The 2023 Rugby World Cup through the eyes of a Latvian fan
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New Zealander Will Jordan stood out with three touchdowns in this match, but in the entire tournament he has eight such touchdowns – the same was achieved by “All Blacks” legend Jonah Lomu, his compatriot Julian Savea, as well as DĀR rugby player Brian Habana.
In the fifth minute, Emiliano Bofelli put the Argentine national team in the lead with an accurate penalty kick, but six minutes later, with the care of the team, Jordan brought the ball into the scoring area and Richiji Mo’unga scored the goal – 7:3 for New Zealand.
After another five minutes, Jordy Barrett made a touchdown, consolidating the advantage of New Zealanders, but in the 34th minute, Argentina was close to the scoring zone, but after a violation by the opponents, instead of going for the first touchdown, they chose a penalty kick, which was realized by Bofelli – 6:12. By the end of the half, Mo’unga with a penalty kick and Shannon Frizzell with a touchdown restored the “All Blacks” safe lead – 20:6.
Rugby World Cup: Joy, Frustration and Triumph (1987-2023)
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In the opening minutes of the second half, the New Zealanders had another productive attack, with seven points added by Aaron Smith and Mo’ung. By the 50th minute, Frizel and Mounga had already reached 34:6, but later Jordan made his second and third touchdowns in the match.
At the end of the game, the New Zealanders tried to carry Jordan for another touchdown to become the sole record holder.
New Zealand’s dominance was so depressing that when yellow-card Scott Barrett’s idle time expired five minutes before the end of the game, the coaches decided to rest him and not let him back on the field at all, thus the “All Blacks” willingly continued to play in the minority.
New Zealand and Argentina have met 37 times, 34 of which have been won by the New Zealanders, with Argentina winning twice and one match ending in a draw. The teams have met four times in the World Cup, with New Zealand winning all the games, but previously it has been more and more difficult to win each time. In 1987, the New Zealanders celebrated a victory with 46:15, in 2011 – with 33:10 and eight years ago they won with 26:16.
With the next opponents in the final, South Africa or England, the “men in black” have a principled rivalry.
In 1991, New Zealand defeated England in a group game (18:12) in London, in 1999 they celebrated victory there again (30:16), after which the paths of the two national teams did not cross for a long time – until the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup, when England poured a cold shower for the titled favorites, completely dominating the field (19:7).
On the other hand, New Zealand met South Africa for the first time in the 1995 World Cup final, losing 12:15 in overtime. True, many All Blacks players suffered severe food poisoning before the match, and there were rumors that Asian bookies had bribed a certain “waiter Susie” so that the favorites would fail in the final. The final itself remained a vivid memory with the spectacular flight of the “Boeing” liner over Johannesburg’s “Ellis Park” stadium before the match, as well as with the World Cup presented by Nelson Mandela, the first black President of the Republic of Serbia, to the captain of the Republic of Serbia François Pinard – once the rugby team of the Republic of Serbia, nicknamed the “Springbokke” and the gazelle emblem was seen as a symbol of apartheid in sports, and Mandela wore the jersey as a sign of national reconciliation.
In 1999, in Cardiff, both national teams competed for 3rd place, and again the Africans were superior (22:18).
However, only New Zealand won the World Cup in future head-to-head matches. In Melbourne in 2003, the “All Blacks” repaid with a convincing 29-9 in the quarter-finals, and their self-confidence was characterized by the last touchdown, when number ten Carlos Spencer (later he moved to live in South Africa!) passed the ball backwards between the legs to Joe Rococo.
In 2015, in a hard-fought semi-final in London, New Zealand again prevailed over South Africa (20:18) en route to a historic third title. In 2019, New Zealand celebrated the victory in the group game in Yokohama (23:13), however, that time DĀR won the third title, becoming the first champion, despite losing in the group.
It should be added that it was in France in 2007 that DĀR became the champion, maybe the second time will be lucky? It is significant that the South Africans lifted the cup above their heads exactly on October 20.
The World Cup takes place in nine French cities for more than a month and a half, with 20 national teams fighting for the prestigious trophy. In the first stage, the national teams played a one-round tournament in four subgroups, with the two best teams of the group advancing to the quarterfinals.
The owners of the first three places in each group secured tickets to the 2027 World Cup.
France hosts the world championship for the third time and the second time – as the sole host. Out of the nine tournaments held, the William Webb Ellis Cup has been lifted three times each by rugby players from New Zealand and South Africa, two titles for Australia and one for England.
Four years ago, the World Cup held in Japan was won by DĀR, which prevailed over England in the final with a score of 32:12.
2023-10-20 21:49:09
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