New Ticket Exchange from The Rugby Blog
Just in time for the Rugby World Cup, a new Ticket Exchange page has been launched.
It’s essentially a noticeboard where you can advertise any tickets you have for sale, or post a plea if you are desperate for tickets. Make sure you keep checking for updates as World Cup tickets won’t be around for long.
Click here to access the Ticket Exchange
Guide to buying Rugby World Cup tickets
With just over a week to go until the big event, Rugby World Cup tickets are being bought and sold all over the place. This guide tells you everything you need to know if you want to experience the action at first hand.
Ticketmaster has recently released official tickets for the World Cup final and both semi-finals, and so is probably the best place to start. Ticket prices start from £232 for the final, and there are some available for Wales and Scotland games at the Millennium Stadium and Cardiff - however, these will go pretty quickly.
TicketCity is worth a look - it’s an American site with tickets available for pretty much every game, and the weak dollar makes it a good bet. There are England v South Africa tickets available at £175, but final tickets are over £600.
My Ticket Market is an online marketplace for buying and selling tickets. The prices are hugely inflated, but they do seem to offer a ticket guarantee so might be safer than some places.
eBay always has tickets available, and you may get lucky and pick up a bargain. However, there is always a risk that they might not turn up after you’ve paid for them, or they’ll be black and white photocopies!
Elsewhere, there is also a Facebook group called RWC Ticket Exchange, where members have posted details about tickets for sale - you may be able to strike a good deal and with a more limited market than eBay, prices might be slightly more reasonable.
If you want to book a whole package with official tickets, travel and accommodation, Travelscope is your best bet, and could be a good option at this late stage, when availablity of hotels is fairly limited. There is also a special offer for a day trip including travel and a ticket for the England v USA match for £69.
Buying tickets on the day from touts outside the ground could be an option, but be warned that the IRB may have some ‘dummy’ touts around that could get you into trouble if you try to buy tickets from them.
If you have tickets to sell, or are desperate for tickets to a particular game, feel free to post a comment on the Tickets page
Team Profile: Tonga
Although rugby is the national sport of Tonga, their tiny base of players means they struggle to compete on the international stage. The IRB estimates that Tonga has in the region of 800 registered players, compared to some 716,000 in England.
Nevertheless, Tonga has competed at four Rugby World Cups, and the brutal power and pace will have Pool A rivals taking notice. Realistically, the Tongans do not pose a threat to England and South Africa, but they will offer a physical challenge not to be taken lightly.
Coach Quddus Fielea has named an experience squad for their World Cup campaign, which begins against USA on September 12th. Second row Inoke Afeaki will appear in his third World Cup, whilst Ephraim Taukafa, Viliami Vaki, Pierre Hola, Tevita Tu’ifua and Sukanaivalu Hufanga also featured in 2003.
Their preparations have gone well, having beaten Auckland B last week, and then defeating Edinburgh at the weekend. Vungakato Lilo impressed with two tries against Auckland, whilst forward Hale T-Pole scored one himself and looks a certainty to scoop the ‘Best name at the World Cup’ prize.
The Pacific Islanders will be targeting the USA game for a victory in France, and have been helped by the schedule organisers - USA will have had a tough game just four days previously against England. However, Samoa and the big two in that group should prove to be a test too far.
Watch this video below from the 2003 World Cup that saw the battle of the Hakas.
Rugby fans will be more involved with this year’s Rugby World Cup than ever before
Television, broadband, mobile and community web sites will all be taking their piece of the meaty Rugby World Cup pie over the next 6 weeks meaning that the 2007 Rugby World Cup will be the most interactive in its 20-year history.
The significant media offering witnesses a shift away from the traditional 2-hour television slot, to an ‘anywhere, any place’ offering where the fan can create their own ‘personal prime time’, effectively a chance for them to engage in the event at a time and place that’s convenient to them. Community or social media sites such as Bebo, MySpace and Facebook have taken off at a considerable pace (and show no signs of slowing) and sports social network sites are now following suit.
The new breed of sports community sites not only let you engage in the action of the event but allow you to share comments and views, effectively ‘argue the toss of the coin’, ‘debate was it or wasn’t it a try’ with other sports nuts – and that’s exactly what The Rugby Blog will be offering over the World Cup period.
As well as featuring regular articles, results and polls, fans will be able to post their views on the action, comment on each others’ opinions and share their pictures and video clips. The site will feature a fans gallery, where people can submit photographs online, or by MMS if they are in the thick of the action in France. The Rugby Blog is also accessible from mobile phones, from where users will be able to read and post content, so there will be no excuse to miss out on the action.
What does this mean for sponsors?
Such a deep level of interaction with the event is good news for Rugby World Cup sponsors. Yes, the media landscape and traditional audience has become fragmented but never before have sponsors been able to target the ‘edgy’ youth audience in such a powerful way.
A recent survey conducted by Yahoo and Carat North America found that the web trumps television, radio and books among young adults. Those surveyed spent an average of 16.7 hours online per week, excluding email - the next most popular medium was television, which respondents turned to for 13.6 hours per week. This is powerful information for the likes of Powerade, adidas, Heineken and Orange, all investors in the Rugby World Cup and all trying to target this ‘hard-to-reach’ demographic.
The opportunity to create an edgy, distinctive web campaign with social network users through the power of ‘Word of Mouth’ (WOM) is enormous. The Keller Fay Group estimates that we participate in 71 WOM conversations about products and services each week, containing 22 distinct brand mentions. When you look at the youth market they are twice as prolific as the average person, engaging in 145 WOM conversations but more importantly 77 distinct brand mentions. And where do they do this? Well, 20% of these conversations occur online through blogs, chatrooms, emails and messaging.
Where can you follow the action?
Look no further than www.therugbyblog.co.uk but in case you want to watch the odd game on TV or at work on the web then ITV will be broadcasting each of the 48 matches live on ITV1, ITV3 or ITV4 and - for the first time - each match will be simulcast on itv.com.
By Jon Stainer, Business Editor
South Africa send warning to World Cup rivals
A convincing display from the Springboks on Saturday sent a message to England and the All Blacks that this team will be very hard to beat.
Scotland looked dangerous and capable for the first 20 minutes, but then three tries in 7 minutes from the men in green effectively ended the game as a contest.
After withstanding Scotland’s opening barrage of attacks, South Africa stepped up the pace and devastated their opponents by striking three times through Bryan Habana, Jaque Fourie and Fourie Du Preez. They were then able to shut up shop, and the Scots could find no way through the brick wall defence.
For that brief period, they ran at speed at any gap in the Scottish line, and were able to offload to support runners coming from depth. The ball was kept alive if possible, but recycled quickly if a ruck was required, and with Habana lurking on the wing, they are a formidable attacking force.
In defence, Juan Smith and Schalk Burger on the two flanks were omnipresent, and stifled anything Scotland could produce. The back line would rush quickly up to the ball carrier, and Chris Paterson could not generate any momentum for his wide men.
The Springboks’ infallible defence will worry Brian Ashton’s England, given their recent inability to create anything in attack, whilst the All Blacks will know there is a serious challenger to lift the Web Ellis Cup.
Ireland falter against Italy, but are saved by the video ref
An injury-time try from Ronan O’Gara gave Ireland a 23-20 victory over the Italians at Ravenhill last night, but their display was far from convincing. Television match official Derek Bevan awarded the try, although O’Gara did not appear to ground the ball properly.
I didn’t actually see the game so can’t really comment, but read the match report here.
Final preparations before the real action begins in a fortnight
There is another feast of rugby this weekend as six teams finalise their preparations for the Rugby World Cup which begins in just a fortnight’s time.
Ireland v Italy, Friday 24th August, 19.45
Ireland take on Italy on Friday night at Ravenhill with a number of injury concerns. Veteran scrum-half Peter Stringer remains a doubt after suffering back spasms in training this week - Eddie O’Sullivan is unlikely to risk such an important player at this stage and Isaac Boss will take his place in the team. Flanker Stephen Ferris has also withdrawn from the replacements bench with a knee injury and Brian O’Driscoll was not selected because of his fractured cheekbone. O’Sullivan expects all his players to be fit to play in the World Cup.
Italy coach Pierre Berbizier has named a slightly understrength side with Roland De Marigny starting at fly-half after Ramiro Pez was ruled out with a shoulder injury, while Josh Sole, Mauro Bergamasco, Andrea Lo Cicero, Santiago Dellape and Marko Stanojevic are other big names to be rested.
Ireland will relish the physical challenge in the forwards, but their talented backs should be far superior to Italy - expect to see at least a 20-point winning margin for the Irish to send them into the World Cup confident of escaping from the Group of Death.
Scotland v South Africa, Saturday 25th August, 17:00
Jason White’s Scotland team will face the toughest of tests against the Springboks on Saturday, but will have taken heart from their convincing win over Ireland. Coach Frank Hadden has made 4 changes to his starting line-up, with Gavin Kerr, Kelly Brown, Dave Callam and Nikki Walker earning a start, replacing Allan Jacobsen, Allister Hogg, Simon Taylor and Sean Lamont respectively. Chris Paterson will feature again at fly-half, and the South African rush defence will offer a fierce examination of his credentials.
South Africa has named a full strength side and coach Jake White has one eye on their showdown with England. Danie Roussow starts at Number 8 behind an enormous pack, while the prodigious Francois Steyn starts at inside centre, replacing the injured Jean De Villiers, and JP Pietersen is on the wing ahead of Ashwin Willemse.
The Scots will look to match the Boks up front in what should be a very physical encounter, but South Africa’s strength at the breakdown should win the day for the visitors by a small margin.
Wales v France, Sunday 26th August, 14:45
Gareth Jenkins’ side complete their warm-up series by hosting France at the Millennium Stadium. The game sees the return of Shane Williams to the fold after missing the last two games with an elbow injury. James Hook retains his place at fly-half, whilst Jonathan Thomas, Martyn Williams and Alix Popham combine to form a strong back row unit.
Bernard Laporte will not name his starting XV until Saturday, but centre David Marty will not figure after picking up a calf injury. Lionel Beauxis is likely to start at fly-half ahead of David Skrela, whilst Sebastian Chabal looks set to feature in the second row. Serge Betsen will captain the team from the openside flank in the absence of Fabien Pelous and Raphael Ibanez.
The World Cup hosts will arrive in Cardiff following back-to-back wins over the World Champions, whilst Wales may still be reeling from their 60-point demolition against the same opposition. Williams will provide a bit more spark to the Welsh backline, but France should dominate and win by 10.
Team Profile: Australia
As the only team ever to win the World Cup twice, Australia can never be discounted as contenders for rugby’s biggest prize – Rob Douglas assesses their chances at this year’s competition.
The current odds on Australia winning the world cup are 10-1 or 11-1, making them fourth favourites. After a few seasons of under-performing this seems fair, despite their current world ranking of second, behind only the omnipotent All Blacks (whom they actually beat in Melbourne in the Tri Nations earlier this year).
However, let’s analyse this objectively. We’re talking about the only team to reach three world cup finals, winning two of them. This is a team loaded with big match performers, from captain Stirling Mortlock in midfield to George Smith and Nathan Sharpe upfront. In George Gregan and Stephen Larkham they boast the most experienced half back combination of all time, and with finishers like Drew Mitchell and Mark Gerrard lurking out wide, this is a team which seems to tick all the boxes. Add to this the power brought by Lote Tuqiri on the wing and David Lyons from the back of the scrum, as well as the versatile subtlety of Matt Giteau, the menace oozing from the men in Green and Gold is all too apparent. Even their perennial Achilles heel in the front row has been stablised and, whilst never going to win them any matches, it is unlikely to cause any defeats.
On the evidence of Wales’ recent form, the Wallabies will cruise their group matches and a place in the semi-finals is likely the reward for success against either the Springboks or the limping Chariot. History suggests that in these knockout stages the infuriating Australian sporting mentality with which English sports fans are all too familiar will provoke over-achievement.
The All Blacks remains the bookies’ favourites but they have certainly lost some of their infallible aura and strut of late, arguably falling into the stereotypical trap of peaking between the big tournaments. It goes against the very core of this patriotic Pom to say it but by October the smart money may be on the last team to beat the Kiwis.
Team Profile: Romania
Romania is one of the strongest teams in the second tier of world rugby, and have taken part in every World Cup so far. They compete in the European Nations Cup with the likes of Portugal and Georgia - and ususally win it.
The 1980s and early 90s saw the best period for rugby in Romania as they recorded victories over Wales, Scotland and France, a draw with Ireland and a narrow defeat by the All Blacks. However, since the dawn of professionalism, player numbers have dwindled with many seeking employment in France and Italy. Indeed in 2001, the Romanians suffered their heaviest ever defeat when they lost 138-0 to England at Twickenham.
Coach Daniel Santamans has named seven players in his squad that play in the French Top 14 or the Guinness Premiership in England, while several others play in France’s second division. The Oaks traditionally employ a forward-dominated gameplan, using their big Eastern European brutes effectively, and this is where their most well-known players are to be found. Their captain Sorin Socul plays for Pau, whilst other recognisable names include Cezar Popescu of Agen, Petru Balan of Brive and Ion Paulica of Bath.
‘The Oaks’ will line up in Pool C at this year’s tournament alongside New Zealand, Italy, Scotland and Portugal, where they will be looking to improve upon their record of only one win at any World Cup. This may represent their best chance of reaching the latter stages of the event, given that (behind the All Blacks), they are in one of the weakest groups.
However, I’d expect to see a fourth place finish in the pool after beating Portugal for their only win.
Australia takes a jab at the All Blacks
The Wallaby camp has thrown the first psychological punch as old rivals Australia and New Zealand continue their preparations for the Rugby World Cup.
Phil Kearns - twice a World Cup winner for Australia - has stated that the All Blacks have peaked too soon, saying, “I think New Zealand peaked 18 months ago when they played the British Lions and they have not played as well since that time.”
Kearns suggests that their biggest flaw is being too one-dimensional, with no back-up plan if their standard gameplan does not yield results. Australia knows New Zealand better than anyone, and have enjoyed the greatest success against them of any international team. Their geographical proximity means they play each other regularly, and their bitter rivalry ensures they study each other’s playing styles in great depth.
Nevertheless, New Zealand will have heard it all before, and as clear favourites for the title, they are there to be shot down - in the same way that England were in 2003. No doubt the verbal jousting will continue until the competition finally begins on September 7th.
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