Shaggy
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The 2011 Rugby World Cup has ended and unfortunately for the rugby faithful, this means that we’ll have to wait four years once again, but don’t be disappointed, this was a special tournament. New Zealand hosted this time around, and with that, we realize that we may not see the rugby mad country host again for a very long time.
We hope that you all savored every moment and every match, no matter what the outcomes were, the disappointments or heartache. What impressed us the most is how well second tier nations developed over the past four years, which is great news for the sport on a worldwide scale.
Development is the key to this game, as any, and this world cup has opened the door to a large number of new fans.
As we take a look back, Shaggy, psychic duck and M Two One review the twenty participants from worst to first over the next week. The rankings were put together through several opinions based on performances.
Feel free to debate and discuss. The 2011 Rugby World Cup may have ended, but rugby lives on 24/7.
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Tonga's aim pre-tournament was to finish third in their pool, gain automatic qualification for the next tournament, and gain the IRB funding that comes with that. Their overall position not only reflects that they achieved this goal, but also how closely they pushed the other teams for an all important quarter finals spot. This was always going to be difficult to attain because pool favourites and eventual qualifiers, New Zealand and France, were never likely to have their qualifying spots challenged.
Tonga also had their share of off field dramas to contend withâ€"the quick turn around in the match scheduling that many sides had to endure, political interference in the appointment of the chairman of the Tongan Rugby union, and of course the threats of financial assistance being withdrawn by the IRB. The non selection of former captain Nili Latu and the restrictive nature of the IRB sponsorship rules were all off field distractions that they could have done without.
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Their tournament started with a predictable loss to the All Blacks. Fielding their top side against the All Blacks was a tactical blunder by coach Isitolo Maka as he then, more or less, forced to name an under strength side to play a crucial match against Canada four days later. This gamble resulted in that match being lost and while this didn't prevent them from achieving third spot, it may have prevented them from progressing out of the pool stages.
While it is appreciated that the win against the French is a huge result for Tonga, and it is, in my opinion, the upset result of the tournament, it was disappointing that the Tongans didn't put any emphasis on scoring the four tries that would have put them into the quarterfinals. Regardless, Tongan supporters can rightly be proud of their team’s performance. In addition to their win against France, their second against Japan was by quite a convincing margin.
It's difficult to pick out star players, because it really was a team effort for all of their matches, based around hard, physical play by both forwards and backs alike. Top try scorer Siale Piutau was probably Tonga's best player. He had a strong tournament in the centres and was a handful for most sides that faced him. Wing Sukanaivalu Hufanga deserves special mention for his try in the France game, although he was later cited and received a five week suspension for his tip tackle on Vincent Clerc in the same match.
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It was mission accomplished for Tonga, as they achieved their goal, but may have made harder work of their task than need be. - S
The 2011 Rugby World Cup has ended and unfortunately for the rugby faithful, this means that we’ll have to wait four years once again, but don’t be disappointed, this was a special tournament. New Zealand hosted this time around, and with that, we realize that we may not see the rugby mad country host again for a very long time.
We hope that you all savored every moment and every match, no matter what the outcomes were, the disappointments or heartache. What impressed us the most is how well second tier nations developed over the past four years, which is great news for the sport on a worldwide scale.
Development is the key to this game, as any, and this world cup has opened the door to a large number of new fans.
As we take a look back, Shaggy, psychic duck and M Two One review the twenty participants from worst to first over the next week. The rankings were put together through several opinions based on performances.
Feel free to debate and discuss. The 2011 Rugby World Cup may have ended, but rugby lives on 24/7.
/Frontpagebanners/TON1.jpg
/Frontpagebanners/TON2.jpg
Tonga's aim pre-tournament was to finish third in their pool, gain automatic qualification for the next tournament, and gain the IRB funding that comes with that. Their overall position not only reflects that they achieved this goal, but also how closely they pushed the other teams for an all important quarter finals spot. This was always going to be difficult to attain because pool favourites and eventual qualifiers, New Zealand and France, were never likely to have their qualifying spots challenged.
Tonga also had their share of off field dramas to contend withâ€"the quick turn around in the match scheduling that many sides had to endure, political interference in the appointment of the chairman of the Tongan Rugby union, and of course the threats of financial assistance being withdrawn by the IRB. The non selection of former captain Nili Latu and the restrictive nature of the IRB sponsorship rules were all off field distractions that they could have done without.
/Frontpagebanners/pvTON.jpg
Their tournament started with a predictable loss to the All Blacks. Fielding their top side against the All Blacks was a tactical blunder by coach Isitolo Maka as he then, more or less, forced to name an under strength side to play a crucial match against Canada four days later. This gamble resulted in that match being lost and while this didn't prevent them from achieving third spot, it may have prevented them from progressing out of the pool stages.
While it is appreciated that the win against the French is a huge result for Tonga, and it is, in my opinion, the upset result of the tournament, it was disappointing that the Tongans didn't put any emphasis on scoring the four tries that would have put them into the quarterfinals. Regardless, Tongan supporters can rightly be proud of their team’s performance. In addition to their win against France, their second against Japan was by quite a convincing margin.
It's difficult to pick out star players, because it really was a team effort for all of their matches, based around hard, physical play by both forwards and backs alike. Top try scorer Siale Piutau was probably Tonga's best player. He had a strong tournament in the centres and was a handful for most sides that faced him. Wing Sukanaivalu Hufanga deserves special mention for his try in the France game, although he was later cited and received a five week suspension for his tip tackle on Vincent Clerc in the same match.
/Frontpagebanners/BottomLine.jpg
It was mission accomplished for Tonga, as they achieved their goal, but may have made harder work of their task than need be. - S
