Rugby World Cup: And the Winner is...

[finbar]

Poor old Italy. Saved their best till last. Given the crap they'd served up thus far, that wasn't saying much, but they outplayed the Haggis Munchers, who never threatened the try line, continuing their love affair with mediocrity. Italy paid the price for poor discipline - yes, they were, yet again, skippered from the sin bin for ten minutes - and the Haggis Munchers kicked every penalty that came their way. Even then, Italy should have won but an easy penalty kick, missed, sank them.

All my commentaries via Sky Italy are in Italian. Good for improving my Italian. But you've heard nothing in the way of commentary till you've heard Italian commentators calling an Italian match. Particularly one as important as this one. To put it mildly, objectivity disappears out the commentary box window. But, somehow, because of the sheer passion, it's forgivable in ways that other biased commentaries aren't.

Alesandro Troncon, retiring, was in tears at the end of the match. One of the commentators also broke down.

That's Italy. That's what I love about the place.

[Havak]

And thats why you should be I England. Then you can cry after every game.

But being serious I do understand what you mean about Italy.

England shouldn't have a chance - but they will raise their game against the oldest of enemies and I retain the hope they will ambush Gregan et al. If only because I want to delay Andydog laughing as long as humanly possible.

Ireland game about to start - can they lift it the 500% necessary to do the job?

[finbar]

In a word, no. They improved about 50%, which, from their low starting point, meant, ultimately, not a lot. I have no idea what their problem is. Bit sad to see, actually. G. Murphy tried his heart out but wasted so much possession with up and unders. The Argies have their game plan down pat and do it very well. Even overdo it.

France cruised, with too many errors.

EDIT. Oh, and hopefully the video judiciary will clear the name of the unfortunate Georgian #13 who was binned for the spear tackle and cite, instead, the perpetrator, #21.

[Havak]

Fascinating fixture in Cardiff next week now though?

Tigers beat Wasps at their place this afternoon. Three games in and only Gloucester and Tigers have three wins under their belt.

And our new head coach is doing quite well....

[finbar]

Fascinating contest. I fear the French aren't playing well enough at the moment.

Fear not. The Leicester run will come to an end with the new coach. He dresses too well.

[LDiCesare]

France made so many mistakes that they'd better work a lot before Cardiff. They were poor at receiving kicks, got intercepted a few times, and lost their own balls too many times, probably because they wanted to play the ball before they got it secured. They must play much better next week if they want to win.

As for Argentina, I think they played quite well although I didn't see the whole match. They should stomp Scotland.

[finbar]

They will destroy Scotland. It's somehow a bit of a travesty that the Haggis Munchers have made it to the quarters. The luck of the draw, I guess.

My moment of the tournament thus far happened tonight: the Septic* winger gassing Bryan Habana and scoring under the posts.

*Australian rhyming slang. Septic = Septic Tank = Yank.

[Havak]

And here is why Wasps are getting a reputation for being arrogant:

"We've played three and I don't feel we've been the worst side in any of those games."

That is their head coach - quite a nice bloke before he poisoned himself with the taint of Wycombe. And he is wrong by the way as they were second best in all three games.

Now then - on paper France have no chance so I wonder if it is worth my having a little flutter on les bleues? Should get good odds.

jka should be a happy man that the great ego Jenkins has been sacked. I wonder if Eddie O'Sullivan will follow him out the door this week?

You have to say the WRU now look very foolish for their treatment of Mike Ruddock?

Sadly it seems inevitable Henson will be back for the six nations.

[Havak]

"It doesn't matter whether it's cricket, rugby union, rugby league – we all hate England,"

Well O'Neill might be a good administrator for Australian rugby Finbar but how immature is this quote? Even if it is accurate!

What really annoys me here is that if Francis Barron had said the same about the Aussies your countrymen would be out for blood. However as Englishmen we are expected to simply accept this juvenile offensive nonsense and turn the other cheek.

The very best thing that could happen now would be for England to knock the Wallabies out with what your countryman incorrectly calls a "field goal".

[finbar]

Greg Growden, the Sydney Morning Herald rugby writer, puts it all into context in a good article this morning. It's about knowing when the p*ss is being taken. I might even have done the same thing from time to time on the odd occasion in these threads. Tongue in cheek is something Australians can excel at.

The interesting question about France -v- All Blacks is D. Carter's fitness.

[Havak]

The critical question is will France turn up on the day?

Tongue in cheek is the easy out though isn't it? The man knows his words would be reported in written media where the verbal subtleties and inflections of tongue in cheek comments do not carry over.

And regardless my point is valid - even such a tongue in cheek comment by an English executive aimed at the Australians would cause huge offence (because a lot of your countrymen only find such things funny when they are dishing them out rather than receiving them?).

It is a day for silly quotes anyway:

"The Union have to make the right decision for the long term, and if they get it right we could do something special in the 2011 World Cup. That's all I hope for".

That is Gavin Henson who could have made the quote much more concise - "Please pick me next time and we'll win".

[Havak]

I almost cannot type this for laughing - Edinburgh have appointed Andy Robinson as their new head coach.

[LDiCesare]

And I thought Scottish rugby was in poor shape now...

I wonder who'll be the next French coach. And whether the FFR and clubs will do something about this cup results (I was going to use another word, but it's not lost yet).

What's wrong with Carter? And do NZ even need him to trash us?

[finbar]

Tongue in cheek is the easy out though isn't it? The man knows his words would be reported in written media where the verbal subtleties and inflections of tongue in cheek comments do not carry over.

I don't think it takes much examination to gauge the intention. I also suspect that R. Andrew knew exactly the intent. He pretty much replied in kind.

And regardless my point is valid - even such a tongue in cheek comment by an English executive aimed at the Australians would cause huge offence (because a lot of your countrymen only find such things funny when they are dishing them out rather than receiving them?).

Well, the problem is that English executives don't deal in the form. More's the pity.

D. Carter has a persistent calf strain. It was a concern late last week. There was talk of using Luke McAlister at #10. That would be a bonus for the French. Nick Evans would be a far better replacement.

Turnip coaching Edinburgh? That explains the explosion I heard. S. Larkham's sigh of relief at having escaped that contract just in time.

[Havak]

And that proves how influenced I am at times by the way journalists choose to report things. The Telegraph took a very sombre spin on the quote.

I still don’t think Rob Andrew would have replied “Yeah and we hate the ******* Aussies too”? Which as you say is a pity

The Larkham deal was dead the second the SRU had to step in to save the franchise. It was no place for a solid servant of the game like Larkham to see out his dotage.
"In his 21 years in senior rugby, as both player and coach, Andy Robinson has delivered time and again.
"His appointment to the role of head coach at Edinburgh is a bold, imaginative move that underlines just how serious we are about taking this club forward."
That from Gavin Hastings – who should know better.