So, we’re off… today saw the first day of the Rugby World Cup 2011, as the mighty All Blacks, hosts and perennial favourites for the Webb Ellis trophy, took on a surprisingly sheepish Tonga side full of big guys who, at times, looked so overawed with the occasion that I’m surprised they all made it through the game without swooning and faintingat the sheer majesty of the All Blacks. On top of that, the “choke-ometer” made its international TV debut (Dan Carter looked like he was feeling the pinch already), and the noose might be feeling slightly tighter around Graham Henry’s neck, who apparently was voted at #6 in an “Enemies of New Zealand” poll in a national paper. What a bizarre statistic for a coach who’s won 89% of his games in charge. The All Blacks coaching job might be the only one in world sport with higher pressure and expectations than the England football team. At least the All Blacks have the talent to back up the expectations…
Not only did the 2011 World Cup kick off today, but The High Tackle blog also swung into action for the first time ever. We’re going to be blogging throughout the World Cup, and afterwards, looking at the latest news from across the tournament, and the rest of the rugby world.
Over the next few days we’ll be kicking things off (hohoho!) by having a look at some of the players who could be a bit of a surprise package and wow the watching world over the course of the tournament. Some of them you might expect and some you might not, but as always we’ll welcome your views and constructive criticism on the choices we’ve made. We’ll also be keeping up with the games by predicting the results, putting up some post match feedback, and even live tweeting during matches. Let’s hope we can keep up with it all! We might even convince some lovely friends to guest blog for us over the next few weeks to help us out.
So bring it on… early morning starts, late night rugby, red bull, pro plus, a few beers here and there, and clicking keyboards galore as we try to keep up with the action.
Kia waimarie to one and all, and may the best team win. (Or failing that, Ireland)
thehightackle 