
Match Reports
Gareth Rees, who had only passed a late fitness test after twisting his ankle in last
Saturday's defeat by France, extended the lead but the ever resourceful Fijians hit
back with a try.
Satala went over after Fiji opted to run a penalty just five metres out from the Canadian line.
Fiji should have scored another one minutes later after the 27-year-old Satala burst
through the Canadian midfield but with a man outside him on the overlap he wasted
it by chipping ahead - Stewart cleared it into touch.
Rees, the ninth-highest scorer of all time, made them pay with another penalty to
give the Canadians some breathing space.
Boosted by this the 1991 World Cup quarter-finalists upped a gear and went desperately close to their second try when a kick-ahead by Winston Stanley was only
just handled over the deadball line by Fijian fullback Alfred Uluinayau before
recalled centre Nicholls got to the ball.
The 32-year-old Rees, however, kicked a drop goal to reward the Canadians for
their pressure but then Stewart's mistake let the 1987 quarter-finalists right back
into it.
Nicky Little, chosen in preference to sevens specialist Waisale Serevi at fly-half,
added to the lead with a sweetly taken drop goal shortly after half-time but then
missed a kickable penalty.
81
South Africa 47 - Spain 3
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: P. Honiss
Attendance: 4,769
Date: 10 Oct 1999
It took the arrival of two of South Africa's top players to help a second string team
down Spain by a semi-respectable score, finally running out 47-3 winners in front
of a tiny Murrayfield crowd.
Coach Nick Mallett can hardly have been pleased by what he saw from the side,
which was held scoreless for the first 29 minutes of this match-up. In the final 20
minutes, Mallett brought on Test captain Joost van der Westhuizen and No.8 Bobby
Skinstad to try and end the comedy of errors that was embarrassing South Africa.
Last time Spain played at Murrayfield, in November last year, they were on the
wrong end of an 85-3 scoreline against Scotland. Despite the pundits forecasting at
least for South Africa 100 points, Spain held firm until No.8 Andre Vos crawled
over after losing his footing just short of the line for the first try.
Breyton Paulse set up the second try only three minutes later. Collecting a poor
clearance he rushed through a gap in the Spanish defence, drew the full-back and
passed to scrum-half Werner Swanepoel who had no one in front of him to stop him
touching down.
The Spaniards should have gone in front after only 11 minutes when the South
Africans gave away a penalty in front of the posts but second choice fly-half Aitor
Etxeberria hooked his kick wide.
Without captain and No.8 Alberto Malo, who was literally forced to leave the field
with a knee injury early on, the plucky Spaniards were overwhelmed in the scrums.
However, they made the most of the ball when they found space to run. Fullback
Francisco Puertas was ready to run it whenever he got the chance and he nearly
paid for his courage when he was hit by the giant backrow Krynauw Otto. It was
nearly five minutes before Puertas was able to get to his feet.
South Africa's superior forward strength told in the second-half and within ten minutes Voss scored his second, when the Springbok pack brushed the Spanish aside
on their own line after only ten minutes. South Africa was awarded a penalty try in
the 70th minute when the Spanish pack was again in trouble.
82
Match Reports
Courageous Spanish defending refused to bend in the dying minutes and in the end
the only option was for Vos to kick over the defence for Peter Muller to score the
easiest of tries.
Bobby Skinstad got his name on the score sheet when the South African's got a
pushover try in injury time, but substitute kicker Ferran Velazco got the biggest
cheer of the evening from the sparse crowd when he converted a penalty in the 56th
minute to put the Spaniards on the scoreboard.
83
Argentina 32 - Samoa 16
Venue: Llanelli
Referee: W. Erickson
Attendance: 11,000
Date: 10 Oct 1999
A brilliant second-half kicking performance by Gonzalo Quesada saw Argentina
overcome a 13-point deficit for a crucial 32-16 win over Samoa in a rain-swept
Group D match.
The 25-year-old fly-half struck seven penalties and a drop goal to add to a first half
penalty as the Pumas came from 16-3 down at half-time to all but make sure of a
place in the play-offs.
The Argentinian, nicknamed 'Speedy Gonzales' because of the length of time he
takes with his kicks, was composure itself as he slotted nine of his ten attempts at
the posts. His deadly accuracy saw the Pumas make a remarkable recovery in a
match the big-hitting Samoans threatened to run away with as they adapted better
to the heavy rain that made handling and footwork difficult.
Allejandro Allub scored Argentina's only try - their first of the World Cup - when
the burly lock barged over from close range in the 66th minute.
Just 20 minutes earlier, the Pacific islanders seemed to have a World Cup play-off
place in their sights after a try by flanker Junior Paramore and two penalties and a
conversion from full-back Silao Leaega gave them a 13-point cushion at the turnaround.
In the first half, the Pumas, narrowly beaten 23-18 by Wales in the World Cup curtain-raiser, spurned a golden chance to open the scoring in the 11th minute when
centre Eduardo Simone found a gap in the Samoan defence. In a two-on-one situation a try seemed a certainty but with a clear run to the line from 10 yards winger
Diego Albanese spilled a simple pass from Simone.
With the rain clealy affecting the players' handling and footing, the first points of
the match did not arrive until the 19th minute when Leaega slotted a penalty from
wide on the left.
The Samoans went 10-0 in front soon afterwards when powerhouse centre Va'aiga
Tuigamala punched a hole though the Argentinian midfield to give Paramore a
clear run under the posts.
84
Match Reports
Quesada reduced the deficit with a penalty before Leaega responded with two of
his own to give Samoa the edge heading into the second period. But it was a different story after the break as Gonzalez made the most of the Samoans' increasing
ill-discipline with as good a kicking performance as any seen in the tournament so
far.
85
Italy 25 - Tonga 28
Venue: Leicester
Referee: D. Mchugh
Attendance: 10,244
Date: 10 Oct 1999
The Italian side was inconsolable at Welford Road tonight after an injury time
drop-goal from Sateki Tu'ilupotu snatched a 28-25 win for Tonga, when an 80
minute penalty from Diego Dominguez looked to have earnt Italy a draw.
The Tongans started the game much the better side with Sililo Martens marshalling
the game from scrum-half. Taufahema and Tu'ipulotu both scored first half tries as
Tonga went into the break 18-12 up, Diego Dominguez's four penalties keeping the
Europeans in the contest.
In the second half the Italian pack took control of the game with captain Giovanelli
spearheading his side's recovery. Wing Vacarri made a number of telling breaks, as
did the powerful centre Stoica. The Tongan discipline began to slip and Dominguez
punished them with a second-half penalty before hooker Moscardi crossed for a try
which took the Italians into the lead.
But with 10 minutes, left Tonga launched a series of attacks which finally broke the
brave Italian defence and Fatani plundered what appeared to be a match winning
try with 5 minutes left. Little did he, or anyone else at Welford Road know what
drama was still to come.
86
Match Reports
Ireland 3 - Australia 23
Referee: C. Thomas
Attendance: 49,250
Date: 10 Oct 1999
For all the intensity of the forward exchanges, this match was ultimately a tremendous anti-climax after England's thriller with New Zealand.
Australia rarely got going and with Matthew Burke under performing with his
goal-kicking they failed to pull away from Ireland until Tim Horan and Ben Tune
crossed for second half tries.
Ireland, despite the work rate of talisman Keith Wood and later Eric Miller, never
really looked like challenging for the game. They were bereft of ideas at half-back
and in the midfield lacked the penetration to get behind the big tackling Horan and
Herbert.
That Ireland were restricted to two shots at goal and one half-hearted drop-goal
attempt, well demonstrates Australia's dominance. But the Wallabies knocked-on
consistently and conceded several penalties which prevented them finding any real
pattern.
Australia's No.8 Toutai Kefu had an outstanding match and when his team stumbled, he was invariably on hand to clear up or bring some urgency into their attacking play. The Australians suffered several injuries which added to the general
disruption, hooker Phil Kearns and his replacement Jeremy Paul left the field, as
did skipper Joan Eales.
Eales will know that his side will have to improve by 50% to have a chance of winning this tournament. Ireland face the reality that a well under-par Australia were
still 20 points better.
87
Canada 72 - Namibia 11
Venue: Toulouse
Referee: A. Cole
Attendance: 28,000
Date: 14 Oct 1999
Winless Canada, determined to go home with at least one win, ended their Group C
campaign with a 72-11 thrashing of Namibia - a personal triumph for fly-half
Gareth Rees who ended his fourth World Cup with a 100 percent record in kicks at
goal and 49 points.
While Rees and his side, whose aspirations to make the quarter-final play-offs
nosedived with Wales' defeat by Samoa earlier on Thursday, could feel proud of
their display, in which they ran in nine tries. The one sour note was the sending off
of flanker Danny Baugh for stamping early in the second-half.
The Africans, who themselves were fortunate to end with a full complement of
players after Arthur Samuelson's deliberate high tackle led to hooker Mark Cardinal having to go off, reacted to Baugh's send off by scoring a try through captain
Quinn Hough, his 10th try in 73 appearances.
The Canadians, who made the quarter-finals in 1991, dampened down any hopes of
a Namibian comeback by running in another try as a terrible foul-up in the Africans
defence led to Kyle Nichols running in his second touch down.
However, it was replacement fullback Bobby Ross who scored their best try, finishing off a seven man move with a spectacular catch from Winston Stanley's
flicked-on pass - Stanley added another minutes later and Rod Snow got his second
of the evening on fulltime with Stanley running in a final one in injury-time.
Namibia's player of the tournament Leandre van Dyk had opened the score with a
third minute penalty but Canada hit back as their find of the competition,
scrum-half Morgan Williams, burrowed over from five metres out for his third try
in the group stage.
The Africans self-destructed two minutes later as fullback Glovin van Wyk's pass
was intercepted by centre Kyle Nichols who raced away to touch down under the
posts. The 32-year-old Rees, playing probably his swansong match in the World
Cup, and van Dyk exchanged penalties before Canadian veteran Al Charron beat
two tackles to get their third try and his seventh in 54 appearances for his country.
88
Match Reports
Australia 55 - USA 19
Venue: Limerick
Referee: A. Watson
Attendance: 13,000
Date: 14 Oct 1999
Wing Scott Staniforth marked his test debut with a brace of tries as Australia
trounced the United States 55-19 in their World Cup Group E match at Thomond
Park on Thursday.
It was the third straight win of the tournament for the Wallabies, who finished on
top of the pool. Going into the match already assured of a quarter-final spot, the
Australians fielded a second-string side that was still far too good for the game but
outgunned American part-timers.
The Australians will now play either Wales, Samoa or Argentina in the quarters in
Cardiff on October 23, while the United States failed to break a World Cup winless
streak that stretches back to 1987 and will go home having lost all three of their
matches in the tournament.
Fly-half Stephen Larkham, hooker Michael Foley, wing Matthew Burke, flanker
Tiaan Strauss, fullback Chris Latham and scrum-half Chris Whitaker also scored
tries for the Aussies, while Burke kicked five conversions and a penalty and Joe
Roff a conversion in what was the first international to be played in Limerick for
101 years.
The Americans, who trailed by only 12 points at half-time, responded with a try to
Juan Grobler, converted by Kevin Dalzell, three penalties from Dalzell and a drop
goal from David Niu.
Larkham opened the scoring after just three minutes when the Australians burst
down the middle. Larkham, who had started the move, backed up to take a pass
from Jim Williams just before the line. Burke's conversion made it 7-0. The Australians then survived some uncomfortable moments on defence close to their own
line before Burke's 13th-minute penalty made the margin 10 points. Niu, a former
Australian rugby league player, got the first points for the Eagles with a drop goal
after 15 minutes but the Australians stormed back with a sparkling passing movement that saw 21-year-old wing Staniforth mark his debut with a fine try in the corner. Burke's kick made it 17-3.
89
The Americans were incensed when lock Alec Parker got over the line but was
ruled by referee Andrew Watson not to have touched down. Good work by
Whitaker, then Latham, kept out the Americans as the Wallabies scrambled in
defence but wing Grobler finally scored in the corner just a couple of minutes
before halftime - and Dalzell converted. The Australian lead was reduced to seven
points - and the Wallabies had conceded their first try of the tournament.
Five minutes into injury time, the Australians got a pushover try to Foley, although
Burke's kick missed. The Wallabies began the second half in similar vein. First
Larkham's clever kick ahead set up Staniforth's second try and then, after lock Tom
Bowman had a touchdown disallowed, Burke went over in the opposite corner to
make it 34-10. The game was already over as a contest.
A trio of Dalzell penalties briefly lifted American hearts but former Springbok
Strauss scored the sixth try for the Aussies with 12 minutes remaining and Burke
again converted to make it 41-19.
Latham's try with seven minutes and Whitaker's in injury time rubbed salt into the
American wounds and eight tries to one was a harsh indication of the gap in class
between the teams.
90
Match Reports
New Zealand 101 - Italy 3
Venue: Huddersfield
Referee: J. Fleming
Attendance: 22,032
Date: 14 Oct 1999
A rampaging second string New Zealand ran over hapless Italy 101-3 in their
Group B clash here on Thursday to record the highest score of the tournament to
date.
With only four players from the team that beat England on show, New Zealand confirmed that no matter what team they put out, they are a match for anyone.
Full-back Jeff Wilson wrote himself into the All Black record books by running in
three tries to make himself the country's highest try scorer, overtaking the 35 scored
by legendary winger John Kirwan. "It was really exciting for me. My mum was in
the stand. To be up there with people like John Kirwan is something special. The
guys got excited and it was all ours. It was pleasure to be out there with them," said
Wilson.
Out-half Tony Brown, playing in his seventh Test scored more points - 36 - than he
had in his previous six appearances added together. He also scored his first try in an
All Black jersey when he intercepted a loose pass in the first-half.
Also stamping his authority was Jonah Lomu, the destroyer of England, who
showed he was as good a forward as he was back. In the dying minutes of the first
half Lomu came into the scrum, picked up the ball like a true number eight and
charged over from 10 meters out, dragging three Italians over with him. In the second-half he collected the ball on the wing and ran half the length of the field
with no one to stop him piling on the misery for a shell-shocked Italian side.
It also made Lomu the greatest try scorer in World Cup history, moving him ahead
of previous record hold Rory Underwood of England. Lomu, clearly with more to
come, has now scored 12 World Cup tries.
Italy had hoped to test the All Blacks and prove that they derserved their place in
the new Six Nations next year. Instead, they found themselves totally outclassed by
New Zealand's second fifteen. Flanker Dylan Mika, captain Taine Randall, Daryl
Gibson, Scott Robinson, Christian Cullen, Glen Osborne and hooker Mark Hammett all went over for tries.
91
Italy's best moment came in the opening minute of the match when they managed
to get to within less than a meter of the New Zealand line thanks to a clever attack
launched by full-back Matt Pini but then they wasted the opportunity by giving
away a penalty.
The desperate Italians tried to halt that New Zealand attack by going offside when
the opportunity arose but Scottish referee Jim Fleming was having none of it. In the
end he warned the Italians that he would send off the next offender if it continued.
Italy's only points came from the boot of their kicking machine Diego Dominguez
when New Zealand were caught going over the ball early in the first-half.
92
Match Reports
Wales 31 - Samoa 38
Attendance: 72,000
Date: 14 Oct 1999
Samoa pulled off the biggest upset in the 1999 World Cup when they sent host
nation Wales spiralling to a 38-31 defeat in a dramatic Group D match here on
Thursday.
In a carbon-copy of their stunning 16-13 defeat to the Pacific islanders in the 1991
finals, Wales were punished for sloppy defending as the Samoans ran in five tries to
silence the 72,000 capacity home crowd.
Graham Henry's side laid siege to the Samoan line in the dying minutes but heroic
defence kept them at bay, sparking scenes of wild celebrations amongst the Samoans at the final whistle.
The defeat overshadowed the achievement of Wales fly-half Neil Jenkins who
wrote himself into the record books by becoming the greatest points scorer in the
history of international rugby. "We are very disappointed," said Wales coach Graham Henry. "We made far too many mistakes but I think massive credit and respect
should be given to the Samoans. They played superbly - often with limited possession. "It's not the end of the world and we will learn from the experience. We just
have to take it on the chin."
Samoan captain Pat Lam, whose side had performed so poorly in Sunday's 32-16
defeat by Argentina, said memories of 1991 had fired his side. "This is a very special day," said the giant number eight who plays with English club Northampton.
"You guys had all written us off and people gave us no respect, but we played with
a lot of pride, a hell of alot of pride. "The mood in the build-up to the match
reminded us of 1991 and all the good luck faxes we received from back home
really inspired us."
The result means that the two teams will have to wait until the end of Argentina's
match against Japan here on Saturday before the places for the quarter-finals and
the quarter-final play-offs will be known.
Wales should still go straight to the quarter-finals - probably against Australia back
at the Millennium Stadium - provided Argentina, who are expected to beat Japan
do not score more than 70 points.
93
A day of Welsh celebrations seemed to lie ahead when Jenkins, level with Australia's Michael Lynagh on 911 points before the match, posted a simple conversion
after Wales were awarded a penalty try early on to write himself into the record
books.
The 72,000-capacity crowd in the Millennium Stadium exploded in delight and
stood to hail the 28-year-old British Lion from the Welsh valleys. But the celebrations were short-lived as the Welsh crowd realised that their team had a major battle
on their hands against the crash-tackling Pacific Islanders.
It was a cruel irony that the normally metronomic Jenkins missed three penalties
and a conversion that would have given Wales victory. On a day of mixed fortunes
for the man they call the 'Ginger Monster', it was also his mistake early in the second period which led directly to Samoa's fourth try and restored their lead to seven
points.
Wales trailed the Samoans 24-21 at half-time following two breakaway tries by
fly-half Stephen Bachop in the dying minutes and an earlier close range effort from
lock Lio Falaniko - all converted by full-back Silao Leaega. But after levelling the
scores with a penalty three minutes after the turnaround, Jenkins gifted the Samoans another try as the Welsh surrendered the lead again.
His lazy pass was intercepted by Pat Lam who ran virtually the entire length of the
field to score. Leaega converted to restore Samoa's seven point lead. Wales, though,
were awarded a second penalty try after the Samoans collapsed the scrum a metre
out as the Welsh drove forward.
Jenkins converted to make it 31-31 but two minutes later the Samoans went seven
points clear again when Leaega muscled over in the right corner after good work by
Brian Lima. Leaga converted himself to seal another historic win.
94
Match Reports
England 101 - Tonga 10
Venue: Twickenham
Referee: W. Erickson
Attendance: 73,000
Date: 15 Oct 1999
Fly-half Paul Grayson reclaimed his English record for points scored in a match
and his team confirmed their place in the quarter-final play-offs of the World Cup,
scoring 13 tries in a 101-10 procession against Tonga at Twickenham.
England were given a helping hand when Tonga's prop Ngalu Taufo'ou was sent off
three minutes before half-time for a massive punch, which floored flanker Richard
Hill.
Clive Woodward's side were already in control at 24-10 but against 14 men it was
no contest in the second half and England were able to give several players a rest
ahead of next Wednesday's match at home against either France of Fiji.
Grayson surpassed Jonny Wilkinson's individual scoring record of 32, set just two
weeks ago, by kicking 36 points. He hit 16 successful kicks out of 17, missing just
his first conversion.
Hooker Phil Greening, Dan Luger, Austin Healey, Will Greenwood and Jerry Guscott all scored two tries apiece for England. Greenwood's brace came in the space
of just two minutes.
The only worry for England was an injury to scrum-half Matt Dawson who was
forced off just before the Taufo'ou dismissal. The Tongan saw red after full-back
Matt Perry was tackled dangerously in mid-air. A melee ensued which ended with
Taufo'ou running 20 metres to deck Hill. He was red-carded by Australian referee
Wayne Erickson to leave the Tongans facing an impossible task.
Two early Grayson penalties settled England, who knew they had to win the match
to stay in the competition following their defeat by the All Blacks. Scrum-half
Dawson then scampered over to score after 13 minutes but Tonga's winger Tevita
Tiueti put Grayson off his conversion and then from the re-start scorched into the
corner past Perry for a try converted by Sateki Tu'ipulotu. Pegged back at 11-7,
Grayson restored England's superiority with two more penalties.
95
Tu'ipulotu stroked over another penalty for the Tongans but England scored again
when Healey burst through the defence and hooker Greening plunged over to touch
down.
Grayson converted and England were 24-10 up before the match boiled over at the
end of the half.
England took full advantage of their spare man and further converted tries by wing
Luger and Perry gave them a 38-10 half-time lead.
The second half was always going to be a formality and Will Greenwood, still feeling his way back after being injured in the opening win over Italy, danced through
for England's fifth and six tries to bring up the half-century.
Healey, playing at scrum-half in Dawson's place, and Hill added further efforts but
the biggest cheer was reserved for 34-year-old centre Guscott, who was only playing because of an injury to Phil de Glanville. England's prince of centres gathered a
quick Healey tap penalty and ran fully 80 metres to dive majestically under the
posts.
Another jinking Healey effort was converted by Grayson to make the score 80-10
and the stand-in scrum-half then generously gave Greening his second try of the
match which allowed Grayson to equal Wilkinson's mark, set against the Italians.
Luger and Guscott completed their braces in the dying minutes to take England
over the century of points, just as group-mates New Zealand had on Thursday
against Italy.
96
Match Reports
South Africa 39 - Uruguay 3
Venue: Glasgow-Hampden Pk
Attendance: 3,500
Date: 15 Oct 1999
Centre Brendan Venter was sent off for stamping as reigning champions South
Africa suffered more World Cup embarrassment in an unconvincing 39-3 win
over amateurs Uruguay here at Hampden Park on Friday.
Venter was given his marching orders in first-half injury time of a scrappy, ill-tempered Group A contest after referee Peter Marshall spotted him stamping his boot
down on a Uruguayan head at a ruck.
The incident was the main talking point of a poor match which saw the world
champions struggle to impose themselves on unsophisticated but tough opponents
who only qualified for the finals with a narrow victory over Morocco.
The Springboks, tipped by many to become the first country to win the World Cup
twice, scored just 12 points in the second-half in one of their worst performances in
the modern era. When the final whistle it was the South Americans, not their conquerors, who were hugging each other and punching the air in delight.
Mallett's side, still reeling from the avalanche of criticism that followed their woeful display against Spain, looked poor in almost every department as they laboured
to break down the South American part-timers.
It took the Springboks half an hour to register their first points against the Spanish
and it was a similar story against the Uruguayans as they drew a blank for the first
28 minutes of the second period.
There was precious little for the 3,000 spectators inside the home of Scottish football to cheer about and still less for Mallett who spent much of the second half
shaking his head in disbelief at what he was seeing.
The South Africans' growing frustration led to a number of flare-ups, off-the-ball
incidents and basic handling errors as the Uruguayans took the fight to their illustrious opponents.
97
The Springboks ran in five tries from Robbie Fleck, van der Westhuizen, Deon
Kayser and substitute Albert van den Berg (two) as they headed towards a predictable victory and a quarter-final in Paris.
Fly-half Jannie de Beer, recalled to the starting line-up after the late withdrawal of
Henry Honiball, struck two penalties and four conversions for a personal tally of
14.
The Springboks took the lead after seven minutes when centre Robbie Fleck
slipped through a gap in the Uruguayan defence. Then van der Westhuizen darted
under the posts for the Springboks second try.
De Beer converted and slotted a second penalty before Uruguay got their only
points on the board when Diego Aguirre posted an excellent 40-metre penalty.
Winger Deon Kayser added a third try six minutes before the break to give the
Springboks a comfortable if unconvincing lead. But that score was to be South
Africa's last points for 35 minutes as their game reached new lows after the break.
Substitute forward van den Berg had barely been on the field for a minute when he
finished off a rare flowing move in the right corner. Van den Berg, who had not
scored in any of his six previous appearances for his country, raced clear for his
second try minutes later.
The South Africans won but at the final whistle it was 40-year-old Uruguayan capatin Diego Ormaechea, playing in his last match for his country, who was smiling.
98
Match Reports
Ireland 44 - Romania 14
Referee: B. Campsall
Attendance: 33,000
Date: 15 Oct 1999
Captain Dion O'Cuinneagain scored his first international try and fullback Conor
O'Shea touched down twice to guide Ireland to a 44-14 victory over Romania in
their World Cup Group E match at half-empty Lansdowne Road on Friday night.
The win sealed Ireland second place in Group E behind unbeaten Australia and
earned them a quarter-final play-off in Lens, France, on Wednesday.
The Irish will play either Samoa, Argentina or Canada depending on the result of
Saturday's Japan-Argentina match.
Romania were eliminated after one win and two losses in the group stage.
Flanker Andy Ward and scrum-half Tom Tierney also scored tries for Ireland, while
fly-half Eric Elwood kicked five conversions and two penalties for a personal tally
of 16 points - and a flawless night of goal-kicking. Replacement Brian O'Driscoll
landed a late drop goal.
Ireland lost prop Peter Clohessy (back) and wing Justin Bishop (hamstring) a couple of hours before kickoff but their side was still strong enough to hold off a committed Romanian combination who were beaten but far from disgraced.
South African-born back-rower O'Cuinneagain, a late inclusion in a half-strength
Ireland team, scored his side's first try after just six minutes - finishing off a superb
50-metre passing movement. Elwood converted to make it 7-0.
Elwood added a 13th-minute penalty and when Ward burst through some feeble
defence two minutes later - and his try was converted by Elwood - it was 17-0 and
the Irish were in control.
Romanian scrum-half Petre Mitu landed penalties in the 18th and 25th minutes
before O'Shea grabbed the third Irish try in the 33rd minute after the ball had been
recycled intelligently.
Elwood again converted and then landed an injury-time penalty to make it 27-6 at
the break.
99
O'Shea's second try came five minutes into the second half when he collected a fine
pass from Elwood to go over - and the fly-half again converted.
When Romania lost inspirational skipper Tudor Constantin to injury their hopes
had all but evaporated.
Mitu landed a third penalty in the 57th minute when it might have been smarter to
take a tap and the Irish immediately went up to the other end for Tierney to
scamper over the line. Elwood again converted.
The job done, Ireland coach Warren Gatland was able to pull off O'Shea and Tierney with 20 minutes still remaining. Elwood, too, left the field early with a cut head
- a sad finish after such an influential performance.
The Romanians got a consolation try with five minutes left when wing Cristian
Sauan scampered over in the right corner after his teammates used quick hands
after a five-metre scrum win.
Ireland still had the last word, however, with O'Driscoll's injury-time drop goal.
100
Match Reports
France 28 - Fiji 19
Venue: Toulouse
Referee: P. O'Brien
Attendance: 36,000
Date: 16 Oct 1999
A last minute try by winger Christophe Dominici gave France a 28-19 win over Fiji
and landed them the Group C crown - Fiji finish runners-up.
An error ridden match in which the French, who led 13-3 at the break, scored three
tries to Fiji's one was enlivened by a superb touchdown from Fijian fullback Alfred
Uluinayau to get his side back into the match in the second-half.
The match descended into farce with 15 minutes to go as referee Paddy O'Brien,
who had a poor game, awarded France eight successive scrums five metres out and
booked all three of the Fijian front row for purposefully turning the scrums before
finally awarding the French a penalty try.
Fijian fly-half Nicky Little, who had been preferred to sevens legend Waisale Serevi because coach Brad Johnstone believed he exerted more control, had reduced
the gap to just seven points four minutes into the second period with a sweetly
struck penalty.
Uluinayau then produced his magic taking the pass from scrum-half Jacob Rauluni
and broke three feeble tackles, sidestepping fullback Ugo Mola, to run it in from 40
metres out for his second international try and turned the volatile French crowd
against their side.
Five minutes later the Fijians, quarter-finalists in 1987, were ahead as Little converted another penalty from in front of the posts and added another to give his side
a six point lead - however, the French nosed ahead with the penalty try.
The French, who have been unconvincing so far, scored one try in the first-half to
lead the Fijians into the break - but O'Brien's poor performance had deprived both
sides of a try apiece.
Christophe Juillet, who was dropped for the Namibia match but recalled for this
one because Thomas Lievremont was injured, thrust himself over the line from
three metres out after Stephane Castaignede fed him the pass.
101
France had started shakily, dropping balls and knocking on, and missed a golden
opportunity in the fourth minute when with an overlap Richard Dourthe delayed
too long and Viliame Satala was able to tackle Dominici short of the line.
Dourthe's penalty, however, settled them down and a wonderful passing move with
Lamaison missing out Dourthe to create the overlap broke down when Ugo Mola
passed forward to Dominici - another schoolboy type forward pass by Philippe
Bernat-Salles halted another French move.
Little missed an earlier opportunity to level the scores at 3-3 when his penalty in
front of the posts, albeit a long way out, went wide.
Fiji were fortunate to have 15 players on the pitch as number eight Alivereti
Maceletu, who had already been shown the yellow card for blocking captain Raphael Ibanez, layed out the hooker with his forearm.
Ibanez's tough first-half got worse as O'Brien booked him mistakenly for butting
giant Fijian prop Joeli Veitayaki when in fact it was Christian Califano.
O'Brien infuriated the French when having awarded a try to Dominici following a
penalty he changed his mind declaring that the French had initially said they were
going for goal - Dourthe converted the penalty.
The Kiwi balanced out his decisions by anulling a genuine Fijian try when Setareki
Tawake went over - ruling that he'd knocked on although it was French fullback
Ugo Mola who had lost the ball in a tackle.
102
Match Reports
Scotland 48 - Spain 0
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: C. Thomas
Attendance: 17,593
Date: 16 Oct 1999
Scotland booked their place in the World Cup quarter-final play-offs with a 48-0
victory over Spain in the final group A match at a near-empty Murrayfield Stadium
on Saturday.
Just 17,500 fans were there to see the Five Nations champions run up seven tries to
set up a clash for a place in the last eight back at the 67,000 capacity Murrayfield
next Wednesday against either Wales, Samoa, or Argentina.
Scotland's points came from two tries from Cammie Mather, one apiece for Shaun
Longstaff, James McLaren, Cameron Murray and Duncan Hodge.
The Scots were also awarded a penalty try while fly-half Hodge struck five conversions and a penalty for a personal points tally of 18.
Spain, twice thrashed by Scotland in the World Cup qualifiers, exit the competition
without a win following their earlier defeats by Uruguay and South Africa.
The Spanish, written off as whipping boys before the tournament, have impressed
with their courage - particularly against South Africa - but they headed for Edinburgh airport without even a try to their name.
Scotland, who lost their opener 46-29 to South Africa and were unimpressive in a
47-12 win over Uruguay, needed a handsome victory to rouse the flagging interest
in their campaign amongst the Scottish public.
Huge blocks of seats were empty as the players took the field but the flat, echoing
atmosphere did not appear to affect the Scots who tore into their opponents from
the start.
Hodge put the Scots in front with an early penalty before the Scots went 10-0 ahead
when the back-pedalling Spanish scrum conceded a penalty try in the 12th minute.
It was the third penalty try conceded by Spain's lightweight pack in the World Cup.
Flanker Mather barged over from close range for Scotland's second try before New
Zeland-born left wing Longstaff raced over in the corner for a third.
103
Centre McLaren scored his second try in his third match for Scotland to stretch the
Scots' lead three minutes after the break.
Mather buried over for his second try as the Scots turned up the pressure before
Murray came bursting off the wing at an angle to run in Scotland's sixth try.
Hodge punched a hole through the increasingly creaky Spanish defence to touch
down under the posts in the 64th minute. Hodge converted what proved to be the
last points of the match as the Spanish staged a spirited rally in the final quarter.
104
Match Reports
Argentina 33 - Japan 12
Attendance: 47,000
Date: 16 Oct 1999
Points machine Gonzalo Quesada produced another superb kicking display to boot
Argentina into the World Cup knockout stages in a 33-12 win over Japan at the
Millennium Stadium.
The result of the final match of the group stages means that Wales win Group D
and will play Australia in the quarter-finals in Cardiff.
The Argentinians, as the best third-placed team in the five groups, will play Ireland
in Lens, in the quarter-final play-offs on Wednesday.
Samoa will play Scotland at Murrayfield on the same day after finishing second in
the group.
Fly-half Gonzalo Quesada, the World Cup's leading points scorer, struck seven
penalties while Agustin Pichot and Diego Albanese scored tries to see off the Japanese who leave the World Cup without a win.
Quesada has now scored 66 of his team's 83 points in the competition after kicking
18 points in the 23-18 defeat to Wales and 27 in the 32-16 win over Samoa.
The match boiled down to a battle of the the goalkickers with Quesada getting the
better of his opposite man Keija Hirose who kicked all four of his attempts at goal.
Quesada made amends for an earlier miss when he put the Pumas 6-0 in with two
penalties in quick succession.
Hirose reduced the deficit with a penalty before Argentinian scrum-half Pichot
burst down the blindside for a superb try in the left corner.
Quesada missed a difficult conversion from the touchline but moments later he
stretched the lead to 14-3 with his third penalty before Hirose hit back with his second.
105
Quesada soon added another three points but Japan, who won the last meeting
between the countries, a 44-29 triumph in Tokyo last year, kept in contention when
Hirose made it 17-9 just before half-time.
The pattern of tit-for-tat penalties continued after the break with the two goal-kickers both adding three points to their totals in the first five minutes.
Quesada, nicknmaed Speedy Gonzalez because of the lengthy time it takes him at
kicks, put the Pumas 23-12 in front with his sixth successful kick from eight
attempts before adding another.
Winger Diego Albanese went over for a try under the posts in injury time - converted by Contepomi, who came on in the dying moments to replace Quesada - to
seal victory.
106
Match Reports
Argentina 28 - Ireland 24
Venue: Lens
Attendance: 22,000
Date: 20 Oct 1999
Diego Albanese's late try and the deadly kicking of Gonzalo Quesada gave Argentina victory over Ireland in a largely dour World Cup quarter-final play-off in Lens.
Albanese finished off a rare flowing back move for the only try of a match dominated by the boot to earn Argentina a quarter-final meeting with France in Dublin
on Sunday.
Irish fly-half David Humphreys claimed all his side's points with seven penalties
and a drop goal. But Quesada, who proved he was human by missing one penalty,
landed seven penalties and, crucially, converted Albanese's try from the touchline
to edge the Argentinians 24-23 ahead with five minutes remaining.
Ireland led 15-9 at half-time and 21-9 five minutes into the second half but Quesada's kicking kept the Pumas into touch and they finished much the stronger side.
Humphreys landed five penalties to Quesada's three and the Argentinian fly-half,
who had scored 66 of his country's 83 points in the tournament going into this
match, was guilty of a rare penalty miss on the stroke of half-time.
In a rare outburst of open rugby, Argentinian skipper Lisandro Arbizu made a break
and slipped out a backhand pass to hooker Mario Ledesma. He made ground and
found scrum-half Agustin Pichot who opted for a chip and chase only to be
obstructed by O'Shea.
However, from the resulting five-yard scrum, Argentina claimed the first try of the
game. A miss move in the centre and swift handling created room for Diego Albanese to plunge over in the corner as Bishop tried in vain to get to him.
Quesada kept his cool to curl over the conversion from the left touchline to edge
Argentina into a 24-23 lead with five minutes left.
With a minute remaining Quesada landed his seventh penalty to make it 28-24. But
the Argentinian had to survive incredible Irish pressure in the eight-and-a-half minutes of added time. Time after time Irish forwards tried to drive over from close
range but the Pumas' magnificent tackling kept them out.
107
England 45 - Fiji 24
Venue: Twickenham
Referee:D. Bevan
Attendance: 55000
Date: 20 Oct 1999
England were tested a little more than they would have liked, and incurred several
casualties along the way, but still managed a 45-24 victory over Fiji at Twickenham
and now progress to a weekend date with South Africa in Paris.
Young England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson must be the greatest injury concern ahead
of Sunday's quarter-final having been apparently knocked out by a high tackle from
Fiji captain and hooker Greg Smith as he put Phil Greening over for a try with ten
minutes remaining. A concussion would result in a mandatory three-week lay-off.
Matt Perry was forced from the field with shoulder trouble shortly before the final
whistle and Austin Healey was replaced at half-time having taken a general battering.
A half-time lead of 21-3 was more down to the fact that England, through Wilkinson, chose to convert penalties rather than attempting to run or kick for the lineout,
as the Southern Hemisphere side invariably chose to.
Penalties were traded for the first quarter of the match before a tremendous breakaway from wing Dan Luger put some space between the two sides in the 23rd
minute. He then promptly left the field with a groin strain.
England were almost as guilty as Fiji of cynical fouling close to the line, with Nick
Beal receiving a yellow card after half an hour for holding on to prop Daniel Rouse
in the tackle, just yards from the try-line.
Fiji's play has progressed a long way from their familiar, flowing Sevens style but,
when given a chance by the English, they took it with abandon. Two knock-ons
close to the line denied tries that could have brought Fiji level at the half but instead
England were allowed to bear down with their extra weight and discipline in the
tight.
A try for Mel Nakauta in the 79th minute rounded out a period of play in which
England were worryingly on the back-foot, but it was too little too late.
108
Match Reports
Scotland 35 - Samoa 20
Venue: Murrayfield
Referee: D. McHugh
Attendance: 15,661
Date: 20 Oct 1999
Scotland were on top of Samoa from start to finish but their weekend's opponents the All Blacks of New Zealand - will feel they have nothing to fear following a
lacklustre 35-20 victory in front of an equally lacklustre Murrayfield crowd.
In the seventh minute of the first half, the Scots were awarded a penalty five yards
out and opted for the scrum. Eight long minutes of scrummaging later, referee
David McHugh finally gave up on a fair set-piece and gave a penalty try.
Scotland seemed determined not to fall into the trap of playing an unstructured
game, a flaw that had been exploited in the Wales side by Samoa last weekend.
They were dominant in the scrum from start to finish. The return of Doddie Weir
leant strength to the lineout and the kicking of fly-half Gregor Townsend was consistently to touch but the side lacked the flair that will be required should they harbour any hope of putting up a fight when the All Blacks come to town on Sunday.
Ironically, it was the power of New Zealand-born Gordon Simpson and Martin Leslie that made the difference up front for the Scots. Leslie scored the first try of the
match, bullocking his way over towards the end of the first half, but it was the
absence of Martin Leslie and Allan Tait from the centres that lead to the back line
lacking bite. The Scots committed nine handling errors and turned the ball over
four times - a record they cannot afford to match in four days time.
The Southern Hemisphere side's forward power seemed to increase considerably
when Onehunga Matauiau replaced the injured Trevor Leota at hooker after 36
minutes but this was a game governed by handling errors in crucial areas.
The one highlight of a generally dour game was a drop goal from Townsend at the
end of the third quarter. From a ruck just in front of the 22, the ball was spun out
and the Brive showman slotted the attempt over with ease.
Wing Brian Lima made a try from half-way as time ran out to close the margin to
15 but there were no real winners from this encounter.
109
Wales 9 - Australia 24
Referee: C. Hawke
Attendance: 72,500
Date: 23 Oct 1999
Australia ended the World Cup dreams of hosts Wales on Saturday, claiming their
place in the semi-finals with a hard-earned 24-9 victory at the Millennium Stadium.
Two tries by George Gregan and one from Ben Tune gave the Wallabies a deserved
success on a poor quality pitch as Wales finally succumbed to their opponents'
greater attacking flair in front of a capacity 72,000 crowd.
In the last four next weekend at Twickenham Rod Macqueen's side, who have conceded just one try so far, will face the winner of Sunday's England-South Africa
quarter-final in Paris. "We're pretty happy," said Australia captain John Eales,
whose side led only 10-9 at half-time. "It was very close at half-time and it was
anyone's game. But our defence held up. We've a lot of confidence in our squad."
Wales' kick-king Neil Jenkins, who started the match as the new points world
record holder with 927, spurned an early chance to go for goal, preferring instead
to find touch with a penalty on the halfway line.
Australia, who had racked up 250 points in their last six clashes with Wales, took
advantage. Joe Roff, who had already threatened to open Australia's account after
a sharp break by fly-half Stephen Larkham, created a score for scrum-half George
Gregan. The Welsh defence was nowhere to be seen as Roff spurted down the left
flank and passed inside for Zambian-born Gregan to flop over.
Matthew Burke converted to complete the perfect start for the Wallabies.
Jenkins took his next opportunity, slotting superbly from the touchline to make it
7-3. Australia were dominant though and Burke immediately made it 10-3 with his
first penalty. Jenkins kept Wales within touching distance with another
three-pointer as the rain began to drench the turf, provoking handling errors from
Australia in particular. And when Australia flanker David Wilson ventured offside
on the half-hour, Jenkins made it 10-9 with his third successful kick out of three.
110
Match Reports
Mud patches began to appear on the surface and Wales looked the more likely to
score, with winger Gareth Thomas wasting a two-man overlap in stoppage time at
the end of the first half. Australia started the second half as they had the first and
only a fine Brett Sinkinson tackle denied Daniel Herbert a touchdown after a neat
scissors in midfield.
But Wales absorbed the pressure well and the tension was evident as the half-hour
point was passed since either side had troubled the scorers. It took a moment of
magic from the impressive Larkham to break the deadlock.
The fly-half took the ball from Gregan and chipped through. He was baulked by the
Welsh defence but Tune stormed through and beat Shane Howarth to the ball to
score. Burke converted and a relieved Australia were 17-9 up with 15 minutes left.
Wilson and Tune were then both quickly denied tries because of knock-ons as the
southern hemisphere side greater dynamism began to tell. This time there was no
rain to save the Welsh and in the final minutes they struggled to get out of their own
half.
In stoppage time it was the Australians who scored again, in highly dubious
circumstances. Tim Horan broke several tackles but appeared to knock on and
when the ball fell loose Gregan touched down.
New Zealand referee Colin Hawke, given the bird by the crowd for much of the
match, then infuriated them by awarding the try, which Burke converted to complete Australia's 24-9 victory.
111
Argentina 26 - France 47
Referee: D. Bevan
Attendance: 40,000
Date: 24 Oct 1999
France claimed their place in the World Cup semi-finals on Sunday when they
quelled a valiant Argentina side to win a try-filled quarter-final 47-26 at
Lansdowne Road.
France raced into a 17-0 lead before Argentina battled back to trail just 30-26, only
for the greater freshness of Jean-Claude Skrela's side to show in the final 10 minutes.
Winger Philippe Bernat-Salles and full-back Xavier Garbajosa scored two tries
apiece as France touched down five times in all, with fly-half Christophe Lamaison
landing 22 points with the boot. France face the winners of the New Zealand-Scotland quarter-final in the last four.
Argentina, for whom scrum-half Agustin Pichot was outstanding, took great credit
for their fightback though and could have scored more than their two tries by Pichot
and captain Lisandro Arbizu. Skrela's much-criticised team showed none of their
early tournament rustiness as first Carbajosa and then Bernat-Salles, after a thrilling move, touched down to help France into a 17-0 lead after 12 minutes.
Argentina, surprise conquerors of Ireland in the quarter-final play-offs, were stung
into action and Pichot, at fault for the first French try, nipped over down the blind
side to reduce the arrears. Gonzalo Quesada converted and then put over another
penalty to make it 17-10.
But Emile Ntamack restored French dominance immediately with a score after
charging down Arbizu's kick. With Lamaison kicking five successful kicks out of
five France led 27-10 before Queseda's second penalty and then a fine converted
Arbizu try, following a missed tackle by Ntamack, hauled Argentina back to within
seven points.
The second period began in bruising fashion with the Argentines clearly pumped
up by their fightback. Argentine prop Mauricio Reggiardi was substituted by
Argentina coach Alex Wyllie immediately after smashing a forearm into Richard
Dourthe's face, for which he earned a yellow card.
112
Match Reports
Quesada and Lamasion exchanged penalties and both sides went close to scoring
with the darting Pichot in particular catching the eye. But Argentina suffered a
hammer blow on the hour when Queseda, the tournament's leading points scorer
with 102, was forced off injured.
Trailing 30-23 the South Americans dug deep and began to dominate, with Pichot
at the centre of everything. Replacement kicker Felipe Contepomi cut the gap to
four points with 10 minutes left from in front of the posts after a series of bone-jarringing charges by the Pumas. Lamaison settled the French with a booming
45-metre penalty to make it 33-26 and Argentina's granite-like defence finally
cracked.
Olivier Magne roared down the left and the ball was spread wide for Garbajosa to
suck in the tacklers and pass inside for Bernat-Salles to grab his second. Lamaison
converted and France led 40-26 before Dourthe kicked for Garbajosa to gallop in
and complete his brace with two minutes left. Lamaison converted imperiously to
seal a convincing, if belated, victory.
113
Scotland 18 - New Zealand 30
Venue: Murrayfield
Attendance: 59,757
Date: 24 Oct 1999
New Zealand steamrollered their way to an emphatic 30-18 win over Scotland in
their World Cup quarter-final at Murrayfield.
The All Blacks ran in four tries to two and will now face France in the semi-finals
at Twickenham next weekend. The other semi-final will be between defending
champions South Africa and Australia.
Wing Tana Umaga scored two tries and full-back Jeff Wilson and giant wing Jonah
Lomu one each for the All Blacks, while fly-half Andrew Mehrtens kicked two
penalties and converted the first two tries.
Scotland's points came from late tries from flanker Budge Pountney and wing
Cameron Murray, a penalty and a conversion kicked by wing Kenny Logan and a
drop goal from fly-half Gregor Townsend.
New Zealand - the runners-up in 1995 - continued their rampage through the tournament and underlined their status as odds-on favourites. Both Scotland's tries
came late in the game when the result was beyond doubt. The Kiwis scored 176
points and conceded just 28 in winning their three group matches and the gritty
Scots, who were playing their final match under coach Jim Telfer, had no real
answers to their poise, power and control.
Scotland are the reigning Five Nations champions but the gap in standards between
the southern hemisphere and the north was again underlined by New Zealand's
dominance.
New Zealand maintained their record of never having lost to Scotland in 21 meetings dating back to 1905 but lost key man Mehrtens to a knee injury at halftime. He
was replaced by Tony Brown and his condition will cause concern to the All Blacks
over the next few days.
The Scots, playing in their change tangerine strip, struggled from the start to keep
pace with the tournament favourites in a match played in pouring rain and on a
damp, slippery pitch.
114
Match Reports
After surviving some brief early pressure, New Zealanders took the lead through an
eighth-minute Mehrtens penalty. Umaga's 12th-minute first try was the result of a
fine charge up the middle by Lomu, the tournament's leading try-scorer. It took five
men to subdue Lomu and when the New Zealanders eventually moved the ball
wide, Umaga was on hand to cross the line.
Wilson's try in the right corner - which saw him pass 200 points in test rugby - was
set up by the pace, awareness and fast hands of Mehrtens, who slipped the ball
wide for the fullback to power over the line. Mehrtens' kick made it 17-0.
The Scots got on the scoreboard through Logan's penalty after 20 minutes but
Mehrtens responded in kind five minutes later, although the metronomic kicker did
miss a subsequent drop goal attempt.
New Zealand were resolute in defence, but had to survive some uncomfortable
moments before Umaga scored his second try in injury time after a superb handling
movement and a fine final pass from centre Christian Cullen.
Townsend's drop goal after 49 minutes didn't lead to a Scottish revival. Instead,
Lomu squandered an opportunity for his sixth try of the tournament at the other end
when he dropped the ball when over the line.
It wasn't long, however, before he did cross for the 25th try of his All Black career
when the Scots were unable to halt his power down the wing. Brown's kick missed,
but the margin was 24 points and the game was out of the Scots' reach.
Pountney got a pushover try for the Scots with 14 minutes left - his first international try - and Logan converted. Murray then went over in the last minute, but it
was too little, too late.
New Zealand's win leaves France as the only side capable of winning the World
Cup for the first time. The All Blacks won the first tournament in 1987, Australia
triumphed in 1991 while South Africa were victorious in 1995 and have yet to lose
a World Cup match.
115
England 21 - South Africa 44
Venue: Stade de France,Paris
Referee: J. Fleming
Attendance: 75,000
Date: 24 Oct 1999
South African fly-half Jannie de Beer kicked 34 points, including a world record
five drop goals, as the defending champions overwhelmed England 44-21 in the
quarter-finals.
The match produced just two tries - a superb effort from South African captain
Joost van der Westhuizen which gave his side a 16-12 lead over England at the
break and an injury-time touchdown by Pieter Rossouw.
Prior to van der Westhuizen's try, his 29th in tests, the game had been dominated by
penalty kicks with Paul Grayson kicking four and Jannie de Beer three. The
28-year-old van der Westhuizen somehow managed to touch the ball down with his
right arm just as he was being pushed out of play by flanker Richard Hill. De Beer
followed that up with a fabulous conversion from the touchline to send South
Africa in with a 16-12 lead at the interval.
The second-half, however, was barely one minute old when Grayson reduced the
arrears to just one point with another penalty.
Enter de Beer for the first of his quite wonderfully-executed drop goals - four of
which came from more than 40 metres and all of which must have seemed a sword
thrust through the England heart.
Grayson and de Beer again swapped penalties and at 25-18 down England were
reeling.
They were desperate for fresh momentum and Woodward threw on Austin Healey
for Nick Beal and precocious 20-year-old fly-half Jonny Wilkinson for Grayson, in
a bid to rescue the game.
As if to underline the tide turning against England, Wilkinson's first act was to take
a crucial penalty from the wrong side for a left-footer.
He missed, though he slotted over one from a slightly easier angle nine minutes
later.
116
Match Reports
At 25-21 England were still in it, but then up stepped de Beer again to pick his spot
with the cool and composed air of an executioner - not once, but twice.
In the 71st minute he received swift ball from the back of the scrum to plant his
fourth drop goal between the posts.
And three minutes later came the biggest howitzer of all - a quite magnificent effort
from 45 metres which had his Springbok team-mates doing high-fives in the middle of the pitch.
Two more penalties from de Beer and an injury-time try from Rossouw, converted
by de Beer, gave South Africa a stunningly convincing victory and left England
dejected and demoralised.
117
Australia 27 - South Africa 21
Venue: Twickenham
Referee: D. Bevan
Attendance: 73,000
Date: 30 Oct 1999
Australian fly-half Stephen Larkham kicked a drop goal and Matt Burke added two
penalties to take Australia through to their second Rugby World Cup final after a
nail-biting period of extra time at Twickenham. South Africa lost their first ever
RWC game by a final score of 27-21.
South African fly-half Jannie de Beer had forced the extra period by booting a penalty in the 86th minute of regulation time, tying the score at 18 each. The length of
time added on by referee Derek Bevan - in charge of his final international match
before retirement - could have been considered controversial after the assistant referee advised that just two minutes be added for injuries.
Australia exacted revenge in the 20 further minutes, though, following a further
penalty by de Beer in the third minute of the additional period.
The drop goal, so in fashion when last a World Cup game was played at this venue,
seemed to have quickly been consigned to the basement after two simple missed
attempts, one from last week's hero de Beer - who had missed a penalty inside the
first three minutes - but, first, a slice from just ten yards out from Larkham.
Twickenham's swirling winds took some getting used to, and both Burke and de
Beer employed holders to keep the ball straight on their penalty attempts. Both
were getting into their respective grooves by half-time, swapping penalties as their
sides repeatedly infringed offside. At mid-way, Burke had the lead 12-6.
De Beer's radar may have been less effective than last week but it did not prevent
him from attempting five drop goals once again in this game. The difference was
that he converted just one, in the 51st minute. It was ironic that an injured Larkham,
who had never managed a drop in his international career, was the man to split the
scores, with a magnificent shot which was still travelling as it split the uprights, 48
yards away from the kicker.
Rarely has a try-less match been so exciting. the momentum was almost always in
Australia's favour. The Wallabies looked to have put the game beyond doubt with
less than ten minutes remaining in the 80, when scrum-half George Gregan dived
118
Match Reports
for the line, but he was held up short, and subsequently penalised for holding on in
the tackle.
The Springboks cleared, breathed a sigh of relief, and then fought down to the wire,
and past it, for a chance to face the winners of tomorrow's semi-final between New
Zealand and France at Cardiff next Saturday.
119
France 43 - New Zealand 31
Venue: Twickenham
Referee: J. Fleming
Attendance: 75,000
Date: 31 Oct 1999
A massive 23 second half points from French fly-half Christophe Lamaison gave
Les Bleus the biggest upset victory in World Cup history at Twickenham.
The French - Wooden Spoonists in this year's Five Nations Championship - had
been slated at 15/2 for a victory in the World Cup semi-final but overcame the odds
to progress to next Saturday's final at Cardiff thanks to a momentous 43-31 victory.
Down by seven points at half-time, France were even further under the cosh when
Lomu took a short pass from Jeff Wilson and dived in for his second try of the
match. Andrew Mehrtens converted for a 14-point lead to the Kiwis.
There then followed a massive glut of French points, a 26-point spree which
included two drop goals within two minutes from the mercurial out-half, standing
in for the injured Thomas Castaignede.
For periods during the first half, France had the Kiwis rattled, none more so than
when two kicks ahead became tooth-and-nail contests on the goal line. Either could
have resulted in a try for Les Bleus.
Dominici kicked the first from 40 yards out and Garbajosa gave chase but, as he
chipped forward again, he gave the ball too much, putting it over the dead ball line.
A kick from openside Olivier Magne from the 22 was even closer. Referee Jim
Fleming ruled that Jeff Wilson had touched the ball down in his own goal, although
television replays showed that he had in fact still been in the field of play. A
22-metre drop out saved All Black tension.
In fact, in a half when the normally reliable Mehrtens missed three penalties and a
conversion, the main difference between the two sides was Jonah Lomu, who in a
trademark move in the 23rd minute, took the ball wide and broke at least four
attempted tackles, and even side-stepping a couple to boot, to put his side 14-10 up.
Lamaison's try had put the French ahead just five minutes earlier, a break from
Dominici being brought to a halt just in front of the posts by Kronfeld. A quick ball
out saw the fly-half go over.
120
Match Reports
The killer blow for the French, though, was when, with seven minutes to go, Bernat-Salles dived on a kick ahead for the fourth try for his side. With the score 24-36
in favour of the French, the World Cup favourites could still have snatched victory.
The All Blacks were pressing for minutes on end but, as the ball went down the
backline once more, Magne popped in to pick up a dropped ball by Umaga. He
kicked and ran, as if his life depended on it. In the end, Bernat-Salles was just too
speedy for Wilson, nudging with the boot and then falling on the ball for the score
which nailed the Kiwi coffin firmly shut.
Even if they right the mistakes in their game during the third-place match against
South Africa on Thursday, it won't be remotely enough to erase the despair that
must be felt throughout the land of the long white cloud.
121
New Zealand 18 - South Africa 22
Attendance: 72,000
Date: 04 Nov 1999
A try by wing Breyton Paulse and a pair of drop goals by fullback Percy Montgomery helped South Africa to a 22-18 win over New Zealand in the World Cup
third-place playoff at the Millennium Stadium.
South Africa led New Zealand 16-12 at halftime and the 1995 champions deserved
their win against an All Black side who suffered their second successive loss after
an error-filled encounter.
The defending champions scored the only try of the game through Paulse, but neither side was able to stamp its authority on a lacklustre game.
All New Zealand's points came from penalties kicked by fly-half Andrew
Mehrtens, while the rest of South Africa's points came from three penalties and a
conversion from fly-half Henry Honiball, who was making his test farewell.
A Mehrtens penalty gave New Zealand a 3-0 lead after 11 minutes but a drop goal
from South African fullback Montgomery pulled the Springboks level almost
immediately.
Honiball kicked a 17th-minute penalty to put the Springboks 6-3 in front but
Mehrtens' 25th-minute penalty pulled the sides level before Paulse scored a superb
individual 27th-minute try, converted by Honiball, to make it 13-6 for the 'Boks.
Mehrtens then pulled New Zealand back to within four points with a penalty seven
minutes before the break.
A second Honiball penalty made it 16-9 just before halftime, only for Mehrtens'
fourth penalty, in injury time, to again bring the All Blacks back to within four
points.
Honiball made it 19-12 after the break but Mehrtens' fifth penalty again pulled the
All Blacks back into contention.
The one time ace New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu did manage to break away late in
the match, he was ankle-tapped by his opposite number Stefan Terblanche.
122
Match Reports
Mehrtens' sixth penalty then lifted the All Blacks to within a point of the lead but
Montgomery's second drop goal, with five minutes left, restored South African
morale and they held on despite some late All Black pressure.
It was a match that lacked the usual drive and enthusiasm of a clash between the
traditional rivals and the New Zealanders made a plethora of handling errors that
mirrored their shock semi-final loss to France.
The Springboks qualified automatically for the finals of the 2003 tournament by
virtue of their win while the All Blacks, the pre-tournament favourites, will now
have to suffer the indignity of contesting the qualifying tournament.
123
Australia 35 - France 12
Referee: A. Watson
Attendance: 72,500
Date: 06 Nov 1999
The best side won the biggest match at the Millennium Stadium, Cardiff as Australia won their second Webb Ellis trophy, downing the gallant French 35-12 in the
World Cup final.
The Wallabies, strong favourites for this match, didn't fail to take the chances
offered to them in a scrappy, bad-tempered encounter. The handling of their backline was key but also the performance in defence of the men in gold.
A 65th minute try from winger Ben Tune blew the game open after the two sides'
kickers, French fly-half Christophe Lamaison and Australian fullback Matt Burke
had traded penalties throughout the first half. A break from scum-half George Gregan went out to substitute flanker Owen Finegan, who popped it to the wing for
Tune to score his 22nd Test try in the right hand corner.
A bad-tempered first half was punctuated by penalties, and Burke emerged on top,
despite missing two penalties from less than 40 metres out. Pelous was yellow
carded by referee Andrew Watson following a mass of punches in the seventh
minute, following a try-saving tackle by Bernat-Salles on Roff.
More surprising was the yellow card on Australian captain Eales shortly afterwards. His punch in a scrum was spotted by the touch judge and Lamaison converted the penalty to tie the scores at six.
As the half closed, a Garbajosa drop kick was charged down and, as Les Bleus
continually killed the ball, Burke slotted one over from 31 metres out for a 12-6
lead.
France never looked like scoring the vital five-pointer that would have put the two
sides on a par. They continually killed play, and were justly penalised. A try for
Finegan five minutes into time added on perhaps exaggerated the prowess of the
Aussies but it was a just reward for the man who has been used as an impact substitute throughout the tournament.
The Australians will certainly be comfortable tonight as they bask in the glory of a
hard-fought second World title.
124
Photo Gallery
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 1.
Thomas Castaignede runs from John Hutchinson
125
FIGURE 2.
126
Samoan centre Brian Lima on his way to score a try
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 3.
All Blacks 'Haka' vs. Tongan 'Ikale Tahi'
127
FIGURE 4.
128
England centre Phil de Glanville goes over for the score
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 5.
Ireland hooker Keith Wood touches down against the USA
129
FIGURE 6.
130
Fijian centre Viliame Satala gets a lift from Emile N'tamack
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 7.
Samoan fullback Silao Leaega touches down against Wales
131
FIGURE 8.
132
Lomu and Dallaglio come to blows
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 9.
Martin Leslie tries to repel All Black surge
133
FIGURE 10.
134
Ripol is tackled by Panizza
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 11.
Burke adds to his points total
135
FIGURE 12.
136
Fabien Pelous takes on Namibia
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 13.
Tournaire is attacked by Pichot
137
FIGURE 14.
138
Springboks celebrate after win over England
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 15.
Elwood breaks free against Romania
139
FIGURE 16.
140
Matt Pini clears danger for Italy
Photo Gallery
FIGURE 17.
Tim Horan - player of the tournament
141
FIGURE 18.
142
John Eales receives trophy from the Queen
Betting Odds
Betting Odds
The following table shows the pre World Cup odds on the eventual winner.
TABLE 1. Betting
odds
World Cup
Chandler
Coral
Heathorns
Hills
Lad
brokes
Stanley
Surrey
Tote
New
Zealand
10-11
4-5
5-6
10-11
Evs
5-6
10-11
10-11
Australia
2
5-2
5-2
5-2
5-2
5-2
9-4
11-4
South
Africa
4
5
4
4
4
7-2
7-2
7-2
England
9-2
6
8
11-2
6
13-2
13-2
7
Wales
20
16
20
12
16
12
20
16
France
28
28
25
33
33
25
25
20
Ireland
28
66
100
40
66
50
66
66
Scotland
66
100
100
100
80
80
125
125
Samoa
150
80
100
100
80
80
100
100
Fiji
200
150
150
125
150
100
200
250
Argentina
150
150
150
150
150
200
300
200
143
The following records apply to the final RWC tournaments up to and including
1995 but do not include qualifying matches.
Most tries in a match (individual)
6 Marc Ellis (New Zealand v Japan 1995)
4 Gavin Hastings (Scotland v Ivory Coast 1995)
4 Chester Williams (S Africa v Western Samoa 1995)
4 Jonah Lomu (New Zealand v England 1995)
4 Brian Robinson (Ireland v Zimbabwe 1991)
4 Ieuan Evans (Wales v Canada 1987)
4 Craig Green (New Zealand v Fiji 1987)
4 John Gallagher (New Zealand v Fiji 1987)
Most tries in a match (team)
21 New Zealand (v Japan 1995)
Most tries in World Cups up to 1995
Rory Underwood (England) 11
Leading try scorers at each World Cup
1987
6 John Kirwan (New Zealand)
6 Craig Green (New Zealand)
1991
6 David Campese (Australia)
6 Jean-Baptiste Lafonde (France)
1995
7 Jonah Lomu (New Zealand)
7 Marc Ellis (New Zealand)
Most points in a match (team)
145 New Zealand (v Japan 1995)
Most points in a match (individual)
45 Simon Culhane (New Zealand v Japan 1995)
144
Most points in World Cups up to 1995
Gavin Hastings (Scotland) 227
Leading points scorers at each World Cup
1987
127 Grant Fox (New Zealand)
1991
68 Ralph Keyes (Ireland)
1995
112 Thierry Lacroix (France)
145
TABLE 2. Pool
Country
P
W
L
D
For
Against
Points
South
Africa
3
3
0
0
132
35
9
Scotland
3
2
1
0
120
58
7
Uruguay
3
1
2
0
42
97
5
Spain
3
0
3
0
18
122
3
For
Against
Points
TABLE 3. Pool
Country
P
B standings
W
L
D
New
Zealand
3
3
0
0
176
28
9
England
3
2
1
0
184
47
7
Tonga
3
1
2
0
47
171
5
Italy
3
0
3
0
35
196
3
For
Against
Points
TABLE 4. Pool
Country
146
A standings
P
C standings
W
L
D
France
3
3
0
0
108
52
9
Fiji
3
2
1
0
124
68
7
Canada
3
1
2
0
114
82
5
Namibia
3
0
3
0
42
186
3
TABLE 5. Pool
Country
P
D standings
W
L
D
For
Against
Points
Wales
3
2
1
0
118
71
7
Samoa
3
2
1
0
97
72
7
Argentina
3
2
1
0
83
51
7
Japan
3
0
3
0
36
140
3
For
Against
Points
TABLE 6. Pool
Country
P
E standings
W
L
D
Australia
3
3
0
0
135
31
9
Ireland
3
2
1
0
100
45
7
Romania
3
1
2
0
50
126
5
USA
3
0
3
0
52
135
3
147
1999 RWC Statistics
TABLE 7. Individual
Category
Total
Name
Top Points Scorer
102
Gonzalo Quesada
Top Try Scorer
8
Jonah Lomu
Most Points in a game
36
Paul Grayson
Most Tries in a game
4
Keith Wood
TABLE 8. Team
148
scoring statistics
scoring statistics
Category
Total
Name
Most Points
250
England
Most Tries
29
New Zealand
Most Points in a game
101
New Zealand
Most Tries in a game
14
New Zealand
1999 RWC Statistics
TABLE 9. Most
penalties in World Cup
Position
Name
Country
Total Conceded
Blind Side Flank
Lievremont, Marc
France
8
Open Side Flank
Magne, Olivier
France
8
Tight Head Prop
Ale, Robbie
Samoa
6
Open Side Flank
Kronfeld, Josh
New Zealand
6
Blind Side Flank
Erasmus, Johan
South Africa
6
Open Side Flank
Wilson, David
Australia
5
Open Side Flank
Pountney, Budge
Scotland
5
Lock
Andrews, Mark
South Africa
5
Number 8
Ormachea, Diego
Uruguay
4
Fly Half
Lamaison, Christophe
France
4
TABLE 10. Top
kickers in World Cup (by accuracy)
Position
Name
Country
% Success
Total Kicks
Fly Half
Rees, Gareth
Canada
100.00
19
Fly Half
Aguirre, Diego
Uruguay
100.00
6
Fly Half
Contepomi, Felipe
Argentina
100.00
2
Fly Half
Velazco, Ferran
Spain
100.00
1
Left Wing
Roff, Joe
Australia
100.00
1
Scrum Half
Dawson, Matt
England
100.00
1
Outside Centre
Satala, Viliame
Fiji
100.00
1
Fly Half
Humphreys, David
Ireland
93.75
15
Fly Half
Serevi, Waisale
Fiji
92.31
12
Fly Half
Elwood, Eric
Ireland
90.91
10
149
150
Index
A
Aguirre 48, 57, 98, 149
Alatini 35
Albanese 16, 84, 105, 107
Alberdi 16
Ale 39, 149
Allub 16, 84
Alonso 45
Alzueta 48
Andrews 43, 149
Anitoni 50
Arancio 29
Arbizu 16, 107, 112
Archer 22
Argentina 16, 54, 84, 105, 107, 112
Armstrong 41, 71
Astarloa 45
Auradou 25
Australia 9, 18, 69, 87, 89, 110, 118, 124
B
Bachop 31, 39, 78, 94
Great Events of the Twentieth Century151
Back 22
Bado 48
Balan 37
Banks 20
Bari 24
Bartolucci 16
Bastide 45
Bateman 52, 79
Baugh 20, 88
Beal 22, 108, 116
Belfast 69
Bell 27
Benazzi 25, 74
Bergamasco 29
Bernat-Salles 73, 102, 112, 121, 124
BernatSalles 25
Berruti 48
Betting 143
Bevan 11, 65, 108, 112, 118
Beziers 56, 58
Bice 20
Billups 50
151
Bishop 27, 61, 99, 107
Blaauw 33
Blades 18
Blom 50
Blowers 35
Boobyer 52
Bordeaux 73, 80
Bowman 18
Brennan 27
Brezoianu 37
Brignoni 48
Brinza 37
Bristol 65
Brooke 35
Brouzet 25
Brown 35, 91, 115
Bryan 20
Bulloch 41
Burke 18, 69, 87, 89, 110, 118, 124, 135
Burnell 41
C
Caione 29
Califano 25, 102
Camardon 16
Campese 144
Camps 45
Campsall 11, 58, 99
Canada 20, 58, 80, 88
Canalda 16
Carbajosa 112
Cardiff 54, 78, 93, 105, 110, 122, 124
Cardinal 20, 88
Cardoso 48, 57, 71
Casey 27
Castaignede 25, 73, 101, 120, 125
Castellani 29
Castidnede 59
Catt 22
Ceppolino 29
Cerviño 48
Charron 20, 88
Charvis 52, 54
Checchinato 29
Chiriac 37
152
152
Cilley 16
Ciolacu 37
Clark 15
Clarke 39
Clayton 50
Clohessy 27, 99
Coaches 15
Cockbain 18
Cockerill 22
Cole 11, 63, 88
Connors 18
Constantin 77, 100
Contepomi 16, 106, 113, 149
Cordle 20
Corkery 27
Corleto 16
Corodeanu 37
Corrigan 27
Corry 22, 60
Costabile 48
Costes 25
Coulson 50
Cristofoletto 29
Crowley 18
Culhane 144
Cullen 35, 91, 115
D
D'Arcy 27
Dal Maso 25
Dallaglio 22, 75, 132
Dalzell 50, 61, 77, 89
Davidson 27
Davies 52
Dawson 22, 27, 60, 76, 95, 149
de Beer 33, 43, 67, 98, 116, 118
de Glanville 22, 96, 128
De La Calle 45
De Los Santos 48
De Olivera 48
de Villiers 25
DeCarli 29
Demci 37
Desbrosse 25
Diaz 48
Díaz 45
Dickinson 11, 71, 105, 107
Díez 45
Dima 37
Dominguez 29, 60, 86, 92
Dominici 25, 101, 120
Dourth 58
Dourthe 25, 74, 102, 112
Doviverata 24
Dowd 35, 76
Draguceanu 37
Drotske 43
du Randt 43
Dublin 61, 77, 87, 99, 112
Duggan 35
Dume 12, 61, 78
Dunkley 20
E
Eales 18, 87, 110, 124, 142
Edwards 46
Elia 16
Ellis 144
Elwood 27, 99, 139, 149
Enciso 45
England 22, 60, 75, 95, 108, 116, 138,
148
Erasmus 43, 149
Erickson 12, 84, 95
Etxeberria 82
Etxeberría 45
Evans 52, 144
F
Fainga'anuku 46
Fairley 41
Faivaai 39
Faka'osifolau 46
Falaniko 39, 94
Faletau 46
Fanolua 39
Farmer 33
Fatani 46, 86
Feaunati 39
Feek 35
Feijo 15
Ferres 48
Fiji 24, 56, 80, 101, 108
Finau 46
Finegan 18, 124
Fisch 33
Fitzpatrick 27
Fleck 43, 67, 98
Fleming 12, 77, 91, 116, 120
Foley 18, 89
Fox 145
France 9, 25, 58, 73, 101, 112, 120, 124
Frechilla 45
Fugigi 37
Furter 33
G
Galashiels 57
Gallagher 144
Gallastegui 45
Garbajosa 25, 112, 120, 124
Garforth 22
Garvey 43
Gatland 15
Giacheri 29
Gibbs 52, 79
Gibson 35, 91
Giffin 18
Giovanelli 29, 86
Glas 25, 58
Glasgow 97
Glendinning 39
Gontineac 37
Gonzalez 85
Gordon 31
Graf 20
Graham 41
Grau 16
Grayson 22, 95, 116, 148
Green 144
Greening 22, 95, 108
Greenwood 22, 95, 96
Gregan 18, 110, 118, 124
Grewcock 22
Grey 18
153
Grille 48
Grimes 41
Grobler 50, 89
Gross 50
Guscott 22, 75, 95
H
Haka 75, 127
Hammett 35, 91
Harry 18
Hart 15
Hasan 16
Hasegawa 31
Hastings 144
Hawke 12, 67, 110
Healey 22, 76, 95, 96, 108, 116
Henry 15
Herbert 18, 87, 111
Herrera 15
Hightower 50, 77
Hildan 37
Hill 22, 75, 95, 116
Hilton 41
Hirao 15, 31
Hirose 31, 63, 79, 105
Hodge 41, 103
Hodges 50
Hoeft 35
Holtzhausen 33
Honiball 43, 122
Honiss 13, 69, 82
Horan 9, 18, 69, 87, 111, 141
Horn 33
Hough 33, 88
Howarth 52, 78, 79, 111
Howley 52, 78, 79
Huddersfield 91
Humphreys 27, 52, 61, 107, 149
Hutchinson 20, 125
I
Iacob 37
Ibanez 25, 73, 102
Ieremia 35
Ikale Tahi 127
154
154
Inchausti 45
Ireland 9, 27, 61, 87, 99, 107
Ishi 31
Italy 29, 60, 86, 91, 140
Ito 31, 79
Iwabuchi 31
Izaacs 33
J
Jacobs 33
James 20, 52
Janjies 33
Japan 31, 63, 78, 105
Jenkins 52, 54, 78, 93, 110
Johns 27
Johnson 22
Johnstone 15, 80
Jones 35, 52
Jones-Hughes 52
Joseph 31, 78
Joubert 15
Juillet 25, 101
Julies 43
K
Kafer 18
Katalua 24
Kayser 43, 67, 98
Kearns 18, 87
Kefu 18, 69, 87
Kelleher 35, 65, 76
Keyes 145
Khasigian 50
Kirwan 91, 144
Kiso 31
Kivalu 46
Koga 31
Koloi 46
Kovalenco 45, 57
Kronfeld 35, 65, 76, 120, 149
Kruger 43
Kunda 31
L
L’Huillier 50
Lacroix 145
Laffite 48
Lafonde 144
Lam 39, 93, 94
Lamaison 25, 73, 112, 120, 124, 149
Lamé 48
Lamelas 48
Larkham 18, 89, 110, 118
Lasagavibau 24, 56, 80
Latham 18, 89
le Roux 43, 68
Leaega 39, 63, 84, 94, 131
Leaupepe 39
Ledesma 16, 107
Lehner 50
Lemoine 48, 72
Lens 107
Leonard 22, 43
Leota 39, 109
Leslie 41, 67, 71, 109, 133
Lewis 52
Lievremont 25, 101, 149
Lima 39, 63, 94, 109, 126
Limerick 89
Lintvelt 33
Little 18, 24, 69, 81, 101
Llanelli 84
Llewellyn 52, 79
Lloyd 22
Lobbe 16
Logan 41, 67, 114
Lomu 9, 35, 65, 75, 91, 114, 120, 122,
132, 144, 148
Longstaff 41, 103
Loubsens 45
Loubsher 33
Lougheed 20
Loveday 20
Luger 22, 95, 108
Lumkong 50
Lupu 37
Lyle 50, 77
Lynagh 78, 94
M
Maceletu 102
Macqueen 15
Mafi 46
Maggs 27
Magne 25, 58, 113, 120, 121, 149
Major 20
Maka 46
Male 24
Malet 45
Mallett 15, 82
Mallier 25
Malo 45, 82
Malotana 43
Mancheca 57
Marlu 25
Marques 48
Marshall 13, 35, 75, 97, 122
Marten 46
Martens 86
Martin 16, 29
Martinez 45
Mascioletti 15
Masuho 31
Mata 45
Matauiau 39, 109
Mather 41, 103
Matson 24
Matsuda 31
Mavrodin 37
Maxwell 35, 65
Mayer 41
Mazzariol 29
Mazzi 29
Mazzuccato 29
McCarthy 20, 22
McCormick 31
McHugh 13, 56, 109
McKeen 27
McLaren 41, 103
Meeuws 35
Mehrtens 35, 65, 114, 120, 122
Menchaca 48
Mendaro 48
155
Metcalfe 41, 71
Mignoni 25, 74
Mika 35, 39, 91
Miki 31
Miller 27, 87
Miranda 16
Mitu 37, 69, 77, 99
Mo’unga 50
Mocelutu 24
Mola 25, 73, 101
Montgomery 43, 122
Moore 52
Moretti 29
Morrison 13, 80, 93, 114
Moscardi 29, 86
Mostyn 27
Motoki 31, 79
Mouton 33
Muller 43, 83
Mullins 27
Murata 31
Murray 41, 103, 114
Murrayfield 67, 71, 82, 103, 109, 114
N
Naevo 24
Naituivau 24
Nakamichi 31
Nakamura 31
Nakauta 24, 108
Namibia 33, 56, 73, 88, 136
Nesdale 27
New Zealand 9, 35, 65, 75, 91, 114, 120,
122, 144, 148
Nichols 20, 80, 88
Niu 50, 89
Noriega 18
Ntamack 25, 112
O
O'Brien 14, 54
O'Cuinneagain 27, 99
O'Driscoll 27, 61, 99
O'Kelly 27
O'Meara 27
156
156
O'Shea 27, 99, 107
O’Brien 101
Oguchi 31
Ohata 31, 78
Okubo 31
Oliver 35
Olivier 33
Opperman 33
Orengo 16
Ormachea 149
Ormaechea 48, 57, 98
Osborne 35, 91
Ostiglia 16
Otto 43, 82
P
Paga 50, 77
Pagano 20
Palepoi 39
Panizza 48, 134
Paramore 39, 84
Parfrey 15
Paris 116
Parker 50, 90
Paterson 41
Paul 18, 69, 87
Paullier 48
Paulse 43, 82, 122
Pedro 33
Pelous 25, 124, 136
Penisini 46
Penney 20
Perez 16
Perry 22, 95, 108
Petrache 37, 77
Phelan 16
Phillips 15
Pichot 16, 105, 107, 112, 137
Pini 29, 92, 140
Ponce De Leon 48
Pountney 41, 114, 149
Properzi 29
Pucciariello 29
Puertas 45, 82
Q
Qoro 24
Quesada 9, 16, 54, 84, 105, 107, 112, 148
Quinnell 52, 55, 78
R
Raiwalui 24
Randall 91
Randell 35
Rasila 24
Rauluni 24, 56, 101
Redpath 41
Reed 41, 50
Rees 20, 58, 81, 88, 149
Referees 11
Reggiardi 112
Reggiardo 16
Reid 41
Reidy 39
Ripol 45, 134
Robertson 35
Robinson 91, 144
Robson 20
Rodber 22
Roff 18, 69, 89, 110, 124, 149
Rogers 52, 78
Romania 37, 69, 77, 99, 139
Roselli 29
Ross 20, 59, 88
Rossouw 43, 116
Rotaru 37
Rouse 24, 108
Ruiz 16
Russell 41
S
Sakata 31
Sakuraba 31
Salageanu 37
Samoa 9, 39, 63, 84, 93, 109
Samuelson 33, 73, 88
Sanchez 48
Sarramea 25
Satala 24, 80, 81, 102, 149
Sauan 37, 100
Saulala 50
Saviozzi 29
Scelzo 16
Scharrenberg 50
Schmid 20
Schurfeld 50
Sciarra 48, 57
Scotland 41, 67, 71, 103, 109, 114
Senekal 33
Septar 37
Serevi 24, 56, 101, 149
Sewabu 24
Shuman 50, 77
Simone 16, 84
Simpson 41, 109
Sinkinson 52, 111
Sirbu 37
Sititi 39
Skinstad 43, 82
Skrela 15
Slusariuc 37
Smith 20, 24, 31, 33, 41, 108
Snow 20, 88
So'oalo 39
So'oialo 39
Socias 45
Solomie 37, 77
Sotutu 24
Soulette 25
South Africa 43, 67, 82, 97, 116, 118,
122
Souto 45
Spain 45, 57, 82, 103
Spencer 35
Sporleder 16
Springboks 138
Stan 37
Staniforth 18, 89
Stanley 20, 81, 88
Stewart 20, 80
Steyn 33
Stoica 29, 86
Storace 48
Strauss 18, 89
streakers 69
157
Stroble 50
Sucher 50
Swanepoel 43, 82
T
Ta'ala 39
Ta'u 46
Tabua 24
Taione 46
Tait 20, 41, 109
Takau 50
Tanuma 31
Tapueluelu 46
Tardits 50
Tatafu 46
Taufahema 46, 86
Taufo'ou 95
Taumalolo 46, 65
Taumoepeau 46
Taupeaafe 46
Tawake 24, 102
Taylor 52, 54, 78
Te Pou 46
Telfer 15
Terblanche 43, 122
Theron 33
Thiel 20
Thomas 14, 52, 79, 87, 103, 111
Thorne 35
Tierney 27, 99
Tiko 24
Tiueti 46, 95
Toala 39
Tofan 37
Toleafoa 39
Toloke 46
Tone 39
Tonga 46, 65, 86, 95
Tonita 37
Topping 27
Torres 45
Toulouse 88, 101
Tournaire 25, 137
Townsend 41, 71, 109, 114
Travini 29
158
158
Trew 78
Troncon 29
Tu'ilupotu 86
Tu'ipulotu 46, 96
Tu’ihalamaka 15
Tudor 37
Tuidraki 31, 78
Tuigamala 39, 84
Tuineau 45
Tune 18, 87, 110, 124
Twickenham 60, 75, 95, 108, 118, 120
U
Ubogu 22
Uiagalelei 50
Uluinayau 24, 81, 101
Umaga 35, 39, 75, 114, 121
Underwood 91, 144
Uruguay 48, 57, 71, 97
USA 50, 61, 77, 89
V
Va'a 39
Vacarri 86
Vaccari 29
Vaega 39
van den Berg 98
van der Berg 43
van der Merwe 33
van der Westhuizen 43, 82, 98, 116
van Dyk 33, 74, 88
van Heerden 43
van Rensburg 33, 73
van Rooyen 33
van Vuuren 33
van Wyk 33, 88
Vecino 48
Veitayaki 24
Velazco 45, 83, 149
Venter 43, 67, 97
Viana 48
Vickery 22
Vili 39
Villaú 45
Vioreanu 37
Visagie 43
Vos 43, 82
Voss 82
Voyle 52
Vunibaka 24, 80
Vunipola 46
Vusec 37
W
Wales 52, 54, 78, 93, 110
Wallace 27
Walne 52
Walton 41
Ward 27, 99
Watanabe 31
Watson 14, 60, 89, 124
Weir 41, 109
Whitaker 18, 89
White 14, 57, 73
Whittaker 20
Wilkinson 22, 60, 75, 95, 108, 116
Williams 15, 18, 20, 50, 52, 58, 59, 88,
144
Willis 35
Wilson 18, 35, 75, 91, 110, 111, 114, 120,
149
Wood 22, 27, 61, 87, 129, 148
Woodward 15
Wooley 46
Worsley 22
Wrexham 63
Wyatt 52, 78
Wyllie 15
Y
Yoshida 31
Young 52
Z
Zaayman 33, 73
Zapatero 45
Zarzosa 45
Zisti 29
159

this link - BC Rugby News

Transcription

Similar documents

QuestionsAndAnswers

hedrick`s exotic petting zoo is coming to orscheln!

Pool C: Tonga `Ikale Tahi`

Passion for Temporary Structures

ICHIGO DAIFUKU - The BIG Group

KidsClubPlacemat_11x..

What you`ll need. How to put it all together.

grilled country style ribs

South Asian Food Pictures - Canadian Diabetes Association

Coffee Ride - CoGo Bike Share