A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Aussie hype: cheer up now
THE TENDENCY to dismiss the Irish challenge amongst the Aussie media appeared pretty widespread prior to last weekend's game, witness one writer who began his match preview by claiming that at least the Wallabies would end their long winless run at Eden Park.
Another one was former Wallaby Phil Kearns, working as a pundit on Fix Sports. When the huge roar which greeted Ireland for the warm-up was mentioned to him, he said: “Well, they’re not going to have much else to cheer about tonight, so they may as well cheer them in the warm-up.”
Cullen: And the Russians
MEMORIES OF Ireland's only previous meeting with Russia, the 35-3 qualifying win in Krasnoyarsk nine years ago this week, have been invoked in the last few days. Leo Cullen, winning his third cap as a replacement that day, remembered the five-hour flight from Moscow to Serbia. "It was tough . . . it was physical and there was a pretty vocal crowd. It was a tough environment. I think we had about three or four supporters, and my old man was one of them. He's back again here this week."
What's most relevant for the Irish captain is Ireland "treat Russia with the same respect" as that day.
Desire Byrnes within: Adam's Russian dream
THE 30-year-old Adam Byrnes, now with the Melbourne Rebels, qualifies for Russia by dint of his mother, who left the USSR for Australia after the second World War with her parents and sisters. It was only on foot of reading an article in an international rugby magazine in February that he emailed Kingsley Jones, the Welsh coach who works as a "director" with the Russian squad, asking if he wanted Byrnes.
"Yes we do," came the reply within hours.
"It has always been my goal to be a Wallaby but getting a chance to represent Russia at the World Cup is a pleasant surprise I really appreciate," Byrnes said.
"I feel proud and I wish to help Russian rugby to become a professional organisation capable of competing with international rugby giants in the future."
Injuries pile up for Australia
AUSTRALIA COACH Robbie Deans now faces a severe injury crisis, particularly in the midfield backs, after his side beat the USA 67-5. Centre Anthony Fainga'a was knocked unconscious in the final minute, while Rob Horne has a fractured cheek bone and Pat McCabe dislocated his shoulder
Fullback Kurtley Beale "tightened up" and was replaced shortly before half-time, while number eight Wycliff Palu also came off (hamstring). This adds to concerns over Digby Ioane (thumb) and David Pocock (back), with James O'Connor (hamstring) and captain James Horwill (shoulder) rested for the game to aid their recoveries.
RWC scheduling: Scottish medic backs minnows' cause
FINALLY SOMEONE from one of the Home Unions has spoken out about the sham of the RWC scheduling where the smaller nations are routinely stitched up resulting in sub-par performances due to ridiculous turnarounds.
They are also forced to play their pool games in a shorter time span. Samoa play all four of theirs in 16 days (New Zealand have 23 days), which prompted centre Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolu to launch a tirade on Twitter earlier this week.
Scotland doctor James Robson, also the medic on five Lions tours, said the turnarounds militate against those teams. Many of the smaller nations had pushed their higher-ranked opponents in their first games, but their performances were noticeably falling off. Namibia was thrashed 87-0 by South Africa on Thursday, their third game in 12 days, while the USA put out a weakened line-up in yesterday's 67-5 loss to Australia with an eye on having to play Italy on Tuesday.
"I think it results in below-par performance," said Robson. "I believe it takes at least four days to recover from the rigours of a Test match. The minimum would have to be five days given you need four days to recover. But ideally you'd want between six and eight."
