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Pioneering New Zealand coach Brian McClennan told television viewers he had cried during an ad break while covering the Kiwis' historic loss to Fiji on Saturday night. "I shed a tear just then," an emotional McClennan told Sky Sports viewers in a venting reminiscent of Andrew Johns' outburst after NSW's State of Origin loss this year.
McClennan is the man who broke Australia's 27-year unbeaten run in all series and tournaments by leading the Kiwis to a Tri-Nations win in 2005. Discussing captain Adam Blair's post-match interview in which he said the Kiwis' elimination from the World Cup was "not a negative for us", McClennan said: "I go back a long way with Blairy and he got it wrong. You've got to wear your heart on your sleeve. He got it wrong".
Blair's comments were also criticised by a Kiwi politician, Jonathan Coleman, the MP for Northcote. "NZRL needs to take a long hard look at itself. How can Adam Blair say "it's not a negative for us". He deleted the tweet but it was reported by a site that reports deleted tweets from politicians, politwoops.com. McClennan, meanwhile, said "this is a poor Kiwis side" that put in "a dumb performance".
Freddy Fittler becomes Freddy Krueger
Controversial loss on Saturday aside, it's been a great campaign from Lebanon and it's given us an interesting insight into how Brad Fittler will operate as NSW coach. Despite being the cruisiest human on earth, "Freddy" gets pretty serious when he picks up a clipboard.
On Saturday night, he actually kicked Robbie Farah under a table, trying to stop him answering a question about Adam Doueihi's crucial disallowed try. After losses to England and Tonga, Fittler tried to shut down uncomfortable topics with a bluntness we don't see from any NRL coach - even Wayne Bennett.
In Sydney it was the biting allegation against Jermaine McGillvary and in Christchurch it was the pre-match confrontation between the teams, about which Fittler used that chopping motion made famous by John Blackman on Hey Hey It's Saturday to indicate there'd be no more questions on the subject. It's good the Blues might have a coach who won't countenance excuses. But just because you don't want questions on a subject doesn't mean you won't get them - or that people won't write about the subject anyway.
History, yes. Lasting change? Maybe
It may still be a touch glib to say the last two Saturdays have changed international rugby league forever. We have certainly seen history made - as in written history. Until last week, no tier two nation had beaten a tier one nation in a World Cup. Twenty-two years for the first instance, seven days for the second. No Australian player in Test history has scored five tries - great effort from Valentine Holmes on Friday night. New Zealand have never been eliminated so early from a World Cup, although it's only since the last one we've even had enough countries to have quarter-finals! And we'll have a final not involving the Kiwis for the first time since 1995.
But the game will only change in a real sense if these teams are kept together and can build on their success. Did rugby league change just because Scotland got a 'historic' draw with New Zealand last year? No. Look at the Bravehearts just 12 months later.
Fusitu'a sorry for late call
While much is made of the impact Jason Taumalolo and Andrew Fifita have had on Tonga, winger David Fusitu'a has been the man placing his name in the history books with five tries in the last two games, including the one that sealed that breakthrough win over the Kiwis. And like his fellow "defectors", he is remorseful about the manner of his departure to the Mate Ma'a - after he had already started training for the World Cup with the Kiwis.
"I had already started training with them but there were a few things that I couldn't control, that were out of my hands, that played a bit of a part in my decision," Fusitu'a said. "With my decision being late, there's a few things I can't take back. I know I could have done a lot of things a lot better, especially with the timing of my decision. I'll learn from this going forward and hopefully there's nothing like this moving forward." Fusitu'a said the "things that I couldn't control" were professional not personal but didn't explain what they were. "Nothing was really clear going forward and the phone started ringing and I had to make my decision. It was late and I couldn't control it.
Iron hot, but no strike for Tonga
Tonga won't be joining Matt Parish's mooted negotiation bloc pushing for better pay in the Pacific Test. Parish told Fairfax Media last week he wanted Oceania countries to band together to get better pay and conditions of the mid-season internationals.
"There's always a way to go about it," coach Kristian Woolf said. "Essentially, most of what he said is headed in the right direction. He probably didn't necessarily word some of it right. I'm certainly not going to sit here and say we need industrial action or anything like that. That's certainly not what I'm about. But I think we've got enough momentum here at the moment. We've got up and we've beaten a tier one nation and that says a hell of a lot. On the back of [ourselves and PNG] two nations there's been incredible performances, incredible scenes. Passion, pride, all the things you want in footy games."
We slay giants, boasts Hayne
Blair's comments definitely comprise the quotes of the weekend - but they weren't the only gems. Looking ahead to the semi-final against Australia on Friday night at Suncorp Stadium, Jarryd Hayne said: "We're in the business of slaying giants. Next week is a really big one."
And there was some stark truth in these thoughts from Kristian Woolf: "If you take us and PNG's crowds out of the World Cup, there's some pretty poor crowds and some pretty poor interest at times as well."
Tongan officials believe they should play New Zealand in three-Test series rather than just a mid-season one-off against Samoa. Their argument that they are now a bigger draw in NZ than Australia is a good one. They may even be a bigger draw in New Zealand than the Kiwis. But finding a place in the calendar for three Tests is the problem.
