Recovering

The Rugby World Cup has been over for a few weeks now - long enough for the pain of Australia and New Zealand's disasterous campaigns to fade. Rugby's a funny old game, and appropriately it turned out to be a funny old tournament. The madness started with Argentina upsetting hosts France in the very first game, and continued with traditional rugby powers Wales and Ireland being eliminated at the end of the pool stage. Then tournament favourites New Zealand were eliminated by France in their quarter-final on the same night Australia were sent home by England, and France sent packing by England in their semi-final. South Africa were never seriously threatened throughout the tournament, and cruised into the final where they ground out a 15-6 win over England. I still haven't bothered to watch that game, since I hear it was a depressingly dull bore-a-thon. I'm probably just bitter though, since my rugby allegiances are defined like this:

New Zealand > Australia > Everyone Else > England > South Africa

Watching a final between my two least favourite teams in world rugby, both playing a style of game based on minimizing errors, kicking penalties and dropping goals sounds only slightly less fun than being slowly digested in the belly of a Sarlaac over a thousand years. To continue the Star Wars analogies, it was like watching Darth Vader mud-wrestle Jabba the Hutt for control of the universe.

Naturally watching the ABs crash out to France again was the low point of my tournament. At 13-3 up at halftime they were in control, but in the second half McAlister got himself binned, France scored and converted, Dan Carter limped off injured, Nick Evans limped off injured, NZ scored but couldn't convert, and finally France scored, converted and hit the lead 20-18. At this point, several household objects were lying shattered around my lounge room, my hands were balled into fists and I was considering setting fire to the French Consulate. The ABs were able to truck the ball downfield, but they seemed set on scoring a try to win it. The French defense held, the game ended, the sky fell. Four more years.