Thaiday joins long list of Aussies who went too far

Queensland forward Sam Thaiday was labeled 'lewd and tasteless' following his victory speech in last night's State of Origin win over New South Wales.

Following the ugly 6-4 win he told interviewer Brad Fittler the match was "like losing your virginity - it wasn't nice but we got the job done."

He's not the first Aussie to put their foot in their mouth during an interview. And probably he won't be the last.

1) Willie Mason

The crazy Auckland-born Kangaroo league forward went the extra mile to stir up feeling in the trans-tasman contest of 2006. As the Kiwis advanced with their pre-game haka at Mt Smart, Mason took one look at the Australia-raised fullback Brent Webb and said: "He's a f!@#$%^ Aboriginal. What's he doing?".

Reports at the time noted Webb, who played for the Auckland Warriors, had Maori tattoos and a pregnant New Zealand fiancee. The Kiwis felt insulted, and forward David Kidwell smashed Mason with a shoulder charge during the game. Mason certainly got it wrong on one count. Webb - who qualified for the Kiwis via residency - is a Torres Strait Islander not Aboriginal.

2) Nick Kyrgios

The Aussie tennis nutter told opponent Stan Wawrinka "(Thanasi) Kokkinakis banged your girlfriend. Sorry to tell you that, mate" as they swapped ends during a match in Montreal last year.

3) Dawn Fraser

The Olympic swimming legend solidified her reputation as an immigration sceptic/racist when she told a TV interviewer last year that tennis players Bernard Tomic and Nick Kyrgios should: "Go back where their parents came from.

"If they don't like it, go back to where their fathers or their parents came from. We don't need them here in this country if they act like that."

4) Shane Warne

"If we've evolved from monkeys, then why haven't those ones evolved?" Warne asked a fellow contestant on I'm a Celebrity...get me out of here.

Explaining himself, Warne added: "Because, I'm saying, aliens. We started from aliens. Maybe they turned a few monkeys into humans and said yeah it works."

He also presented evidence. "Look at those pyramids," Warne continued. "You couldn't do them. You couldn't pull those ropes, huge bits of brick and make it perfectly symmetrical. Couldn't do it. So who did it?"

5) Greg Norman

Declared him self "speechless" which is okay usually, but he was a TV commentator for Fox at the time watching Jordan Spieth blow the 2015 US Open. Norman, who was sacked after just a year in the job, is regarded as a meltdown specialist after his famous Masters collapse. Commentators who don't know what to say tend to strike career problems.

6) Phil Kearns

The Waratahs old-boy didn't react well while commentating on the Highlanders' Super Rugby semifinal victory in Sydney last year, accusing referee Craig Joubert of having a "shocker". He didn't back down, and reckoned: "So you Kiwis - shut up. That same ref gifted you the World Cup final in 2011 - just ask the rest of the world." Somebody sounds annoyed.

7) Norma Plummer

The netball tornado described the Silver Ferns as "just a bunch of scrubbers" when she took over as coach of the Aussie side in 2003. She followed that up, saying: "I've seen plenty of classy sides from New Zealand who couldn't take it across the line but this lot..."

8) David Campese

No list would be complete without a contribution from Campo. The great Wallaby wing was hell bent on moving rugby forward when he posed this deep question. "Why does the Sydney Morning Herald get a girl to write about rugby...now we have someone who has no idea about the game!"