Well, well, well...

- by Marco -

The competition is over and the Aussie’s proved that they are a strong contender to achieve a podium finish in China.

Australia proved to be the better team on this day and they now have a streak going against Canada. The game started off evenly enough with Australia getting the 1st turnover around the 3:00 minute mark and scored the last goal with no time left on the clock… to which one could say how can you score with no time left on the clock?

Canada started the 2nd with the ball and capitalized on their 1st opportunity with the deuces working hard and eventually forcing Batt (3.5) to the sidelines for a rest, props to Martin Larocque on this and the rest of the deuces. With the Hi-Lo on the floor the Aussie’s created another turnover late and again scored the last goal and were up by 3 at the half (24-21) with the ball to start the 3rd.

*** MARCO RANT - MARCO RANT - MARCO RANT ***

I would wish also to speak about the regulations that force referees from participating countries not to referee games featuring their countries. Instead of having the best refs out there, they put refs from other countries to make sure that no bias is shown towards anyone. Aren’t refs supposed to be above that, impartiality is their middle name so it’s hard to understand this mentality with so few refs around the world? No disrespect meant to the refs that did our finals but for the finals people expect the best 2 teams and the teams should expect the same with the refs.

Speaking of referees from what I understand they did not get paid for their involvement in this tournament which is I guess the way its done here but I believe their other expenses are covered, but still. Do they really need to put themselves through the grief and how do you expect referees to want to further their understanding (through video analysis, advanced courses, rules interpretation and other). I know they do it because they love it but if we want to become more professional as a sport we need to make some changes and a lot of the changes would require some cash!

Will our sport always be condemned to be a marginalized sport and with medical advancements being what they are, what is the future of our sport?

I don’t want to be painted as an alarmist but I believe that some serious discussions should be held to advance our game. It would be nice to see in a non-AGM setting the best rugby minds on the planet get together for a 3-4 day retreat and talk about the game from the rules, to classification, to marketing and everything else in between. Our game is good but it could be better. We have come a long way from hospital halls in Canada but where does our future lie?

And no, we didn’t make any protests for this game as we are keeping a few more under wraps!

Back to the game after this reminder: the views of Marco are the views of Marco and no one else.

Australian hopes clearly lie on the shoulders of Batt but this is a team game and even if Batt is hard to contain, rugby is still a team sport and Batt’s supporting cast will need to keep their hard-nosed play. I don’t care how dominating you are, you can’t in-bound the ball to yourself! (Good job Erdem, Batt, Carr, Brand, Vitale, Boxall, Alman, Scott, Porter, and Smith and to the rest of the staff, what a quick turnaround and a return to the #2 spot in the world behind the U-S-A Gumbie was seen high on his perch filming like a man possessed. GB also had 1 or more spies in the house, where was Germany? The game has become serious business.

The horn blows to signify the end of the game with Australia cruising to a 6 goal win! Australia is golden in front of their home fans. The Aussie’s have had some good finishes in front of their people with a 2nd place finish at the 2000 Para’s.

BTW, Canada couldn’t have made it to the finals without Travis Murao’s spectacular play! He was a man possessed and a one man gang and the glue holding Canada together. Hope this is sufficient for U Trav and your mom will finally have something to put up on the fridge after some many F’s from school!

In Other News:

• It was Mike Whitehead’s birthday on November 25th

• Fabien had a draw in a contest. For more details talk to Fab but for those in the know it was the same kind of contest that JJK and TM had earlier this year.

• Benoit was supposed to pack away a 1kg T-bone but backed out.

• We are now back in Darling Harbour with Thomas Z, Michelle “PS” W sharing a room at the Star City (Marco strongly recommends this hotel) with yours truly, Benoit and Adam. It’s a 2-bedroom apartment type room with full kitchen and two bathrooms. Not too expensive for such a group. Tonight it's ribs at the Meat and Wine restaurant overlooking Darling Harbour.

• Patrice and Fab also are staying a few extra days. Benoit, Adam and I, leave Australia on the 28th to attend the AGM in Calgary.

Social/ Banquet:

Hard feelings abound, Kiwis are not Canadian fans anymore and it seems war has been declared. Each team will have its say whether it is someone calling Canada cheap, gutless or that someone has been knowingly breaking the rules to get an unfair advantage. Length and size do matter! ;) and the political ramifications of this tournament should be interesting and will lead to lots of talk.

People could argue of the reasoning behind bringing in a team from a different zone to compete at a Zonal Championship where the visiting team has nothing to lose but could severely change the outcome of the competition and even important rankings which Canada did. Frankly, I have never really understood the reason behind our invitation to the tournament and our involvement in the playoffs (semi’s and medal game). It was an invitation that we couldn’t refuse but it has caused some serious ripples in this zone. But the fact of the matter remains that we were invited but by the end we were unwelcome guests and if the results didn’t please people, they will know better in the future.

The socials and banquets are always interesting and lead to drunken confessions and it’s not always pretty. Lots of things were said, decisions were made, players weren’t voted on the all-star ballot, no offense DK but PS should have been on the all-stars, but its no fault of yours. I will be leaving Sydney with thoughts that we aren’t welcomed anymore.

Maybe when the dust settles in a couple of weeks, emotions won’t be as high and mutual respect will be the order of the day but if its war they want, Canada won’t back down.

On a more positive note, special thanks go out to all the Organizing Committee staff and particularly Merrie Evans, Nanine Artup, Denzil “I wonder if he’s related to Dunc” Campbell and our man Bob for a fabulous job in putting this tournament together.

Note: The views of Marco do not represent those of the National Team or anyone associated with said team!!!!!!!!