Australia has blown a 13-point lead to suffer A record 10th straight Bledisloe Cup Test loss to New Zealand. By a point and having led by 13.

Again the Wallabies appeared set for victory with 20 minutes to go and having held it together in the vital first 20 minutes of the second half, but two All Black late in the game gave a 23-22 victory to NZ.

This week I must say was not as woeful as the past games where the Wallabies gave up huge leads at half time. Sure Giteau didn’t help the cause missing 4 goals and a possible 10 points! But a lot rode on the dreadful refereeing decisions throughout the game. Play was pulled up for an Australian forward pass that had Conner in the clear for a sure try. The reply showed it was clearly onside!

Build from it. Two years to go to the World Cup and at least the Wallabies are showing that all is not lost.

 
There is no end to the good Rugby does it seems. Now the Wallabies just have to get one up on the All Blacks next Saturday.
 
Tri Nations to Contribute Over US$174m to Southern Hemisphere Economy

 
The 2010 Tri Nations will contribute US$174.3 million to the sport and leisure economy across the Southern Hemisphere, according to a new study commissioned by MasterCard.

The report also forecasts a significant positive economic impact from the addition of Argentina to the competition in 2012, which is predicted to increase the overall value of the tournament to as much as $213.1million.

This means that in the year before Rugby World Cup 2011, the combined value of the two largest annual international Rugby tournaments – the 2010 Six Nations and Tri Nations Championships – is more than $800 million, according to MasterCard’s research into Rugby commerce.

MasterCard commissioned one of the leading international sport business institutions, the Centre for the International Business of Sport (CIBS), to examine the economic impact of the 2010 Tri Nations Championship and associated demographic trends. This is the second release of a larger study which analyses economic impact and social trends of the sport around the world.

In March this year, MasterCard released a similar report on the 2010 RBS Six Nations Championship which put its worth at $632.81m to participating Rugby nations.

MasterCard’s study on the Tri Nations Championship highlights a commercially strong picture for Southern Hemisphere Rugby. It points to substantial levels of local economic impact for cities across the Southern Hemisphere from hosting Tri Nations matches.

Sydney is set to scoop $28 million from hosting Australia v New Zealand: the largest single economic impact from a Tri Nations fixture. Johannesburg and Christchurch are also set to benefit a total of $19.6 million and $12 million respectively from hosting two of the matches.

The study also predicts that the arrival of Argentina – where Rugby is growing faster than in any of the Tri Nations countries – to the tournament in 2012 will help further bolster the long term value of the competition. The Argentinean economy is set to be boosted by a local economic impact of $8-12 million for each match hosted in the country.

Dr. Anna Semens, Research Fellow at CIBS and MasterCard’s advisor on the Business of Rugby, said, “The MasterCard study highlights that rugby is clearly booming and providing a considerable economic boost to the Southern Hemisphere. The value of the Tri Nations continues to rise, with the 2010 tournament well on track with some impressive attendances. These indicators, as well as Argentina’s entry into the tournament from 2012, demonstrate that the Tri Nations will continue to provide a sizeable economic impact into the future.”

Value of the Tri Nations

The 2010 Tri Nations Championship will make a contribution of $174.3 million to the sport and leisure economy across the Southern Hemisphere. Locally, the 2010 Tri Nations Championship generated local economic impacts of:

$8 million on Auckland economy from hosting New Zealand v South Africa
$11 million on Wellington economy from hosting New Zealand v South Africa
$14 million on Brisbane economy from hosting Australia v South Africa
$16 million on Melbourne economy from hosting Australia v New Zealand
$12 million on Christchurch economy from hosting New Zealand v Australia
$19.6 million on Johannesburg economy from hosting South Africa v New Zealand
$9.2 million on Pretoria economy from hosting South Africa v Australia
$8.6 million on Bloemfontein economy from hosting South Africa v Australia
$28 million on Sydney economy from hosting Australia v New Zealand (estimated)

The expected impact of Argentina joining the Tri Nations in 2012 is:

$8-12 million local economic impact per match hosted in Argentina.

The overall value of the Championship could be as much as $213.1 million, in terms of its contribution to the sport and leisure micro economy in 2012.

Attendance and Broadcasting Provide Boost

The unprecedented value of the 2010 Tri Nations has been boosted through several factors, particularly attendances and broadcasting.

Attendance has risen significantly from 2009, with an increased attendance of approximately 50,000 resulting in a total attendance of nearly half a million (450,000) expected for this year’s competition, giving an average attendance slightly above that of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The South Africa v New Zealand Tri Nations match in August 2010 saw the highest attendance for a rugby match in South Africa for more than half a century. The fixture attracted a sell-out audience of 94,013 at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, an increase of 30,000 from the planned venue of Ellis Park.

A further boost to the economic impact of the Tri Nations is provided by the recently negotiated 2011-2015 broadcast agreement which will generate $437 million in revenue for the three Tri Nations unions over the next five years.

Stuart Cameron, vice president, Regional Sponsorships, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, MasterCard Worldwide, said, “The continued growth of Rugby in the region, and its positive impact on business and local communities, is particularly exciting given that Rugby World Cup is coming to New Zealand in 2011. This Tri Nations report, along with our previous study of Northern Hemisphere Rugby, paints a glowing picture of the sport and its influence around the world.”

This is beyond almost anything I have seen before. Beyond comment, beyond words. WOW!

You just have to watch this ……

Any baby boomer wanting a rush, well go for it! I’d love to do that, but ……

Hot on the heals of the tragic loss of the Wallabies to South Africa last week in Johannasberg, the second game on the high velt was played last night at Bloemfontein.

There is some history to all of this as the Australians haven’t beaten South Africa at altitude since 1963, thats a 47 year drought! But the record at Bluefontain is even more remarkable as the Aussies haven’t had a win there since the Volswagon beetle was being designed back in 1938!

So a lot was riding on this game, including of course the Mandella Plate.

It was an unbelievable game. The game went true to Wallaby form, at least this years Tri-Nation form. The first half was virtually all the Wallabies. They were outstanding with the backline continually breaking through the Springboks defence and with a scoreline of 31-6 it looked like the Wallabies had taken an unbeatable lead.

The Wallabies looked truly an unbeatable side walking all over the Boks in every facet of the game. Then as usual, they allowed the Boks in on the half time whistle. A brilliant kick and chase by the Boks second rower Matfield led to a try under the posts. You could hear the collective groan from the Wallaby supporters. Was it slipping away?

Well there is no other way to describe it, we were trounced in the second half. By the 61st minute the Springboks had taken a 33-31 lead , not so much from outstanding play, but rather a showing of complete ineptitude by the Wallabies. It was truly a comedy of errors that included a ten minute sin bin for dangerous play by Saia Faingaa and the farcical header by Beales.

Reminicant of the test against the All Blacks in Christchurch a few weeks ago, when down a man the Wallabies seemed to spark up and hit back with a beautiful try in the 71st minute when winger Drew Mitchell scored. 38-36 in Australia’s favour.

Then in the 76th minute the Boks took the lead again with a Steines penalty goal making it 39-38 in favor of the homeside. Morne Steyn kicked an amazing 9 from 9.

Then in the last minute of play the Boks conceded a penalty at the breakdown. 55.6m out from the posts. It looked an impossible situation for the Wallabiies as Gitteau was off, (and can’t kick that far), nor does O’Conner have the range. It was just too late and too far out to even consider a play for a try.

Beales stepped up to take the kick and redeem himself. He took just 3 steps back moved forward ………. and kicked it! Right over the black dot. Un-Beale-lievable. The Wallabies won by 2 on the whistle!

Watch the kick here…

What a game. One of the most extraordinary ever.