Couple of stories to give you a laugh:
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/rugby-world-cup-2011/ireland-faked-injuries-and-deliberately-slowed-game-says-fox-sports-commentator-tim-horan/story-e6frf4zl-1226143305674
Ireland had a deliberate plan to fake injuries each time there was a breakdown in play last Saturday, so they could slow the game down and frustrate the Wallabies.
How can I be sure? By talking to Irish assistant coach Alan Gaffney in the dressing rooms afterwards.
If James Horwill was more experienced as a captain, he would have blown up about it to referee Bryce Lawrence and really created a scene - there is no way Richie McCaw would have stayed silent if a team used the same tactics against the All Blacks.
Australia's future opponents will have taken notice of the strategy.
Ireland had a game plan for Australia and it worked a treat: to slow the game down just for stoppages, target them in the scrum, and put the high ball up at every opportunity.
They also used the "choker tackle" taught by their defensive coach Les Kiss. They identified that the Australian midfield ran quite upright and successfully held them up to get turnovers.
The shame was that Lawrence destroyed the spectacle of the game. Ireland deserved to win and always would have won, but the way Lawrence handled the match means he should not get another game at Rugby World Cup 2011.
It is about the spectacle, not just for the rugby diehards but for general sports fans who want to enjoy this tournament.
One thing that really bugs me is if the ball is at the back of the scrum, why reset it or blow a penalty? Why not let the game continue? When you are on the world stage, the referee has a responsibility to let the game flow.
But the Wallabies also have to realise that one in every 15 Test matches you play, you're going to have to win by playing a boring, unattractive brand of rugby, simply because of the conditions.
You're going to win 9-6 or 12-6, playing in the wet, in an ordinary Test, but it doesn't matter how unattractive it is - you do whatever it takes to win.
At the weekend, Australia ran when they should have kicked, and kicked when they should have run. Trying to play to one game plan all the time will not work when, like last Saturday, there was torrential rain beforehand and the ball was slippery.
Ireland came in with a very simple game plan that suited the conditions.
They hardly threw the ball wide and took short lineouts that allowed their forwards to run off centres Gordon D'Arcy and Brian O'Driscoll, which worked well during the Six Nations.
Australia were rushing their restarts, that didn't work in our favour and it's something Quade Cooper has to take responsibility for as a leader in the team.
It was a bad result, but we still have a good chance. I'm not going to talk about semi-finals just yet, but if we do end up on the other side of the draw and play South Africa in the quarter-finals, it's not a bad thing.
The Wallabies have defeated the Springboks in four of the last five encounters, we know how to beat them.
What the side needs to do now is ensure they pick up the maximum 10 points from their remaining two games, and it starts tomorrow night against the United States.
It has surprised some that Rob Horne has been chosen at inside centre but I saw it coming and I think it is a great move.
The plan looking forward would be to partner Horne and Adam Ashley-Cooper in the centres, and when Digby Ioane returns from injury I think we'll see that happen.
That is the midfield Australia is likely to take into finals. There is still hope for the Wallabies they can turn this around.
But they can only do it by having a Plan B if Plan A fails.
http://www.foxsports.com.au/rugby/rugby-world-cup-2011/rwc-chief-executive-martin-snedden-describes-new-zealands-treatment-of-australian-fans-as-disappointing/story-e6frf4zl-1226143633822
Rugby World Cup chief executive Martin Snedden described New Zealanders' treatment of Australian fans as "disappointing" after fierce trans-Tasman rivalries took on a spiteful edge.
Australian fans complained of being spat on and abused when the Wallabies slumped to a shock Rugby World Cup defeat against Ireland in Auckland last weekend, identifying New Zealanders, not travelling Irish fans, as the culprits.
Australia and New Zealand have always enjoyed a healthy level of sporting rivalry but Snedden said it would be uncharacteristic if it had crossed the line into outright hostility.
"The overwhelming response here has been one of welcoming and supporting the visiting teams and their fans," the RWC chief said.
"If some visiting Wallaby fans have not been welcomed this way, we would be very disappointed, as this would definitely be out of character with the way New Zealanders have looked after our visitors over the past two weeks."
An online poll conducted by the Sydney newspaper found 61 per cent of 10,500 respondents felt threatened attending a game with New Zealand supporters.
The home fans' rancour towards Australia has been partly fuelled by New Zealand-born Quade Cooper's presence in the Wallabies' team, particularly as he has a reputation for needling the All Blacks' revered skipper Richie McCaw.
The Wallabies are also seen as perhaps the main obstacle to the All Blacks' hopes of breaking a 24-year World Cup drought, explaining the unrestrained glee with which many New Zealanders greeted Australia's 15-6 loss to Ireland.
All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen admitted he was enjoying Australia's discomfort but said the historic rivalry was tempered with respect.
"I mean we've gone to war and fought shoulder to shoulder," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"They're probably looked upon as the big brother and we're the little brother, we want to belt them, they want to belt us.
"So if they're suffering a bit at the moment, the little brother will be smiling and chuckling away, won't he? So we'll enjoy that while we can."
However, TVNZ presenter Alison Mau, an Australian who moved across the Tasman in the 1990s, said she had never seen such vitriol against her homeland.
"For the first time, I feel there might be a bit more to it that just good fun between mates. It worries me," she told the New Zealand Herald.
"The worst sledges (insults) are generally fuelled by alcohol and are both unprintable and not worth the ink."
She attributed the animosity to New Zealand's inferiority complex about Australia, which is both richer than its neighbour and has long enjoyed sporting ascendancy, including winning two Rugby World Cups to New Zealand's one.
