Rugby Roller-Coaster

It’s been a funny old World Cup for the Aussies. First they make it into the “easy” quarter-final with their old foe, England. Confidence abounds. Then they lose. Despair abounds.

The next day, they cheer up, when New Zealand lose their quarter-final and go out of the tournament. Frankly, this is almost as good as beating England.

Then they brace themselves to support the Springboks against England in the final, which requires a huge effort. The ‘Boks win and, as a bonus, an Australian plays a big part in the English defeat (he was, of course, right - no way was it a try). Short of winning, it couldn’t have worked out any better.

By the way, was I the only one to notice the churlish treatment of Thabo Mbeki by several English players, including Johnny Wilkinson, when the medals were handed out? Mbeki was standing at the end of the line-up with Sarkozy and Brown but they could barely bring themselves to even shake hands with him.