French determination sinks kiwi hearts

A nation is in mourning. The expectations were so high, but in the end it came down to one match, and they failed. The underachievers of world cup rugby have failed again going down to a spirited French side in Cardiff.

The All Blacks promised so much and after a dominant first half it looked as if they would be cruising into the semi-finals. Dan carter got the All Blacks on the board first with a simple penalty goal and it wasn’t too long before it was 6-0 as Carter slotted a second penalty. Luke McAlister made a couple of breaks that could well of resulted in tries.

It was McAlister who set up the first try busting through a struggling French midfield defence before linking up with Jerry Collins then getting the ball back from Collins and his momentum carrying him over the line. Fans back in New Zealand would’ve been already organising what they would be doing for the semi-final.

France got themselves on the board just before half time as Lionel Beauxis got a penalty goal. New Zealand dominated the first forty and had they taken more of their chances they could’ve put the French out the match, this would later come back to haunt them. The French game plan of kicking wasn’t working and a change was needed.

A massive turn of events was about to happen. McAlister was then sin-binned crucially five minutes into the half in a very questionable call for impeding a chaser in a kick. France got another 3 points from that and got within seven.

Minutes later the French got a try through Thierry Dusatoire after persistent pressure on the All Black line. The sin-binning proved very costly for the men in black as the French piled on ten points in that period. Many kiwis described it as a case of 16 against 14.

The tides were turning and memories of 1999 were creeping into New Zealanders. Things went from bad to worse when playmaker Dan Carter went off injured, something the many kiwis dreaded happening.

The New Zealanders hit back hard though with a try to Rodney So’oialo, but it was crucially unconverted by Luke McAlister. Injuries continued to plague the All Blacks with second choice five-eighth Nick Evans and experienced hooker Anton Oliver just a couple of the hurting All Blacks.

Just as the All Blacks were being forced to make some unwanted changes the French were making some changes that would influence the match. On came fly-half Frederic Michalak and did he make a difference. With ten minutes to go and down 18-13 he played an influential role in a match winning try which saw fullback Damien Traille cross over and sink the hearts of 4 million kiwis. New Zealanders would have been yelling at their TV sets when young English referee Wayne Barnes missed a forward pass in that play.

The French had brought back some of that famous French flair and this key tactical change was about to win them the game. The All Black back line was not functioning the way it was in the first half, a result of injuries.

The kiwis refused to give up, plugging away at the French line, to no avail. The French were showing a huge amount of guts and determination; they looked like they wanted this win more then the All Blacks. They got within five metres of the line, There were a number of times when referee Wayne Barnes could’ve awarded a penalty to the New Zealanders. The crucial moment came when Sebastien Chabal got a crucial turnover to seal the game. Luke McAlister tried a drop goal, out of hope but wasn’t close. It was all over when The All Blacks lost the ball and French halfback Jean-Baptiste Elissalde ran across the field and booted the ball into the crowd.

The French were ecstatic, The All Blacks were humbled. Tears spread among the team as yet another world cup is gone. For mine it is all in the mind, something about the All Black mentality that they can’t perform at world cups. Yes, some of the refereeing was questionable, but the French showed more guts. So where to next for New Zealand rugby, who has the answer? All I can say with huge pain is that famous George Gregan statement “4 more years”.