PUMA Rugby News Archive
October 2011
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World Cup Round Up: The Final
October 23, 2011New Zealand 8 France 7
After their comfortable 20 point victory against the French in Pool A a month ago, one could be forgiven for believing the “Blackwash” banners around Eden Park would become a reality this evening. But, in a World Cup Final the form book means little and the French made their intentions very clear even before the first whistle was blown.
The Frenchmen walked on the Haka defiantly to let them know they were in for a game...and they really were!
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World Cup Preview: The Final
October 21, 2011Six weeks of world class rugby have led us to the grand finale in Auckland on Sunday evening. Throughout the tournament we have witnessed so much: 2nd and 3rd tier nations closing the gap on the top 8, several upsets, several war dances, a lot of wind, a lot of rain, a lot of noise, a lot of “going out”, great crowds, complaints about the ball, much controversy, intense physicality, a few injuries and some wonderful rugby!
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World Cup Preview: 3rd Place Play-Off
October 20, 2011Tomorrow’s Bronze Final will be contested by two sides desperate to leave New Zealand on a high after the pain of semi-final defeat at the hands of France and the All Blacks. Both Wales and Australia will be missing key players through injury (and one through suspension) after a long and highly physical World Cup campaign. Here’s how the teams are shaping up…
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World Cup Heroes: Maxime Mermoz
October 19, 2011PUMA’s Maxime Mermoz has been a permanent fixture in France’s World Cup campaign and will play in the biggest game of his career to date in Auckland on Sunday in the World Cup Final!
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World Cup Round Up: Semi-Finals
October 17, 2011Rugby is a game of passion and this simple fact was never more apparent than in the weekend’s semi-final clashes. Four million New Zealanders expected to beat their near-neighbours and pull of the sweetest of all victories. 60,000 Welsh fans packed out the Millenium stadium 11,000 miles away in the hope of seeing their side reach their first ever final and one referee came under the spotlight for making one of the most controversial decisions in the history of the tournament. The stage was set!
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World Cup Heroes: Shane Williams
October 14, 2011These days it seems the tag ‘legend’ is often bandied about somewhat unnecessarily. But every once in a while you see a player of genuine class, someone who has performed year after year for both club and country that is deserving of the title. Shane Williams is one such player.
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World Cup In Words: Quarter-Finals
October 12, 2011Rugby World’s Paul Morgan takes a sideways look at the facts and figures and best and worst moments from the the World Cup Quarter-Finals...
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World Cup Round Up: Quarter-Finals
October 10, 2011With the World Cup Pool stages done and dusted, the two top sides from each group progressed to the eagerly anticipated knock-out stages.
Here is our summary of the quarter-final fixtures...
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World Cup Preview: Quarter-Finals
October 07, 2011It’s crunch time! Almost a month on from the pageantry of the opening ceremony and the World Cup kicks into top gear with the knockout stages of the tournament. The gloves are off and the top 8 in world rugby will do battle for the ultimate prize.
We survey each nation’s prospects and give you the lowdown on the PUMA players to watch in the quarter-finals...
