A round-up of today's other stories in brief

Up against it: Odds don't favour Scotland

RUGBY WORLD Cup rules decree that if, at the completion of the pool phase, two or more teams are level on match points, then the following criteria shall be used in the following order until one of the teams can be determined as the higher ranked:

1. The winner of the match in which the two tied teams have played each other shall be the higher ranked;

2. The team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;

3. The team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;

4. The team which has scored most points in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;

5. The team which has scored most tries in all its pool matches shall be the higher ranked;

6. Should the tie be unresolved at the conclusion of steps 1 through 5, the team that is higher ranked in the updated Official IRB World Rankings on October 3rd, 2011.

Thus, although it’s an unlikely scenario, should Scotland beat England by more than seven points and Argentina beat Georgia without a bonus point, the three teams’ final rankings will be based on points difference rather than match points accrued in the relevant three head-to-heads.

In the latter scenario, England would finish third and be eliminated but, were it to come down to points difference then it is virtually certain Scotland (currently +18) will be evicted behind England (+99) and Argentina (+32). Given the Scots have had to play in driving rain in Invercargill (twice) and Wellington, whereas England have played all three pool games to date in an enclosed stadium, that hardly seems fair.

Snake's alive: Dagg's sign

ISRAEL DAGG, this column's tip for star of the tournament and leading try scorer, has celebrated one of his two tries against France (and one of four thus far) by forming a cobra-like shape with his right forearm and hand – joining four fingers in a line parallel to the ground.

Enjoying the mystery, Dagg's cryptic post-match responses thus far have been: "a dog meows" and "the laughing bear rides a motorcycle", which prompted some to interpret the celebration to be a French rooster and the comments as being inspired by Eric Cantona.

Alternatively, that it is the hand-puppet sign used by the Crazy Horses Gang in the movie By.

More likely though, as the rugbyheaven website has suggested, Dagg is indeed making the sign of a cobra, which is the symbol of his alma mater, Lindisfarne College.

 Scare tactics: Rome spur

THE THEORY went that, a la England in 2003, to build up momentum with a Grand Slam and a winning tour to Australia and New Zealand, was ideal preparation for a tilt at the World Cup.

Then again, four years later England rather disproved the theory when reaching the final.

In any event, maybe it's no harm that Ireland not only lost all four August friendlies but also that they ultimately did have a fairly undistinguished Six Nations earlier this year, rather than the second Grand Slam some of us felt they had in them (and backed them accordingly).

Most probably, given their dependence on a core group of players, such remorseless consistency would be more difficult to maintain, aside from which Irish teams generally flourish when they've a point to prove or have a whiff of cordite in their nostrils.

So, at the very risk of tempting fate, it may be no harm that they go into the decisive pool finale against the Italians mindful of that serious scare last February in Rome.

Nor, if they then encounter Wales in the quarters, that they were robbed by an illegal try in Cardiff last March. (Plenty for Deccie and the team leaders to get their teeth into there.)

Nor might the memory of the double beatings by the French or mauling in the Aviva last August by Leicester in white (or black) be a bad thing in the long run. And then, maybe, some blokes in black?

Okay, okay. But you get the point.

Losses exaggerated

FOR ALL the talk of the top tier unions and federations supposedly losing a combined €45 million through their participation in the World Cup, according to IRFU sources they expect to lose no more than €3 to €4 million.

And no less than their Southern Hemisphere counterparts, the European unions also miss out on hosting glamour November fixtures.

There's no doubt the IRB are keeping the cream for themselves, and there will be need to reform. But such arbitrary figures are a little selective, for how many sponsors, of even the All Blacks, would jump on board if they weren't participating in World Cups? Furthermore, one imagines the financial spin-offs of success would also compensate somewhat.