Sunday 18 October 2015

Shower of Scotland? Not Laidlaw's Rugby World Cup heroes

Over to you, Southern Semisphere – the 2015 Rugby World Cup is yours, just as it was in 1987,1991, 1995, 1999, 2007 and 2011. Every time the tournament has been played, that is, with the exception of the lone occasion England’s Jonny Wilkinson dropped in to deny Australia the trophy on their own soil 12 years ago.
But what a bonny fight Scotland’s perceived no-hopers put up before losing 35-34 to a controversial last-minute penalty decision against form team Australia. Written off by everyone bar the Princess Royal and themselves, they seemed to be heading for the last four when Mark Bennett’s interception try under the posts powered skipper Greig Laidlaw and his men into at 34-32 lead amid a feast of tries at Twickenham.
Ironically, the heavens had just opened and rain was bucketing down as Bennett dived in to restore the pride of the Shower of Scotland, last season’s winless Six Nations wooden spoonists.
Perhaps significantly, Bennett was wearing the No.13 shirt and after a last-minute lineout in Scotland’s own 22 went awry, out-of-form Wallabies goalkicker Bernard Foley landed the decisive penalty to complete the quarter-final humiliation of the Northern Hemisphere.
Wales, France and Ireland had all been KO’d over the weekend by South Africa, New Zealand and Argentina respectively. Ireland, like Wales decimated by injuries to key players, took the field at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium as favourites to beat the Pumas. But the South Americans, who have become a genuine world power since joining the Southern Hemisphere championship, stormed into a 17-0 lead in the opening 20 minutes and survived a brave Irish fightback to complete a 43-20 rout.
So who are the real winners and losers of this amazing tournament, whose crowds already top two million? Well, England’s failure to reach the knockout stages has to be top of the losers list. But for me the biggest disappointment has been ITV’s unpredictable match coverage by a hotch-potch of unknown commentators and C list ex-players I’m not talking about the studio panellists but the faceless voices that pipe up with drivel like (pre Australia v Scotland) ''After the break, we’ll have the best of Antipodean ambition and Caledonian courage’’ and (at final whistle) ‘’There will be no Caledonian quickstep on the streets of London tonight’’.
It’s the ultimate embarrassment to see one of these anonymous intruders thrusting a microphone in the face of a squirming losing captain moments after the final whistle and asking: ‘How does it feel to lose in the last minute?'' 
Bloody great, Jimmy - isn't it obvious?
Bill McLaren, rugby misses you. And please come back soon, Auntie Beeb.