Over in the game where you can pick the ball up and run with it like any sensible person would (though you can't pass it forward which is rather odd); the Irish had rather a bad night out in New Plymouth. And unlike many of us, this didn't have anything to do with half a dozen sambuca shots and a couple of hits from the bucket bong*.
The Irish looked to be playing with a decent if not finessed attack before the Jamie Heaslip "brain explosion". I should tell you that I hate that term with a fiery passion. Especially as now it seems that any act of random violence on a sporting field seems to be put down to said "explosion". As though the players have resorted to some primeval instinct that causes them to gouge eyes, stomp testicles or knee people in the head. Twice. And that afterwards they will go back to quoting Oscar Wilde, sipping martinis and writing a short play about a single woman trying to make it as an actress in New York.
No these guys are thugs. So the guys who tackle with sprigs up in the "beautiful game". So are the netballers who lead with their elbows.
If you go into the match with the intent to injure your opponent then you have no right to be out there in your national colours.
Then there was the O'Gara yellow card. This I don't mind as much, except I wish the ref had let play continue so we could get that extra try before sending him off. Speaking of the ref, Jim Kayes called it "pathetic" that Waynes Barnes refused an interview. Yes, Jim that's very professional of you, given the large number of referees we see interviewed post-game.
And congratulations to Dan Carter who passed 1,000 points and also picked up the record for the most conversions in test rugby. And I was wrong by the way, I said the only way the All Blacks could be more interesting than the World Cup would be by losing to the Irish, Thumping them was just as good.
*Joke courtesy of Sam Scott.