ESPN10 minutes of reading
These daily files include the latest reports on the World Cup, as well as betting lines, noteworthy information and the best reading material. Stay tuned to ESPN for updates from France throughout the tournament.
– Rugby World Cup 2023: squad | schedule | standings table | podcast | injury
Lead: Magical Mackenzie Light Up VS. Uruguay
Damian McKenzie lit up the stage against Uruguay by scoring two tries and registering as many assists as he started, before All Blacks coach Ian McKenzie spoke to All Blacks as they head into the quarter-finals. He tried to get Foster to think things through. Earned a spot in the knockout stage.
McKenzie, who had a great performance off the bench against Italy last week, continued his form as a fullback against South America, gathering the bouncing ball with one hand and flicking it inside to replace Will and get the crowd on their feet for the opening try. The first of Jordan’s two tries.
McKenzie could have jumped over the line early in the game to score a third goal had the TMO not spotted Richie Mo’unga grabbing him by the neck, but he finally managed to slam the door in the 20th minute. Become. .
The full-back’s every touch was a gold medal, as he showed his class and was part of all the good that the All Blacks produced, but he easily scored at fly-half after Mo’unga had left the field. , has risen to prominence once again.
With Beauden Barrett and McKenzie both competing for the starting fullback jersey, that’s sure to cause some headaches for Foster as the team approaches the final stages of the tournament. The All Blacks will also have a patchy start to the game, with inaccurate shots hampering their chances and failures.
Uruguay, of course, took on the impossible task of stopping New Zealand from reaching the quarter-finals and must be praised for their efforts in disrupting the All Blacks’ flow in the first quarter. They were fearless in running into tackles and showed smartness in their use of the ball. Mauer Aldao came very close to scoring Los Telos’ first goal, but was forced into touch.
However, a simple mistake by the All Blacks cost them the opening try of the game. An early knock-on from Cam Rougaard derailed his first goal, but a neck grab from Mo’unga derailed his next, and inaccuracies disrupted the match. Everything started going well from the 20th minute on, with 11 tries and a place in the quarter-finals confirmed, so neither Ireland, South Africa nor Scotland will be keen to play next week.
Man of the Match McKenzie said: “It was a really fun game, pretty free-flowing. To be honest, it took a long time to break Uruguay down. They He defended very well.”
“But we managed to get some points, so I’m really proud of the players. We’ve gotten as far as we wanted to go and now we want to get even better and get to the quarter-finals. I’m really excited. “For the coming week.” ”
around the cup
Robertson ‘banned’ from All Blacks match
The All Blacks may have improved since their opening game loss to France, but there was a lot going on behind the scenes – not the least of which was incoming coach Scott Robertson. However, there are suspicions that he has been banned from participating in the team’s pool games.
According to All Blacks great Justin Marshall, Robertson was told not to attend All Blacks matches at the World Cup, but is free to attend other matches in France if he wishes. .
Robertson was named as his successor earlier this year and New Zealand Rugby was forced to act as other international unions began approaching the seven-time Super Rugby champion. Foster was also invited to reapply, but he failed to do so and his four-year term will end whenever the All Blacks’ campaign in France concludes.
“Can I tell you something really interesting?” Marshall said.
“Scott Robertson is here in France. You may have seen him. He was floating around.
“He is not allowed to attend All Blacks matches. They feel he is too much of a hindrance to the current players.
“Suddenly they might want to talk to him, they might want to impress him, so Ian Foster told him…he should be allowed to attend All Blacks matches. Is not.”
Although Robertson was unable to watch the All Blacks pitchside in France, he joined Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Aaron Smith and Richie Moe as players who will be responsible for the 2024 rebuild. Will be watching carefully. Unga, Ardie Savea and Beauden Barrett have all moved offshore, while players such as Cam Rougaard, Scott Barrett, Damian McKenzie and Will Jordan will be part of the squad when Robertson takes over next year. The core is ready.
Ford and Farrell partnership reunited for No. 41 start
George Ford and Owen Farrell have known each other since childhood playing rugby league for Wigan and spend hours together discussing rugby union, but their partnership for England is He says it’s more of an instinct than a plan.
Ford returns to fly-half to face Samoa on Saturday, with Farrell moved to inside centre, a combination long relied on by former coach Eddie Jones but which has not been implemented since the 2021 Six Nations. .
Their first Test was against Samoa in 2014, when they tied for 40, 10 and 12. But over the past two years, Ford has been sidelined with injury, Jones has lost faith in him, and the arrival of Marcus Smith has temporarily erased the partnership that was so effective at the 2019 World Cup.
“This is exciting. We’ve obviously done this many times before and we’ve had real success,” Ford told reporters Thursday.
“Owen is another voice when we want to move the ball and distribute the ball and we hope that will lead to some chances to score tries at the weekend.”
Asked how much he plans when and how to switch roles during a game, Ford said it’s “a matter of feeling and awareness” and shouldn’t be overly planned or structured. said.
“I just want to be flexible and that’s what happens when you play together so many times. Sometimes it’s not even communication, it might just be a little bit of eye contact,” he said.
“When Owen realizes he’s a first receiver, it gives him an opportunity to go out a little bit more and vice versa.”
Mr. Farrell expressed a similar view.
“Regardless of what the team is, we just talk about all things rugby,” he said. “We are on the same page and hope we can get along well since we last played together.
“It’s interchangeable that we both do both jobs. We don’t really plan it in advance, it just happens.”
– Reuters
Sopoaga sent a replacement kicking tee from England.
Samoan flyhalf Lima Sopoaga was unable to regain the kicking tee he lost in Bordeaux last month, but he regained some confidence on Saturday after his England coach sent him a used tee that looked just like it. They will now play against England.
Sopoaga has owned the original T-shirt since he was 14, but left it on the pitch during the chaos following the win over Chile and it was not returned despite appealing on social media.
“The England kicking coach sent me a similar coach. His name is Alex Davies,” Sopoaga said on Thursday.
“He sent me the old one so it’s kind of the same. I taped it up and pretended it was the same one. So I hope I don’t shake them up over the weekend. If so, I’m going to take responsibility for the tool. “
The 32-year-old former All Black said the original T-shirt traveled the world with him and was an “extension of himself”.
“I pack my stuff first before I pack my boots. I’d rather forget my boots than my kicking tee,” Sopoaga said.
– Reuters
Italy holds soul-cleansing fire ritual to recover from All Blacks disaster
Manager Kieran Crowley said Italy will focus on process rather than results in their final pool match against France as they aim to make a comeback in the World Cup after last week’s heavy defeat to the All Blacks.
The Azzurri still have a chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals from Pool A if they defeat the tournament organizers at the OL Stadium on Saturday. [AEST] And Crowley said he believed they had “moved on” from their 96-17 loss to New Zealand.
“One bad performance doesn’t define you, so we quickly forgot about it,” he told reporters after naming his team.
“We’re looking forward to the chance to put in a performance this week that will at least give (the team) a little more respect and confidence.”
Stephen Varney said the players held a ceremony this week in which they wrote their thoughts about the New Zealand tragedy on a piece of paper and threw it into the fireplace.
“I think it was a good way to put it behind us and move on,” said the Welsh-born scrum-half.
Crowley took the blame for the loss, saying the players had been coached to focus more on the results of their efforts rather than the individual steps needed to be competitive.
“Looking back at last week, I probably coached poorly. I think we lost the process,” he added.
“That was disappointing from my perspective because we were more about the results than the process, and this week we went back to the process.”
– Reuters
match preview
france vs italy
TAB (tab.com.au): France $1.01, -27.5 $1.90, Italy $15, +27.5 $1.90
A place in the quarter-finals will be at stake when France and Italy meet in Lyon in Pool A on Friday night. The Azzurri return to the same venue where they humiliated the All Blacks 96-17 last week. They brought the three-time world champions to their climax that night, but could do little to stop the onslaught. However, this match is expected to be even closer as both teams have far more knowledge of how the other will play after numerous Six Nations battles. It is true that France has had the upper hand in recent matches, but they have been forced to strive for victory in almost every situation. Les Bleus will also be refreshed after missing last week’s game, with manager Fabien Galthie bringing back star No. 8 Gregory Aldritt and Maxime Roux replacing the injured Antoine Dupont as No. 9. become. There are several different scenarios for both teams to advance. But the simplest is that if France wins, they will top Pool A. And that’s the likely outcome here.
today’s news
Wallabies duo return home due to injury
The rest of his team-mates returned to training on Thursday, but Wallabies youngsters Nick Frost and Carter Gordon officially announced their season is over due to injury.
Australia were given a few days off following their 34-14 win before reconvening at Saint-Etienne on Wednesday night. That was always the plan, but they now face the reality of a weekend of training knowing they can do nothing but prepare for an unlikely quarter-final.
For the Wallabies to stay in France, Portugal will need to pull off the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history against Fiji and deny them a bonus point in the process.
Regardless of the outcome of the final pool stage fixture, Gordon and Frost will not take part in the Wallabies’ preparations going forward. Gordon injured his knee cartilage during practice last week and suffered a graze late in the win over Portugal, while Frost injured his knee joint in the win.
Wallabies coach Eddie Jones said: “It’s unfortunate that Nick and Carter have had their seasons ended with injuries.”
“Nick showed the courage to play through great discomfort against Portugal and Carter gained valuable experience in his first year as a Test player.
“We wish them both a speedy recovery and success and hope to watch them continue to develop in Super Rugby Pacific next year.”