The All Blacks steadied the nerves of a nation with an emphatic 37-17 win over France at Eden Park yesterday to secure a place in the World Cup quarter-finals as Pool A winners with a game to spare.
Haunted by the memories of premature exits at the hands of France in the 1999 and 2007 tournaments, Kiwis had been jittery all week at the prospect of facing France.
However, tries from Adam Thomson, Cory Jane, Sonny Bill Williams and two from fullback Israel Dagg, as well as 12 points from the boot of Dan Carter, allowed them to bury the ghosts of past World Cup failures for the group stage at least.
Photo: Reuters
The New Zealand pack, led by Richie McCaw in his 100th Test with lock Sam Whitelock also oustanding, overpowered the French in the scrum and harried them in the loose to allow their backs the perfect platform to display their skills.
“We had to absorb a fair bit early on and I am proud the boys did that and when we got our opportunities we put points on the board,” McCaw said. “In big tests that’s what you have got to do, so very happy.”
For the first nine minutes, it had looked like Eden Park might possibly experience a shock to rank alongside Ireland’s victory over Australia on Sept. 17, as the French took the early initiative and camped in the New Zealand half.
Photo: Reuters
However, a rampaging charge from center Ma’a Nonu in the 10th minute turned the tide with No. 8 Adam Thomson reaping the benefits to cross in the corner for the game’s opening try.
Just 11 minutes later and the All Blacks were 19-0 up.
Cory Jane scored the second try when came off his wing to take a neat inside pop pass from scrumhalf Piri Weepu and dash 40m through the cover defense to touch down.
Four minutes later, it was the turn of flyhalf Carter to make the line-break and he drew the final defender to allow Dagg to touch down unopposed.
Rattled after the three-try blitz, France did manage to regroup and held their own for the remainder of the half with scrumhalf Dimitri Yachvili finally getting some points on the board with a penalty just before the break.
However, the All Blacks came out firing after halftime and within a minute another Carter line-break got them within 5m of the French line, before Dagg danced his way through the defense to secure the bonus point with his second try.
Carter, who had converted three of the four tries, added a penalty five minutes later to extend the lead to 29-3, but gifted France their first try when his long pass was intercepted by center Maxime Mermoz in the 54th minute.
New Zealand’s golden boy made some amends 10 minutes later with a slick drop goal to extend the lead to 32-10 and effectively end any French hopes of a comeback.
France, whose gamble on playing scrumhalf Morgan Parra at flyhalf did not pay off, restored some pride with a try from Parra’s replacement Francois Trinh-Duc after a series of 5m scrums four minutes from time.
However, the All Blacks hammered home their superiority immediately with Sonny Bill Williams, on as a replacement for Jane, going over in the corner after a superb sweeping move.
France, who play Tonga in their final pool match on Saturday, are still likely to finish second in the group and reach the last eight.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to