6 Nations 2012 – The Final Weekend…

Egg-chasing peanut-kicking frenzy reaches a climax.  After a tournament incomparably better than the previous few, the RBS Six Nations ends this weekend, with two key fixtures that will decide the destination of this year’s title. Wales host France in Cardiff on Saturday afternoon with a Grand Slam in their sights, whilst England must steam-roller the Irish at Twickenham later that day, and hope for a rare favour from the French, to hand Stuart Lancaster a trophy, and possibly even a job (that is assuming Harry Redknapp doesn’t fancy it of course.) The French rarely go through a tournament without one eye-catching performance, and in 2012, we are still waiting. Winning in Cardiff will not be easy, but the French hammered... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 14th, 2012
(Posted in: Articles, Betting, Oggsblog, Rugby)

RBS 6 Nations 2012

Cue public outcry about bankers…  Rugby, more than any other sport, is all about the World Cup. Footballers have their club sides and various regional competitions. Cricket’s World Cup goes on too long, and features a dying format of the game. Hockey’s World Cup is a poor relation of the Olympic tournament. But in the world of egg-chasing, the world rotates around its cup. A new four-year cycle begins this weekend for the Northern Hemisphere nations, with countries either looking to continue where they left off in New Zealand (France and Wales), make up for shameful performances (Ireland and England), or simply make up the numbers (Scotland and Italy). Whilst one might be tempted to use the recent William Webb... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 1st, 2012
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, Rugby)

Classic Match -1987 Rugby World Cup Final

One-sided then, One-sided now. Sunday’s Rugby World Cup final sees a repeat of the inaugural denoument from 1987 as the All Blacks meet les Bleus. Amazingly, 1987 remains the only time New Zealand have lifted the Webb Ellis trophy and unless the bookmakers have it totally wrong, they’ll notch up number two this weekend. The French arrived at that final after a surprise 30-24 semi-final victory over the Aussies, which remains one of the greatest games ever seen in the World Cup. Their attempts however to beat the All Blacks were nowhere near good enough as New Zealand dominated from start to finish against an exhausted French side. The key man in the game was the great Kiwi fly-half Grant... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, Rugby)

Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals 2011

Dragons, Cocks and Wallabies. Wales v France The French may have won the last three meetings between these two, but the Welsh form to-date in this tournament (including that narrow defeat against the Boks) has forced the bookies give them the edge in this one. In a nervy semi-final, even between two nations who love playing flowing rugby, the early scoring may well be dominated by penalties and drop goals. This should be to the benefit of Wales and they have to be good value to be the first to ten points, at 4/5 with Ladbrokes. Australia v New Zealand Many imagined and perhaps hoped that this would be the final, but the surprise defeat to Ireland has left the... Continue reading...

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 12th, 2011
(Posted in: Articles, Oggsblog, Rugby)