Wales miss the medals at RWC 2011

Wales continued to be the bridesmaids at the Rugby World Cup in new Zealand, this time by losing 18-21 against Australia and missing out on the third place medals. No one wants to finish a competition missing out on the final but these teams did and still produced a fine 3/4th place play-off match. Australia shaded the result but for most of the match looked the better side. The good news for Wales is that this side was full of youngsters who will be around in four years time for the competition hosted by England and they should have matured into world class players ready to compete at the top table again. Who knows perhaps Wales can go one better and make the final and take their first Rugby World Crown?

Wales RWC Hopefuls New Zealand 2011

Since finishing third in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, Wales have failed to emulate that success. As host nation in 1999 Wales reached the Quarter-Finals ensuring automatic qualification for the 2003 competition. They lost out in 2003 to eventual winners England 28-17 after a tense contest which they led for some time.Hence automatic qualification for France 2007. France 2007 and having been the top six nations team it all went wrong as they lost to Australia 20-32 and Fiji 34-38 in pool 'B', finishing third. The good news was that this finish gave them automatic qualification to New Zealand 2011.

Wales have new shirts in time for the World Cup in new Zealand. Although they have stayed true to the previous colour red, though with white sides. The shirt also features further developments of the slim fit style and special attributes to help specific player positions. The shirt manufactured by UnderArmour has a low style neck, it can be seen and purchased through the Welsh Rugby World Cup Shirts page.

Will The Red Dragon Fire In Pool 'D'

Wales will expect to escape Pool D, where they face South Africa, Fiji, Samoa and Namibia, winning the pool though could well be too much of a task for them and expect them to lose to South Africa with the Fiji game being the decider for 2nd spot, we expect them to win a close fought contest.

Currently ranked eighth in the world Wales desperately want to repeat the heights of the 1987 tournament, but the bookies don't fancy their chances. We agree with this and see them falling short and being knocked out in the quarter finals.

Wales News

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RWC: Match preview: Wales - Australia - BRONZE MEDAL MATCH - WALES vs AUSTRALIA Eden Park, Auckland, Friday 21st Oct 8:30pm (NZT) Head-to-head: Played 30, Australia 19, Wales 10, Drawn 1 Last meeting: Australia 25 beat Wales 26 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, 2010 Last meeting at a World Cup: Australia 32 beat Wales 20 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, 2007 Team news: Robbie Deans has included the influential Kurtley Beale for this match, but for many the star fullback comes in a week too late

RWC: Clinical Australia win bronze - Australia won at Eden Park for the first time in twenty-five years to claim the dubious honour of third place with clinical 21-18 victory over a lacklustre Welsh outfit missing a number of key players

RWC: France through to final - France overcome a brave Welsh side 9-8 to book a place in their third Rugby World Cup final in a dramatic clash at Eden Park on Saturday

RWC: Match preview: Wales - France - SEMI-FINAL 1 - WALES vs FRANCE Eden Park, Auckland, Saturday 15th Oct 9pm (NZT) Head-to-head: Played 88, Wales 43 France 42, Drawn 3 Last meeting: France 28 beat Wlaes 9 at Stade de France, Paris, 2011 Last meeting at a World Cup: First meeting Team news: France coach Marc Lièvremont has named an unchanged starting line-up for the teams biggest game in four years