abnutta's Roar Profile

Only 3 of the 20 editions of Fifa World Cup finals have had a higher average attendance – USA 1994 (68,991), Brazil 2014 (53,592) and Germany 2006 (52,491).

Add in the good rugby and it puts it past the previous champion – France 2007.

SPIRO: Rugby World Cup was great but not the best ever

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2015

I don’t want to be curmudgeonly, but I get a little discombobulated myself regarding Rugby World Cup trophy nicknames.

The official name for the trophy is actually the Webb Ellis Cup which would make Bill, Bull or even Wiremu (as some suggest) anatopistic.

1924/25 Invincibles for mine, BTW.

SPIRO: Can the All Blacks win the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan?

I know Alan Jones doesn’t get much love on these boards, but did anyone hear his comments on Sunrise the other day?

Saying how he thought this would be AUS easiest match and that AUS would win handsomely. The reasoning behind this confidence he explained was that the All Blacks “wilt under the spotlight.” I almost spit up my breakfast… and I really love Kina for breakfast.

All Blacks vs Wallabies highlights: New Zealand claim 2015 Rugby World Cup final

Saw that too. It was pretty funny because the next bloke just gave her the stone face.

AB discipline was horrid. Boks never looked like scoring a try in the entire 80 mins. Where are all the Barrett/Sopoaga/Cruden boosters right now.

Carter doesn’t kick those goals, they don’t win. Goal kicking is always the key in Rugby World Cup final matches.

Springboks vs All Blacks highlights: Rugby World Cup scores, blog

Boks can’t now.

Can anyone prevent a Wallabies versus All Blacks final?

12 tries in 2 quarter finals. Averaging 6 tries per match. 😉

All Blacks vs France highlights: New Zealand crush the French in World Cup quarter-final

This match confirmed to me the wisdom in retaining Daniel Carter as the All Blacks First Five-eighths.

It is all too quickly forgotten that when all the gloss wears off, Rugby World Cups are won by kicking your goals.. penalties, conversions, drops. Accumulate points any way you can. Win your knockout matches any way you can and the manner will be forgiven.

How much more pressure would the All Blacks have been under without Carter to keep the board ticking over or keep within striking distance of a team with it’s tail up. As talented as Barrett and the other First Five-eighths claimants are, there have always been question marks over their ability to deliver pressure goals in the test environment.

SPIRO: Pumas good, the All Blacks very good

According to CNN, the RWC is the second biggest single sporting event, by ticket sales in the world. Second only to the FIFA World Cup.

The 2014 edition of the FIFA World Cup in Brazil had an average attendance of 53,000.

RWC 2015 has already sold in excess of 2.4 million tickets, that’s an average attendance of 50,000 over 48 matches.

International rugby is not exactly small fry on the world sporting landscape.

Sam Burgess dismisses NRL return rumours

You’re dead wrong about Bruce Robertson not being far behind Little and Bunce. He’s streets ahead of them.

Even a cursory reading of All Blacks literature would result in a vastly different XV.

I consider myself well steeped in the lore of Allblackdom and will offer my XV based on that, as well as those that I have been fortunate to witness in my time. I will say that if there are names on this list of which you may know little, do yourself a favour, get out some books from the library or jump onto the New Zealand rugby museum website and soak it in. Knowledge will set you free.

George Nepia
Sir John Kirwan
Bruce Robertson
Bert Cooke
Ron Jarden
Daniel Carter
Sid Going
ZinZan Brooke
Sir Richard McCaw
Maurice Brownlie
Sir Colin Meads
Richard White
Ken Gray
Sean Fitzpatrick
Kevin Skinner
Coach: Sir Fred Allen

Picking the greatest 15 All Blacks in Test history

He awards the penalty at the mark of Read’s offence and his explanation (albeit in frenglish) describes the offence committed by Read. If the yellow was for Whitelocks offence then the mark should have been to the right of the posts where it was committed. Minor squabbles I know, however it was one of a few perplexing decision Mr Garces made throughout the match. The penalty against McCaw for not rolling away after playing on after the Kriel knock on (even accounting for an early challenge by Conrad Smith), does the knock on not dictate that the penalty be awarded for that offence and at the site of that offence?

[VIDEO] South Africa vs New Zealand highlights: Rugby Championship results, scores, blog, videos

Does anyone find it odd that Mr. Garces sent Whitelock to the bin for Keiren Read’s offence? I wonder if it would have made a difference if Read had been binned instead of Whitelock.

Ned Hughes vs Lions in 1908 followed by South Africa in 1921 equals 13 years between tests. Therefore, not even close to being a world record for Greg Holmes tonight, as Greg Clarke erroneously claimed.

[VIDEO] Wallabies vs Springboks highlights: Rugby Championship results, scores, blog

“but it lacked….majesty.”

It’s pretty much why rugby and football are the only sports I can watch and still feel dignified.

When did rugby lose its mojo?

Let him march, boys! Let… the man… march!

1981. Brendon McCullum. Roger Federer. Serena Williams and Beyoncé. Now I’m a bit depressed. Thanks Sheekey.

How productive is your birth year in sport?

Chunk Bair. Out of the 760 men of the Wellinton battalion that reached the summit, 711 became casualties.

The only opinion I’ve heard of New Zealanders towards the Australians wasn’t a particularly good one. It wasn’t a bad one either. They called the Aussies “corn stalks”. I assume because of the plumage on the slouch hat. I haven’t heard of any particular “reverence” for the Australians other than that of mutual and certainly well deserved respect.

SPIRO: Rugby remembers the Anzacs in the true spirit of their sacrifice

I well remember the angst when Daniel Carter went down in Rugby World Cup 2011. I must say that the news of Crudens demise is a relatively minor blip on my Rugby World Cup concern radar in comparison. Although Daniel Carter has been out of sorts for a while I’d still rate him going down again a greater disaster even if Cruden was fit. Does anyone else feel the same? Deep down? Or am I living in the past?

Cruden to miss World Cup, but the All Blacks are covered

Justin Marshall’s hysterical overreaction to this ruling really irks me. The ruling for that try is correct as was the ruling for the Taufua try a few weeks back.

I really hope his plea for a change to that law falls on deaf ears. It is a rather simple law to adjudicate on despite his confused protestations.

[VIDEO] Crusaders vs Highlanders highlights: Super Rugby scores, blog

There’s a time and place for everything.

I prefer to see players utilising the spiral pass precisely because it requires more skill to execute both catching and passing and most importantly both left and right.

It should be a prerequisite for a backline player from 9 to 15, to spiral the ball from either hand and I am suspicious of those that opt for the less skilful “push” or “lob” pass.

I can forgive the use of the push pass when used in close quarter passing under pressure, being used by meathead forwards or by 5 year old girls.

Obsession with spinning the ball is spiralling out of control

I lobbied hard for the wife to name our first born (a daughter as it turned out) after two of my sporting heroes. Jackie Robinson and Jackie Kyle.

She would not have a bar of it.

In the end we came to a compromise and chose “Eden”

Jack Kyle - another legend passes on

2014

My all time favourite was a thread about the ugliest rugby players. It went something like this…

I see your Tana Umaga and raise you a Kurtley Beale.

I see your Kurtley Beale and raise you a Kurtley Beale with a moustache.

We're in crisis! The best of The Roar's comments section

As an All Blacks supporter the pain of defeat is somewhat dulled when it comes at the hands of the springboks. I usually feel a great deal of pain after an All Blacks loss because in my blinded opinion it usually comes due to a really substandard performance from the All Blacks themselves. Not so in this case. The All Blacks played well for some good stretches there. The springboks were better.

Are there any positives in defeat?

Another classic to add to the pantheon. This rivalry just keeps getting better.

[VIDEO] Springboks vs All Blacks: 2014 Rugby Championship highlights, scores, blog

In my opinion the All Blacks lost that match in the opening stages of the match. Not the dying stages. They didn’t turn up to play and were duly spanked. That’s test match rugby.

Boks vs All Blacks: Rugby's greatest rivalry continues

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