Wales ready to face Springboks in opening match of Rugby World Cup 2011
The Welsh Rugby Union team is determined to face and surprise the Springboks in the first match of Rugby World Cup 2011, scheduled to be played on September 11. Wales had a poor outing in their last global show as they were reduced to just playing in the
round matches and could not head towards the knockout stages. The newly appointed skipper of Wales, Sam Warburton, told the media on August 23, that his side is in good nick at the moment and are sure to keep up their momentum in the RWC.
The Welsh side had displayed a miserable show in the Pool matches of RWC 2007 and finally packed their baggage before the playoffs. They were placed in Pool B and played four matches in the tournament and won just two against the weaker sides of Japan and
Canada.
Wales has been placed in Pool D, in this years’ global showpiece, starting on September 9 in New Zealand. Group D comprises of Springboks, Namibia and Fiji which is considered one of the toughest among the other Pools.
Wales has recently displayed a remarkably good performance in the Rugby World Cup warm-up matches as they thumped England and Argentina in the last two fixtures by comprehensive margins. Consecutive victories in the warm-up matches have boosted their morale
for the largest event of rugby of this year.
Talking to the reporters on August 24, Sam Warburton said that his side is motivated to clinch an important victory against defending champs. He added that, “It is the biggest game of the group and obviously we want to get a win against them. We've come
close in the past [to beating South Africa] and we hope we can go that one step further and beat them. Hopefully the fitness levels will be the same out in New Zealand.”
The skipper further said that, “Hopefully the fitness levels will be the same out in New Zealand. The southern hemisphere guys, obviously, will have experienced a high intensity in the Tri-Nations recently so they'll be pretty fit guys as well.”
The sides will stand toe-to-toe on September 11 in Wellington.
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