World Cup diary

Compiled by  GAVIN CUMMISKEY

There's money to be made: Get on Medard for first try

GRANTED, MONEY has already been paid out by one bookmaker on a New Zealand win but there is still financial reward to be gleaned from this final.

The 16-point handicap seems like the biggest temptation as an evens bet. It is about making one decision: if we go with the formguide and Piri Weepu is accurate with the boot then the All Blacks looks a certain bet. But what if France “show up”?

For those of that view, New Zealand are 7 to 1 to win by one to five points. France are 10 to 1 for the same bet. This column is going for a Blackout (but Maxime Medard, right, as the first try scorer at 20 to 1).

IT IS long established that the place to get paid the most cash and play some decent rugby is France.

The All Blacks bonus for winning tomorrow is just shy of €58,000 (NZ$100,000).

French players get €140,000 for making it this far with another €40,000 if they capture the World Cup.

IRB to name player of the year on Monday: Dusautoir at 12s might be worth a punt

THE IRB player of the year award has a habit of stinging Ireland (okay, Keith Wood won it in 2001). It was widely expected that Brian O’Driscoll would pick up the gong after his annus mirabilis of 2009. Instead it went to Richie McCaw, who retained it last season.

Seán O’Brien won the European prize a few months back and, despite maintaining his form at the World Cup, his muscular performances were not deemed enough to make the six-man shortlist. The selection process is a convoluted one.

All told, it leaves some of the greatest names to ever play this game open to ridicule. John Eales chairs a judging panel that includes Will Greenwood, Gavin Hastings, Raphaël Ibanez, Francois Pienaar, Agustín Pichot, Scott Quinnell, Tana Umaga and Ireland’s Paul Wallace.

It is unclear how many times they have gathered as a group but the IRB assures us they “deliberated on every major Test played in 2011, starting with the opening RBS Six Nations match and culminating with the RWC Final.

“In total the panel have watched more than 100 hours of action, awarding points to the three players they thought stood out in each match. In order to recognise the importance of Rugby World Cup matches in determining the Player of the Year, an additional weighting has been applied to matches in the tournament.”

Fair enough. On that premise, it looks to be between Jerome Kaino and David Pocock although Paddy Power have shorter odds on Ma’a Nonu and Will Genia.

Thierry Dusautoir is the outside bet at 12 to 1 but should he repeat his 2007 heroics against New Zealand then a late surge is still conceivable. Anything is possible under the current process. The winner will be announced on Monday.

IRB player of the year odds

9/4 Ma’a Nonu (New Zealand)

5/2 Will Genia (Australia)

5/2 Jerome Kaino (New Zealand)

11/2 David Pocock (Australia)

10/1 Piri Weepu (New Zealand)

12/1 Thierry Dusautoir (France)

Cramping his style

SPEAKING OF Jerome Kaino, the New Zealand blindside flanker would have played every moment of the tournament to date if not for cramp in the semi-final.

Still, it only set in at the very end of his sixth full game so he has clocked 480 minutes.

Only two players have played every minute of every game. French winger Vicnent Clerc and Australian fullback/centre Adam Ashley-Cooper.

The final insult

"While the Wallabies are relieved to end the World Cup on an encouraging note, the folly of playing this bronze game remains. This third/fourth play-off is nothing more than another moneyspinner for an already gluttonous International Rugby Board and should be dropped from the World Cup. After the despair of missing the final, it is asking too much for these players to hang around another week and play a game with little appeal.

"Sidelined players such as Quade Cooper, Kurtley Beale and Tatafu Polota-Nau won't remember this night with any relish because it added further and unnecessary pain to their already overworked bodies."

– Greg Growden makes a valid point in the Sydney Morning Herald

It's McCaw's call: Kapa O Pango has controversial throat-slitting gesture

ON THE bus to Eden Park tomorrow Richie McCaw will fire off a text to the squad. It will either read "Ka Mate" or "Kapa O Pango".

Both Hakas have been used three times during the tournament. Kapa O Pango was first used by the All Blacks in 2005 against the Springboks (when Tana Umaga probably delivered the fiercest ever version of the war dance: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOjp8M6XH4c).

The throat slitting at the end of this version has drawn plenty of criticism, particularly from across the Tasman Sea.

The Sydney Morning Herald's Paul Sheehan stoked the fires this week: "If some of the All Blacks persist in ending this latest version of the haka with a throat-slitting motion, they will be using a very big stage to remind people the Maoris once engaged in unspeakable conduct, which we don't discuss any more.

"I'll simply allude to this by quoting the journal of Captain James Cook: 'There was not a man aboard Endeavour who, in the event of the ship's breaking up, would not have preferred to drown rather than be left to the mercy of the Maoris'."

A letter to the paper noted the throat slitting action is not really what it looks like: "Rather, it is an action drawing breath of life into the body, particularly the lungs and heart, as the warrior prepares to go into battle."

Hmmm, looks like they are slitting their throats.

Either way, the main debate seems to be that it gives the All Blacks a huge blast of energy moments before kick-off while the opposition stand idle.

FRANCE HAVE hardly had a tranquil RWC 2011, but some of their players took time out from the build-up to tomorrow's final for a helicopter trip to Auckland's remote Great Barrier Island, where they enjoyed an afternoon of fishing.

Getting shirty: Not all French happy with Maso's magnanimous gesture

FRENCH FANS may have to tweak traditional chants of 'Allez Les Bleus' at Eden Park after their team manager, in a magnanimous gesture towards New Zealand, opted to play in white to allow their World Cup final opponents to wear the traditional All Black outfit.

France won the toss for tomorrow's final but team manager Jo Maso (right) opted not to ruffle the All Blacks' feathers, though the decision raised a few eyebrows within the team, who have taken a pummelling from local media.

In the match between the two sides at the 2007 World Cup, France won the toss and decided to play in blue, forcing New Zealand to wear grey shirts. France won the quarter-final match 20-18 before being knocked out by England in the semi-finals.

"That's Jo Maso's elegance," France coach Marc Lievremont told reporters. "Some players regret it and they would have wanted to deprive them of their preferred colour. But we will keep the same spirit, whether we play in blue or white.

"We could have played in pink or purple, it would have been France v New Zealand just the same."

Hooker William Servat said he would rather Maso had made New Zealand change. "I would have preferred to play in blue, that's for sure. These are the colours of my country," said Servat.

France have been heavily criticised by the local media. BEING AN All Black with the expectations of a rugby-mad nation weighing on your shoulders has its drawbacks – particularly when those expectations include tickets for tomorrow's big game.

And wing Cory Jane has no qualms about saying no when friends and relatives try to put the arm on him. "Everyone does it but they cost too much anyway," Jane said. "I've got a hell of a mortgage, I can't afford to buy anyone rugby tickets."