Live text – Wales v Australia

Friday, October 21st, 2011

by admin

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0825: So those line-ups in full for :
Wales: L Halfpenny (Cardiff Blues); G North (Scarlets), J Davies (Scarlets), J Roberts (Cardiff Blues), S Williams (Ospreys); J Hook (Perpignan), M Phillips (Bayonne); G Jenkins (Cardiff Blues, capt), H Bennett (Ospreys), P James (Ospreys), B Davies (Cardiff Blues), L Charteris (Newport Gwent Dragons), D Lydiate (Newport Gwent Dragons), T Faletau (Newport Gwent Dragons), R Jones (Ospreys).
Australia: Kurtley Beale (NSW Waratahs); James O’Connor (Western Force), Adam Ashley-Cooper (Brumbies), Berrick Barnes (NSW Waratahs), Digby Ioane (Queensland Reds); Quade Cooper (Queensland Reds), Will Genia (Queensland Reds); James Slipper (Queensland Reds), Tatafu Polota Nau (NSW Waratahs), Salesi Ma’afu (Brumbies), James Horwill (Queensland Reds, capt), Nathan Sharpe (Western Force), Scott Higginbotham (Queensland Reds), David Pocock (Western Force), Ben McCalman (Western Force).

0823: The Queen is in town for the game and has already pressed flesh with Australian Prime Minister Jullia Gillard. No sign of a curtsy.

0820: Also in the green and gold corner is Quade Cooper who will be keen to make an impression after an underwhelming tournament. The Queensland Red revealed on Twitter that he will be sporting a pair of boots, in fancydan white of course, signed by former All Black Jonah Lomu after the legendary winger dropped in on one of the team’s training sessions this week.

0813: Wales will be without skipper Sam Warburton after the IRB backed up referee Alain Rolland’s dismissal against France with a three-week ban for the flanker. So the chance to see him battle the maurading David Pocock is gone, but keep an eye on two swashbuckling sets of back threes with Kurtley Beale fit again for the Wallabies.

0807: Their campaign may have made for compelling viewing, but a casual glance at the results would suggest Wales have done little more than what is expected of them. They are still yet to beat a team who were placed higher than then in the IRB’s world rankings at the start of the tournament. So would defeat here leave a slightly sour taste? Or is that just downright unreasonable after coming so close to a first final? Text me from he UK on 81111 and tweet me from anywhere via hashtag #BBCRWC

0800: Kick-off in this 21st century version is 0830 BST. For all the excitement of their run to the last four, Wales will want to avoid being on the wrong end of the scoreboard for a third time in the tournament when the final whistle blows around 90 minutes later.

0755: There is a bit of history to spice up this contest though. The last time the tournament was held in New Zealand 24 years ago, the semi-finals shook down in exactly the same way. Before the All Blacks rolled the French in the final, a Paul Thorburn conversion upset the likes of Michael Lynagh and David Campese as an Australia side that was to become world champions in 1991 were beaten 22-21.

0749: Sunday’s final is a single-point semi-final defeat and a few hundred ‘what-ifs’ away for Warren Gatland’s side. Instead they take on Tri-Nations champions Australia in Eden Park to decide who gets the, rather meagre, consolation of third place.

0745 BST: Morning all and it is an earlier one than Welsh fans will have wanted. Forty-eight hours too early to be precise.

— ’re ’s , . : A ‘Malign Intellectual Subculture’ – George Monbiot Smears Chomsky, Herman, Peterson, Pilger And Media Lens.

Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/int/news/-/sport1/hi/rugby_union/9620926.stm