Excuses, reality, and the Quarter-Finals
Well - in light of Dan Carter's injury I found myself completely speechless this weekend. Part of me just can't wrap my mind around a World Cup right without him...I can't make myself actually believe that the All Blacks will stand up to do the Haka these next three weeks without him. But reality says that the World Cup will hum on with Dan Carter observing from the spectator seats and that the All Blacks fight to the bitter end regardless of who is wearing the number 10 jersey.
For those of you who don't really get this because you only vaguely know who Dan Carter is...it would be like Canada losing Sydney Crosby in the knock-out rounds of the last Olympics...home soil, huge possibilities, commemorative jerseys, and an entire nation's dream of winning everything...So this is devastating. And it's not like magically if Dan Carter is feeling better in two weeks they can give him a try. Once a player is ruled out due to injury and another player is called up in their place. The injured one is out-out.
But as some of the other rugby blogs I've followed have pointed out...we grieve Dan's loss and send him happy thoughts...but there's still a job to do and Dan's just not an option anymore. So there's no more "what ifs" ... Colin Slade will just have to step up and there should be no Debbie Downers about him like there was about Stephen Donald...and I say that because I was one of the vocal ones about Duck. I still think that there were better choices than him but this isn't then...Slade will step up. He's got the entire team standing up around him and given a real chance - he may just shine more brightly than everybody has been willing to give him credit for.
So the show must go on.
This last weekend did not only have a tragic end to Dan Carter's World Cup. It also marked Drew Mitchell's (AUS) and Frans Steyn's (SA) end to the tournament. Drew Mitchell strained his hamstring during the last pool game - Frans Steyn suffering a shoulder injury. My heart breaks a little for Drew Mitchell who has worked incredibly hard since his catastrophic ankle injury early on in the SuperXV season.
Injuries are terrible all around. They're never wanted and I hope that teams would never hope that they would befall opposing players. With that said - Peter de Villiers, South Africa's coach was quoted in saying that Steyn's absence will hit his team harder than New Zealand will miss Dan Carter. Barf. Who does that - comparing tournament ending injuries like that? Can't we just feel bad for the players and understand that all three of the southern hemisphere teams have suffered starting 15 injuries and not start giving reason as to why we might do so well.
Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophesy to me.
Quarter-Finals are as follows:
Ireland vs. Wales
England vs. France
New Zealand vs. Argentina
Australia vs. South Africa
I've bolded my predicted winners. I really, really think that England and France are a toss up. France could be angry enough and have shown themselves to be stubborn enough when the pressure is on. Yes, they lost to New Zealand and Tonga already but the Tonga loss might have been a big enough kick in the pants for them to put England to bed. England really hasn't played up to their attitude or potential.
I don't think Ireland could stand to lose to Wales. I just can't see it happening. Just as I just can't see New Zealand losing to Argentina...even if they put Duck at 10 - I just can't see the All Blacks losing.
And I think that Australia will come out on top against South Africa. The early comments this week from de Villiers are strange and unprofessional. And the lead up to the World Cup certainly has indicators that a new champion would be crowned this year. If that's true - let's just get the inevitable out of the way in the Quarter-Finals.
Until then - have a great week...I'll be back in a couple of days to rant about...oh, let's see. Tip tackles.
For those of you who don't really get this because you only vaguely know who Dan Carter is...it would be like Canada losing Sydney Crosby in the knock-out rounds of the last Olympics...home soil, huge possibilities, commemorative jerseys, and an entire nation's dream of winning everything...So this is devastating. And it's not like magically if Dan Carter is feeling better in two weeks they can give him a try. Once a player is ruled out due to injury and another player is called up in their place. The injured one is out-out.
But as some of the other rugby blogs I've followed have pointed out...we grieve Dan's loss and send him happy thoughts...but there's still a job to do and Dan's just not an option anymore. So there's no more "what ifs" ... Colin Slade will just have to step up and there should be no Debbie Downers about him like there was about Stephen Donald...and I say that because I was one of the vocal ones about Duck. I still think that there were better choices than him but this isn't then...Slade will step up. He's got the entire team standing up around him and given a real chance - he may just shine more brightly than everybody has been willing to give him credit for.
So the show must go on.
This last weekend did not only have a tragic end to Dan Carter's World Cup. It also marked Drew Mitchell's (AUS) and Frans Steyn's (SA) end to the tournament. Drew Mitchell strained his hamstring during the last pool game - Frans Steyn suffering a shoulder injury. My heart breaks a little for Drew Mitchell who has worked incredibly hard since his catastrophic ankle injury early on in the SuperXV season.
Injuries are terrible all around. They're never wanted and I hope that teams would never hope that they would befall opposing players. With that said - Peter de Villiers, South Africa's coach was quoted in saying that Steyn's absence will hit his team harder than New Zealand will miss Dan Carter. Barf. Who does that - comparing tournament ending injuries like that? Can't we just feel bad for the players and understand that all three of the southern hemisphere teams have suffered starting 15 injuries and not start giving reason as to why we might do so well.
Sounds like a self-fulfilling prophesy to me.
Quarter-Finals are as follows:
Ireland vs. Wales
England vs. France
New Zealand vs. Argentina
Australia vs. South Africa
I've bolded my predicted winners. I really, really think that England and France are a toss up. France could be angry enough and have shown themselves to be stubborn enough when the pressure is on. Yes, they lost to New Zealand and Tonga already but the Tonga loss might have been a big enough kick in the pants for them to put England to bed. England really hasn't played up to their attitude or potential.
I don't think Ireland could stand to lose to Wales. I just can't see it happening. Just as I just can't see New Zealand losing to Argentina...even if they put Duck at 10 - I just can't see the All Blacks losing.
And I think that Australia will come out on top against South Africa. The early comments this week from de Villiers are strange and unprofessional. And the lead up to the World Cup certainly has indicators that a new champion would be crowned this year. If that's true - let's just get the inevitable out of the way in the Quarter-Finals.
Until then - have a great week...I'll be back in a couple of days to rant about...oh, let's see. Tip tackles.
I have to say that I admire your dedication, loyalty and love of this (insane!) sport - but ouch there are too many injuries involved! Can't they just all get along and play nicely?!
ReplyDeleteVery nice predictive powers (re: France). But will Ireland have an identity crisis now, having been beat by Wales?
ReplyDeleteThey absolutely will...maybe more so now that ANOTHER world cup has slipped through their fingers without ever having progressed further than the quarter-finals in a world cup event.
ReplyDeleteAnd even more so than that tight feeling in their throat (also known as 'choking') would be that the next four years could mean that Paul O'Connell and Brian O'Dricoll will have played their last RWC this year.