The major talking point of the game, and perhaps the World Cup so far, was Sam Warburton's sending off in the first quarter of the match. His tackle on winger Vincent Clerc - whom he lifted off the ground but let go of in mid-air to prevent slamming him to the ground - in the 18th minute was considered dangerous and referee Alain Rolland had no hesitation in pulling out the red card. Commentators, pundits, players and the crowd were left stunned as Warburton walked calmly to the bench to watch the rest of game in agonising separation.
France's Parra's three penalty kicks were, in the end, enough to see them to the final but Wales's creative play, heart and stubborn resistance pushed them all the way to the final whistle. They missed four vital kicks - three penalties and one a conversion, two of which that would have almost certainly won the game for them.
As he did against Ireland, Phillips grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck when he found a gap through the two French locks and scored a great try to take the score to 9-8 (to France), however Jones then missed the conversion to take Wales into the lead. It was an agonisingly close kick that hit the left post.
Six minutes from the final whistle Wales were given a chance again when prop Nicolas Mas strayed offside. The kick was a huge straight punt from the halfway line and out of Stephen Jones's range so Halfpenny stepped up. His kick had the direction but dropped heartbreakingly short of the goal bar and despite a last charge to the try line that consisted of 26 phases, Wales's fate was sealed.
Elsewhere, Lewis Hamilton has pipped Vettel to pole in Korea. Murray-ray is still drinking the delights of Asia and has moved into the semis of the Shanghai Masters. England have lost the first of a five-match One Day series in India by 126 runs.
I'll keep you blogged...
No comments:
Post a Comment