Just two days after their shock loss to New Zealand in the Rugby League World Cup final, the Australian coaches and players are showing their true colours with some bizarre outburst about the game.

There were a couple of controversial incidents in the game, and both decisions did go the Kiwis way. First Jerome Ropati scored a try after Benji Marshall appeared to knock on, then the Kiwis were awarded a penalty try after Lance Hohaia was taken out by Joel Monaghan.

Australian coach Ricky Stuart made the bizzare claim that his team had been “stitched up” by tournament organisers, saying that a victory by anyone other than Australia would dampen the claims that this tournament had been a one horse race. Stuart apparently had a verbal altercation with ARL chief Geoff Carr immediately after the match.

Prop Brent Kite was also critical of the decision to award New Zealand a penalty try when Hohaia was taken out by Monaghan chasing a grubber kick into the in goal. When asked if fullback Billy Slater would have got to the ball ahead of Hohaia had he not been taken out Kite replied “Of course he would have, I think anyone could have seen that.”

Unfortunately for Australia, unaccumstomed to losing in rugby league, the penalty try decision was probably a good one. Hohaia was a metre from the ball when he was taken out, and probably would have taken the ball before it next bounced and scored at Slater’s feet.

Even the laws of the game seem to be against the Australian conspiracy theory. Law 6.3 (d) the Referee may award a penalty try if, in his opinion, a try would have been scored but for the unfair play of the defending team.

Front rower Anthony Laffranchi also criticised the decision to award Ropati’s try after Marshall appear to knock on and a number of Kangaroos stopped playing, despite there being no whistle. “It was terrible, to be honest,” said Laffranchi.

But the way these incidents have been refereed has not changed in a number of year, as Laffranchie attempted to rake the ball from Marshall’s grasp in the tackle, negating any knock on. Channel 9’s Peter Stirling, himself a rugby league legend, put it best when he said, “If Laffranchie doesn’t play at that football, Marshall doesn’t lose it.”

While the controversial decisions did not help the Australians, the reason for their loss were best summed up by Fairfax league writers Jacquelin Magnay and Glenn Jackson who said: “While Stuart might have been upset with a few decisions, it was the errors of his team, coupled with a lacklustre forward pack, that cost them the game. Captain Darren Lockyer failed to ground a try, Billy Slater threw a ball direct to try-scoring Kiwi Benji Marshall and Joel Monaghan handed the Kiwis a penalty try after a deliberate and high tackle on Lance Hohaia.”

Ahead of their clash with Ireland, the All Blacks have been met by a venomous column by Irish Independent writer Vincent Hogan, who among other things calls the All Blacks “bullies” and relishes their World Cup losses. Here’s a few choice quotes:

When they look at us they see lifelong losers

How many World Cups has Ireland won exactly?

The bullying gene in their rugby DNA practically froths and bubbles at the threat of losing to opposition of our calibre.

Bullying gene? Or it could be that they are in a no win situation, beat the Irish and it’s what was expect of them, lose to the Irish and, as Hogan puts it, go home in ankle chains.

They have a view of themselves that is routinely validated in competition.

To quote Kid Rock: “It ain’t cocky motherfucker if you back it up.”

Yet, once every four years, they go into spectacular meltdown. And when that happens, rugby has a grin on its face.

Nobody finds the All Blacks inability to win the World Cup more frustrating than New Zealanders, but I suppose when you support a team who has wins over the mighty Scots, Italians and Canadians this year, you need to find pleasure in other’s misery.

Outside of their own, few people love the All Blacks.

So Munster recruited Christian Cullen and Doug Howlett because they hate them?

Take golfer Michael Campbell out of the equation and exactly what else do they bring to mainstream sport on the global stage?

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Our three gold medals in Beijing to Ireland’s none, Blackburn Rover’s captain Ryan Nelson, or Steve Williams, caddy to a guy you might have heard of: Tiger Woods.

The Haka is, essentially, a leery war dance.

Now he’s grasping at straws, taking shots at a tradition that is over 100 years old.

When the mood takes them, the Blacks embellish it with a gesture that, to the naked eye, looks uncannily like a promise to slit the opponent’s throat.

Ah yes, the controversial ending to the All Blacks’ alternate Haka, Kapa O Pango. This throat slitting gesture hasn’t been used in over a year because of the stir it caused among our own fans, and besides, before going into battle, what’s wrong with a little intimidation?

(Clive Woodward) also sent O’Driscoll to meet some Maori elders for advice on how to meet the Haka ‘challenge’ (and we all know how that ended).

Are there some people out there who still think that was some kind of retribution for O’Driscoll’s “disrespect”? Whether or not it was intentional on the part of the All Blacks, it had nothing to do with O’Driscoll’s gesture after the Haka, but I think we’ve uncovered the root of Hogan’s bitterness here.

In his fine autobiography, Ronan O’Gara refers to the mauling he took in the New Zealand media after the Lions opening tour game of ‘05. O’Gara missed a few tackles in the victory against Bay of Plenty and the locals didn’t spare him.

“Ronan Keating would be a better tackler,” wrote one chap in the New Zealand Herald.

And now he turns his sights on the media. I’m a big fan of O’Gara, he’s a fantastic player who can control the game with his running, passing or kicking but in that particular game he was crap. The Bay of Plenty loose forward kept running at him and his attempts at tackling looked like something you’d see from a 10 year old. Comparing him to Irish pop star Ronan Keating is pretty funny in my book.

Face it, Dan Carter could run around in circles waving daisies for an hour next Saturday and he wouldn’t face that kind of guff from our own noble hackery.

I’m sure your fellow hack Steven Jones would delight in it actually.

Maybe that’s the thing about the Blacks. We pay them too much respect when, essentially, they pay us none.

Perhaps because of the four home nations, Ireland and Scotland have never beaten the All Blacks, Wales last beat them over 50 years ago and only England have consistently provided a challenge. The All Blacks deserve that respect, and on the paddock only England have earned it.

The All Black players themselves have shown themselves off the field to be humble and full of respect for their opponents. But on the field is where it counts, and no amount of bleating from an Irish journalist is going to change that.

After easily accounting for Scotland with a mixture of first and second choice players, are any of the home nations capable of preventing the All Blacks from achieving their second Grand Slam in three years?

Up next for the All Blacks are Ireland who have not been having the best year in internationall rugby. Picking up wins against Scotland and Italy in the Six Nations and beating Canada last weekend are the only successes the men in green have had this year.

Their tour down under in June was something of a disaster for the team, losing to New Zealand and Australia in consecutive weeks, neither time really challenging their southern rivals. No, Ireland will not be the team who denies the All Blacks a Grand Slam.

After a midweek fixture against Munster, the next opponent will be Wales and this is where things get interesting for New Zealand. Wales, coached by kiwi Warren Gatland, have been something of a Jekel and Hyde team this year, going unbeaten in the Six Nations, then losing three in a row to South Africa including a 20-15 loss last weekend.

It is well documented that coach Gatland wanted his team together earlier than he got them, so it could be difficult to read much into their loss to the Boks. In fact, after another hit out against Canada, it will be the match with the All Blacks that the Welsh will be targetting for their November test schedule.

Wales have the kind of creative back line that could trouble the All Blacks, particularly with James Hook back at the helm, but it will up front where Wales will need to dominate if they are to deny New Zealand a Grand Slam.

If the All Blacks can over come Wales, the only thing between them and a Grand Slam will be England. At Twickenham England are at their best, able to stifle opponents attack, grind them down with relentless forward pay and beat them with precision goal kicking.

The England side which toured New Zealand back in June will bear little resemblance to the side which will take the field on November 30. Coach Martin Johnson is now firmly in charge, taking over from caretaker Rob Andrew, leading his inexperienced side to a good win over the Pacific Islanders.

Danny Cipriani, filling in for the once again injured Johnny Wilkinson, played especially well, slotting 14 points and directing the backline well.

England will also be match hardened, much like Wales, playing the other two Tri-Nations countries ahead of New Zealand so will be well adapted to the southern style of play, however the tough clashes could backfire as the team need to get themselves ready physically and mentally for three games in three weeks against the three top ranked sides in the world.

The All Blacks will most likely complete their Grand Slam tour unbeaten for their second Slam in three years, but Wales and particularly England will be no push overs. Expect to see full strength line ups take the field in the final two tests as coach Graham Henry looks to end the year on a high note.

I was going to write something about how the experiement of playing Steven Donald and Dan Carter as dual play makers was a failure, but Grant Fox over at Rugby Heaven beat me to it.

Sometimes you have to be brave enough to make big decisions. Graham Henry did that last night in Hong Kong when he hooked Steven Donald from the field in the fourth Bledisloe Cup clash.

It was the right decision. Donald will come again. But last night, the experiment of playing him in the No 10 jersey with Dan Carter in No 12 simply didn’t work.

Quite why you’d play the best first five in world rugby at second five is beyond me, but why not play Donald at second five?

Donald’s kicking game in the first half was not up to international standard.  His presence in the No 10 jersey was also tending to keep Carter out of the game.

Nor was his distribution and running. Carter doesn’t run often, but when he does he is able to freeze defensive lines, Donald just didn’t do this.

Combined with the urgency, superior cohesion and physical presence at the breakdown of a well-prepared Wallaby team, the All Blacks were looking vulnerable at the halftime break.

Actually, I think they were wondering just what the hell was going on out there, weren’t the Wallabies meant to be rusty?

With superior possession and territory stats, the All Blacks needed their key playmaker to command the ruck area - and that just wasn’t happening with Donald. So Henry’s hook came out.

Suddenly Carter was in the game more and the end result was a commendable win, giving us a 3-1 record over Australia this year.

Of course it helped that the Australia forwards started to tire and the All Blacks’ loosies got stuck into their work.

But you can’t deny the fact that Donald was found wanting in the pivot role in this game, perhaps a trial of Carter and Donald with their roles switched against Scotland would be in order. Donald is a damn good player and has all the qualities one looks for in an international first five, but he still needs some development to fully make the transition.

The naming of Chiefs’ first five Steven Donald in the pivot role for the final Bledisloe Cup test in Hong Kong ahead of Dan Carter has raised a few eyebrows, but the move shows coach Graham Henry is preparing to unleash an attacking bombardment on the Wallabies.

With Donald slotting in at first five, Carter gets moved out to inside centre, a position he has played at both Super 14 and international level with a great deal of success. The combination of Donald and Carter also gives the All Blacks a right or left foot kicking option.

But it’s not just the great skill of these players in these positions, but the fact that the All Blacks now have two playmaking options that signals a shift towards all out attack. This particular setup gives them the option to have a playmaker left and right on attacking scrums, or someone out wide who can set up the explosive backs outside them.

Carter admits the shift has been difficult to adjust to, particularly now as Donald will be calling the plays from the pivot position, leaving Carter with much less talking to do. “I’ve had to hold myself back a bit, it’s something I’ve been working on all week,” he said.

“I’ve had to sort of pull back from giving him feedback from set plays and let him run the ship,” said Carter, who last started in midfield four years ago.

“I have to sit back, he’s more than capable and does it extremely well for the Chiefs and Waikato.”

The main causalty of this shift is Ma’a Nonu, who played well at inside centre during the Tri-Nations, but is now relegated the bench. Coach Henry has gone for just three back reserves, who can cover any backline position bar fullback, so Nonu is likely to see action at centre or wing, rather than his prefered inside centre.

The addition of the Wellington pair of Conrad Smith and debutant Hosea Gear at centre and wing provides some excellent strike power out wide. Gear in particular was in magnificent form during the Air New Zealand Cup, setting a record for tries scored in a provincial season with his blistering pace and angled runs proving difficult to stop.

Up front, the All Blacks have named a powerful pack, sticking with the tested trio of Richie McCaw, Rodney So’oiala and Jerome Kaino in the loose, while Taranaki’s Andrew Hore gets the nod as first choice hooker. Exciting loose forward prospect Adam Thomson also retains his place in the side, securing a spot on the bench.

Interestingly, the Australians have not opted to match the All Blacks’ dual playmaker line up, putting hard running centre Stirling Mortlock into inside centre. This leaves the lineups the opposite of what they were when the two teams faced off in Sydney earlier in the year, and on that night it was the team with two playmakers who took the honors.

The Fifa Under 17 Women’s World Cup got underway as the hosts New Zealand took on Canada at North Harbour Stadium in Auckland.

New Zealand may be known for being mad about rugby, but 13,123 fans turned up to see the opening game of this inaugural tournament, a record for a women’s sport, beating the world champion netball team the Silver Ferns.

The game got off to a frenetic start as both teams tore around the park at lightning speed, something that favoured New Zealand’s pace. As both teams found their rhythm the game settled down, with New Zealand retaining the upper hand in the early exchanges.

Both Hannah Wall and Annalie Longo had chances as long balls split the Canadian defences open, but were denied the tournament’s opening goal by some excellent goal keeping from Genevieve Richard.

New Zealand’s fast pace saw their midfield lose shape and allowed momentum to shift to Canada. Star player Tiffany Cameron created a number of chances for herself and Nkem Ezurike but were unable to get the ball past Victoria Esson and the teams went into the shed at 0-0.

The second half had New Zealand putting a great deal of pressure on the Canadians, forcing a number of corners. One corner saw New Zealand push eight players into the box, outnumbering the defenders and creating a chance for Sarah McLaughlin who headed the ball just over the bar.

But just as the hosts looked to press home their advantage Canada’s Rachel Lamarre picked up the ball on half way, wove her way past several defenders and slotted the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for the first goal of the tournament.

Despite the Canadian goal, New Zealand continued their dominance, holding the ball in the visitor’s end and applying pressure. Some excellent defending from Canada saw the hosts unable to turn their dominance into any real chances.

New Zealand’s best chance of the night fell to Caitlin Campbell who struck a magnificent free kick from around 30 metres, only to have the ball hit the crossbar and go over.

As the match wore on, the high tempo of the game took its toll and the initially high skill level dipped a little and New Zealand began to lose their shape. The tournament also had its first injury during this period as Cameron was forced to leave the ground on a stretcher.

New Zealand pounded on the Canadian goal in the closing moments of the game, with chances falling to Rosie White and Wall but both saw their shots go agonisingly wide.

In the end Canada were the better team on the night but New Zealand really did deserve a point for their tremendous heart and grit that they showed. While they may have come away with no points from the game, the Young Football Ferns certainly did capture the attention of the nation.

We know how much the Americans love their statistics in sports, so much so that they’ve invented quite a few of them. While watching an NFL game this week, I got an idea to apply one of their statistics, strength of schedule, to the Air New Zealand Cup and see what happened.

Basically this statistic measures how tough your opponents are, showing you who has been beating tough opposition and who has been beating up on the minnows.

For example, in week 5 of the Air New Zealand Cup Wellington beat Bay of Plenty by 48-12 but going into that game, both teams had won all four previous games and were sitting first and second on the table. Surely there isn’t a 36 point difference between first and second right?

Well there’s not. According to their strength of schedule statistic going into that game, Wellington’s schedule was eight points higher that Bay of Plenty’s, 51 to 43, meaning that Wellington had racked up four wins against much better teams that Bay of Plenty.

Here’s the end of season figures:

Interesting to note that some of the top teams had some of the easiest schedules, which is partly caused by the fact that they didn’t play themselves and partly because the two teams with the best records, Wellington and Canterbury, didn’t play each other in the round robin.

While these numbers are technically percentages, it’s best to regard them simply as numbers and note that Hawke’s Bay finished third on the table despite having the fourth toughest schedule, while Waikato finished sixth with the second easiest schedule.

The Air New Zealand Cup playoff picture only snapped into focus with the final kick of the ball in round robin play and threw up a few surprises too.

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Tasman Makos’ forward Tristan Moran has weighed in on the deepening crisis at Tasman, providing a player’s insight into the troubled marriage between Marlborough and Nelson Bays.

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