Wales v France
1. In retrospect, Sam Warburton's red card was correct as dictated by the IRB laws. The fact is Warburton did let Vincent Clerc go in mid-air which is extremely dangerous (as we saw with Keven Mealamu and Tana Umaga with Brian O'Driscoll in 2005). I have said before that spear tackles are a blight on the game and need to be eliminated - the only way to do that is by applying the strongest punishment, i.e. red card.
2. The fact that Wales were only a kick away from winning this game despite playing with 14 men for 63 minutes of this game shows how poor and limited a team France are at this World Cup. The signs were apparent before Warburton's sending-off; France coughed up the ball several times in the red zone. Their tactic of kicking every ball out was bizarre to say the least when you would have thought driving up the middle of those forwards would have been the way to do it.
3. Yes, Wales may have a team that could be world champion in the future but the Rugby World Cup is a tournament where you have to grab your opportunities or you'll have plenty of regrets - any All Blacks fan will tell you this. I fear that Wales may not get a better chance of making a RWC Final than this one. Nevertheless, the small nation tacked to the West Country should be very proud of their team; but unfortunately this RWC has just become another great edition to the British Isles' so-close-yet-so-far-and-what-if stories at World Cups (football included).
New Zealand v Australia
1. All the pundits were saying that to win this game, the All Blacks needed to dominate up front right from the word go and leave the foot firmly on the throttle. They also said that an early try and penalty would also go a long way towards victory. All Blacks fans witnessed all of these things on Sunday night and the 20-6 scoreline did flatter the Wallabies somewhat. What joy it was seeing the Wallabies scrum disintegrate like a Lada being hit by a tank.
2. Yes, we love ganging up on the Australians when we beat them - they do that to us all the time after all and thoroughly deserve it. But credit should be given to Robbie Deans for getting the Wallabies even this far. One has to remember that unlike in New Zealand and South Africa, rugby union is in a massive fight with rugby league and Australian rules football not just for the national public's attention but for players - it's a dog-eats-dog world as witnessed with league stars, Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt leaving league to go to Aussie rules. After years of being clearly third rate to the Boks and ABs and a bit of fodder for top Northern Hemisphere sides, Dingo Deans has planted the shoots for a potentially great Australian side just as Mitchell helped sow the seeds for this current All Blacks side which has reached its full potential with Henry and co. It took 3 World Cups for McCaw's generation to make a Final and given how young the likes of Pocock, Beale and O'Connor are, there is still hope for Wallabies fans - and perhaps a bit more to worry about for the rest of the rugby world.
3. Aaron Cruden's drop goal for me was the moment that really accelerated the ABs run to victory. It was the sort of confidence booster we dream of seeing from someone who has only started a test for the ABs until last night, who wasn't even in the original squad until two weeks ago, who has had his own personal battles to fight, and one who has had to battle his many doubters. Once that drop goal went over, the ABs signalled to the opposition that there were no more flaws in this side even at the position everyone thought the ABs would be in trouble in once Carter limped out of the World Cup. Cruden has always had the talent and the confidence to be an All Black first five and now it can be safely said that the All Blacks don't miss Carter too much.
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