Comments on: Are formidable France owed an apology?

By: stix 37

stix 37 — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 08:07:54 +0000

A well written article.very well put.being a kiwi i believe the best team won the tournament but in the final the better team lost.we did have 24 years of hurt and a nation screaming for this victory...any less incentive and i think france would have won.to me its a perfect end to a fabulous tournament

By: Sean

Sean — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 07:55:31 +0000

The headline of the story is in correct English you ninnies!!!!!!! The article 'are' is the right one used in this case!!!! The author is not asking if the French nation is owed an apology, he is referring to a rugby team!

Wales lost to France because of bad kicking. They could have won in spite of the red card given to their captain. They are a great team that I respect, but pressure got to the player taking the penalties (several times).

The best two teams of the tournament made it to the final and this is evident in the scores of the last four games played.

France 9, Wales 8....fantastic game, close.

NZ 20, Australia 6....pretty clear who is better the side there.

Australia 21, Wales 18.....another great game, but the team that was convincingly thumped by NZ did triumph over Wales.

NZ 8, France 7.....fantastic game, close. No other team throughout the whole tournament put NZ on the back foot for a good stretch of a match as les bleus did. France did what Australia, Argentina and others could not (not sure why I should assume Wales would have done better – no evidence to support that argument and enough to refute it really).

In the end NZ was just a wee bit better and the scoreline reflects the game, which was a hard fought contest no one predicted. Bravo NZ! 24 years of hurt has come to an end. France were welcomed back heroes in their country. Great tournament!

By: Edmond

Edmond — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 07:40:01 +0000

"Coulda Woulda Shoulda". Same story, after every major sports tournament. Well Bravo New Zealand. France, Wales, Aussie, S.A , Eng e.t.c. failed to win the tournament. so let them work towards 2015.

By: Franck

Franck — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 06:21:10 +0000

French team awesome
Amazing come back after the bashing from the press
always a pleasure to watch them play when they are in their day
Viva la France
a true rugby lover

By: Shawn

Shawn — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 15:06:36 +0000

I think the French were hopeless. Considering that the All Blacks missed like 17 odd points in kicks. The Frech got a good try through you have to say sub standard defence from the Blacks and suddenly the French thought they could win? where were they in the rest of the tournament, a side in the final that lost 3 times (Including the final) in the tournament and they played well???

The fact is the Blacks had a bad game and came very close to Choking again, but the French played for 20 minutes in the final and granted they tried hard, what about the rest of the tournament? My view is that they should not have been in the final, they simply did not deserve it. South Africa, Samoa, Australia all did more. The final was one the most boring finals I have watched ever.

By: Chris

Chris — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 06:01:26 +0000

The behavior of the French team after the match was very arrogant. If you look you will see it. Bad sportsmanship. No apology, no way.

By: Robert Blevins

Robert Blevins — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 04:01:38 +0000

My wife and I were in Eden Park the night the All Blacks beat Les Bleus during the group stage of the 2011 RWC. The next morning when we were walking in downtown Auckland, I met the Captain of the French side, Thierry Dusautoir. I got a picture with him and told him that Les Bleus had much more rugby to play during the RWC and not to worry about last night's defeat. In my opinion, Les Bleus' performance during the final was a thing of beauty from their counter to the Haka to their defensive effort against the All Blacks. Thierry's "man of the match" performance was well deserved, as was his selection as the IRB player of the year. ALLEZ LES BLEUS!!!!!

By: Jensen

Jensen — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:44:32 +0000

Yes, the All Blacks won but then that had already been decided long before the quarter finals. South Africa, who would have beaten the All Blacks were quietly shuffled out by the referee when they played Australia. But, I have no regrets. The victory means a lot to the Kiwis, after waiting 24 years, enduring an earthquake and being hosts.

By: Nanbawan

Nanbawan — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:37:33 +0000

They might indeed deserve an apology for some of the critics that went a bit too far and were too definitive.

Nice from the writer though.

By: Mark

Mark — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 02:15:12 +0000

Rubbish article. It amazes me how neutral supporters are worse at formulating an unbiased opinion. NZ won, as expected, France lost as expected, doesn't matter how well France played really.