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We’re so predictable, aren’t we, us humans? New Zealand has won the 2011 World Cup and will continue to celebrate for a long time to come. And who cares what the rest of us think?
Meanwhile, beaten finalists France are already writing the history that French parents will pass down to their children – France lost the cup because of the referee, Mr Craig Joubert, from South Africa.
In the final 10 minutes, when France produced phase after phase, the referee, adopting a far too liberal approach to the game, failed to penalise the All Blacks for the penalty kick at goal that would have given France a glorious victory.
Damn Joubert!
Perhaps it hasn’t occurred to the French that had they displayed more enterprise, they might not have had to worry about sweating on the referee making a kindly call.
But it’s not only France who believe the referee cost them the World Cup.
Over in Wales, the story that will be handed down by Welsh parents to their children, is that the referee, Mr. Alain Rolland, an Irish-French mixed blood, cost the mighty Red Dragons a passage to the final by far too hastily sending their captain off for a dangerous tackle in their semi-final against France.
No matter that Wales missed five kicks at goal, of which if only one had been successful, they would have progressed to the final. It was all the referee’s fault.
And then there’s the South Africans themselves, who have been apoplectic in venting their fury at the referee from their quarter-final match against the Wallabies, Kiwi Bryce Lawrence.
Again, no matter that the Boks had enough possession to win a dozen games, but were totally incapable through their own ineptitude, to find the tryline.
Not even once.
And what of our beloved Wallabies, what is their excuse? Well, bless us Aussies, we’ve come up with a novel reason for losing the World Cup. And no, it has nothing to do with any referee.
It was that damn, foreign-born Kiwi coach what lost us the Cup, your honour.
If only we had a true-blue Aussie coach, everything would have been just dandy – the Wallabies would have swept all before them. Trust us!
No matter that neither our scrum nor forward pack as a whole was strong or tough enough, or that our chief playmaker was a lunatic.
To hell with our structural problems. We’re Aussies, who love to run the ball, and why is life so unfair to us?
Of course, let’s not forget our English friends.
The story that will pass from generation to generation, is that the team was totally debunked by some publicity-seeking bouncer in Queenstown, who dared to expose pictures of their only royally connected player – Matt Tindall – frolicking in the arms of a woman who wasn’t his royal-blood wife.
We will conveniently forget that many of the English players were in fact first class buffoons, who disgraced the English jersey.
Which is saying something, because both, the primary all-white and secondary all-black English outfits were abominable!
And so the excuses go on.
The 1995 All Blacks lost the final to South Africa because of alleged food poisoning.
No-one to this day, gives the Boks much credit for playing a great ‘team’ game, and totally shutting down the New Zealand threats.
And that’s what rugby is after all – a team game.
Or the England excuse from 1991, that they lost the game because they changed their style at the last minute. This conveniently forgets that earlier in 1991, England had been monstered by the Wallabies pack in Sydney.
They couldn’t beat them in the forwards, and they certainly wouldn’t beat them in the backs.
The element of surprise was their best bet, and it very nearly worked. But as in 2011, the better team still won.
In 1999, the Boks reckoned they were sure things beaten. If only coach Mallett hadn’t sacked captain Teichmann prior to the World Cup, and if only Bobby Skinstad was fully fit, surely they, and not the Wallabies, would have been world champions?
That’s the way it is, I guess, in sport and life – winners are grinners, and the losers rewrite their history (to preserve their own beliefs).
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.