Centurions, chameleons & Bok pranks
New Zealand marked captain Richie McCaw’s record 100th Test by overwhelming France by 37-17 Saturday, to make an emphatic statement of intent at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
In the process the All Blacks took clinical revenge for past World Cup humiliations.
In the other match of the day England also served notice they are serious contenders for a second title, as they hit form with a 67-3 hammering of outclassed Romania.
However, the spotlight was firmly focussed on Eden Park in Auckland, where McCaw became the first Kiwi – the 19th overall – to reach the century mark in Test match appearances.
McCaw produced and energetic and determined performance in an impressive victory which delighted New Zealand’s fans, who still chafe at memories of 1999 and 2007, when the All Blacks were shocked by France.
But the win also handed 1987 champions New Zealand a treacherous path to the final, with likely knockout games against Argentina or Scotland and either South Africa or Australia to come.
“We had to absorb a fair bit early on, but I was proud of the way the boys did that, and then when we get our opportunity we put points on the board. In big Test matches that’s what you’ve got to do,” said McCaw.
“It’s being clinical when you get your opportunities. When you get to tournaments like this it’s about taking them so the boys held their cool and when we got our chances we took them.”
Other Test centurions:
139 – George Gregan (Australia) 1994 to 2007
121 – Brian O’Driscoll (Ireland/Lions) 1999 to 2011
119 – Jason Leonard (England/Lions) 1990 to 2004
118 – Fabian Pelous (France) 1995 to 2007
115 – Ronan O’Gara (Ireland/Lions) 2000 to 2011
111 – Philippe Sella (France) 1982 to 1995
110 – George Smith (Australia) 2000 to 2009
109 – John Smit (South Africa) 2000 to 2011
108 – Victor Matfield (South Africa) 2001 to 2011
107 – John Hayes (Ireland/Lions) 2000 to 2011
107 – Chris Paterson (Scotland) 1999 to 2011
106 – Stephen Jones (Wales/Lions) 1998 to 2011
103 – Gareth Thomas (Wales/Lions) 1995 to 2007
103 – Martyn Williams (Wales/Lions) 1996 to 2011
102 – Stephen Larkham (Australia) 1996 to 2007
102 Percy Montgomery (South Africa) 1997 to 2008
101 – David Campese (Australia) 1982 to 1996
101 – Alessandro Troncon (Italy) 1994 to 2007
100 – Richie McCaw (New Zealand) 2001 to 2011
Briefly back to Saturday. England also hit form with the hammering of Romania, which showcased some blistering attacking play and brought a welcome distraction from the lurid gossip stories which have overshadowed their campaign.
Chameleon Kiwis:
Star Australian backs Adam Ashley-Cooper and Berrick Barnes were left pondering the support Kiwis are lending to teams the Wallabies play after questioning the New Zealand accents of many fans dressed in American attire.
“There was a good turnout. It was surprising to see the amount of gold there,” said Ashley-Cooper of the crowd who witnessed Australia’s 67-5 win over the United States.
“The USA had a good turnout as well. It’s actually hard not to sing that ‘Born in the USA’ in the warm-up, wasn’t it?
“I think there’s a lot of dressed up Kiwis. It’s certainly what we expected coming over here,” said Ashley-Cooper.
Barnes joked: “There were a lot of leprechauns [for the game against Ireland] last week as well.”
Boks’ prank makes headlines:
The Springboks were left laughing after seemingly been accused of stealing a sign in a small village of Matamata on Friday.
The Boks played a prank on a local bar owner, and were shocked to see their exploits had made the newspapers as accusation of theft came in through both the NZ Herald and Dominion Post newspapers.
TRAC Sports Bar Matamata owner Gail Bailey said the Boks came in but left with the Community Trust sign, prompting her to stomp after them.
“I took after them, told them I wanted my sign back and gave them a rev-up. I didn’t know who they were,” she told the NZ Herald.
But captain John Smit explained it was just a bit of fun and no harm was intended.
“We stopped for a lunch and you could see the lady didn’t know who we were and not a lot of food was being served. We decided to move one sign from behind her bar as a prank, but she didn’t take kindly to that.”
* Matamata is a rural Waikato town in New Zealand with a population of around 12,000. A nearby farm was the location for the Hobbiton set in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Hobbiton!
Trying not to talk about rugby:
Giant Samoan wing Alesana Tuilagi said he had been in contact with his little brother, England centre Manu – but that they avoided talking about rugby.
Both players have been in try-scoring form for their countries with Alesana running in a hat-trick against Namibia and Manu getting on the board against Georgia.
Big brother Alesana said he would be in contact with Manu again before England’s clash with Romania on Saturday.
“We spoke to each other brother to brother, not talking about rugby and that stuff. So I’m going to call him today and say good luck to him,” said the 30-year-old Leicester wing.
Haka with a difference:
And finally, in the true spirit of the World Cup we bring you a few ‘alternative’ Haka to coincide with New Zealand’s impressive performance on Saturday!
