“The best play I saw this World Cup was when the Wallabies drove it up the blindside against England, and they flashed back the other way for the outside-half to bring a man back in on the inside”. Indeed, Japan’s heroic victory over South Africa seemed to kick-start interest in the tournament beyond the die-hard fans. He’s been so positive and upbeat in the wake of that match, as well as playing like a real leader throughout it. That’s a really good sign of a maturing leader – and that’s important, because although he’s been doing this for a long time we always forget how young he is.
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So I think to overcome a Samoa team that they’d got into a fierce battle with is a really big achievement. It’s more just trying to stop what they are pretty good at. The boys are in a good place at the moment.
“I’m enjoying the rugby these days but a good player seems to be the big man who can knock people over”.
“If we manage to get to the semi-finals this World Cup, it would be awesome, purely because in the last World Cup we didn’t beat a southern hemisphere team, and that is a target of mine – beating a southern hemisphere team when it matters”.
“There were were a lot of chances that we blew”, Warburton added. You could hear the difference it made being at the Millennium Stadium against France on Sunday, and they’re back in the same venue at the weekend – and they’ll once again turn it into a home match.
He said: “I’m very aware that this is probably the biggest game of my life”. It’s not as if we were outplayed by Australia.
Wales will also have to keep an eye on Bryan Habana, with the veteran wing needing just one try to top New Zealand star Jonah Lomu’s World Cup record of 15.
“As everyone knows, hindsight is a wonderful thing”.
We’ve not beaten them an abundance of times, but last time we played them we did and that’s a confidence booster.
“I don’t think the players will feel any more pressure with this game”.
SO here we are at the quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup and what a fantastic finale we have got in store.
“Having conducted a detailed review of all the evidence, including new submissions from the players and their representatives, along with all available camera angles, the appeal committee dismissed the finding that the players had committed an act of foul play, as the player had not been dropped or driven and therefore the tackle was not unsafe”, the judicial panel said in its findings.
“It has been really up and down”, said outside centre Morgan. I am always the optimist. They’ve been playing knockout rugby ever since then.
“I’m in awe of someone like Jamie Roberts and the great player he is, when he’s catching the ball, he’s looking at the ground just to run over someone”.
Thomas, who won 23 caps between 1996 and 2000 despite being just 5ft 9ins and tipping the scales at 12 stone, has questioned whether players of his stature can still command a jersey in the Test arena. That is the challenge that faces us, but for us to get that win last November was a huge step in our learning curve.
Warburton, meanwhile, paid tribute to team-mate Alun-Wyn Jones, who clocks up 100 appearances for Wales and the Lions this weekend.
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Rather than wallow in the disappointment of O’Connell’s global career-ending injury, Ireland’s players are treating his misfortune as a call to arms.
