Rugby World Cup 2015
- Thread starter Blackleaf
- Start date
It IS bad. It's tragic.
Still, considering that England have appeared in 43% of all Rugby World Cup Finals ever held, winning one of them, I say they've done pretty well in the tournament over the years.
And that's not to mention the fact they've won the Five/Six Nations Championships more times than anyone else - 26 times, including 12 Grand Slams.
It doesn't change the fact that England are the only team in the whole of the Northern Hemisphere to have won the Rugby World Cup.
After this year's Final it will be 38%.
But if England reach the Final of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, it'll be 44% of all Rugby World Cup Finals that England have played in, even higher than it is now.
Nando Parrado, one of the survivors of the 1972 disaster in which the aeroplane carrying members of a Uruguayan rugby team crashed into the Andes, which left Parrado and others having to eat the flesh of some of the dead and which was later turned into the harrowing film Alive, is to be introduced to the crowd at the Etihad Stadium (aka Manchester City Stadium) before today's England vs Uruguay match.
England vs Uruguay, Rugby World Cup 2015: Andes crash survivor's story puts hosts' struggles in perspective
Nando Parrado shows a level of defiance that should inspire both teams. Interview with Oliver Brown
Nando Parrado's story of survival is breathtaking Photo: REX
By Oliver Brown
09 Oct 2015
The Telegraph
3 Comments
• England vs Uruguay: live
• Wales vs Australia: live
There could be no finer figure than Uruguay’s Nando Parrado to restore a measure of sanity and sobriety at the end of English rugby’s week of recriminations. Sometimes it takes a man whose scarcely credible obstinacy sustained him through the aftermath of a plane crash, and whose ingenuity led him to find a way out of his inaccessible Andean wilderness, to set a sporting inquest in its proper perspective.
In a story memorialised in his book Miracle in the Andes, and the subsequent film Alive, Parrado emerged only after being forced to eat the flesh of his dead friends. “I mean, I am sorry about England,” he says. “I wish they could have won. But they are still living, sleeping and going home. It’s not the same as a situation where, if you make a mistake and you lose, you are dead.”
For 43 years Parrado’s story has left his colleagues, his fellow Uruguayans, and a few gnarled Hollywood directors in a state of horrified astonishment. This avuncular soul, now 65, has since become a television presenter and motivational speaker in his homeland, but even his measured and rational tone cannot leaven the awfulness of the tale he imparts. In those horrific days in the winter of 1972, he resorted to eating the flesh of fellow passengers, after spending three days consuming a single chocolate-coated peanut found in the wreckage of the plane. “Hunger is one of the most primal fears of a human being,” he says, by telephone from California. “It is a fear that few ever truly experience, unless the stakes are real.”
Parrado had to eat his dead friends to survive
As Uruguay prepare to confront England in their final pool game tonight, no discussion of the country’s rugby heritage feels complete without Parrado, a significant talent whose hellish ordeal has helped inspire all who have followed. He was one of 19 players from the Old Christians team on board Flight 571, which left Montevideo’s Carrasco airport one mid-October morning in 1972 – on Friday 13th, no less – and crashed on a glacier 11,000 feet in one of the remotest corners of the Andes.
His mother, Eugenia, was killed instantly. His sister, Susy, later died in his arms. Of the 40 passengers and five crew, only 16 survived, Parrado among them, after he and fellow rugby player Roberto Canessa navigated an apparently impossible route out of their mountain wilderness. For weeks, he reflects, death seemed an inevitability. But he claims that the thought of a reunion with his father, who feared he had lost three-quarters of his family at a stroke, sustained him throughout. “The love for my father saved my life,” he says, matter-of-factly. “Love is the most important thing in the world.”
For 43 years Parrado's story has stunned whoever has heard it
Parrado’s suffering at that time, he acknowledges, defied imagination. “Not even the helicopter pilots or the emergency teams could understand how we had achieved what we did,” he says. But to ask him whether, four decades on, he continues to feel traumatised by the flashbacks is to receive a perhaps surprising answer. “I may be a strange, pragmatic person, but from the first day I never looked back. I looked forward. I have not stopped laughing for the past 42 years. I enjoy my sports, my life, my work, my businesses, my family, my dogs, all the same as anyone.”
Uruguay are unlikely to pose much of a threat to England
He spent the first fortnight of this World Cup accompanying the Uruguay team on their journey through England. “Some of them have given up their jobs to be at this tournament,” Parrado says, as a way of reminding anybody who dares criticise their failure to win a single point. “It’s a monumental thing. Clearly, England will thrash them. Just look, though, at the courage with which they play.”
The Uruguayans could want no more compelling an instructor in courage. Parrado recalls how, in his previous encounters with sportsmen, he has taken to giving gentle lectures in the true meaning of bravery. “Once, I told this to a few players who were involved in the NBA Finals,” he says. “We were just chatting at the bar and I asked, ‘What happens if you lose.’ ‘We won’t be champions,’ they said, miserably. Then I reminded them that would still be earning millions of dollars the following season. And that they would still be alive.”
Parrado, pressed on what he would like the legacy of his heroism to be in Uruguay, is unambiguous. “The most important history I could create would be to watch my grandson wearing a Uruguay team shirt, playing a game,” he says. “My chest would explode with emotion.”
Match Stats
Odds: William Hill
1/150 - England wins
40/1 - Draw
33/1 - Uruguay wins
World Ranking
England: 8th
Uruguay - 19th
England At Past World Cups - Champions 1; Runners-up 2; Quarter Finals: 3; Fourth - 1
Uruguay At Past World Cups - Pool Stage 5
English National Anthem - "Frustrate Their Knavish Tricks"
England vs Uruguay, Rugby World Cup 2015: Andes crash survivor's story puts hosts' struggles in perspective - Telegraph
Again, I do find it odd that England, the host nation, have to play their match against Uruguay at the Etihad Stafium in Manchester rather than their home stadium, Twickenham in London, which is where Wales are playing Australia. It just doesn't seem right and fair to me.
England vs Uruguay, Rugby World Cup 2015: Andes crash survivor's story puts hosts' struggles in perspective
Nando Parrado shows a level of defiance that should inspire both teams. Interview with Oliver Brown
Nando Parrado's story of survival is breathtaking Photo: REX
By Oliver Brown
09 Oct 2015
The Telegraph
• England vs Uruguay: live
• Wales vs Australia: live
There could be no finer figure than Uruguay’s Nando Parrado to restore a measure of sanity and sobriety at the end of English rugby’s week of recriminations. Sometimes it takes a man whose scarcely credible obstinacy sustained him through the aftermath of a plane crash, and whose ingenuity led him to find a way out of his inaccessible Andean wilderness, to set a sporting inquest in its proper perspective.
In a story memorialised in his book Miracle in the Andes, and the subsequent film Alive, Parrado emerged only after being forced to eat the flesh of his dead friends. “I mean, I am sorry about England,” he says. “I wish they could have won. But they are still living, sleeping and going home. It’s not the same as a situation where, if you make a mistake and you lose, you are dead.”
For 43 years Parrado’s story has left his colleagues, his fellow Uruguayans, and a few gnarled Hollywood directors in a state of horrified astonishment. This avuncular soul, now 65, has since become a television presenter and motivational speaker in his homeland, but even his measured and rational tone cannot leaven the awfulness of the tale he imparts. In those horrific days in the winter of 1972, he resorted to eating the flesh of fellow passengers, after spending three days consuming a single chocolate-coated peanut found in the wreckage of the plane. “Hunger is one of the most primal fears of a human being,” he says, by telephone from California. “It is a fear that few ever truly experience, unless the stakes are real.”
Parrado had to eat his dead friends to survive
As Uruguay prepare to confront England in their final pool game tonight, no discussion of the country’s rugby heritage feels complete without Parrado, a significant talent whose hellish ordeal has helped inspire all who have followed. He was one of 19 players from the Old Christians team on board Flight 571, which left Montevideo’s Carrasco airport one mid-October morning in 1972 – on Friday 13th, no less – and crashed on a glacier 11,000 feet in one of the remotest corners of the Andes.
His mother, Eugenia, was killed instantly. His sister, Susy, later died in his arms. Of the 40 passengers and five crew, only 16 survived, Parrado among them, after he and fellow rugby player Roberto Canessa navigated an apparently impossible route out of their mountain wilderness. For weeks, he reflects, death seemed an inevitability. But he claims that the thought of a reunion with his father, who feared he had lost three-quarters of his family at a stroke, sustained him throughout. “The love for my father saved my life,” he says, matter-of-factly. “Love is the most important thing in the world.”
For 43 years Parrado's story has stunned whoever has heard it
Parrado’s suffering at that time, he acknowledges, defied imagination. “Not even the helicopter pilots or the emergency teams could understand how we had achieved what we did,” he says. But to ask him whether, four decades on, he continues to feel traumatised by the flashbacks is to receive a perhaps surprising answer. “I may be a strange, pragmatic person, but from the first day I never looked back. I looked forward. I have not stopped laughing for the past 42 years. I enjoy my sports, my life, my work, my businesses, my family, my dogs, all the same as anyone.”
Uruguay are unlikely to pose much of a threat to England
He spent the first fortnight of this World Cup accompanying the Uruguay team on their journey through England. “Some of them have given up their jobs to be at this tournament,” Parrado says, as a way of reminding anybody who dares criticise their failure to win a single point. “It’s a monumental thing. Clearly, England will thrash them. Just look, though, at the courage with which they play.”
The Uruguayans could want no more compelling an instructor in courage. Parrado recalls how, in his previous encounters with sportsmen, he has taken to giving gentle lectures in the true meaning of bravery. “Once, I told this to a few players who were involved in the NBA Finals,” he says. “We were just chatting at the bar and I asked, ‘What happens if you lose.’ ‘We won’t be champions,’ they said, miserably. Then I reminded them that would still be earning millions of dollars the following season. And that they would still be alive.”
Parrado, pressed on what he would like the legacy of his heroism to be in Uruguay, is unambiguous. “The most important history I could create would be to watch my grandson wearing a Uruguay team shirt, playing a game,” he says. “My chest would explode with emotion.”
Match Stats
Odds: William Hill
1/150 - England wins
40/1 - Draw
33/1 - Uruguay wins
World Ranking
England: 8th
Uruguay - 19th
England At Past World Cups - Champions 1; Runners-up 2; Quarter Finals: 3; Fourth - 1
Uruguay At Past World Cups - Pool Stage 5
English National Anthem - "Frustrate Their Knavish Tricks"
England vs Uruguay, Rugby World Cup 2015: Andes crash survivor's story puts hosts' struggles in perspective - Telegraph
Again, I do find it odd that England, the host nation, have to play their match against Uruguay at the Etihad Stafium in Manchester rather than their home stadium, Twickenham in London, which is where Wales are playing Australia. It just doesn't seem right and fair to me.
Australia's unbreakable band of gold keeps Wales at bay
By Richard Williams
BBC Wales Sport
11 October 2015
Rugby World Cup 2015
Australia 15-6 Wales
Australia: Pens: Foley 5
Wales: Pens: Biggar 2
At Twickenham, London
Att:80,863
Australia achieved their 11th straight victory over Wales in a tryless match in south west London. Wales will now have the daunting task of playing two-time champions South Africa in the quarter-finals whereas Australia, also two-time champions, will have a much easier task against Scotland
Australia weathered a Welsh storm to win World Cup Pool A with a 15-6 victory at Twickenham.
Wales paid a high price for failing to make their extra numbers count when the Wallabies were reduced to 13 men for seven minutes in the second half.
Fly-half Bernard Foley kicked all Australia's points, with Dan Bigger twice on target for Wales.
Australia now face Scotland in the quarter-final on 18 October, with Wales against South Africa the day before.
It was Wales' 11th consecutive defeat against the Australians, a run going back to 2008.
THIS WAS THE LOWEST SCORING MATCH BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND WALES SINCE 1958
Wales coach Warren Gatland's men had their chances but were repelled by some extraordinary defence, with number eight Taulupe Faletau dropping the ball inches from the line and George North at centre held up over the line by Wallabies back-row Ben McCalman.
In the long run of narrow losses to Australia, this will rank among the most frustrating for Gatland.
There was a lack of composure in a 10-minute period around the hour mark, when Australia's battling 13 held firm.
And having seen off the barrage, the Wallabies eventually lifted the siege and were rewarded when Foley's fifth penalty gave his side a two-score cushion with eight minutes remaining.
BBC Sport - Rugby World Cup 2015: Australia 15-6 Wales
England exit World Cup with 10-try win
By Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer at the City of Manchester Stadium
BBC Sport
Rugby World Cup 2015
England 60-3 Uruguay
England: Tries: Watson 2, Easter 3, Slade, Nowell 3, penalty Cons: Farrell 4, Ford
Uruguay: Pen: Berchesi
At Manchester City Stadium
Att: 50,778
What might have been: England's bonus-point thumping of Uruguay in Manchester last night meant that had England decided to kick their penalty at goal and then scored it when they were 25-28 down with just three minutes to go against Wales a fortnight ago to make the final score 28-28, rather than going for the lineout instead, England would now be in the quarter-finals rather than Wales
England's doomed World Cup campaign ended with a few fireworks as they ran in 10 tries to complete an ultimately hollow final victory.
Successive defeats by Wales and Australia had already ensured England would be the first hosts to go out of the tournament at the group stage since Wales in 1991.
Nick Easter, 37, and Jack Nowell scored hat-tricks against a Uruguay side with only four professional players.
Anthony Watson grabbed a well-finished brace, while Henry Slade also crossed.
ENGLAND'S FIRST TRY IN THIS WORLD CUP, WHICH CAME IN THE TOURNAMENT'S OPENING MATCH AGAINST FIJI, AND THEIR LAST TRY IN THIS WORLD CUP, AGAINST URUGUAY LAST NIGHT, WERE BOTH PENALTY TRIES
ENGLAND'S FIRST TRY AGAINST URUGUAY LAST NIGHT WAS THEIR 1,500TH TRY IN TEST RUGBY
What might have been...
The final Pool A standings
This was not how it was supposed to end for Stuart Lancaster's men, in a meaningless contest which saw the crowd frequently make their own entertainment with Mexican waves and paper aeroplanes aimed at the pitch.
With rugby league's Super League Grand Final - held a few miles west at Old Trafford - coming to a thrilling conclusion just before kick-off, this was not even the biggest rugby match in the city on Saturday.
The bonus point picked up for scoring four or more tries also meant that had England drawn against Wales a fortnight ago - and with a penalty within Owen Farrell's range with three minutes to go they had had the chance - they would have gone into the quarter-finals as Group A's runners-up.
Instead their tournament is over, Lancaster left hoping he will be given the chance to rebuild the team around the core of younger players like the impressive Watson and Slade.
What might have been: England's 60-3 thrashing of Uruguay last night meant that they would have qualified for the Quarter Finals at Wales's expense had they decided to kick at goal and then scored the three-pointer when they had a penalty against Wales in the last few minutes of the game when they were 25-28 down a fortnight ago. Instead, they went for the lineout to attempt to get a try and lost the game 25-28
England's dead-rubber demolition of Uruguay in Manchester wasn't the biggest rugby match in the city yesterday, with Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors clashing in rugby league's Super League Grand Final a few miles down the road at Old Trafford
Danny Care fends off an attempted tackle by Matias Beer
Youngster Henry Slade scored against the Teros last night
BBC Sport - Rugby World Cup 2015: England 60-3 Uruguay
By Richard Williams
BBC Wales Sport
11 October 2015
Rugby World Cup 2015
Australia 15-6 Wales
Australia: Pens: Foley 5
Wales: Pens: Biggar 2
At Twickenham, London
Att:80,863
Australia achieved their 11th straight victory over Wales in a tryless match in south west London. Wales will now have the daunting task of playing two-time champions South Africa in the quarter-finals whereas Australia, also two-time champions, will have a much easier task against Scotland
Australia weathered a Welsh storm to win World Cup Pool A with a 15-6 victory at Twickenham.
Wales paid a high price for failing to make their extra numbers count when the Wallabies were reduced to 13 men for seven minutes in the second half.
Fly-half Bernard Foley kicked all Australia's points, with Dan Bigger twice on target for Wales.
Australia now face Scotland in the quarter-final on 18 October, with Wales against South Africa the day before.
It was Wales' 11th consecutive defeat against the Australians, a run going back to 2008.
THIS WAS THE LOWEST SCORING MATCH BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND WALES SINCE 1958
Wales coach Warren Gatland's men had their chances but were repelled by some extraordinary defence, with number eight Taulupe Faletau dropping the ball inches from the line and George North at centre held up over the line by Wallabies back-row Ben McCalman.
In the long run of narrow losses to Australia, this will rank among the most frustrating for Gatland.
There was a lack of composure in a 10-minute period around the hour mark, when Australia's battling 13 held firm.
And having seen off the barrage, the Wallabies eventually lifted the siege and were rewarded when Foley's fifth penalty gave his side a two-score cushion with eight minutes remaining.
BBC Sport - Rugby World Cup 2015: Australia 15-6 Wales
England exit World Cup with 10-try win
By Tom Fordyce
Chief sports writer at the City of Manchester Stadium
BBC Sport
Rugby World Cup 2015
England 60-3 Uruguay
England: Tries: Watson 2, Easter 3, Slade, Nowell 3, penalty Cons: Farrell 4, Ford
Uruguay: Pen: Berchesi
At Manchester City Stadium
Att: 50,778
What might have been: England's bonus-point thumping of Uruguay in Manchester last night meant that had England decided to kick their penalty at goal and then scored it when they were 25-28 down with just three minutes to go against Wales a fortnight ago to make the final score 28-28, rather than going for the lineout instead, England would now be in the quarter-finals rather than Wales
England's doomed World Cup campaign ended with a few fireworks as they ran in 10 tries to complete an ultimately hollow final victory.
Successive defeats by Wales and Australia had already ensured England would be the first hosts to go out of the tournament at the group stage since Wales in 1991.
Nick Easter, 37, and Jack Nowell scored hat-tricks against a Uruguay side with only four professional players.
Anthony Watson grabbed a well-finished brace, while Henry Slade also crossed.
ENGLAND'S FIRST TRY IN THIS WORLD CUP, WHICH CAME IN THE TOURNAMENT'S OPENING MATCH AGAINST FIJI, AND THEIR LAST TRY IN THIS WORLD CUP, AGAINST URUGUAY LAST NIGHT, WERE BOTH PENALTY TRIES
ENGLAND'S FIRST TRY AGAINST URUGUAY LAST NIGHT WAS THEIR 1,500TH TRY IN TEST RUGBY
What might have been...
The final Pool A standings
This was not how it was supposed to end for Stuart Lancaster's men, in a meaningless contest which saw the crowd frequently make their own entertainment with Mexican waves and paper aeroplanes aimed at the pitch.
With rugby league's Super League Grand Final - held a few miles west at Old Trafford - coming to a thrilling conclusion just before kick-off, this was not even the biggest rugby match in the city on Saturday.
The bonus point picked up for scoring four or more tries also meant that had England drawn against Wales a fortnight ago - and with a penalty within Owen Farrell's range with three minutes to go they had had the chance - they would have gone into the quarter-finals as Group A's runners-up.
Instead their tournament is over, Lancaster left hoping he will be given the chance to rebuild the team around the core of younger players like the impressive Watson and Slade.
What might have been: England's 60-3 thrashing of Uruguay last night meant that they would have qualified for the Quarter Finals at Wales's expense had they decided to kick at goal and then scored the three-pointer when they had a penalty against Wales in the last few minutes of the game when they were 25-28 down a fortnight ago. Instead, they went for the lineout to attempt to get a try and lost the game 25-28
England's dead-rubber demolition of Uruguay in Manchester wasn't the biggest rugby match in the city yesterday, with Leeds Rhinos and Wigan Warriors clashing in rugby league's Super League Grand Final a few miles down the road at Old Trafford
Danny Care fends off an attempted tackle by Matias Beer
Youngster Henry Slade scored against the Teros last night
BBC Sport - Rugby World Cup 2015: England 60-3 Uruguay
Last edited:
Yep.. Americans just don't 'get' Rugby.
The truth of the matter is that all the protective gear in American Football causes more injuries and more serious injuries than Rugby. It encourages these full on tackles that cause compressive injuries to the joints and concussive injuries for the head rather than the pulls and sprains you get with rolling tackles and the managed scrums.
It has its fair share of violence but there is a etiquette that doesn't seem to exist in American football.. with all the trash talk and victory jigs. It's more of a.. uh.. gentleman's sport.. and i might say.. more of man's sport. I'm afraid this (American football) is an acorn the blown off the tree into some pretty swampy terrain.
And.. good to hear from Nando Parrado. Haven't really heard much of him since the crash.. and the media about it. Glad to see he's still involved with Rugby. And i agree the tournament would have been stronger with England in the knockout stage. Hope they revisit the way they set up Pools for the next WC.
The truth of the matter is that all the protective gear in American Football causes more injuries and more serious injuries than Rugby. It encourages these full on tackles that cause compressive injuries to the joints and concussive injuries for the head rather than the pulls and sprains you get with rolling tackles and the managed scrums.
It has its fair share of violence but there is a etiquette that doesn't seem to exist in American football.. with all the trash talk and victory jigs. It's more of a.. uh.. gentleman's sport.. and i might say.. more of man's sport. I'm afraid this (American football) is an acorn the blown off the tree into some pretty swampy terrain.
And.. good to hear from Nando Parrado. Haven't really heard much of him since the crash.. and the media about it. Glad to see he's still involved with Rugby. And i agree the tournament would have been stronger with England in the knockout stage. Hope they revisit the way they set up Pools for the next WC.
Last edited:
So the brits lost again. What else is new.
Is eye gouging a gentlemanly thing to do? Face it... rugby sucks and is a sport for fat drunks.
Is eye gouging a gentlemanly thing to do? Face it... rugby sucks and is a sport for fat drunks.