Wales produced a gutsy display of tenacious defence to beat France 29-12 in Cardiff on Saturday to claim their second Six Nations grand slam in four years. The Welsh completed their remarkable transformation from a side that crashed out of last year’s World Cup in the group stages.
France extended their perfect record against Italy with a 25-13 win on Sunday that kept alive their slim chances of retaining the Six Nations title. France, who bounced back from a defeat by England on the same Stade de France pitch two weeks ago, will now try to ruin Wales’s Grand Slam hopes next Saturday in Cardiff.
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/ 22 October 2007
They may be the world champions, but the Springboks have few illusions that their new status will stave off a new push by the government to overhaul the team’s racial composition. Meanwhile, Springbok wing Bryan Habana was on Sunday named the International Rugby Board player of the year.
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/ 13 October 2007
Jonny Wilkinson booted defending champions England into the World Cup final with a late penalty and trademark drop-goal against France in a gritty 14-9 semifinal in Paris on Saturday. England struggled to convert their massive territorial domination over France into points.
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/ 11 October 2007
Rarely has the term ”Le Crunch”, often used to describe internationals between England and France, been more appropriate than for Saturday’s World Cup semifinal at the Stade de France. The old rivals will meet for the 90th time, knowing that defeat for either side could signal the end of some distinguished rugby careers.
France upset the odds in dramatic style to come from behind and beat tournament favourites New Zealand 20-18 in the World Cup quarterfinal at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday. For the All Blacks, 13-0 up as early as the 30th minute, defeat was arguably as devastating as their equally unexpected 43-31 loss to France in the 1999 World Cup semifinal at Twickenham.
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/ 30 September 2007
Two tries by wing Christophe Dominici helped France crush Georgia 64-7 in their final Pool D match on Sunday to advance to the World Cup quarterfinals. Needing four tries to secure a bonus point, France ran in nine in Marseille with Dominici becoming his country’s record try scorer in World Cup history.
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/ 16 September 2007
Hosts France showed no mercy to 14-man Namibia on Sunday as they got some vital momentum for Friday’s crucial Group D World Cup clash with Ireland, winning 87-10 to post their record score in international rugby. Vincent Clerc ran in three tries, while locks Jerome Nallet and Sebastian Chabal grabbed a brace each.