The Rugby World Cup Final is but just another Bledisloe Cup Final and having each won one this season we are in for the biggest one of them all come Saturday at Twickenham. What ever you call it, these two have been the form teams this World Cup, if not this year and are full value for their spots in the final two. It has all the makings for yet another classic encounter between the two giants. A tough Pool and heavy knock out stage does leave some doubt as to whether or not the Australians will run out of steam against an arguably fresher All Blacks team who I might add had an extra day to recover from their Semi-Final too. That by no means is a given and the All Blacks will know the tenacity of the Wallabies is second to none. A great example is them going down to 13 men against a strong Welsh outfit and keeping them out in another one of their tough Pool encounters. New Zealand where also only really tested in the knock out stages and to a lesser extent by the Fren...

Written by Jean Smyth a day ago on http://ewn.co.za/ LONDON – Springbok assistant coach John McFarland says despite Heyneke Meyer’s emotional response on the weekend to not paying much attention to this Friday’s third place play-off at the Rugby World Cup, the squad is motivated to beat Argentina and win well. The team for the clash will be announced at 7pm tonight, with the squad having being a number of days off following their 20-18 loss to the All Blacks in Saturday's semifinal. The squad reassembled yesterday at the team hotel in Guildford following that loss as they prepare for Friday night’s Bronze Final against Argentina. McFarland says that despite losing to Argentina in Durban this year, they take heart from the last time they met. “It’s an important game for both teams. For us if we finished the year we move up to where we want to be, finish third in the ranking. If they beat us they finish third, so it’s an important game.” McFarland says that he’s looking...

Supersport write-up by Tony Johnson It’s a tough week for the four teams left at RWC, for sharply contrasting reasons. Tough for the finalists to regather their strength and iron out as many of the bumps and bruises as possible for the decider, and, in a way, even tougher for those who must head to the Olympic Stadium, and find out if there is anything left in the tank for the match no-one really wants to play. The All Blacks have the advantage of an extra day to prepare for the final, and they’ll need every minute of it after one of the tightest, most brutal matches in World Cup history. On the surface the NZ-SA clash came down to a couple flashes of brilliance, and a couple of bad choices by individuals.  This was a game on a knife edge from start to finish, and it really could have gone either way. You could argue that New Zealand deserved to win because they scored two tries to nil, and carried out a tactically superior strategy. They got better impact from the...

Who would want to be a Sunderland supporter this weekend? They are arguably there for the taking and it doesn’t help Newcastle United have found some goals. Even new boss Sam Allardyce believes the pressure is on him in this massive derby. Granted the Magpies have only one win in the bag but that is one more than their hosts. Wins, not to mention big wins, boost confidence and Big Sam is shroud enough to know that. Allardyce having lost his first match in charge last weekend and must be aware that none of the last 3 Sunderland bosses lost their first match against their arch rivals Sky Reports: “Sunderland have won the last five encounters with Newcastle and Allardyce told the Sunderland Echo: “I've got to look after the reputation of Sunderland. ”The pressure's on me more than it's on Steve. We've won the last five, so I don't want to be the one who doesn't win it. “But we'll wait and see on the players - only the players can make ev...

London - Here are a few stats and facts I found online ahead of the Rugby World Cup semi-final clash between the Springboks and All Blacks at Twickenham. South Africa and New Zealand have played three Tests in RWC tournaments. The first was in the memorable 1995 tournament when the Springboks won the World Cup in extra time at Ellis Park in Johannesburg. The final score 15-12. Four years later in 1999, the two rivals met in Cardiff to contest the third place play-off after New Zealand lost to France in the semi-finals while Australia won the other semi-final in extra time against the Springboks. South Africa won the bronze medal in a close-fought battle 22-18. The last time was in 2003 in Melbourne in the quarter-final when the All Blacks had a comfortable 29-9 win. Saturday’s Test match will be the 91st between the two countries. South Africa’s record against New Zealand: P: 90; W: 35; L: 52; D: 3; PF: 1 412; PA: 1 745; Win%: 39%. The total Test caps for the Springbok starti...

I don't know about you but I have been waiting just to long for as they call the "Business End" of this years tournament. Now the time is here and I feel its about time I share my ten cents on the Rugby World Cup Quarter Finals. FIRST UP IS Wales vs South Africa After a humiliating record breaking defeat its been tough for the Springboks but as expected they topped their pool. The Welsh on the other side have had their own struggles  on the injury front but they did well to get thus far considering. They come up against a South African outfit that are expected to "at the least" reach the Semi-Final and the critics say that could be just the added pressure that gives the Welsh a chance. Prediction It would be foolish of me to suggest anything other than a Green and Gold victory especially because the Welsh don't exactly have their strongest squad available but don't expect it to be by many. NEXT IS Australia vs Scotland The Australia team hav...