Kazakh women’s team won a bronze medal at the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating 2024 in Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland, Kazinform News Agency cites the Kazakh National Olympic Committee.

Anastasia Belovodova, Arina Iliyashchenko and Alyona Lifatova defended the country’s colors at the event.

Germany took gold at the ISU Junior World Cup Speed Skating 2024, followed by Norway.

As earlier reported, Kazakh boxer Dulat Bekbauov won the first match in the men’s 67 kg bout at the ASBC Asian Elite Men and Women Boxing Championships in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Source

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Jake Paul and Mike Tyson have been encouraged to cancel their ‘mismatch’ showdown.

‘Iron Mike’ is set to step back in the ring aged 58 to take on YouTube star Jake Paul in a blockbuster summer fight, a fight which has seen him given medical warnings given their 31-year age difference.

Tyson has been documenting his training in footage posted to social media, with some fans surprisingly impressed by his punch power and suggesting he will beat Paul.

And his new footage crushing the pads with trainer Rafael Cordeiro, has been met by new pleas from fans for Paul to abandon the fight plans.

One commented: “Jake, you can still say no. It’s okay.

Another agreed: “Wow, if just one of those punches lands, Paul will be in the ICU.”

One fan suggested: “Jake’s gonna need to borrow some of those pads from Mike’s trainer.”

A fan observed: “Look at his coaches’ face, he is fearing for his life.”

One even wrote: “If Mike Tyson doesn’t win… this was fixed.”

But not all fans were convinced by the footage, with one writing: “Run Tyson. Get your wind back. You’re gonna need it for this fight trust me.”

One pleaded: “Hey Champ, can you show us a video of you hitting mitts or the heavy bag for 3 mins straight? If not just cancel it!”

A fan predicted: “I hope you all know Mike isn’t beating Jakey.”

Although a final user concluded: “It’s okay to back out Jake Paul or Mike Tyson, I’m just saying..”

Paul himself even responded to the footage, writing in the comments: “He’s the best ever. The most brutal and vicious, and most ruthless champion there’s ever been. And I will defeat him.”

It is clear Tyson is still one of the best around in short bursts, but it remains to be seen if he can keep up his work for an eight-round period.

The former undisputed champion already suffered a damaging defeat to the end of his professional career losing three of his four final fights before retirement in 2005.

Paul will be the younger and fresher fighter at just 26 despite having far less experience in the ring.

This will be his 11th professional fight, a record that boast nine wins and six knockouts though Tyson is the biggest name on an impressive list so far.

And it seems like Paul is bigger. Three-weight champion Shane Mosley said: “He’s 230 pounds. He’s big, really big. He said he feels as fast as he does at 185.”

Still, a proportion of fans are still certain that Paul will lose, after seeing training footage compared side-by-side.

Tyson’s trainer has insisted the veteran is working harder than ever, and will be primed in time for their summer battle.

A cancellation certainly seems unlikely as over 108,000 people have signed up for access to the ticket pre-sale, according to Paul’s promoter Most Valuable Promotions.

They tweeted earlier this month: “As of this morning #PaulTyson / #TaylorSerrano has over 108K signed up for access to the ticket pre-sale.

“Next week we will announce press conference dates and the ticket on-sale date. Pre-sale will be two days prior to on-sale.”

Source: Talk Sport

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Jakarta, Surakarta, Berlin (7/12 – 11)

Amid a generally declining period for Germany’s national football team, the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup in Indonesia has been a shining light for them. Germany is one of the most successful national teams ever in international competition. They have won four World Cups (1954, 1974, 1990, 2014), three European Championships (1972, 1980, 1996), and a Confederations Cup (2017). Nevertheless, in recent years, Germany is suffering a horrid fate.

In 2018, Germany suffered their first-ever first-round exit from the World Cup, since 1938. Germany became the fifth defending champions to be eliminated in the group stages of the World Cup, following Brazil in 1966, France in 2002, Italy in 2010, and Spain in 2014. Again, they were knocked out of the World Cup in the group stage for the second consecutive tournament in 2022.

At the UEFA European Championship in 2020, Germany also fell short. They only managed to reach the round of 16. At the UEFA Nations League, Germany consecutively finished 11th in 2018-2019, 8th in 2020-2021, and 10th in 2022-2023.

This year, poor performances persist, confirming that Germany is in a long decline. They lost six times and only won three times in eleven matches throughout the year. Julian Nagelsmann was installed as new Head Coach on 22 September 2023, but lost to Turkey and Austria last month in his first two games.

In the middle of this crisis, there is finally good news for Germany, from their participation in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Last Saturday, Germany were victorious in the final against France. They lifted the trophy after a hard-fought game, which ended 2-2 in regulation time. Germany went on to beat France 4-3 in a penalty shootout at Manahan Stadium, Surakarta, Central Java.

For the first time in history, Germany was crowned as world champions at the U-17 level, completing their World Cup trophies at senior and U-20 level. These young Germans show that they have a lot of potential. They were unbeaten throughout the World Cup tournament in Indonesia.

Worth noting that six months earlier, this team also won the 2023 UEFA European U-17 Championship. Germany has become the first nation to win the UEFA European U-17 Championship and U-17 World Cup in the same year. Some of their players shone and could be counted as stars for the future. Forward Paris Brunner received the Golden Ball award as the best player in the 2023 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Brunner followed in the footsteps of his fellow countryman Toni Kroos, who won the coveted award in 2007.

If Kroos manages to go on and become the 2014 FIFA World Cup winner, nobody can write Brunner off for not achieving the same. Midfielder and captain Noah Darvich already made a notable name, as Barcelona recruited him in August.

Max Moerstedt, Robert Ramsak, Bilal Yalcinkaya, Eric da Silva Moreira, David Odogu, Maximilian Henning, and Charles Hermann are several other players that could form the backbone of the German national team in the next ten years. “We have got players with incredible talent who also have a great mentality. This combination makes anything possible,” Germany’s coach Christian Wuck said.

Obviously, it’s still a long way for Noah Darvich and Co to prove their worth in the next steps, because success at the youth level doesn’t often translate into success for the first team. Nevertheless, the U-17 team’s accomplishment in Indonesia definitely brings hope that there is a light at the end of the dark tunnel that Germany is in right now.

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Valencia, Turin, Madrid (28/11 – 25)

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia retained his MotoGP world title with many records; there are nevertheless signs that the Ducati rider will face sterner competition next season. The Italian rider won the 2023 season-ending MotoGP Grand Prix in Valencia on Sunday to clinch his second world title in a row. The protege of Valentino Rossi becomes the third rider to take back-to-back MotoGP titles since the introduction of the class in 2002. Only Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez previously managed to do that.

Bagnaia is the first rider to successfully race and defend #1 in the premier class since Mick Doohan did it back in 1998. With 15 podiums in 2023, Bagnaia becomes the Ducati rider with the most podiums in a single season. He overtakes Casey Stoner, who held the previous record of 14.

Having been crowned MotoGP World Champion in 2022 and 2023, it’s easy to assume that Bagnaia will continue to dominate, just as his mentor Rossi and Marquez did. But there are ominous signs that indicate competition will get harder for Bagnaia and Ducati next season. Bagnaia himself admitted that the 2023 MotoGP season was already harder for him than 2022. Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo has been a very challenging rival for Bagnaia in 2022.

However, Bagnaia said the fight with Pramac’s Jorge Martin this season was closer and more severe, given they were on nearly-identical Ducati machines. “Last year Fabio started really well but as soon as I started to win, he was more in trouble,” said Bagnaia. “He was fast, he is super-fast but his bike was not giving him the possibility to fight against me. We were in a different situation. With Jorge, after Barcelona, he was with much more confidence every weekend and it was difficult to stop. It was more difficult this year. Sharing more data is useful but more stressful sometimes.”

The introduction of sprint races in the 2023 MotoGP season complicates things for Bagnaia. Though Bagnaia still managed to win four out of 15 Saturday events, there was another rider who became the specialist in the halved-distance races.

That rider is Martin, who finished first nine times in sprint races. His ability to perform well in sprint races has made Martin the main rival to Bagnaia this season. Noted also that Ducati Lenovo is no longer the best team in MotoGP.

That title now goes to Prima Pramac, Martin’s team. Other teams, especially those with Ducati’s Desmosedici and European machines, are catching up. Rider changes in the 2024 season will also provide another challenge for Bagnaia if he wants to defend his title again. The legendary Marc Marquez finally realized that Repsol Honda could no longer provide him with adequate bikes to compete at the highest level.Marquez moves to Gresini Racing, riding a Desmosedici GP23 motorcycle. With a more competitive bike, Marquez should perform better next season than he has been able to do in the last two years. The two legacy Japanese teams, Repsol Honda and Yamaha, were not able to keep up with European teams this season – but it would be unwise to count them out in 2024. Repsol Honda has hired Luca Marini, Valentino Rossi’s brother, to join 2020 world champion Joan Mir a team rider.

Yamaha will try their best to improve the competitiveness of Fabio Quartararo, whose contract expires at the end of the 2024 season. Quartararo has given the Yamaha bosses an ultimatum. If there is no powerful bike in the pits at the Sepang test in February, he will change teams and brands after 2024.

“There have not been many opportunities for me to get a podium this year,” Quartararo said. “We expected a lot in some races, but then we had problems finishing in the top 10 or even top 15. That is really hard to understand and hard to cope with. That’s why the 2023 season is the most difficult of my career. Now it will be crucial which bike Yamaha builds for 2024. That will clearly determine which choice I make for 2025,” said the 2021 MotoGP world champion.

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Jakarta, Surabaya (19/11 – 20)

With the elimination of their national team on Saturday, Indonesia’s capabilities to put on its finest show as the host of the 2023 Under-17 World Cup will be tested. Indonesia has been given a second chance to host a global football tournament once again, with the 19th Edition of the FIFA Under-17 World Cup, a moving spectacle held in Jakarta, Surabaya, Surakarta and Bandung, from 10 November to 2 December 2023.

This opportunity arrived just months after FIFA stripped out Indonesia’s hosting rights for the 2023 FIFA Under-20 World Cup. The bid wa doomed by protests and political turmoil, surrounding the potential participation of Israel in that tournament. The likes of Bali’s governor Wayan Koster and Central Java’s governor Ganjar Pranowo, currently a candidate for President, pushed against hosting the Israeli team as Indonesia maintains a political stance in support of the independence of the state of Palestine.

Indonesian President Joko Widodo told the nation while “their support for Palestine has always been solid and strong”, the citizens of Indonesia “should not mix sports and politics”. Nevertheless, FIFA pulled the plug in March and the tournament was subsequently relocated to Argentina.

Assumed to serve as compensation for the loss of the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup hosting rights, FIFA officially appointed Indonesia as the new host of the 2023 Under-17 World Cup in June, as a result of concerns about Peru’s preparedness. So far the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World looks adequate, with the hastily appointed new host.

“What is important is that we prepare ourselves to be a good host,” Indonesia’s soccer federation president Erick Thohir stated. “We are all optimistic that this will go well. FIFA has openly stated that they appraise our standards as higher than those of the countries which usually host the Under-17 World Cup,” Thohir added.

As of 18 November 2023, all group phase matches came off smoothly. Some of the matches scheduled for Bandung were delayed because of bad weather, but that’s about it. Many of the teams visiting from overseas praised the quality of the stadiums and pitches.

Brazil U-17 tactician Phelipe Leal was amazed by Jakarta International Stadium.  “This is very crazy. This is a big stadium, it is beautiful and I am very surprised that they can make a stadium like this,” he said.

As of 18 November 2023, there have been 126 goals scored in 36 matches, for an average of 3.5 goals per match, making it one of the most entertaining Under-17 World Cups in history. Several players have already lit up the tournament with their qualities. Fans in the 2023 FIFA Under-17 World Cup may already see the next Mesut Oezil, Sadio Mane, Lionel Messi, or Neymar in the form of Noah Darvich of Germany, Amara Diouf (Senegal), Claudio Echeverri (Argentina), and Rayan (Brazil).

Entering the knockout phase, which will start on Monday, there are, however, certain concerns.

The occupancy of stadiums will be open to question, now that the Indonesian national team was eliminated in the group stage. FIFA sets a target of 10,000 spectators per match in this year’s Under-17 World Cup.

When the Indonesian national team was on the field, that target was easily achieved. There were 30,583 fans when Indonesia played Ecuador. Then, 17,239 supporters showed up for the match of Indonesia vs. Panama and 26,454 cheered on the home team at the last game of Indonesia.

Other matches are struggling to meet the 10,000 target, as the Indonesian tournament has averaged just 8,454 spectators per match. It is actually quite common for an Under-17 World Cup tournament to only record a modest attendance.

Four years ago in Brazil, there were only 3,358 fans per match. But now with the Indonesian team no longer a contestant, it is normal to assume that the currently average of 8,000 fans per match might significantly dip.

Hopefully, that will not be the case, as Indonesia is a football-loving nation. Fans of the sport should not miss their chance to watch the best 16 teams in the world competing in what will be a great knock-out phase, and witness the players who could well be taking over world football in the next 10 years.

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London, Delhi, Mumbai (28/10 – 10)

England’s title defense in the 2023 Cricket World Cup is practically over, after their fourth defeat in five group-stage matches. Jos Buttler and Co. are coming to the tournament in India as the defending champions, having won their first title in history with the 2019 edition. The 2023 Cricket World Cup turns out to be a disaster for Matthew Mott’s team.

From day one onwards, England’s show in the tournament has been painfully dismal, losing by 9 wickets at the hand of New Zealand in the 5 October opening match. They seemed to have gotten back on track after a 137-run win over Bangladesh, in their second match on 10 October.

Alas, the world number three got humiliated by Afghanistan, who won by 69 runs in their third match on 15 October. England put in another poor performance on 21 October when South Africa won by 229 runs over them – marking one of England’s all-time worst defeats.

“It is a real low point for us. It felt like a bad dream,” said England coach Matthew Mott after the record loss. “It’s really clear for us now. We just need to win every game we’re in. We’ve got a lot of work to do; we know that. We are not happy with where we are at, but we’re going to have to turn it around.”

Instead, England’s World Cup is all but over after an 8-wicket defeat by Sri Lanka on 26 October. England is not mathematically out but now must win all of their remaining games. – facing unbeaten host India on Sunday, in the fond hope an unlikely set of results go their way.

“It’s incredibly tough, an incredibly disappointing tournament. As captain, you feel that a lot,” said Jos Buttler. “We’ve been short of our best by a very long way. I’m disappointed for myself and the boys that we’ve not shown a good account of ourselves. I can’t fault the guys’ efforts; we’re just a long way short of our best. A captain must lead from the front and play well. I’ve been a long way short of my best and that’s filtered through the rest.”

While a full half of the 2023 team are veterans of the 2019 winning squad, the likes of Buttler, Mark Wood, Ben Stokes, Adil Rashid, and Moeen Ali could not save England from their first-ever loss to Afghanistan, their biggest-ever defeat by runs to South Africa, and an 8-wicket hammering by Sri Lanka. Note that England has an ageing team, with 11 of its 15 players in their 30s.

Former Captain Nasser Hussain called it “the end of an era” – an appraisal hard to argue, given all the signs. “I wouldn’t have changed the side before this tournament but I would definitely be thinking about changing it now, because it does feel like the end of an era,” said Hussain.

Interestingly, England did win the 2019 Cricket World Cup after overhauling their team from the 2015 edition, which they got knocked out in the group stage. Is it not time to repeat that shuffle, changing players ahead of the next World Cup?

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The Asian Games are in full swing, the Mid-Autumn Festival is celebrated together, and the sports event meets traditional festivals, showing “Chinese romance”. Making lanterns, painting fans, and using molds to print patterns on moon cakes, the Mid-Autumn Festival theme day experience activities in the athletes’ village were exciting. Zhejiang Guqin, Suzhou Pingtan, Kun Opera, tea ordering, and the West Lake Mid-Autumn Moon Appreciation Gathering were very popular. Through the Asian Games, the unique charm of China’s excellent traditional culture is presented to the world.

The more national it is, the more global it is. A cultural event with Jiangnan sentiment, the Hangzhou Asian Games embodies the unique Chinese style and opens a new window for the world to observe Chinese culture. Especially at the opening ceremony, the Chinese-style young people used the ground as a painting and danced on the ink. “A touch of painting” brought the time back to a thousand years ago; on the ground screen, in the Jiangnan painting scene with water and light, the elegant figure of the Song Dynasty woman The postures and ballet steps complement each other; the Gongchen Bridge constructed with panoramic three-dimensional images leaps over the Grand Canal, with a lifelike and vivid shape. One bank connects to the past, and the other bank connects to the present… “Chinese style” runs throughout, and “Chinese flavor” “Incorporating details, the “Chinese sentiment” touches people’s hearts. Chinese elements refresh the aesthetics of the sports event and tug at the heartstrings of countless people.

Culture is the aging of years and the precipitation of time. It is not only related to the past, but also related to the present and future. The short film “Meet in Hangzhou” with strong regional charm allows ancient and modern Hangzhou to have a dialogue across the air, showing the diverse style of Hangzhou as a “famous historical and cultural city, a city of innovation and vitality, and a city of ecological civilization”. At the opening ceremony, more than 100 million people participated in the relay and the “digital torchbearers” held the torch high, rode the waves from the Qiantang River, and lit the main torch tower together with the main torchbearers, demonstrating the fusion of tradition and modernity, technology Integrate with culture. In each venue, new generation digital technology is widely used, and smart operations empower events; outside the venues, new energy vehicles are used first, and outdoor projects present ecological beauty. Both inside and outside the stadium reflect the acceleration of high-quality development in Zhejiang. It can be said that through a sports event with “Chinese characteristics, Asian style, and splendid”, people can not only think about thousands of years and feel China’s profound cultural heritage; they can also see thousands of miles away, see China’s style of the times, and witness the new era. The development progress and spiritual outlook of China in this era.

Asia has a vast territory, a large population, diverse cultures and a long history. The Hangzhou Asian Games is like a bridge that not only brings special events active in a certain region into the public eye, but also allows different cultures to communicate and learn from each other using sports as a medium. The five events including martial arts, sepak takraw, cricket, jiu-jitsu and jiu-jitsu respectively represent the regional characteristics of East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and West Asia. These non-Olympic events enrich the competition content of the Asian Games and interpret Asia. Sports, the beauty of Asian cultural diversity. This setting provides a stage for sports and culture to complement each other. It is a vivid portrayal of Asian culture that is eclectic, learns from others’ strengths, and is full of vitality. As President Xi Jinping emphasized: “As a community with a shared future connected by mountains and seas and close by people-to-people and cultural exchanges, we must use sports to promote peace, insist on being good to our neighbors and mutual benefit, resist Cold War mentality and camp confrontation, and build Asia into a stable and peaceful place for the world. anchor.”

Civilizations are colorful due to exchanges, and civilizations are enriched due to mutual learning. In the second part of the cultural performance “Hand in Hand” at the opening ceremony of the Hangzhou Asian Games, the “Egret Elf” traveled across the sea of ​​stars, hundreds of college students held luminous golden osmanthus to light up the long “Golden Osmanthus River”, and landmark buildings in various Asian countries and regions Presented, forming a beautiful Asian picture. The Asian Games torch lights up the night sky in the south of the Yangtze River; Asian guests and friends gather inside and outside Qiantang. From each appreciating their own beauty to sharing the beauty and beauty, the Hangzhou Asian Games brings “you” and “me” together into “us”, builds a bridge of communication between people from different Asian countries and regions, provides a stage for exchanges and mutual learning among diverse civilizations, and promotes Building a community with a shared future for mankind has injected strong impetus.

A trickle becomes a sea, a rush becomes a tide. The tide is the surging memory of Qiantang, the courageous leap of sports, and the powerful pulse of the times. As the tide rises from the Qiantang River, China’s excellent traditional culture has lasted for thousands of years and been passed down from generation to generation; as the tide surges into the new era, China continues to create new miracles in its old country and new destiny. Looking from the Hangzhou Asian Games to the future, let us use dreams as sails and struggle as oars to draw a new picture of the Asian Games and create a better tomorrow for Asia.

Source: Theory Heb News

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Two former champions are showing their strength, as New Zealand and South Africa are through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup semifinals, at the expense of the two best teams in the world. New Zealand and South Africa – the pair ruining Ireland and France’s dreams of becoming a new champion in this tournament. Ireland and France tried their best, but the pedigree of New Zealand and South Africa as former champions could not be denied.

On Saturday at Stade de France, Saint-Denis, three-time champions New Zealand prolonged Ireland’s quarter-finals curse. Before this year’s tournament, Ireland had never been able to get through to the semifinals. Andy Farrell’s team looked unbeatable as they cruised past the pool stage with a total of 17 successive victories since last year. The world number one must be thinking that 2023 would be their year.

On the other hand, New Zealand suffered humiliation in their first pool stage match when they were defeated 13-27 by France. But, New Zealand regrouped after that defeat and they showed what they were made of. In the quarter-finals, The All Blacks withstood three comebacks from Ireland.

The Irish, always on the backfoot, trailed 0-13 and 10-18 in the first half, and by 17-25 in the second half, before a penalty try made it a one-point contest with a little more than 15 minutes left. The All Blacks held out for an astonishing 37 phases in defence in a thrilling finale to their victory. The game ended 28-24 with New Zealand’s triumph.

“This was a special day for us. I’ve lost my voice. I think the world’s been talking about these two quarter-finals for two years,” said New Zealand’s Coach Ian Foster, mentioning the clash of the titans between France and South Africa in the other quarter-finals.

“Sometimes the sweetest victories are those when your opponent tests you to the limit. What an incredible finish to a Test match. It’s pretty clear defence won us the Test match,” said New Zealand’s Captain Sam Cane.

In the semifinal on 20 October also at Saint-Denis, New Zealand will face Argentina, who eliminated Wales 29-17 in the other quarter-finals on Saturday.

On Sunday, another blockbuster match that was worthy of the Final itself was contested between the world number two France and defending champion South Africa. The hosts’ hopes of winning a maiden Rugby World Cup title were crushed as South Africa won 29-28, in a nail-biting and spectacular contest at the Stade de France. None of them deserved to get knocked out, given the breathtaking display of rugby.

The Springboks withstood a Paris storm and trailed 19-22 at half-time. They twice came from behind with a try by Eben Etzebeth, as a Handre Pollard penalty sealed the narrowest of wins for the title holders.

“It was a hard game. We knew how tough it was going to be with the French team at home and honestly, I just want to say well done to them for what they’ve achieved and how hard they’ve worked,” said The Springboks captain Siya Kolisi.

“Credit to the French. We knew it was going to be this tight. I think everybody knew it was going to be a big battle. Two good teams and unfortunately, or fortunately for us, we were on the right side of things,” added Jacques Nienaber, South Africa’s Head Coach. In the last four on 21 October at the Stade de France, The Springboks will meet another former champion, England. England through to the semifinals, after a 30-24 win over Fiji.

The post The Pedigree of Champions; New Zealand and South Africa Through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup Semifinals, with Blockbuster Performance appeared first on Tashkent Citizen.

Nearly a month after suffering brutal humiliation by host country France, New Zealand has barged through to the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. France is supposed to be a polite, cultured society, but on 8 September they whacked the All Blacks 27-13. Sacré bleu! 

In that distant past, an ugly performance with questionable strategy and ill-disciplined plays made New Zealand an unlikely choice of becoming the first country in line to win the Rugby World Cup four times. All the rugby world was amazed as the All Blacks boomeranged back in style, picking themselves up and scoring three straight wins. They annihilated Namibia 71-3, Italy 96-17, and Uruguay 73-0. 

The All Blacks have fought their way into the 2023 Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with the win over Uruguay in their final pool match on Thursday. Get out of the way as New Zealand faces off with Ireland in the last 8 next Saturday. Well, maybe anyway. After the embarrassing defeat in the opening match, New Zealand’s head coach Foster wouldn’t shut up, adamantly declaring that his team still had a chance to win the Webb Ellis Cup.

All the self-appointed experts smiled and wiggled their eyebrows, but damned if Foster didn’t prove his word, now that New Zealand stand there with a knock-out round ticket in their hand. They might even follow in the footsteps of South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup: in the first Pool B match the Springboks lost 13-23 to the All Blacks. 

So what happened? They roared back into life and went on to win the World Cup that year. Just to smear the naysayers, South Africa became the first team in history to lose a pool match and then go on to win a final. 

Ireland, the would-be opponent for the All Blacks in the quarter-final,  will have good cause for unease: once the All Blacks are in their knock-out phase, only once in history did the Kiwis not triumph through to the semifinals: an 18-20 defeat to France in 2007 was the only time New Zealand failed in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup. Not only backed up by history, the All Blacks have also upped their game now, compared to their first match.

The 73-0 first-degree murder of Uruguay signifies that the All Blacks have scored 36 tries and 240 points in three matches, since that loss to France. As of 5 October, New Zealand have scored the most points (253), have the biggest points differential (+206), and have scored the most tries (38) and conversions (30) in the tournament. From a place you have a hard time finding on the map! Foster said he was looking forward to a massive quarterfinal, either against the world number one Ireland, the defending champion South Africa, or the fifth-ranked team in the world Scotland. 

“Nothing’s going to surprise us now and we’re going to be ready for whoever it is,” Foster said. “I think we’ve responded well from the first game, we took lots of lessons out of that. (That’s a nice way to put it, Coach.) We’ve dealt with each challenge we’ve had. I believe we’ve grown our game to the point of going to this quarterfinal really well prepared and feeling whatever happens, whoever we play, it’s going to be a massive game and that’s what the quarterfinals are supposed to be like.”

Nevertheless, dark clouds streak the horizon, ahead of the quarter-final: New Zealand star Tyrel Lomax has cracked or torn something else, in the match against Uruguay – after an obligatory month-long absence after sustaining a knee injury. 

Thursday’s match against Uruguay was meant to get him back into top shape for the quarterfinals. Foster tried to downplay that situation and was confident that Lomax would be fit for the last 8, “It looks like a small strain, we won’t know for another 24 hours – but he was looking OK.”

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Undefeated in 17 games in the last 15 months, Ireland has beaten every rugby union world champion, three of them twice – just for humiliation. Historically, the Irish never got past the last eight of a Rugby World Cup. In this year’s tournament they are on fire: fans have faith that Ireland will finally seize The Webb Ellis Cup on 28 October, final day of the struggle.

Low-scoring but epic: a 13-8 win over the defending champion South Africa in Pool B of the 2023 Rugby World Cup on Saturday – a brutal statement from the Irish. Poor flummoxed South Africa never knew what hit them: they had only conceded 3 points from their previous two games in Pool B (creaming Scotland and Romania). Not only did the Springboks not concede tries in those two games – in fact, they only conceded two tries in their last eight Rugby World Cup games.

Ireland managed to breach that defense with Mack Hansen’s try, the second time in the last 15 months that Ireland has walloped South Africa: a 19-16 win when the two sides met in Dublin on 5 November 2022, with tries from Josh van der Flier and Hansen.

Hansen succinctly declared what the win to his team means: “They are the defending champions and they know exactly what it takes to win this World Cup”. “To get a win over them is as good as it can get really. It gives us a lot of strength and a lot of belief.”

Ireland has every right to assume this year’s tournament will be theirs: hey, they are the current world number one, on a burning winning streak since July 2022. What a campaign: Ireland shellacked every rugby union world champion, three of them twice. Johnny Sexton and Co. whomped New Zealand 23-12 and 32-22 on July 2022.

In November 2022, Ireland snatched a 19-16 win over South Africa, a feat that they repeated last Saturday. In the same month, Ireland was triumphant 13-10 in a match against Australia. This year, Andy Farrell and his team managed to defeat England twice: 29-16 on 18 March at the 2023 Six Nations Championship and 29-10 on 19 August, for good measure.

The victory over South Africa leaves Ireland clear at the top of Pool B, aiming them at host France or New Zealand in the quarterfinal. Ireland already did the job on France at a humiliating 32-19 last February, at the 2023 Six Nations Championship.

Ireland glows with an aura of invincibility – but they’re on their guard. “It doesn’t get any easier at all. We’ll take this win and enjoy it for now, then it is straight on to the next,” said Hansen, pointing out that his side will switch their focus to Scotland on 7 October, to ensure their place in the knockout stages. “We have a tough week against a really good Scotland side and if we get the win there, and everything goes well, it’s either France or New Zealand.”

“We are glad to keep rolling and get another four points on the board, but we have to dust ourselves off now and remain focused on Scotland in two weeks’ time,” added Farrell. “As the competition goes on we’ll need to be better,” he concluded.

Yeah, win the battle but don’t lose the war.

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