It's All Good Fun Until Someone Loses an Eye

Steve Hansen hit back at alleged Aussie funnyman come rugby coach, Scott Johnson.  Hansen (who is apparently a great mate of Johnson) fronted the media today and returned the fire, interrupted Wayne Smith’s press conference to advise that he had a pair of shoes that had been found after the last All Black’s training session.  The shoes of course, were camouflage colours to match Jonson’s appearance the day before!  Well done, ho ho.

Not content to stop there, the hilarity continued with Hansen lambasting his mates haircut (fair enough too, what a shaggy devil, he clearly needs a haircut and a good wash).  For more of the witty repartee, click here.  I think it is good, it brings an element of good humour into the trans Tasman clash between New Zealand and Australia.

And still more off the field focus today as the barbs came out between the two head coaches over, you guessed it, the haka.  Connolly’s claim that the haka ought to be changed to get rid of the throat slitting gesture at the end seems to have gotten under Graham Henry’s skin, provoking a rebuke from the normally fairly unshakable New Zealand coach.  Basically, Henry told Connolly to keep his nose out of other peoples business.  I thought he could have added “We don’t lecture you about the merits of having the crowd sing songs about stealing property, slaughtering animals, and committing suicide”.  For more on the haka, and the ongoing off field focus, click here.  It seems a bit serious really, and perhaps no reaction would have been better.  It is a challenge after all, and vested with such meaning by New Zealand more than anyone else.  They are entitled to react to it however they like.

Back to the actual game however, a good round up of the sides, and some good commentary, can be found in video format by clicking here.   I’d agree with most of what Ben Kimber has to say about the game, and the relative strength of the teams.  However, I think that Australia have the edge in the back line, and have a more intelligent way of playing that came to the fore against South Africa.  For Mr Kimber’s video analysis, click here.  Tim Horan’s comments about the centre pairing for Australia are correct, however it is difficult to win games with a good back line alone.  Click here for that article.  Clearly the importance of the front row is not lost on Connolly. Click here for an article on his concerns about Rodzilla in the lead up to the test.  Making excuses in advance perhaps?  I doubt it, but he is right when he says Woodcock is one of the best in the business.

Meanwhile, the New Zealand press are focusing on Stirling Mortlock’s comments about the former captain of the All Blacks, Tana Umaga, and missing him now that he no longer plays international Rugby.  Mils has a mention in the article, and I think clearly he will be tested tomorrow evening.  He hasn’t really had to cope with much pressure so far, but he will be feeling it in Brisbane, that is one thing for sure.  Mortlock and Giteau will pair together well to put pressure on a relatively inexperienced All Black midfield (in terms of playing matches together).  Click here for more on that.

Lastly for today, the clown has revealed that he could be a bit of cry baby when it comes to hangovers.  A few days out from the Springbok test, marking his return to the first string Abs side for this weekend’s match, the lock has revealed he thought one of his drinks may have been spiked while out with his mates in Auckland.  He approached the AB management and was tested to check if his fears were well founded.  Apparently they were not, the test results not showing anything unusual, and it must have just been a hangover for the Clown.  Click here for more on that.

All the testy fighting and war of words should be largely done and dusted by now – with the exception of the expert pontificating and snide remarks we can expect to see in the papers tomorrow, and we should be on for a cracking game on Sunday.  Fantastic.