ahhhhh why why why why whyyy !!!!!!!!!
We beat Japan with big flaws, lost to NZ and TONGA (!!!!!) - then the ultimate redemption in beating England quite largely. That was big. Everybody counted us out against the Welsh, and we got past them too - with great difficulty and ambiguity even...nevertheless, qualified for the Finals. And against all odds, we played such a great game and made them suffer our style at times - only to fall short by a single point.
Had we won - our first ever World Cup, in Auckland, vs the All-blacks, against all odds and with our given bumps along the road to the Finals - this 2011 French team would have become legend. Simply...(as opposed to mere greatness lol)
But noooooooo....had to be a southern hemisphere team. I'd hate to take anything away from the NZ cup but, it's just so unfair for us !!...so hard to get over.