"They are not the All Blacks, they are New Zealand. New Zealand is two poxy little islands in the South Pacific" - Scott Johnson, Australian rugby coach.
So that's our lot for another four years. We have our champions, our relieved champions rather than our elated ones. We have a distraught French team and an angry French nation who feel l'arbitrage prevented them winning their first World Cup in the most unlikely of circumstances.
Social networks are crawling with debates over the referee and Richie McCaw the cheat. I mean, I'm sure you'll agree that it is quite outrageous that this openside flanker should play 'on the edge of the law' and get away with it so flagrantly! How dare he!
I am of the opinion that New Zealanders are the most intelligent rugby players in the world, from prop to full-back, and this means they are the most effective cheats. And in rugby, if you can cheat, you do. Craig Joubert had a poor game, but it wasn't disastrous and it didn't affect the outcome of the game. The standard of refereeing must improve, however, for they have been discussed too much this past month. Referees should drift seamlessly through a match, leaving spectators at the end asking who the referee was.
It feels right that New Zealand won. They are the best team in the world and they deserved to win. Too much was riding on this one, in their home country, with too much pressure. If they hadn't done it, schadenfreude would have been tricky to muster. Had France nicked it a whole successful world cup event would have been slightly soured. They would be labelled 'World Champions' for the next four years, the words taking on a hollow ring. It's admirable the way they got their act together to produce such a dogged performance, after such a huge rift in their camp, led by the endearing oddball Lievremont but they would not have been worthy champions.
They have much to be proud of, and much to sort out. Philippe Saint-Andre might just be the perfect blend of pragmatism, French Flair, and eccentricity to bring this team up to where they should be.
Did the All Blacks choke today? I'd argue that they didn't. Piri Weepu did, and he knows it. But I like Weepu too much and find him too fascinating a player to be down on for too long. The Blacks choked four years ago when they lost by 2 points, so the fact that today they won by one today doesn't justify calling today a 'choke'.
It's been an excellent world cup. I say that because I haven't the heart to lambast it like some journalists do. They only come around every four years so it would take something very drastic to happen for me to say a bad word against it. I can't imagine waiting four years with a sour taste in the mouth, so let's celebrate this New Zealand 2011. England 2015 should be equally good, if not better, as more of the top teams should be at the peak of their cycle by then.
Now our focus turns to the Heineken Cup, the best, the most colourful, and the most exciting tournament in world rugby.
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