Gerry Thornley’s World Cup review
With the dust now settled after New Zealand's 34-17 Rugby World Cup final win over Australia at Twickenham, today Gerry Thornley gives his verdict on the eighth and best edition of the famous tournament, as well as running the rule over the 20 teams who took part.
Not only did it prove incredibly lucrative, producing record ticket sales, record television audiences, hitting its revenue target of €350 million and returning a surplus of more than €112 million to World Rugby - but it was the standard of rugby itself which set England 2015 apart.
“Pick a game of the tournament, and the list of contenders is endless. We thought Japan-South Africa couldn’t be bettered, and it was, a week later, when Wales - resourceful, inspired Wales - undid England at Twickenham. On it continued with compelling games every week,” he writes.
O’Connell could face full year out
The World Cup also proved to be the last act on the biggest for some of the greats of the game, including victorious All Blacks quintet Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu,Kevin Mealamu and, of course, Ireland’s Paul O’Connell.
And the hamstring injury which ended the secondrow's tournament against France also looks set to force the 36-year-old into spending his first year with new club Toulon in rehab rather than on the pitch.
“My plan had been to come off a really good World Cup and then go over to Toulon in good shape and have a really good season this year. Unfortunately, now that has all completely changed and I’m probably going to be rehabbing the most difficult injury I’ve ever had and I’ll be rehabbing it at 36 years of age,” he said.
McGuinness defends autobiography
Former All-Ireland winning Donegal manager Jim McGuinness has responded to accusations of innacuracies in his autibiography, Until Victory Always, which were made by his successor Rory Gallagher.
McGuinness said: “I’m very comfortable with the book. The facts of the matter are in the book. In terms of the people in the book, we’ve been very, very fair. I didn’t want the book to be a tabloid; I didn’t want it to something that was controversial – something that was going to drag the tone down. In my opinion, it’s a very honest account and it’s a very true reflection of myself as a person and also of the team.
“It’s very disappointing. Rory makes reference to his departure yesterday in a statement. All I can say to that is, in terms of the protocol around that, I would consider it gold standard, absolutely gold standard. Every single thing was 100 per cent done correctly.”
Garde sees size of Villa task
Meanwhile incoming Aston Villa manager Remi Garde watched from the stands last night as his new charges were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Tottenham Hostpur at White Hart Lane.
Prince of Penzance wins Melbourne Cup
Michelle Payne has become the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup after she partnered 100-1 shot Prince of Penzance to a famous victory ahead of Frankie Dettori and Max Dynamite at Flemington.
What to watch out for:
Football
Tonight Manchester United will be to avoid a third straight game without a goal in their Champions League clash with CSKA Moscow at Old Trafford, while Manchester City travel to play Sevilla and Real Madrie take on PSG at the Bernabeu.
