Wallabies Lose

Australia were sent packing from the 2007 Rugby World Cup after losing to England 12-10 this morning in Marseille.

Never have so many played so badly for so long.

It was heart breaking to see Stephen Larkham in tears at the end of the match, knowing that he would never again play for Australia, and that Australia's world cup loss in 2003 had gone unavenged for another four years.

Darker pages in Wallaby history? There are a few, but there's nothing like losing to the Poms. 200 years after England emptied its prisons by sending the dregs of its society to the end of the earth, Australians still hold a special place in their heart for seeing English people lose at sport. It's safe to say that the feeling is reciprocated. (see "World Cup loss 2003", and "Ashes loss 2005", as well as "how to bestow knighthood upon every player in a sporting team")

If you are not Australian, or English, or in to rugby, I can't really explain the shame associated with losing this morning. Not that England didn't deserve to win. In all honesty they were totally the better side.

But, it's just the thought that for the next four years, any English git I meet, will look at me, smile knowingly, flashing a set of gawky geezer teeth and a bad haircut, and say "Those Wallabies didn't go to well in the World Cup did they?"... and I will have to laugh along to keep the vibe of the conversation rolling and prevent myself from getting irrationally patriotic ("Yeah, well thanks for all the help you guys gave us in the Dardanelles! Why don't you just send another 20,000 colonial soldiers to their death!!! What?! That doesn't even make sense?! It's not even historically accurate. Ah who cares, I hate people... and stuff.).

Anyway. At least I will now be able to watch New Zealand play rugby the way it should be played without that tinge of oxymorinic foresight that makes you think, "They play the game so beautifully, I just wish that didn't have to play it so beautifully against us!"