Wednesday 03rd October 2007
Whoopee doo. We now know the identity of the World Cup quarter-finalists. But France seems a sadder place for the loss of the twelve sides that fell at the first hurdle.
They gave their all, played with passion and scored some wonderful tries. So let's hear it for the so-called 'minnows' - the likes of the Portuguese, the Namibians, the Welsh and the Irish.
What's more, they were as entertaining off the pitch as they were with ball in hand.
Whilst the big boys droned on about taking it "game by game, one day at a time", the tournament's real entertainers had all the sad hacks in stitches with their take on life at the cutting edge of world rugby.
We've compiled a list of our favourite quotes, all taken the mouths of our fallen friends. But can you attach names and situations to the quips? Scroll to the bottom of the page for answers.
QUOTES:
1: "It is difficult - it is like taking me and putting me in Wimbledon to play Roger Federer."
2: "I'm not sure that I actually out-paced him, I just made him stop and possibly hesitate. I would never have run on the outside of anybody so these games must be giving me confidence."
3: "We are fitter and stronger than we have ever been before and are set to peak our conditioning levels just as the competition starts."
4: "Wow! I am honoured that there's a comparison between us, but we are very different players. I am Portuguese, he is French. He's professional, I am amateur."
5: "The window for the World Cup is in September and that puts the northern hemisphere sides under severe pressure to get themselves together."
6: "The majority of my players work in intense jobs where they are under a great deal of pressure - it makes them doubly professional."
7: "Isn't it Jones, Jones, Jones and Jones, with Williams, Williams and Williams? It is a huge Welsh law firm. It will be a huge hurdle for us and hopefully we will surprise the Welsh lawyers."
8: "Maybe the Argentines are a little cocky right now. There is one game played in the World Cup and we're talking about points and point-spreads already - it's a bit early.''
9: "I listen to [my country's] national music, it always helps and keeps me happy. It's the same music that we have always played before wars in the middle ages."
10: "It is difficult because it will be early in the morning back home, but I promise you that everyone will be up. They will track down televisions to the ends of the earth. That's why we have to perform."
11: "I listen to some music - loud, loud music - and watch a few of the moves of my opposition players. Then music again."
12: "It will be awesome. I was crying during the anthem - I've never seen so many people in front of me. It's was a dream of a lifetime."
13: "We can compete against the top teams. We're not shy about what we want to achieve and we'll keep backing ourselves no matter what all the critics say or all the naysayers say about the segregation of rugby. They can stuff themselves."
14: "With [Stirling] Mortlock and [Tom] Shanklin both in my pool, I'm really excited about that - to get a chance to play against them and see where I come up."
15: "It's like when a person jumps from the eighth floor. Before he hits, everything's fine. But I do have a parachute. I just hope it will open."
16: "Part of the segregation is that we keep being called 'two-tier' and they should stop calling us 'two-tier' countries. We're all playing for the same trophy and as long as they keep labelling us like that then people keep looking at us like that, and that's not what we should be about. We do deserve to be here."
17: "Injuries to the left, injuries to the right - we have a good political balance."
18: "We used to just lift coconuts and banana trees, now we've got dieticians, weights, everything! The players look after their bodies now. Once we go fully professional, once we get a big company to sponsor us, we'll have 15 Michael Joneses, so look out!"
19: "Bro, I wasn't out cold, but the game's just coming back to me now. I can remember the first but not the second."
20: "Yes, I understand all that - and I would describe it as a crisis, yes."
21: "We always sing it with that passion. It is our battle cry that tells the opposition we are ready to die on the pitch."
22: "I would like to think that you would never see a 'cool' Samoa team ever again. It's something we've really had to address this week. That was the difference between winning and losing. It's not our normal style. It's been a pretty painful week for us."
23: "Sébastien Chabal did a good impression of a soccer player. He put on a good show, then got up and was running again."
24: "We haven't become a bad team in a week and it is not like the guys have been out drinking and smoking. There is a good mood and we want to go places. It has not panned out but we just have to win our next game."
25: "There's been a real negativity around us at the moment. It's disappointing. We're strong in spirit and very positive. We don't understand what's going on. The country's behind us, the supporters are behind us, but the press is not supporting us. There's a disparity somewhere."
26: "I was saying to my parents that it' has been two weeks now and I haven't been out of my hotel apart from going to training. It does become a bit groundhog-ish."
27: "We threw the petrol tanks - and the car included - at the South Africans. My job was made easy by the boys; when I asked them to step up for their country they did."
28: "The boys are enjoying the World Cup experience. It's a tight group anyway. It's a relaxed mood here in France and the weather's been great."
29: "I would like to see in my life time a Pacific team in the semi-final of a Rugby World Cup."
30: "We go into games wanting to start well. It's not a plan of ours to start poorly and lull them into a false sense of security and then run all over them. If we could do that, brilliant, but obviously we can't."
31: "I have had two wonderful years. I would like to thank Italian rugby for having allowed me to work with the national team. Now I wish them very well. It's been an amazing experience for me."
32: "Luck? No, not really. I think they made less errors. However, we had the ball the most so we had the opportunity to make the most errors."
33: "People don't realise how disappointing this is. I mean, people use the word 'disappointment' but they've never experienced what we're feeling at the moment. We've just hit the biggest low."
34: "There are parades back home, schools are wearing red and the supporters in New Zealand have gone crazy. All the pain we have gone through in this tournament has brought us together as a nation."
35: "You've got four years to recover from any injuries so give it your all."
36: "No way - if I cut my hair I lose my strength."
37: "A coach with plans for playing against the All Blacks is maybe being a little pretentious. We need to be proud to play New Zealand and to not embarrass ourselves."
38: "I'm excited, but I'm not going to be asking for their autographs after the game."
39: "We don't even know what to expect of our celebrations. It's our first victory - we're amateurs at winning!"
40: "It will be good to get one over on Mr Andrew - he is still very boring."
41: "On the contrary, I think we actually gave them too much respect."
42: "We need to find the guy with the voodoo doll who keeps putting pins into our players. Injuries are part of the game but we've had eight or nine injuries to key players this year - I'm running out of fingers to count them on."
43: "We are running out of excuses - it's now time to deliver."
44: "When I arrived on the field I was speechless. It was a wonderful feeling. Also, to play my 100th international match at the Parc des Princes, a true rugby temple, it's really special. It's a night I'll never forget."
45: "Gaman [patience] - that has been the key word for us throughout the World Cup. That's one Japanese word which JK has been able to remember!"
46: "My hands were sweating because of what happened to Schalk and the American guy who got five weeks. I thought if it was more than one week, I should just go home."
47: "First of all it is their faith in themselves that they could. They believed and needed others to believe. Blessed is he who believes."
48: "I said to the boys before the game: 'today you either die or come back to the changing room with nothing'. I said 'let us prepare to go out there and die today to win' and that's how much it meant to us today, to lose our life."
49: "We had a big prayer this morning before our game and that's probably the secret."
50: "It's not as odd as it sounds. Pig farming is a good business back home. Pigs are used for lots of celebrations, weddings, birthdays. Put them in a pen, feed them and go from there."
ANSWERS:
1: Namibia coach Hakkies Husselman considers the prospect of amateurs playing professionals.
2: USA wing Takudzwa Ngwenya comes over all coy after skinning Bryan 'Beats Cheetah' Habana over forty metres.
3: Wales coach Gareth Jenkins - sorry, former Wales coach - speaks up his side's chances on the eve of battle.
4: Portugal captain Vasco Uva on being compared to former France star Olivier Magne.
5: Ireland boss Eddie O'Sullivan points a finger at the calendar.
6: Portugal coach Tomáz Morais on the benefits of 'real' work.
7: Canada coach Ric Suggitt scores some cheap points.
8: Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan refuses to panic after seeing France fall to Argentina.
9: Georgia's David Khinchagashvili on his psyche-out technique.
10: Samoa captain Semo Sititi feels the love from afar.
11: US wing Takudzwa Ngwenya prepares for a match.
12: Portugal hooker João Correia reflects on his encounter with Scotland.
13: Canada coach Ric Suggitt gets political.
14: Fiji centre Seru Rabeni limbers up for action.
15: Georgia coach Malkhaz Cheishvili describes his emotions on the eve of the tournament.
16: Canada coach Ric Suggitt gets even more political.
17: Italy manager Carlo Checchinato manages to see the funny side.
18: Samoa forwards coach Peter Fatialofa looks ahead with hope.
19: Japan flank Philip O'Reilly after his rather robust meeting with Vilimoni Delasau of Fiji.
20: An honest moment for Ireland coach Eddie O'Sullivan.
21: Portugal's Pedro Leal on that anthem.
22: Samoa coach Michael Jones admonishes his side for the performance against Tonga.
23: Namibia coach Hakkies Husselman accuses the big man of play-acting in the wake of a high hit.
24: Ireland hooker Frankie Sheahan looks ahead to the game against Argentina.
25: Wales coach Gareth Jenkins wags a finger at the hacks.
26: US captain Mike Hercus gets to grips with modern rugby.
27: Tonga captain Nili Latu after taking the Springboks to the wire.
28: Wales coach Gareth Jenkins fails to spot the storm clouds on the horizon.
29: Samoa coach Michael Jones looks ahead with hope.
30: Wales flank Colin Charvis at a loss to explain his side's slow starts.
31: Italy coach Pierre Berbizier signs off after the defeat to Scotland.
32: Italy centre Mirco Bergamasco on how Scotland won.
33: Wales coach Gareth Jenkins on defeat to Fiji.
34: Tonga captain Nili Latu on his nation's best World Cup showing yet.
35: US centre Thretton Palamo gees up his mates.
36: Tonga star Finau Maka - he of the mountainous 'fro - hands off the barbers.
37: Romania coach Daniel Santamans decides not to kid himself.
38: Portugal lock Gonçalo Uva refuses to swoon in the presence of the All Blacks.
39: Georgia flank Rati Urushadze is taken aback by his side's win over Namibia.
40: Tonga centre Epeli Taione, the former Newcastle Falcons star, gets even with his old boss on the eve of the England game.
41: Italy captain Marco Bortolami responds to accusations from the All Blacks after he chose a huddle over the haka.
42: Japan coach John Kirwan feels the pain.
43: Ireland star Gordon D'Arcy on the eve of the Argentina game.
44: Italy captain Alessandro Troncon on becoming a centurion.
45: Japan centre Shotaro Onisha pokes fun at John Kirwan.
46: Namibia loose forward Jacques Nieuwenhuis on his one-week ban (and red card) for his high hit on Sébastien Chabal.
47: Georgia coach Malkhaz Cheishvili explains his side's win over Namibia.
48: A moment of melodrama for Tonga captain Nili Latu following the win over Samoa.
49: Tonga coach Quddus Fielea's take on that win over Samoa.
50: Tonga flank Hale T Pole talks about life after rugby - as a pig farmer.
Compiled by Andy Jackson www.planetrugby.com
