RWC 2011 Quarter Finals – The Year Of Old Rivalries
Welcome to the new Feature on Rugby Union Rules presented exclusively during RWC 2011 in conjunction with Heineken.
‘This Is The Game’ is an ongoing series of Rugby videos and discussions during the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The series is hosted by Former England Captain Will Carling.
Opening is a quick video of Will talking with Northern Ireland’s young golfing sensation Rory McIlroy. Rory as you know is the reigning US Open Champion.
Will and Rory chat briefly about Ireland’s chances in the upcoming Quarter Finals, about senior players retiring with newer blood coming through and the pressure of being a professional sportsperson.
In a surprise turn, Will asks Rory…
Would you rather….?
A. Score the winning try for Ireland
B. Chip-in for the masters
C. Score the winning goal for your favourite football team
Which would YOU pick?
Quarter Final Weekend
The weekend throws up several ongoing rivalries.
A distracted England play a lukewarm France reeling from the Tonga defeat. With the England camp on the news channels for reasons other than their rugby performances, Johno has a job to get them settled and focused on the huge match ahead. This is always a terrific battle between the oldest of rivals. There is no love lost between the teams and nothing will do for either side but a solid win with a semi-final place awaiting the winner. For the loser, nothing.
The Quarters also provide an enticing southern Hemisphere green and gold clash between south Africa and Australia. Historically South Africa have the upper hand but Australia have won 4 of their 5 meetings in the past 15 months. Everything is to play for!
Ireland Vs Wales offers for me the pick of the Quarter Finals – The most in-form Irish team we have seen in many years have the opportunity to display their all around consistency and solid front row against a Welsh pack coming away from their emphatic display last weekend with confidence. For fans of the elegant game, make no mistake, whilst the Quarter Final match may eventually be won by a genius display of ball handling and running breaks it is more likely to be not quite so pretty in the middle of the field and penalties will play a big part in deciding who goes forward
For those in Europe the matches take place at 06:00am and 8:30am. Yes it’s early, but definitely worth either getting up, staying up (!) or setting the recorder and avoiding the news!
As well as the interview above with Rory McIlroy, Rugby Union Rules and Heineken bring you ‘This Is The Game’ – Interesting discussions amongst seasoned International players about the Rugby World Cup ahead of this weekend’s Quarter Finals. Chaired by Will Carling, the chat involves ZinZan Brooke (All BLacks) Scott Quinnell (Wales), Rob Hendon (England) and by Video, Matt Burke (Aus).
Simply hover your Mouse over the image below for a few seconds to show the latest discussion or view the full set of interviews & chats.
Match Fixtures & Times
Saturday 8 Oct 2011 -
Ireland Vs Wales – 06:00 GMT
England Vs France – 08:30 GMT
Sunday 9 October 2011
South Africa Vs Australia – 06:00 GMT
All Blacks Vs Australia – 08:30 GMT
NB: Remember to set your alarms or recorders!
Thank You
Thank you to our Sponsors Heineken for making this awesome content available for us to share.
Please visit the related website www.thisisthegame.com
