Sad Wales stars rally in support of banned captain

Warburton will miss Friday’s third place play-off game following his appearance at a World Cup disciplinary hearing in Auckland yesterday.

The independent judicial officer, England’s Christopher Quinlan QC, hit Warburton with a three-week ban following his 18th-minute red card when he committed what was deemed a dangerous tip tackle on France wing Vincent Clerc.

Warburton admitted the offence at a hearing when evidence was presented by the player, Wales coach Warren Gatland and Warburton’s legal representative Aaron Lloyd.

Tackles involving a player being lifted off the ground and tipped horizontally and then forced, or dropped, to the ground are illegal and constitute dangerous play, the International Rugby Board had previously ruled.

An IRB memorandum issued more than two years ago stated that such tackles “must be dealt with severely by referees and those involved in the off-field disciplinary process.”

Quinlan concluded that the offence was mid-range on the scale of seriousness, which has an entry point of six weeks.

He found that there were no aggravating features and there were compelling mitigating features, including the player’s admission, outstanding character and disciplinary record and remorse, which saw the suspension cut in half.

Warburton will be available for the start of Cardiff Blues’ Heineken Cup campaign, which begins at Racing Metro on November 11.

He has 48 hours to lodge any appeal but said after the verdict: “Obviously I’m very disappointed but all my attention and focus now goes towards the players playing on Friday and supporting them the best I can.”

Rolland’s decision proved a cruel way for flanker Warburton, one of the tournament’s top players, to make his World Cup exit, and it gained mass sympathy from his team-mates.

“He has to bounce back from it now,” said former Wales captain and World Cup colleague Ryan Jones.

“It is a difficult position to be in and he is going to go through it, but he’s a big enough character to get over it.

“I didn’t know what was happening. From the bench we could see Sam walking off, so we all assumed he had been yellow-carded. Then you could see a little red pop up on the big screen.

“Sam has been fantastic all tournament and he was a big loss to us as a team. He is a fantastic player who has starred in this World Cup.”

Wales defence coach and former rugby league star Shaun Edwards resisted any temptation to publicly condemn the red card decision when he faced the media at the squad’s central Auckland hotel yesterday ahead of Warburton’s hearing.

“It is very tempting to come out with loud statements, but it is more important I keep my dignity in what are quite trying times,” said Edwards.

“He deserved a penalty at least, and potentially a yellow card in my opinion, but in the end it is what the referee decides, not what I think. We have to adhere to what Mr Rolland decides.

“It definitely wasn’t deliberate with Sam. I’ve seen it deliberate where you put your hand underneath the crotch, lift and spin a player.

“I’ve had it done to me a number of times and it is absolutely horrible. So you know it’s deliberate when you see someone put a hand underneath the crotch and spin them round and drive them to the floor.

“With Sam it was an incredibly dominant hit, as you would expect. He showed he was much more powerful than the guy he tackled, and he ended up in a position that got him sent off. Mr Rolland believed, obviously, it was a sending-off offence.

“What happened with Sam, speaking to him, was he felt that the guy (Clerc) felt very light in his hands and it was all done in a very quick manner.”

Had Warburton stayed on, then it is a reasonable bet that Wales would have prevailed and reached their first World Cup final.

Even with 14 men for more than an hour, they lost only 9-8 and scored the game’s only try through scrum-half Mike Phillips.

“Everyone from here back to Wales will be debating it for many months to come – for the next four years, even. The decision has cost us a World Cup final place,” added Jones.

“There were 22 blokes out there who put their hearts and souls into a performance, and they were good enough to win a World Cup semi-final. It is a measure of this team that we did enough to win a place in that final. But the history books will say that we were losing semi-finalists.”

Warburton found further allies in Phillips and wing Shane Williams, who both paid him glowing tributes during a tournament when he emerged as a world-class openside flanker in the same mould as global stars like Richie McCaw and David Pocock.

“I told Sam after the game that he is a great player and it has been a pleasure playing under him,” said Phillips.

Coach left angry by French night out celebrations

Marc Lievremont blasted a section of his France squad as “spoilt brats” after he discovered some players went out to celebrate their World Cup semi-final win against Wales.

France battled to a 9-8 victory against 14-man Wales to reach their first final since 1999, when Lievemont was Les Bleus’ starting open-side flanker.

Lievremont, who has had a fractious relationship with the players during his four-year tenure, called a meeting and told the guilty players they had let the team down.

“I went to bed in a bad mood because I’d asked the players not to go out, and I found out a few of them had gone out,” said Lievremont.

“I told them what I thought of them – that they’re a bunch of undisciplined spoilt brats, disobedient, sometimes selfish, always complaining, always whining. It’s been like this for four years.

“The problem is we are not world champions yet and we just qualified for the final. This reminds me of 1999 when there were four days of celebration for the semi-final.”

France were in an apparent state of disarray after losing their final pool match to Tonga but they united to beat England in the quarter-finals.

Wales were the better side for the vast majority of Saturday’s semi-final, even after they had captain Sam Warburton sent off.

“The Tonga match is the one that stands out (as a turning point) for the words said after it and for the weeks that followed,” said Lievremont. “The Welsh played a great, pragmatic game and it was great to watch our defence. We had great communication and we had a lot of encouragement between the players and there were no penalties in the last 20 minutes, apart from one that I thought was not justified.

“We used everything in our French armoury in order to win this match.”

Lievremont insisted Warburton deserved to be sent off for the dangerous tip tackle on wing Vincent Clerc. “I thought the sending-off was totally justified and it is not my fault if other people do not agree,” he said.

France’s defence coach Dave Ellis, who has a rugby league background, felt Warburton’s challenge would have been acceptable in the 13-man code – but not in rugby union.

New Zealand 20 Australia 6

New Zealand head coach Graham Henry hailed the All Blacks’ destruction of Australia as “outstanding”.

Ma’a Nonu scored the only try of the game but Australia were never at the races as they faltered under the All Blacks’ dominance up front and water-tight defence.

Piri Weepu kicked four penalties and Aaron Cruden chipped in with a drop goal to complete a comprehensive victory over the Tri Nations champions.

The All Blacks also missed four penalty shots at goal. Had they all been converted, the final scoreline would not have been flattering.

The All Blacks are in their first final in 16 years and with a chance of World Cup redemption, having lost to the French in the knockout stages in both 1999 and 2007.

Based on France’s scratchy win against Wales and New Zealand’s complete destruction of Australia, the result would appear a formality next Sunday.

But Henry warned his men that the job is not yet done.

“I thought it was an outstanding performance, the boys were heroic out there,” said Henry.

“I am very proud of them. We need to build again for next week and do the same thing, hopefully.

“We have got to come down from this game and it will take a couple of days. It is a huge game of rugby (next week).

“We have lot of history with France at World Cups. We respect them and it will be a big game next week.”

New Zealand’s World Cup history with the French dates back to 1987, when the All Blacks lifted the World Cup with victory at Eden Park in the inaugural final.

But this is only New Zealand’s second final since, and their first since the 1995 World Cup. The time has come to rid themselves of the chokers’ tag.

“The guys’ character was superb tonight. You can’t ask for more than that. The defence was outstanding,” said Henry.

“It is a good feeling – better than last time! – but the job is not done.

“It is important we understand that and we get our feet back on the ground over the next two days and build for this Test.”

Australia coach Robbie Deans – a former All Black assistant coach – believes New Zealand displayed their title-winning pedigree with their demolition of the Wallabies.

“The All Blacks showed tonight they are more than capable of winning that final,” said Deans.

“The intent is there, they are an experienced group. For the nucleus of them it is their third attempt, they are well versed, they are hungry and they have a lot of support around them.

“They will take a lot of stopping from here.

“Good luck to New Zealand in the final. They have worked hard for this opportunity.

“They made it difficult all night for us to create any momentum.”