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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 iRB 2007 World Cup
South Africa. South Africa topped pool A by winning all of their games convincingly, including a 36-0 win over defending champions England.
Semo Sititi. Semo Sititi captained Samoa in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He was also captain in the 2003 tournament held in Australia.
Hale T-Pole. Tongan flanker Hale T-Pole was sent off in Tonga's 19-15 win over Samoa. Paul Emerick, Francois Steyn, and Lawrence Dallaglio all received yellow cards during pool play.
Michael Jones. Former New Zealand flanker Michael Jones coached Samoa to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. After winning only one game in the tournament against United States, Jones resigned as coach of the Samoans.
Pierre Spies. Pierre Spies had to withdraw from South Africa's 30-man squad after blood clots were found in his lungs prior to the team departing for France. He was replaced in the squad by Bismark du Plessis.
Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse. Stadium de Toulouse in the French city of Toulouse, did not host a pool A match during the World Cup. Stade de la Mosson in Montpellier hosted the most matches in pool A with 3.
Paddy Power. Epi Taione changed his name to Paddy Power for the duration of the tournament, after the Irish bookmaker agreed to sponsor the Tongan rugby team. Taione (or Power) scored the only try in Tonga's 19-15 win over Pacific neighbours Samoa.
Takudzwa Ngwenya. American winger Takudzwa Ngwenya scored arguably the try of the tournament by beating South African winger Bryan Habana on a one-on-one situation and sprinting down the touchline to score. The try was the only highlight for the United States as they lost the game 64-15.
Percy Montgomery. South African fullback Percy Montgomery broke Joost van der Westhuizen's record of 89 games for the Springboks in their pool match against Tonga. South Africa won an entertaining match 30-25.
Samoa. England's 2003 Rugby World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson played his first game of the 2007 tournament against Samoa, after missing the first two matches against United States and South Africa. Wilkinson scored 24 points as England won 44-22.
Australia. Australia topped pool B by winning all their games convincingly, which included a 91-3 thrashing of Japan in their opening game.
Colin Charvis. In four pool games, Wales used three captains. Gareth Thomas was captain for the matches against Fiji and Australia, Dwayne Peel was given the opening game against Canada, and flyhalf Stephen Jones was given the captaincy duties against Japan.
0. No one was sent off in the 10 games to be played in pool B. Fiji and Australia each received two yellow cards.
Japan and Canada. Canada and Japan were involved in a 12-12 draw in their pool B match. Japanese substitute Koji Taira scored a try in the last minute of play, and goalkicker Shotaro Onishi converted the try from the sideline to tie the scores.
Cardiff. Wales and Japan played their match at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, a match won by Wales 72-18. Cardiff also hosted the Wales and Australia match, won by Australia 32-20.
John Kirwan. Former New Zealand winger John Kirwan coached Japan to the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Although Japan only managed a draw against Canada, Kirwan was given an extension to his contract after the Japanese showed improvement throughout the tournament.
Graham Dewes. Fijian prop Graham Dewes scored a try three minutes before full time to stun the Welsh 38-34, and secure Fiji a place in the quarterfinals for the first tie since 1987. Akapusi Qera, Vilimoni Delasau, and Kele Leawere were the other try scorers for Fiji in the match.
Rocky Elsom. Australian flanker Rocky Elsom scored three tries for Australia in their 91-3 win over Japan. Drew Mitchell, Chris Latham, and Berrick Barnes each scored two tries in the match.
Rod Snow. Canadian prop Rod Snow retired from rugby after Canada's 37-6 defeat to Australia. Snow played 59 tests for the Canucks, but did not score any points during the World Cup.
Mark Gerrard. Australian winger Mark Gerrard tore his knee ligaments after coming on as a substitute and lasting two minutes in their 91-3 win over Japan. Gerrard was replaced in the Australan squad by Cameron Shepherd.
New Zealand. New Zealand topped pool C in convincing fashion, scoring 309 points in four games for an average of 77.25 points per match.
Portugal. Portugal competed in their first rugby World Cup. They became the last team to qualify for the tournament after beating Uruguay on aggregate. Not surprisingly, Portugal lost all four of their matches.
Italy. Italy had 3 players sent to the sin bin in their four pool games, 2 more than the other four teams in pool C. The players to be given a yellow card were Salvatore Perugini versus New Zealand, Marco Bortolami versus Portugal, and Mauro Bergamasco against Scotland.
Pierre Berbizier. Pierre Berbizier led the Italians to the 2007 rugby World Cup. Italy won two of their four games against Romania and Portugal, but failed to advance to the quarterfinals. Berbizier was replaced as coach after the World Cup by former South African coach Nick Mallett.
Christian Cullen. Doug Howlett passed Christian Cullen's record of 46 tries for the All Blacks by scoring two tries in New Zealand's 40-0 win over Scotland. Howlett finished with 49 tries for the All Blacks in 62 tests. Howlett signed a four year deal with Irish club side Munster, the same club that Cullen joined in 2003.
Rui Cordeiro. Portugal substitute Rui Cordeiro scored his sides only try against New Zealand in their pool C match played in Lyon. The Portuguese amateurs battled bravely but were thrashed by their more experienced rivals, 108-13.
Scotland and Romania. Scotland and Romania were both held scoreless by their opposition in their pool C matches. Scotland failed to score a point in their 40-0 loss to New Zealand, and Romania were held to a 42-0 defeat by Scotland.
David Bortolussi. Italian fullback David Bortolussi missed a penalty goal with four minutes to go against Scotland. The miss was crucial as Scotland won 18-16 and secured a quarterfinal place at Italy's expense.
Grey. New Zealand wore their alternative grey uniform against Scotland to avoid a clash of colours with Scotland's dark blue uniform. The two teams were almost unrecognisable at the breakdown as the two teams looked very similar from a distance. New Zealand won the match 40-0.
Joaquim Ferreira. Portugal hooker Joaquim Ferreira was the captain for Portugal's 14-10 loss to Romania. Number 8 Vasco Uva captained Portugal in their other three games against Scotland, New Zealand, and Italy.
Argentina. Argentina finished on top of the 'pool of death' by winning all four of their pool matches, including a 17-12 win over France in the opening match of the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
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