England's exit from the Rugby World Cup after their abject performance in the quarter-final allied with the departure of a poor Ireland, left those from these islands with only Wales to cheer on. Happily, their performances gave us real hope that they would make it past France and head into the Final with a genuine chance of ultimate victory.
How disappointing, then, to see the 'Men from the Valleys' go down to an undeserved defeat after playing most of their semi-final match with only 14 men. Sam Warburton's sending-off may have been within the letter of the law but every former player who was asked for a view seemed to have the same one - a penalty, certainly; a 'yellow card', yes; but not a sending off. Referee Rolland ruined the match, according to the great South African, Francois Pienaar, and effectively doomed Wales to defeat.
What followed Warburton's dismissal showed just how right Pienaar was, at least in terms of ruing Welsh chances of victory. Despite being a man short for so long, Wales outplayed the French, scored the only try of the match and came within a single point of forcing extra-time; had they had a full team, they would surely have put France to the sword and emerged as deserved winners. As it was, a poor French side has found itself in next Sunday's final after losing 2 of its 'pool' matches, scraping past an utterly disjointed and incompetent England and now just beating a team of 14.
The second semi-final saw the right result if not a convincing one. Australia rarely threatened the All Blacks' try-line, but then neither did the All Blacks show their traditional flowing style of rugby. This match was a dour affair, eventually won, and rightly so, by the All Blacks who must now be odds-on favourites to lift the trophy and delight their entire nation. It's inconceivable that France can cause an upset as the latest William Hills' odds suggest - New Zealand 1/8; France 11/2 - but then this has been a World Cup full of surprises, with the best, or favoured teams, not always doing so well.
Still, my money, if I had a bet, would be firmly on the All Blacks.
Of course, there's also another match taking place which is the game on Friday neither side wanted to be in; the play-off for 3rd and 4th places between Australia and Wales. This one is much more difficult to call and much may depend on which side has put their disappointments of last weekend behind them most effectively. My heart wants Wales, but my head suspects that the Wallabies might just shade it; whichever way it goes, it ought to be close and may well be a better match than Sunday's final.
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