France Cruises to 2011 Rugby World Cup Finals

France Cruises to 2011 Rugby World Cup Finals

France has defeated Wales 9-8 Saturday in Auckland to book a spot in the finals of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. During the 18^th minute of the game, Sam Warburton, Wales’ captain, was dismissed from the game due to a dangerous tackle. The decision made by Alain Rolland, Irish referee, was considered harsh. The call ejecting Warburton had tipped the whole game in favor of France.

France was able to maintain their lead despite a late surge from the Welsh team. Wales first lead the game at 3-0 before losing the Welsh skipper.  A pair of penalties from the Welsh team put its rival France lead the game 6-3 at the interval. The lead increased to 9-3 for another penalty from the Welsh team.

Wales was able to dominate most of the possession throughout the game but they were unable to translate most of the possession into points eventually bowing to France. The winning team, France, will either face New Zealand, the host nation, or Australia in the finals.

The whole match was overshadowed by the controversial call given by the Irish referee giving red card to Wales’ captain, Sam Warburton, ejecting him from the game. Warburton might miss the team’s last match for the 3^rd place scheduled next Friday. Warburton said he was surprised by the call and the act has no malicious intent whatsoever. It was just a normal tackle.

Posted by Andre Monohan on Monday October 17 2011, 9:22 AM EST. Ref: CNN. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0