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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.
France came into the world cup with some decent warm up performances against Ireland following their shocking loss to Italy in the 6 Nations months prior. It was expected that having been drawn into Pool A with hosts New Zealand, as well as Tonga, Canada and Japan would give the French an easy ticket to the quarterfinals at the least. What did happen in the first round may likely not have been predicted by anyone. France's first match against Japan wasn't easy, even though the final score suggests otherwise. Anyone that watched this match could say that Japan gave everything they had that night and it showed into the second half. The Brave Blossoms nearly drew level with about a quarter of the match left to play, but eventually ran out of gas, which allowed the les Bleus to take over.
After beating Canada to an eerily similar final score line in their second match, New Zealand was next on the schedule. It was speculated that the French may throw the match, but Coach Marc Lièvremont's post match reactions and their play suggested otherwise, even though the All Blacks had no difficulty dispatching their opponents by a twenty point margin. Tonga was last on the list and it seemed all likely that the French would be going through in second with New Zealand dumping Canada in their final match. However, things took a turn for the worst against the Tongans as the French were not only outplayed, but in general, just looked pathetic. Tonga secured the win and probably could have earned enough tries to put them through to the next round over the French, but they didn't manage. From here, constant public conflict between Marc Lièvremont and his players reached a boiling point, which may have been to blame for recent performances. This left many wondering how bad it was going to get as the players no longer responded to their coach and apparently coached themselves through the next phase.
With England going through from Pool B in first, this meant a big rival showdown from the get-go. During the first half, les Bleus completely dominated by avoiding mistakes and playing with their heads up, while their opponents couldn't pass to save their lives. France cooled off during half time and although they won by seven points, England did make a minor comeback late as best they could. It wasn't a classic by any means, but it was enough to put France through to face Wales in the semifinals in a match that proved to be controversial. The French and the Welsh both started well and the match was looking to be a great one, but a red card following a tackle by Warburton on Clerc changed the face of the match and ultimately killed Wales' chances of reaching the finals. France sat back after scoring what they believed to be a sufficient amount of points to earn the win, but Wales kept fighting back, only to ultimately lose by only one point in heartbreaking fashion. The French win set up a final against the highly favored All Blacks.
To say that les Bleus are a strange team is quite an understatement. On any given night France can either turn up leaving a pathetic mess with their tails between their legs, or smashing through the door with an odd air of confidence so strong that their sweat could be used to make perfume. The All Blacks took the lead with a try by Tony Woodcock fifteen minutes into the final, but a missed conversion by Weepu kept the match close leading into half time. Early in the second half, Stephen Donald converted a penalty, but not one minute after, the French roared back with a try by Captain Thierry Dusautoir and took over the match from there. Despite losing to Tonga and narrowly passing through to the quarterfinals, the French were the better team on the final night against the All Blacks and still couldn't pull it off, losing by a single point.
Thierry Dusautoir deservedly earned the IRB International Player of the Year award following the tournament and is the first French player to do so since the legendary Fabien Galthié back in 2002. Wing Vincent Clerc had a great campaign, tying for first among try scorers with six to his name. Dimitri Yachvili did not disappoint either with excellent passing and kicking, finishing fourth among all point scorers despite swapping kicking duties regularly with fellow scrum half Morgan Parra (who also played well even after being moved to fly half effectively). Imanol Harinordoquy was brilliant at line outs, particularly against the All Blacks in the final. While there were plenty of other standouts, it must be noted that Maxime Médard did not play up to his standard by far—making poor decisions in the back that hurt his team on several occasions.
While France may leave following a cruel loss, they also leave with a newfound respect by fans that originally thought they didn't have what it takes to be one of the best. The future looks bright for the nation with plenty of talented young players climbing quickly through the ranks. France should be viewed in a different light at the next world cup. - M
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