Scrumhalf Piri Weepu, entrusted with the kicking duties in the absence of Dan Carter, put New Zealand into the Rugby World Cup semi-finals with seven penalties in a 33-10 victory over Argentina at Eden Park yesterday.
Argentina’s sound defense restricted the All Blacks to just two tries, both in the final quarter of the game, while the Pumas crossed the line once to briefly, and against all predictions, lead in the first half.
The last of the four quarter-finals was the only one to produce the winner forecast by the bookmakers as Weepu finished with a match haul of 21 points.
The win pits New Zealand against Australia in one semi-final after their trans-Tasman rivals knocked defending champions South Africa out of the tournament with an 11-9 win in their quarter-final earlier yesterday. The second semi-final between France and Wales was decided on Saturday after their victories over England and Ireland respectively.
“I think it’s what we expected,” All Blacks captain Richie McCaw said.
“We knew if we kept chipping away, we would get the chances. They [Argentina] are a team that attack the breakdown well and they slowed up our ball a wee bit in the first half,” the flanker added. “That was one of the big improvements we got going in the second half, we got some quick ball and played at the right end.”
Argentina skipper and playmaker Felipe Contepomi, whose team finished third at the 2007 World Cup, said they were undone by the “magic” of the All Blacks.
“I think it was competitive for 60 minutes, then I think the All Blacks showed their magic and they won well,” Contepomi said. “That’s rugby, you know.”
New Zealand were in control from the opening exchanges against Argentina and while they were unable to score a try until the 67th minute, they were able to quickly master the reputed strength of the Argentina pack.
However, while the All Blacks backs retained the ball for long periods, mixing cut-out passes and wrap around movements to shift Argentina’s heavy pack around Eden Park, they could not penetrate the Pumas’ staunch defense.
It was left to Weepu to accumulate the points starting with a 38m penalty in the 13th minute and doubling the score soon after when Argentina conceded a scrum penalty as their main weapon began to misfire early.
However, even though they were forced on the back foot for most of the game, the Pumas scored the only try of the opening 40 minutes.
Leonardo Senatore came off the back of a scrum, beat the tackle of McCaw and took play deep into All Blacks territory before off-loading for a try to flanker Julio Farias Cabello, converted from the sideline by Contepomi to leave the Pumas up 7-6.
Weepu regained the lead with two more penalties to have New Zealand 12-7 ahead at halftime.
Argentina’s long-range marksman Marcelo Bosch narrowed the gap to 12-10 with a successful penalty from halfway, soon after the restart.
However, another two Weepu penalties made it 18-10, before No. 8 Kieran Read finally pierced the Pumas’ defense for New Zealand’s first try following a series of forward rushes.
The All Blacks closed out the game with another Weepu penalty and a rare try for lock Brad Thorn, who galloped 25m to score after replacement flyhalf Aaron Cruden and winger Cory Jane had opened up Argentina down the right flank.
Cruden, who converted the try, had a sound game after coming on early when Carter’s understudy, Colin Slade, left the field with a leg injury.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB