We are now down to the last four in this orgy of the oval ball known as the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
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| "Bill" out for all to see at Argentina-Scotland in Wellington |
Wales, France, Australia and New Zealand are all looking to lift the William Webb Ellis Trophy, otherwise known as "Bill". This weekend they will play the Semifinals at Eden Park, where the memories of players past and Maori culture all come together.
Auckland will be hopping with hopeful Welsh, French, Aussie and Kiwi fans. I was glad to have a chance to see Auckland and Eden Park before leaving New Zealand to come back to the US. My only regret is that I won't be able to soak in the ambiance in person.
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| A view of the Wellington Skyline |
Given how lousy I was with my predictions for the quarterfinals( 1 out 4), I think that any of four remaining teams would NOT want me to pick them. But since I cannot tackle, pass, ruck, maul or scrum, logically it would seem that I have no power to hurt anybody, so I am going to go through with my picks. I think both games will be tight. I just don't see France playing two good games in a row. I think even if the All Blacks have their 3rd or 4th choice fly half, the rest of the team is pretty bloody strong-and Piri Weepu has been kicking great-21 points from his boot against the Pumas.
I see a New Zealand final against Wales. Now that Wellington is done with it's games at this Rugby World Cup, I would like to give a shout out to the city of Wellington. It's a beautiful capital city that has some of the most helpful citizens I have ever met. A tip of the cap to kind-hearted Wellingtonians who helped me have such a great stay while I was there.
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| Wellington, New Zealand has a natural beauty that is breath-taking |
As a die-hard Wales fan, I hope you're right about France, but don't forget that France won the Grand Slam in 2010. They certainly are capable of back-to-back good performances! Part of me is really looking forward to Saturday, but part of me is dreading it too!
ReplyDeleteIf Wales go through to the final, I'm hoping it's against Australia, mainly because I think Welsh confidence will be higher against the Aussies. We haven't beaten NZ since Moses was a lad :(
It's only Wednesday and my nerves are in rags already!!