All Blacks, All Done
| 3
|
In a complete shocker of an upset New Zealand have exited the 2007 IRB Rugby Union World Cup. The All Blacks lost to France 20-18 in a match played at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wales. In a very strange twist, the hosts France had to travel to Cardiff for this quarter-final game. A loss to Argentina in their group phase openner saw Les Bleus finish second in their group thus pairing them with New Zealand in Cardiff.
The first half saw domination by the All Blacks as they ran out 13-3 leaders at the interval. The second half proved that some substituting would pay dividends for the French. Sebastien Chabal's introduction on 51 minutes seemed to enliven the French. The French powered forward and a beautiful sweeping move saw the French go in through the efforts of Thierry Dusautoir. The conversion made saw the scoreline level at 13 all. The All Blacks did manage one more try but failed on the conversion making the score 18-13. France though brought on Frederic Michalak who made an immediate impact with a powering run down the left in which he eventually handed off to Yannick Jauzion who scored and the conversion was made putting Les Bleus in the lead. So the tries from Thierry Dusautoir and Yannick Jauzion for France in the second 40 saw the All Blacks condemmed for another early exit in the World Cup. The French victory sets up a semi-final match against England on October 13 to be played in the Stade de France. The other semi-final will pit South Africa against Argentina on October 14 also to be played at the Stade de France.
The early exit for New Zealand has now put the coaching position up in the air. Head coach Graham Henry's contract runs until January. The New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) has stated that they will announce their decision by Christmas. The NZRFU will hold an inquiry as to why the team failed in their quest to lift the Webb Ellis Trophy emblematic of the World Cup Championship.
