Rugby World Cup 20 (union) -- Everything thread

[Cyborg Holland]

Dragons play Khytenna in Play-off Round

It had been a nervy start for the Dragons. with two close wins, followed by a strong win over Slembana, things were looking good. Coach Kranz decided to rest many of the star names in the side for the match against Hutanjia, but this turned out to be his gravest mistake as the Dragons were slashed and went down 40-3 to, with reserve kicker Vladilen Seegers kicking the only points on that miserable afternoon.

Things went from awful to pretty awful after the full-strength XV went down inexplicably to NSI, losing 13-27 to their Esportivan rivals. The big names, such as Simonis, Tholberg and Steffanson had yet to show how they had come on since losing in the final of the last championship, and the fans were growing impatient. The Dragons then went on to play Subramani, at team which had put in some good performances, but, riled up by negative press, the Dragons beat them comfortably, with inside centre Dag Steffanson scoring two second-half tries.

The Dragons were hitting world-cup stride, and Gabriel Simonis hit all five of his kics in the 32-0 rout of Grandterre, followed by victory over another of our Esportivan rivals, Slembana, with Johannes Tholberg finishing off a superb move which could be called the try of the competition. Meanwhile Group Leaders Hutanjia had lost their first game, meaning that the Dragons could claw back lost ground, and they did so by thumping them at their own game. The Dragons ran 6 tries, but Simonis was off his game slightly, and only managed three successful kicks, including a dead-striaght penalty.

This meant that going into the final game, the Dragons were one point clear of Hutanjia, haivng claimed the bonus point over them. They would play the Northern Sunrise Islands, the only other team to beat them, but they were brushed aisde by the second-string team. But Hutanjia claimed first place due to them getting a bonus point victory over Slembana, and having a better H2H record over the Dragons.

The Dragons drew Khytenna in the next round, who had topped group A, with 8 wins and two losses. The winner would go on to play the winners of Polar Islandstates vs The German-Spanish Empire.

[Ka Mate]

Cup Stage

At Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango:
Ko-oren 25–9 Mapletish
Tuesday: Rhodesiah v Ko-oren
Thursday: Final

Located just up the road from Parliament Hall, the 61,000 seat Seventeenth Street Grounds is home to the Ka Mate rugby union champions Taone Pango and the association football Premiership side Blacksburg Rangers.

At University Park in Taone Pango:
Swartaz 31–23 Saugeais
Western Cuba 5–41 Neu Engellon
Tuesday: Swartaz v Neu Engollon
Wednesday: Semifinal, Seventeenth Street winners v University Park winners

University Park, seating 30,000, has been refurbished to host the TSP Super 20 rugby league side Taone Pango that recently moved here from Zarahemla in New Deseret.

At Wihapi Enterprises Field in Papaloea:
Polar Islandstates 35–13 German-Spanish Empire
Khytenna 19–31 Cyborg Holland
Tuesday: Polar Islandstates v Cyborg Holland
Wednesday: Semifinal, Papaloea winners v Aotea winners

Papaloea, about 60 kilometres from the capital, is the home of the union fifteen with the most national crowns. Their annual home and away series with Taone Pango is the biggest rivalry in Ka Mate sport. Wihapi Enterprises Field seats about 49,000 rowdy fans.

At Seaside Stadium in Aotea:
Hutanjia 23–15 The Fair Republic
Tuesday: Ancharmunn v Hutanjia
Thursday: Third Place Playoff

Seaside Stadium is a new glass-and-steel football temple for 31,000 in coastal Aotea, built to lure a Championship association football club to the resort city.

[Ko-oren]

The Greenblues yesterday reached the final 8 of the Rugby World Cup in Ka Mate. They did so after a 25-9 win over Mapletish. After a weekend of free time for the players to relax and rethink strategy, they looked calm and secured the victory without too much hassle. Now that the focus of Ko-orenite sports switched away from Rugby (on to the news about the International Basketball Championship, domestic Rugby, the final of the domestic football cup and the BCCC which is just around the corner), it might be fun to look back at the group stage and the rest of the games in the playoffs. First fun fact: Ko-oren beat Mapletish 25-9, the same score as the Ko-oren v. Punum game which also ended in our favor.

Bloodbath Generation - Ko-oren 22-20
Ko-oren - Punum 25-17
Polar Islandstates - Ko-oren 28-8
Kriegiersien - Ko-oren 26-6
Ko-oren - Aquitayne 28-15
Ko-oren - Bloodbath Generation 49-3
Punum - Ko-oren 9-25
Ko-oren - Polar Islandstates 29-10
Ko-oren - Kriegiersien 44-0
Aquitayne - Ko-oren 15-31

These are all scores of the group stage. Ko-oren ended the round with six consecutive wins, and ended on 7-0-3. Yes, that is 1-0-3 in the first four games, and 6-0-0 in the last six games. Talk about an epiphany. Now that the playoff/eighth final against Mapletish is over, the record is now seven consecutive wins! It will be hard to continue this against the 10-consecutive-winning Rhodesia.

These were the scores of the playoffs:

Ko-oren 25–9 Mapletish
(Rhodesia bye)

Swartaz 31–23 Saugeais
Western Cuba 5–41 Neu Engellon

Polar Islandstates 35–13 German-Spanish Empire
Khytenna 19–31 Cyborg Holland

Hutanjia 23–15 The Fair Republic
(Ancharmunn bye)

The teams that had bye rounds, were the teams with the best records. Rhodesia finished with 45 points, Ancharmunn with 41. For the rest, Ko-oren and Mapletish were #14 and #13, and were therefore drawn against Rhodesia. Ancharmunn faces the winner of #12 v. #11 (#10 through #3 played each other, and #1 and #2 had a bye round). Six teams have been eliminated in this round, and so the remaining teams are:

#1 Rhodesia. Winner of Group C with 10-0-0. 45 points.
#2 Ancharmunn. Winner of Group D with 9-0-1. 41 points.
#3 Polar Islandstates. Winner of Group E with 8-0-2. 37 points.
#4 Khytenna. Winner of Group A with 8-0-2. 36 points.
#5 Saugeais. Runner-up of Group A with 7-0-3. 35 points.
#6 Cyborg Holland. Runner-up of Group F with 8-0-2. 34 points.
#7 Hutanjia. Winner of Group F with 8-0-2. 34 points.
#8 Neu Engollon. Winner of Group B with 7-0-3. 33 points.
#9 The Fair Republic. Runner-up of Group C with 7-0-3. 33 points.
#10 Western Cuba. Runner-up of Group D with 7-0-3. 33 points.
#11 Swartaz. Winner of Group G with 6-1-1. 31 points.*
#12 German-Spanish Empire. Runner-up of Group G with 7-0-1. 31 points.*
#11 Ko-oren. Runner-up of Group E with 7-0-3. 31 points.
#12 Mapletish. Runner-up of Group B with 6-1-3. 31 points.

*played in a group with 5 teams instead of 6

While Cyborg Holland did not win Group F based on H2H record against Hutanjia, the group's runner-up is seeded higher than the group winner based on PD! Furthermore, Saugeais and Ko-oren both have 7-0-3, but they are 4 points apart: that's the power of bonus points. Saugeais had 7 of them, Ko-oren had 3. Also, a good group and a high seed is not all that wins you a game: group A had their teams at #4 and #5, but both are already out!

Ko-oren will now stay in Taone Pango for the next game against Rhodesia. Should the adventure continue after that, the next game will be in Taone Pango in a different park. Should the team still be in at that point, they will go back to the old park for the final.

[Hutanjia]

After a well fought match against the Fair Republic, the Hutanjians unwound and tried to recoup energy, keeping it subdued from the locker room to the hotel in Aotea. The Fair Republicans had not been a breeze. 8 point difference was hardly a walkover. The Fair Republican squad had an underdog spirit the Spiders respected and understood well.
Back in the main hotel suite, in the hallway from the kitchenette to the main room shared by the two coaches and team captain, Wakala and Malaptra had a heated and earnest discussion:

"But I still don' understand, Coach. Even if we win evrytin' from here on out, de best we get is third?"

Coach Malaptra pushed his glasses up on his leathery brown forehead and rubbed at his temple,
"Yes, Samson, I know it's a tough deal, but dat's how it's set up. Rhodesiah had de flawless record in de Group stage and..."

"But we had de equally good record as de Dragons a' Cyborg Hollan', we could take some of deez other teams if we had de chance, I know it. Dey git byes and we git ground down..."

"We have a big match aginst Ancharmunn and we still in dis. Time for ya to git ya head on straight for de team, Cap'n. We do some talkin', some eatin' and we get fresh for tomorrow. We want third, if dat's what we offered, we take it. Den we come back nex' year and take first. We already showed dem how Hutanjia gets it done. Polynesian pride. We have proven ourselves. We kin not dwell on wot we kin not control."

Wakala nodded, not saying anything more as they came out of the hallway to the main living room of the suite, where the pizza was being attacked by the Spiders. The Coach was right. They would go for third place if that was the most they could advance and keep fresh for the next year, WC 21 - shooting for Rhodesiah and the Cup. They still had to worry about getting past Ancharmunn. Many of the Red and Green came from Ballyfeeaknock, one of the top clubs in the domestic leagues going into the Seasogs. A solid squad that carried them this far, and had their sights set to the third spot as well, ready to brush aside the small Hutanjians. Were they not their freshest and most mentally prepared, this could be their last night in Ka Mate. He would choose his words carefully, steeling them up, but not ripping away at their cache of hope. They needed to strut proud and belt out the Panehu tomorrow like the warriors they were.

[Rhodesiah]

We've been here before!

Rhodesiah 31–5 Filopines

A rather uninspiring match between the Sables and newcomers Filopenes. Kyle Staak with an amazing four tries, yet the kicking was just abysmal from the fly-half Tom van Zyl. A stalwart defense was unfortunately not strong enough to prevent Filopenes from scoring a hard-earned try, but the expected result came to fruition. After the match, Mikkel van der Merwe was asked about his team's play up to that point in the tournament- he simply shrugged off any kind of media pressure and refused interviews up until the opening kickoff in the next match.

Free South Califas 12–29 Rhodesiah

Up to this point Rhodesiah had not played against a team with as relentless of an attack as Free South Califas launched at the boys in green. There had been a few fumbles of the ball by Sable players giving up golden opportunities, but Free South Califas kept striking back with penalties and drop-goals to keep the game interesting going into the half. Enter Marius Parow, the 19 year old Winger who set out to make a name for himself in the 20th World Cup. Blistering speed on two long passes gave the youngster two tries that saw him run almost the entire length of the field. What a day it was for Parow and the Sables despite giving up 12.

The Fair Republic 17–23 Rhodesiah

In what was Rhodesiah's closest match of the Round Robin, The Fair Republic more than earned their keep in Group C by notching 17 points against the defending champions. What was different about this match was the mysterious absence of van der Merwe, prompting some eyebrow raising from the Rhodesiah media. Regardless, the Sables had a job to do and came out completely flat. Despite two tries and conversions early in the match, The Fair Republic was matching the boys in green stride for stride, eventually coming within 2 points of the Sables to set the score at 14-12 at the half. Tom van Zyl's 3 drop goals in a span of 15 minutes gave the Sables some breathing room, but not before a Fair Republic try to close out the match. It was a scare and a half!

Shadowbourne 7–43 Rhodesiah

Returning to their old form, the Sables had to play Shadowbourne for a second time (and without van der Merwe for a second time as well). Not wanting to repeat the dismal showing against The Fair Republic; Ewald van den Bosch, Janus Wessels, and Morne Swanepoel each ran for tries early in the first half before an almost complete line change at the break. The young bucks picked up where the veterans left off as the Sables cruised to an easy victory. After the match it was revealed that Mikkel van der Merwe was in hospital being treated with an undisclosed illness.

Rhodesiah 44–0 Abalucia

By this point the Sables were almost angry that there was no stern leadership pacing the sidelines, and it resulted in this slaughter of Abalucia. The Sables ran up the score to 31-0 at the break as players ran rampant over the newcomers to the rugby World Cup. It was a completely classless display by the defending champions and Mikkel van der Merwe had choice words regarding his team from his hospital bed: "Absolutely disgusting display. If I catch you boys doing that again you'll never wear the Sable for as long as you live". Yikes!

Filopines 16–30 Rhodesiah

A slightly closer game than the Abalucia result, and a well-deserved rest for the starting lineup as the team qualified for the next round easily. Interesting note: Piet Koondenstash became the youngest Rhodesian player to score a try in the Rugby World Cup at only 17 years, 140 days old.

Rhodesiah 36–12 Free South Califas

10 wins, 45 points, +263 point differential... it all paled in comparison to the sight of van der Merwe once again pacing the sidelines in his typical long jacket and slacks, despite looking slightly thinner than his usual larger build. Steven van Heerden's amazing defensive play may have earned him a spot in the starting XV with his play in this match- as two trysaving tackles were made in both the 71st and 78th minutes on defensive collapses. Now the defending champions would have a hard-earned rest through a bye before playing Ko-oren.

Preview: Rhodesiah v. Ko-oren

They didn't get this far without deserving it, that's for damn sure. After a 25–9 victory over rugby veterans Mapletish, it looks like the Sables will have their first real challenge of the World Cup at the beautiful Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango. After a slow start for the Greenblues dropping 3 of their first four, Ko-oren has won an astounding seven straight matches going into this quarter-final showdown featuring the unstoppable force against... well... another seemingly almost unstoppable force. Captain Kyle Staak was asked a few questions regarding the QF matchup:

"We're ready. We're rested, seen the tapes of this emerging team and know what they're capable of. We just need to stick to our own game and hope for the best."

Here's hoping the Sables can put on a show for the 61,000 in attendance and the millions back home.

[The Fair Republic]

After a well fought match against the Fair Republic, the Hutanjians unwound and tried to recoup energy, keeping it subdued from the locker room to the hotel in Aotea. The Fair Republicans had not been a breeze. 8 point difference was hardly a walkover. The Fair Republican squad had an underdog spirit the Spiders respected and understood well.
Back in the main hotel suite, in the hallway from the kitchenette to the main room shared by the two coaches and team captain, Wakala and Malaptra had a heated and earnest discussion:

"But I still don' understand, Coach. Even if we win evrytin' from here on out, de best we get is third?"

Coach Malaptra pushed his glasses up on his leathery brown forehead and rubbed at his temple,
"Yes, Samson, I know it's a tough deal, but dat's how it's set up. Rhodesiah had de flawless record in de Group stage and..."

"But we had de equally good record as de Dragons a' Cyborg Hollan', we could take some of deez other teams if we had de chance, I know it. Dey git byes and we git ground down..."

"We have a big match aginst Ancharmunn and we still in dis. Time for ya to git ya head on straight for de team, Cap'n. We do some talkin', some eatin' and we get fresh for tomorrow. We want third, if dat's what we offered, we take it. Den we come back nex' year and take first. We already showed dem how Hutanjia gets it done. Polynesian pride. We have proven ourselves. We kin not dwell on wot we kin not control."

Wakala nodded, not saying anything more as they came out of the hallway to the main living room of the suite, where the pizza was being attacked by the Spiders. The Coach was right. They would go for third place if that was the most they could advance and keep fresh for the next year, WC 21 - shooting for Rhodesiah and the Cup. They still had to worry about getting past Ancharmunn. Many of the Red and Green came from Ballyfeeaknock, one of the top clubs in the domestic leagues going into the Seasogs. A solid squad that carried them this far, and had their sights set to the third spot as well, ready to brush aside the small Hutanjians. Were they not their freshest and most mentally prepared, this could be their last night in Ka Mate. He would choose his words carefully, steeling them up, but not ripping away at their cache of hope. They needed to strut proud and belt out the Panehu tomorrow like the warriors they were.

Gideon Patrick has nothing but respect for Hutanja, they were the better team and they won. Congrats to Malaptra and his team for advancing and for Rhodesiah thank you for complimenting us. It means tons to the Toucans when the boys is green admit their respect for us in only our 1st rugby tournament! We are sending both van der Merwe and Malaptra bottles of Fair Republic fine wine for their accomplishments in the cup and their kind words

[Neu Engollon]

"Bien-Welk! Your favorite rugby anchor, Magda Wertauer talking to ya.
Neu Engollon, for those of you who were in a cave up in the Alps during the first Cup Stage match, The Goats took over the pitch. We haven't heard much from Western Cuba during this tournament, but now Neu Engollon's National squad has made sure we won't again.
By a wide margin, with 41 to the Western Cuban 5, they have moved on to the next stage of their journey in the Cup.
Even a few bench players were in to give the top starters time to recoup their stamina and do their part. Guillaume Venmont, in the match for just 20 minutes went down with a bad sprain. Venmont was pulled by the Coach after 10 more minutes of attempting to play on the sprain, but promised to be back in the Cup before the Goats time was done. Urbach and Freddie Reitzbach were the top scorers for the game, with our own Hutanjian, Garpawondu being the star tackler, stopping the only other drive Western Cuba had towards the try zone, besides the successful try that was followed by a failed conversion kick.

Next up, Swartaz.
Once again, like some other teams the Goats have come up against, we're finding it hard to dig up anything on Swartaz. Without a posted roster or any press or promotional material, we here at NETV 7 Sports are left only with their performance during the Group stage to judge them so far. Unfortunately, the Goats and Coach Cosento are also left wanting for more information. So another mystery squad to face that somehow made it this far in true ninja fashion. The Goats are watching as many clips as they can get their hands on to look for holes in the Swartaz defense.

We will bring you the match live much later tonight plus, pre and post coverage of the match right here on Neu Engollon's premier sports channel, NETV Sports 7. After the break, I will briefly review the derby, football and track scores before getting back to coverage of the Rugby World Cup 20 at University Park in Taone Pango, Ka Mate. Keep it tuned right here."

[Ka Mate]

Cup Stage

At Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango:
Ko-oren 25–9 Mapletish
Rhodesiah 26–20 Ko-oren
Wednesday: Rhodesiah move to University Park semifinal
Thursday: Final, Wednesday's winners

Located just up the road from Parliament Hall, the 61,000 seat Seventeenth Street Grounds is home to the Ka Mate rugby union champions Taone Pango and the association football Premiership side Blacksburg Rangers.

At University Park in Taone Pango:
Swartaz 31–23 Saugeais
Western Cuba 5–41 Neu Engellon
Swartaz 6–39 Neu Engellon
Wednesday: Semifinal, Rhodesiah v Neu Engollon

University Park, seating 30,000, has been refurbished to host the TSP Super 20 rugby league side Taone Pango that recently moved here from Zarahemla in New Deseret.

At Wihapi Enterprises Field in Papaloea:
Polar Islandstates 35–13 German-Spanish Empire
Khytenna 19–31 Cyborg Holland
Polar Islandstates 17–20 Cyborg Holland
Wednesday: Semifinal, Cyborg Holland v Ancharmunn

Papaloea, about 60 kilometres from the capital, is the home of the union fifteen with the most national crowns. Their annual home and away series with Taone Pango is the biggest rivalry in Ka Mate sport. Wihapi Enterprises Field seats about 49,000 rowdy fans.

At Seaside Stadium in Aotea:
Hutanjia 23–15 The Fair Republic
Ancharmunn 29–19 Hutanjia
Wednesday: Ancharmunn move to Papaloea semifinal
Thursday: Third Place Playoff, Wednesday's losers

Seaside Stadium is a new glass-and-steel football temple for 31,000 in coastal Aotea, built to lure a Championship association football club to the resort city.

[Rhodesiah]

That was a close one!

Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango welcomed the quarter-final match between Rhodesiah and Ko-oren earlier today, and boy where the 61,000 in attendance treated to one of the finest displays of rugby in the World Cup thus far! A see-saw of a match with teams at each others' throats (and in a few cases, quite literally) under the gorgeous Ka Mate sky resulted in the Sables edging their counterparts in green and blue. Mikkel van der Merwe, now in almost 100% shape after what still has not been disclosed to the public following his release from hospital, emerged victorious over Ishtun Makkarn's boys; even with a little something to say following the match:

"They (Ko-oren) put together one hell of a run in this tournament, and you can guarantee they'll be an emerging power in world rugby for the next few years. With the performance put forth tonight, it warms my heart to see how global rugby union has become."

The match began with some confusion, as both squads came out of the tunnel wearing green kits. Ko-oren, the lower ranked of the two squads and apparently supposed to wear blue for the match, was sent back into the dressing room causing a slight delay in the festivities. The national anthems were played with a large roar from the Sables' faithful concentrated in one corner of the Seventeenth Street Grounds, and the match finally kicked off.

Within the first minute you could sense there was a tone of intensity between the two teams that the Sables had not met thus far in the World Cup. Paul Swanepoel and Ko-oren's Trehardan were both given a yellow card only four minutes into the match as dangerous tackles between the two prompted the referee to relegate both players to the sin bin. Not even 5 minutes following the first pair of yellows, Rhodesiah found themselves in even more trouble when Armin Goedbaar launched himself for an incredibly high tackle on Ko-oren fly-half Neretipe resulting in another trip to the sin bin. The Sables managed to survive the early string of penalties early, and the score remained at 0-0 through the first 20.

At the 24th minute and after some brilliant defense from both squads, Tom van Zyl put the boys in green on the board first with a penalty that soared through the uprights. 3 minutes later, van Zyl repeated the feat from roughly 15 metres back from his first kick, and Rhodesiah saw themselves up 6-0. Unfortunately for the Sables they had not played against such stiff competition thus far, and they paid for it in the form of a try shortly before the half. Sekkartan, Makkimun, and Tarn emerged from a scrum with a shift to the side, opening up the field for all three to run parallel and pass whenever necessary. A missed tackle by Swanepoel, plus Ewald van den Bosch couldn't get enough behind a last-ditch effort to take down Sekkartan, and Ko-oren found themselves celebrating behind the tryline before a visibly frustrated Rhodesiah. A missed conversion was all the wrote before the half, with Rhodesiah up 6-5.

The second half started off much better for Rhodesiah, as right off the kickoff a forced turnover by Ko-oren saw a lineout maybe 10 metres from the tryline. Ricky Louw was the lucky player to penetrate the line and give the Sables their first try of the match, as all the female Sables fans echoed "Rick-y LOUW!" throughout the stadium; prompting some laughs from the Rhodesian bench. The conversion was successful and Rhodesiah led 13-5. Unfortunately for the boys in green, undisciplined play resulted in TWO penalties awarded to Ko-oren within a span of 5 minutes, and Neretipe had two beautiful kicks pulling Ko-oren to 13-11. Rhodesiah couldn't pull away as they were accustomed to by this point in the match.

van Zyl was called upon to kick a rather controversial penalty in the 65th minute, when a clash between Swanepoel and Trehardan resulted in second yellows for both players. Swanepoel was the most visible of the scruff, though the referee decided that Trehardan was the aggressor on the play. 16-11 for Rhodesiah didn't last long with Neretipe kicking a drop-goal in the 67th minute with the field opened up thanks to two players missing. van Zyl matched Neretipe's drop-goal challenge with one of his own from behind the HALF LINE that had enough power behind it to maybe be struck from his own 22. By the 70th the score was 19-14.

A hard push from Ko-oren had almost deserved a try, but Rhodesiah's stalwart defense remained true, forcing a penalty and coach Ishtun Makkarn to make a tough decision: risk the penalty for the try or take the easy points? Neretipe's kick solved that dilemma and the deficit was reduced to two for the boys in blue and green. The match was put beyond doubt in the 79th minute when a break for Tim van Koke saw him and Piet Koondenstash running side-by-side with only Jularnan to stop them. A quick poke to the 17-year old Koondenstash and an even quicker dash across the tryline put Rhodesiah up 24-17 before van Zyl's conversion. A consolation drop-goal as time ran out was all Ko-oren could muster before the final whistle, finishing at 26-20 for the Sables.

Now Rhodesiah find themselves in their fourth consecutive semi-finals appearance, and it wasn't without hard work or determination. Next up is upstarts Neu Engollon, who destroyed Swartaz in their quarter-final face-off, at University Park.

[Cyborg Holland]

78th Minute drop kick steals victory for Dragons.

Cyborg Holland: 20

Tries: Schniejder ('30), van der Viel ('67)
Conversions: Simonis (x2)
Penalties: Simonis (x1)
Drop Goals: (Simonis (x1)

Polar Islandstates: 17

Tries: Stoijbaek ('12), Oftedahl ('37)
Conversions: Stoijbaek (x2)
Penalties: Stoijbaek (x1)
Drop Goals: n/a

A repeat of last World Cup's ROund of 16 saw Cyborg Holland square off against Polar Islandstates. PIS had had a better run-in to the game, finsihing 3 points to the good over Cyborg Holland in group E. They then steam-rollered the German-Spanish Empire to meet up with Cyborg Holland. The Dragons meanwhile had finally clicked into gear. They met Khytenna in the Play-off round, but stellar performances from Johannes Tholberg and Dag Steffansson cast aside the frankly poor Khytenna 19-31.

As with every PIS vs Cyborg Holland rugby union game, the Polarians wore their quartered shirts whilst the Dragons donned thier unfamiliar all-red kit. The large fan section had come out in every shade of red, and it made for quite a spectacle. Gabriel Simonis started the proceedings with a deep kick amnogst the cheers and camera flashes.

The first score came from a major defensive slip from the Dragons back line, which sent alarm bells ringing through the coaching camp. Polarian Fly-Half Stoijbaek put up a routine up-and-under to the two waiting defenders in Full Back Ivo van der Viel and Right Wing Laurits van Houte. But a communications mixup allowed Stoijbaek to hare in a steal the ball from between them and straight through to cross the line under the posts to an almost deafening wall of silence from the Cyborg Holland fans, who inhabited that end of the pitch.

Stoijbaek converted the kick to leave the Dragons 7-0 down after just 12 minutes. Gabriel Simonis was hitting tackles hard, and earned the Dragons several penalites and scrums in the process, and he converted a 21st minute penalty to cut the gap to four. Stoijbaek added a penalty of his five minutes later to re-instate the 7 point lead, but it was the Dragons with the next major blow.

Hooker Abels had a try disallowed for it being held up, and won the five-metre scrum as a result. The Dragons, known for their scrumagging prowess, drove hard, and captain Tholberg picked the ball off the back of the scrum, and blind-side defender Rosenberg had no chance as the giant Tholberg crashed over him and over the line. Simonis slotted the kic as usual as the scores were 10 a-piece. But that position didn't last long for long as the Polarians struck back through hooker Oftedahl. He crossed over after a sustained period of pressure from the Rushmori side, and the Dragons defence cracked after a severe battering.

The half finished with the Polarians leading 10-17, and the Dragons needing to find a try from somewhere to get back in the game.

The opening exchanges of the second half took place mainly in between the half-way line and the Polarian 22m line. The dragons would build up, before losing it cheaply and allowing Stoijbaek to ping it back into the hands of the full-back and starting all over again. The Dragons were becoming desperate for that try, and started making mistakes. Polarian full-back Enger broke through the line and was wrestled to the ground by a sprinting Ivo van der Viel, and he managed to hold up play long enough to allow a rather shocked Dragons defence to sprawl back. The try did come eventually, and what a score it was.

Enger fired a long kic back into the arms of van der Viel, who returned the play with a fearsome run at the defence. He broke through a first tackle before shifting the ball to the supporting runner, in the form of Daf Steffansson. Steffanson stepped Magnussen, before firing the return pass back to van der Viel just miliseconds before being crushed by Konrad Valeev. van der Viel set off on a diagonal run, and outpaced the last of the Polarian defenders before diving over the line and sending the fans into raptures. Simonis made no mistake with the conversion to make the game all square, and Cyborg Holland had the advantage when Ahlberg, the Polarian Openside-flanker, saw a yellow for repeated hands in the ruck. But no matter how much the Dragons pushed the coulnd't find a way through the valiant Polarian defence.

The minutes were ticking by, and an exhausted Cyborg Holland side were dreading extra time. Something had to happen, and Gabriel Simonis would be the man to make it happen. Meeuweszen broke through the line, and orders were shouted from Tholberg at the back of the ruck for a drop-goal attempt. Inside centre Markus Ziemniak stood over the ball as Simonis dropped into the pocket. The ball was flung back, and Simonis had to think fast as Mikhail Rosenberg rushed up at him. He ducked under his swinging arm, and on his weaker right foot, attempted the shot. The ball was sent on a parabolic arc and it struck the inside of the upright and bounced in. The referee blew his whistle to confirm the shot had passed over the cross-bar, and the fans and players exploded with joy. They'd snuck the win on what turned out to be the last real play of the game, as Simonis crashed the ball out as soon he recieved it from the kick-off.

[Hutanjia]

AOTEA, KA MATE

The match against Ancharmunn had started well. From the get-go, the Spiders of Hutanjia had walked out onto the pitch, taking their places to do the Panehu and the guttural chants that went with it. With the kick-off, Samson Wakala had led the charge, with Janson Paqate and Vlad Sokota following; a small drop of white and maroon spilling into a sea of red and green. With a pass to Sokota from Wakala, the Eight man touched down in the corner of the try zone, bringing two of Ancharmunn's defense with him during the flight. The conversion sailed through the posts for the complete package and The Spiders were the first to put 7 on the board. From there on out, it was a mess of scrums, rucks and mauls. near the 24 minute mark, a lineout was won and the ball brought down to be presented to the halfs. The egg made its way out to their number 12, Tierney Kavanagh, who took it in for the final couple meters into the Hutanjian home zone.

Things picked up at that pace, with each squad scoring another try and conversion before the half. It was Ancharmunn's flanker, Ceallacháin, who tipped the balance to bring an extra try, followed by the kick, to bring the score to 21-14 in favor of the Celtic Red and Green at the whistle.

Determined to bring it back, the Hutanjians struggled, being beat at their own massed forward strategy, by Ancharmunn, who were ready for the stocky Polynesians to attempt their panzer blitz up the sides.
They scored another try, but the conversion went wide, leaving Hutanjia down 14 to Ancharmunn's 26 points at the 52 minute mark. Harrison Fengelu brought in the last try for the Spiders, getting a lucky opening after a series of rolling mauls on the blind side. When an exhausted Ketsangu's kick fell short, shocking his teammates, it may have been the turning point from which they couldn't recover.

They were never able to close on the Ancharmunn 22 again. Buckling at 75 minutes, they had a drop kick sail overhead to give the Celts another 3 over the Spiders. The best the Hutanjians were able to do was keep Ancharmunnians from entering their try zone again.

It was a heartbreaking end for a valiant charge to the cup, with ups and downs, the Hutanjians had managed to make a good showing in the Semi Finals, but they would indeed have to wait until next year to improve their rank in the rugby union world.

Consolation pizza was enjoyed in their Aotea hotel, as well as bittersweet smiles and tears. Coach Malaptra was doused in soda and beer, but he took it with a grin. The Spiders would stay through the end, cheering on the Dragons of Cyborg Holland, who were the final bearers of the torch from Group F heading towards the Quarterfinals. Later, over a bottle of wine sent from the Fair Republican Coach, a very sticky Malaptra, Reraptke and Wakala commiserated, finally passing out on the balcony. They almost were late for the Cyborg Holland-Ancharmunn match as they pried Coach Malaptra off the balcony chair the next morning, congealed soda and beer bonding him to it.

[Neu Engollon]

"Buon Nachi! Magda Wertauer here on NETV Sports 7 Update. It's not new news, but I just love saying it! We're in the Semi-Finals! Glorious. Now we're going to you live Neu Engollon, from University Park, Taone Pango, Ka Mate. Our on-the-spot reporter Karl Demais is talking with Ernst Urbach, fly half and one of the freshest players on the squad, really making a name for himself during the Cup. Anyway, Karl, take it away..."

"Thanks Magda, so, Ernst, you're on fire. Seems like you haven't had any let up at all since a few games ago when you took over for the injured Willy Hoerner."

"Yeah, Karl, I just really need to prove myself and want to start from the top next year. It's just unfortunate that it had to happen because of Willy's injury. That's not how I wanted my chance. I hope he can come back to play, at least for the Warriors club, but it's looking more doubtful now."

"Well, let's not dwell. So, how are you feeling about the Goats progress so far?"

"Ha! Well, Karl, how do you think? Amazing. Just stellar. We have been rocking it. I think we seem to be coming from nowhere to a lot of these other sport heavy nations, but we've been old hands at rugby, just stagnated as far as getting on the International scene."

"Kind of like how there was some name pronunciation issues at the start?"

"Exactly. New Angeland and Neu un-gee-lin. I've heard some interesting takes. That's ok. They got it figured out. Anyway, we got far in the Sevens cup, some of our guys were playing League code and on the National squad for that cup, too. Neu Engollon loves rugby, by far, just so many levels above football and...merd! I don't even know what else could come close. Roller derby? So, yeah, we are where we should be, proving that we can't be pushed aside so easily or ignored."

"Absolutely, Ernie. Tell me, the Swartaz match. Did you foresee any problems, was it a match that..."

*Urbach shakes his head slightly*

"Okay, so moving on. Rhodesiah. The squad to beat. The mighty, undefeated Rhodesiah."

"Not gonna lie, Karl. This one could be the show stopper. It will be rough and bloody, probably literally. Lots of getting in the mud and scraping our way across that pitch. The scrum will be key in this one, if we have a fighting chance. We have some plays lined up. We watched our vids, we ran our drills. We'll just see what happens. We don't want to overthink this."

"Gotcha. If you pull it off and move to the final, then..."

"Then we pull Cyborg Holland or Ancharmunn. Two more tough, super caliber teams. Same thing. We just keep doing what we do best and keep our chins up and our confidence level up there. We bring the Alpen power."

"Thank you, Ernie."

"My pleasure, Karl. See you after the match. No matter what, we'll all slug down some Burgunden ales."

"You better believe I'm there. Ok, back to you, Magda."

"Thank you, Karl, and Ernst Urbach, the Goats fly half. As they mentioned, Neu Engollon faces the Rhodesian squad tomorrow, who unlike any other team in the Cup, have not lost a match yet and are the defending champs. Intimidating to be sure, but we hope the Goats can be that first team to topple them from the throne. More coverage coming up after the break. Stay tuned, Neu Engollon."

[Ka Mate]

Cup Stage

At Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango:
Ko-oren 25–9 Mapletish
Rhodesiah 26–20 Ko-oren
Thursday: Final, Rhodesiah v Cyborg Holland

Located just up the road from Parliament Hall, the 61,000 seat Seventeenth Street Grounds is home to the Ka Mate rugby union champions Taone Pango and the association football Premiership side Blacksburg Rangers.

At University Park in Taone Pango:
Swartaz 31–23 Saugeais
Western Cuba 5–41 Neu Engellon
Swartaz 6–39 Neu Engellon
Semifinal, Rhodesiah 30–13 Neu Engellon

University Park, seating 30,000, has been refurbished to host the TSP Super 20 rugby league side Taone Pango that recently moved here from Zarahemla in New Deseret.

At Wihapi Enterprises Field in Papaloea:
Polar Islandstates 35–13 German-Spanish Empire
Khytenna 19–31 Cyborg Holland
Polar Islandstates 17–20 Cyborg Holland
Semifinal, Cyborg Holland 40–6 Ancharmunn

Papaloea, about 60 kilometres from the capital, is the home of the union fifteen with the most national crowns. Their annual home and away series with Taone Pango is the biggest rivalry in Ka Mate sport. Wihapi Enterprises Field seats about 49,000 rowdy fans.

At Seaside Stadium in Aotea:
Hutanjia 23–15 The Fair Republic
Ancharmunn 29–19 Hutanjia
Thursday: Third Place Playoff, Neu Engollon v Ancharmunn

Seaside Stadium is a new glass-and-steel football temple for 31,000 in coastal Aotea, built to lure a Championship association football club to the resort city.

[Cyborg Holland]

Dragons smash Ancharmunn to set up repeat final with Rhodesiah

Cyborg Holland: 40

Tries: Steffanson (34), Ziemniak (40), Rasmussen (58), Dreesens (68)
Conversions: Simonis (x2), van der Viel (x2)
Penalties: Simonis (x4)
Drop goals: n/a

Ancharmunn: 6

Tries: n/a
Conversions: n/a
Penalties: Kiley (x2)
Drop goals: n/a

This time last year, Cyborg Holland overcame heavy favourites Kulverint to set up a final with again favourites Rhodesiah, but the Dragons lost out in an open game. Well history has repeated itself and the Dragons will once again meet Rhodesiah in the World's most prestigious rugby union game. The seemingly large obstacle that was Ancharmunn was removed like a steamroller through paper. After a nervy first ten minutes from both sides, Joseph Kiley kiced the first points for Ancharmunn, who were wearing a rather rag-tag set of vaguely matching red and green kits, which compared nothing to the sharp, sleek silver and blue shirts of Cyborg Holland.

Gabriel Simonis kept the Dragons in touch as he levelled up the game on 20 minutes with two perfectly exectued kicks. He then kicked Cyborg Holland further ahead, before Dag Steffanson finished off a good running move off a line-out for the first try of the game. Simonis converted to make the score 16-6. The next score came in the final play of the first half, and electric winger Meindert Ziemniak secured his first international points by recieving the final pass from winger Sebastian Abrahaamsen and he had to just fall over the line to convert the play. 23-6 at the break.

Simonis added a 45th minute penalty to increase the lead to 26-6. The Dragons were totally dominating at this point, and that allowed coach Clemensen to take key players off, and gave Johannes Tholberg, Gabriel Simonis and Dag Steffanson a vital rest ahead of what surely would have been the Dragons next, and final, game. But the flow of points did not stop as 6ft 7 inches lock Kliment Rasmussen crashed through the tiring Ancharmunn defence and simply strolled over the line, his smile barely visible beneath his pink and gold scrum-cap and massive mop of brown curly hair. Reserve kicker van der Viel was clearly in the same form as Simonis as he slotted the conversion.

The final blow came from workhorse flanker Johan Dreesens, who also picked up the Man of the Match award. Ziemniak had broken through the Ancharmunn defence, and spied the flanker making a run across the other side of the pitch. Ziemniak did what he did best and kicked from his hand right across the pitch, where Dreesens was totally unmarked, and he just picked up the ball and dotted down in the corner.

Ancharmunn had been destroyed, but now attentions had to be well and truly placed on the biggest game yet: A final replay with Rhodesiah...

[Neu Engollon]

"Good evening, Neu Engollon. I'm Magda Wertauer here on NETV Sports 7 Update. As you may now know, The Goats will not be moving on to the Final, but they had a very good run. They lost to Rhodesiah, by more than double the points, but there's no shame. They didn't bring the Rhodesians down, but neither has anyone else the whole Cup.
Staak and Niederkamp scored two trys early on in the match, taking advantage of serious holes in the Goats defense and sloppy passing, but neither try was able to get the additional two point conversion added on by their kicker.
Alex Renvier was able to take advantage of van Zyl's angst at missing kicks, acting out and heading to the sin bin, and he scored what would be the only try for him in the match. The Goats had to fight to close towards the Rhodesiah 22 line, attempting drop goals and relying on penalty kicks to inch them up the board. Meanwhile, the defense just couldn't shut down the Sables. Van Zyle redeemed himself with both a try and conversion under his belt. The humiliation continued on later with an easy drop goal slipping by, courtesy of Swanepoel.
Marcel Donette had a penalty kick and that wrapped up the match for Neu Engollon's offensive.
The Sables onslaught carried through all the way to the end with a try from Hedberg in the final 5 minutes.

It remains to be seen if the Sables can have a repeat of RWC 19 and take it all, or Cyborg Holland, reprising their role as Finals challenger, can take them down a peg this time. Either way, we wish both teams luck, in what is sure to be an edge of the seat match.

Neu Engollon goes up against Ancharmunn for 3rd place. This scrappy team hasn't even played in a proper uniform, using borrowed, begged and...well, a hodgepodge of different shades of green and red.
Commiserating in their Burgunden Ales as promised to Karl, the Goats will still rein it in for a final match tomorrow to hopefully take that third place trophy, bronze, shield, whichever they're giving out in Ka Mate. They will be in the final four in any case. We love you Goats! Thanks for playing so hard for Neu Engollon. Stay tuned for more coverage of both the Finals match and 3rd place right here on NETV Sports 7."

[Rhodesiah]

Now that's more like it!

It's almost a match made in heaven, and a perfect opportunity for retribution for the final four years ago. Cyborg Holland- storming through the 2nd round, quarter-, and semi-finals about to play in a repeat of the 19th Rugby Would Cup Final. Of course, the Sables came out victorious four years ago: defeating the Dragons 31-17 and finally finding World Cup glory after two close brushes with the championship. Four years is a long time though, and as seen in this edition of the World Cup; Cyborg Holland is most certainly a stronger and more dangerous team than ever before. With Ancharmunn falling 40-6 at their hands, pundits would be lying if they almost wouldn't consider Cyborg Holland to be a favourite coming into the final carrying momentum. Let's not forget one thing: the Rhodesiah Sables are in this as well, and they're ready to repeat for the first time since Kelssek back in the 11th and 12th World Cups.

To get to the final Rhodesiah had to go through a talented Neu Engellon squad at University Park in Taone Pango. While it wasn't nearly as big of a venue as the Sables were accustomed to, the Rhodesiah faithful were out in full-force to support their team in a 30-13 victory. There had been some juggling of the lineups for manager Mikkel van der Merwe, having to replace a suspended Paul Swanepoel for the semi-final and being forced to play 20 year-old Steven van Heerden in his place. Needless to say, the boy "did good" in his first starting appearance for the boys in green, as Rhodesiah sailed out to an early 10-0 lead within the opening 10 minutes.

The first try came from Koos Niederkamp, who had been relatively silent throughout the Rugby World Cup and had been on van der Merwe's "shit list" regarding his poor performance. Paulus Jantjies and Flip van der Merwe had emerged from a scrum with a slight break in the New Engellon line, forcing the field to spread slightly. Niederkamp had been running parallel to the pair, and upon a challenge from the defense, took the ball and dashed across the tryline to put the Sables up by 5. Unfortunately the lead couldn't be extended to 7 when Tom van Zyl, who had been nothing shy of perfection during the World Cup, missed the posts with a horrible kick prompting a few stiffled chuckles from media and fans alike. 3 minutes later captain Kyle Staak picked up a try of his own after a Neu Engellon turnover inside their own 22. van der Merwe's lineup appeared to be working according to plan. What had not been according to plan was van Zyl missing an uncharacteristic SECOND conversion attempt in a row.

Neu Engellon fed off these missed conversions and van Zyl's frustration, drawing him into a yellow card and forcing the fly-half into the sin bin for 10 minutes. This was all it took to turn the match on its head as Neu Engellon scored a try during van Zyl's time out. A missed conversion kept the score at 10-5 before van Zyl's return, and boy was he motivated upon his return. Picking up the ball on a dropped Neu Engellon pass, van Zyl broke past the half-line with only a hooker to beat to score the try. Normally a player would've broke for a corner and make an attempt at outrunning the defense, but this fly-half was angry. Bowling THROUGH the hooker and 'home free' per se, van Zyl slid past the tryline before kicking his first successful conversion of the afternoon before the half. The score remained at 17-10.

After the break both teams exchanged penalties twice, bringing the score to 23-8, until a drop goal from Swanepoel put the Sables at 26 over Neu Engellon. Rhodesiah began to settle into their game, simply grinding down the play and slowing any progress that could be made against them. It looked as if the game would end at 26-13 until Nik Ahrens intercepted a pass intended for the Neu Engellon fly-half and passed it to Mitch Hedberg, who scored an easy try. The conversion was successful and remaining 5 minutes were played out. Rhodesiah was going to its 2nd consecutive Rugby World Cup Final at the Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango.

Mikkel van der Merwe however, has an approach for the final he's hoping to instill in his boys. Deep inside the bowels of the Seventeenth Street Grounds, hearing the loud chants of Cyborg Holland and Rhodesiah supporters just moments before the final... he says this:

Gentlemen. I firmly believe that any man's finest hour... his greatest fulfillment of all he holds dear... is that moment when he was worked his heart out for a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle... victorious.

Gentlemen. That moment is waiting on YOU. It's waiting on every man in the Dragons' locker room. It's waiting on every man in the Sables' locker room.

What separates a World Cup Final from any other match you'll play is that the Final is always remembered. It's not just another 80 minutes of rugby, it's 80 minutes that can define you FOREVER as a WINNER.

Y'know, people ask me "Is winning really the only thing?" well my answer to them is my answer to you: "ASK YOURSELF THE F***ING QUESTION!" Is winning the only thing to YOU. Is that was YOU want? Do YOU want to be remembered as a winner, or as something else?

Playing in the Rugby World Cup Final is playing in a match that will define you forever. Make this match your finest hour... I'll be waiting for you.

[Ka Mate]

Cup Stage

At Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango:
Ko-oren 25–9 Mapletish
Rhodesiah 26–20 Ko-oren
Final, Rhodesiah 30–23 Cyborg Holland

Located just up the road from Parliament Hall, the 61,000 seat Seventeenth Street Grounds is home to the Ka Mate rugby union champions Taone Pango and the association football Premiership side Blacksburg Rangers.

At University Park in Taone Pango:
Swartaz 31–23 Saugeais
Western Cuba 5–41 Neu Engellon
Swartaz 6–39 Neu Engellon
Semifinal, Rhodesiah 30–13 Neu Engellon

University Park, seating 30,000, has been refurbished to host the TSP Super 20 rugby league side Taone Pango that recently moved here from Zarahemla in New Deseret.

At Wihapi Enterprises Field in Papaloea:
Polar Islandstates 35–13 German-Spanish Empire
Khytenna 19–31 Cyborg Holland
Polar Islandstates 17–20 Cyborg Holland
Semifinal, Cyborg Holland 40–6 Ancharmunn

Papaloea, about 60 kilometres from the capital, is the home of the union fifteen with the most national crowns. Their annual home and away series with Taone Pango is the biggest rivalry in Ka Mate sport. Wihapi Enterprises Field seats about 49,000 rowdy fans.

At Seaside Stadium in Aotea:
Hutanjia 23–15 The Fair Republic
Ancharmunn 29–19 Hutanjia
Third Place Playoff, Neu Engellon 34–22 Ancharmunn

Seaside Stadium is a new glass-and-steel football temple for 31,000 in coastal Aotea, built to lure a Championship association football club to the resort city.

[The Fair Republic]

(Image)
Cup Stage

At Seventeenth Street Grounds in Taone Pango:
Ko-oren 25–9 Mapletish
Rhodesiah 26–20 Ko-oren
Final, Rhodesiah 30–23 Cyborg Holland

Located just up the road from Parliament Hall, the 61,000 seat Seventeenth Street Grounds is home to the Ka Mate rugby union champions Taone Pango and the association football Premiership side Blacksburg Rangers.

At University Park in Taone Pango:
Swartaz 31–23 Saugeais
Western Cuba 5–41 Neu Engellon
Swartaz 6–39 Neu Engellon
Semifinal, Rhodesiah 30–13 Neu Engellon

University Park, seating 30,000, has been refurbished to host the TSP Super 20 rugby league side Taone Pango that recently moved here from Zarahemla in New Deseret.

At Wihapi Enterprises Field in Papaloea:
Polar Islandstates 35–13 German-Spanish Empire
Khytenna 19–31 Cyborg Holland
Polar Islandstates 17–20 Cyborg Holland
Semifinal, Cyborg Holland 40–6 Ancharmunn

Papaloea, about 60 kilometres from the capital, is the home of the union fifteen with the most national crowns. Their annual home and away series with Taone Pango is the biggest rivalry in Ka Mate sport. Wihapi Enterprises Field seats about 49,000 rowdy fans.

At Seaside Stadium in Aotea:
Hutanjia 23–15 The Fair Republic
Ancharmunn 29–19 Hutanjia
Third Place Playoff, Neu Engellon 34–22 Ancharmunn

Seaside Stadium is a new glass-and-steel football temple for 31,000 in coastal Aotea, built to lure a Championship association football club to the resort city.

Congrats to Rhodesiah for defending their title and Ka Mate for hosting a hell of a tournament set the clock to RWC 21!

[Neu Engollon]

"Bien Welk, Neu Engollon! I'm Magda Wertauer here on NETV Sports 7 Update. The Goats are done at the Rugby World Cup 20 in Ka Mate. They walked away with a respectable 3rd place, going up against some of the toughest squads in the world. The match against Ancharmunn was fierce, but in the end, Neu Engollon was triumphant over the Red and Green. Urbach, Latrent and Gemmel were the stars out on the pitch, keeping the drives up the outside and putting the most tries on the board. Wrapping up the match, they had two more tries and a conversion over Ancharmunn.
Over in Taone Pango, at the Seventeenth Street Stadium, Cyborg Holland battled it out with the champs, Rhodesiah. Once again, Rhodesiah took the match, but it wasn't a slaughter and the Cyborg Dutch were able to make a respectable showing against the undefeated masters of Rugby union. In the second half, they came back to close within a try and conversion before the final whistle. We salute all the finals teams, and indeed, all the National squads to play throughout the Cup. The host, Ka Mate did a magnificent job and we salute them as well. Rugby is the number one sport in the Confederacy, and you can be sure that the Goats will be back to shoot for the top for Rugby World Cup 21. Tomorrow night, we look forward to our Goats flying into Panoli International. Let's give them a big welcome home and we will celebrate tonight! I'll see you down at the Burgunden BreuPub, Neu Engollon."