RUGBY

6 NATIONS REVIEW

As it was won by potentially the fourth best team, the tournament was not in any way satisfactory, and thank heavens there is not a Lions tour on the back of it. Although they do have Hook, Byrne and Jones R looking very decent, Wales were second best in two of their games. Somehow England and Ireland have metamorphosised into two versions of the same team. The fear is not just of defeat, but of trying anything that may not succeed, even if the worst case scenario is of no real harm done. How much better was the England - Ireland game after both teams shed their inhibitions? As it happened it did not work for the Irish on the day, but on other occasions it will. Add in a tendency to prefer players that are bald/shaven headed and a bit dim, and the problem is identified. Those favouring the experimental law variations in use for the Super 14 should note that in very few games have the scores been especially high there. A cautious mentality cannot be legislated against.

Paddy Power have priced up the 2009 tournament with England as favourites, but we have to presume that Thomas Lievremont is not totally insane, but used the tournament to fine tune his list of 'possibles' and their campaign next year will be more structured. Anyone in doubt can watch the French League games on Eurosport on Sunday evenings and there are plenty of splendid things to watch out for, not just the abysmal kits Stade Francais turn out in. On 23rd March, Stade play Toulouse at home. The 80,000 stadium is already sold out!

And finally, well done Italy. They got the win they deserved and were not the worst team in it. Amazingly, after Scotland scored one try in their first four games, some in the media mentioned Frank Haddon as a potential Lions coach. April 1st comes early this year!

RUGBY WORLD CUP LATTER STAGES

Most Amusing Moment: The French press headlines describing the third place game loss to Argentina as 'a true fiasco' and 'a pitiful end.' Although, as Lewis Hamilton found out, the press are not very forgiving to those who fail to live up to the media's overdone expectation. 

Most Surprising Moment: England getting into the final

Most Worrying Moment: Realising that South Africa trusted their defence totally and looked like they had a bit more to find in attack if it was needed.

Most Strange Moment: There were not huge numbers of South Africans in the areas of Paris I visited (collectively they can be described as bars within sight of the Gare du Nord*), but those that were had their celebrations in a rather muted fashion, as if it was a relief to win more than a delight.  * The areas of Paris, not the South Africans

RUGBY WORLD CUP KNOCK-OUTS

The Australians defied their traditional approach in the sport and took being knocked out on the chin (so to speak) without any spurious whinging, as NZ seemed to, despite a rather obvious forward pass on the decisive French score. However, Scotland seemed to have an attack on unrealistic expectations, and acted as if a losing quarter final was a dreadful flop. However, in the professional age, Scotland have been the country that has lost out most, and this was quite beyond their control (and has passed by the disproportionate number of ex-Scotland internationals floating around in the media). When the game was semi-amateur, and everyone muddled along, Scotland were able to keep in touch with the countries that had larger playing strengths, and every so often pop up a pretty decent side, due to the generally shambolic nature of the game. In the professional era, not only has the small number of players in the country become a problem, the club sides have helped bring up to full test match class players from the former lesser nations that had a sizeable playing contingent but not the resource to make the most of it - Argentina, Samoa, Fiji and Tonga in particular. For simple reason of rugby not being quite a national obsession, Scotland are being caught by those countries. Of course, Ireland may have found themselves in the same boat, where it not for the fact that it is possibly the most sport-obsessed country in Europe. There were reportedly two pseudo-intellectuals in a Dublin coffee shop claiming not to like sport once, but they were only pretending, in order to start a debate on the topic...

RUGBY WORLD CUP

Highlights of the group games

1: Fiji beating Wales

2: Argentina qualifying

3: Fiji vs Japan

4: Murray Mexted's 'kid in a sweet shop' wonder when asked to commentate on the lesser nations

5: Fiji beating Wales (again)

6: The increased number of competitive matches

7: Being on a plane and not having to watch South Africa vs England

8: The Tongan reserve scrum-half's mullet - a true tribute to Shane Byrne

9: Having four 'winner takes all' games on the final weekend

Disappointments of the group games

1: Italy not beating Scotland

2: Georgia not getting the upset over Ireland

3: France having to play New Zealand in the quarter-finals when you have backed them (Allez Les Bleus!)