KEY POINTS:
Among the debris lying around Millennium Stadium and the Gabba this morning were a couple of significant victories for the Welsh and the English.
Train smashes both sites might be, but it's hard to get away from the faultless planning and execution that went on behind the scenes
before this weekend's cricket and rugby contests at Brisbane and Cardiff.
Yes, yes - we know the All Blacks carved up the Dragons yesterday with Rattuesque precision and that the Aussie cricketers stopped beating up the English only so they could start torturing them.
But that is to miss the point.
The Welsh - entertainers to the last - succeeded where all other teams have failed this season when they ensured the haka was relegated to curtain-raiser status, and then easily won the anthem sing-off.
Those Welsh boyos might not get around the park too smartly but when it comes to opening their throats they can sing a brilliant game, with all the flair of a Sitiveni Sivivatu step or an Ali Williams offload.
Credit where credit's due; they were the better singers and it's about time we admitted it.
It's true, there might be mutterings in the valleys about the final scoreline but, to be frank, the thought of being outshone by the All Blacks haka was easily the bigger fear so it was no surprise to see the officials step in when they did.
The Welsh have always been scrupulously fair on this point. They don't mind competing with Waltzing Matilda, Land of Hope and Glory or even Pokarekare Ana, but they draw the line at Hip-Hop.
It might well be that their national team runs, passes and tackles like a Boy Scout XV, but the point is they have their pride and their traditions, and are not about to allow any challenge to their pre-match superiority.
Mock their skills by all means. Laugh at their attempts to tackle Sivivatu, and feel free to lampoon their concertina of a scrum or their efforts to knit together anything in the backline.
But never, ever, underestimate Wales' ability to have the first laugh.
And so to Brisbane, where England have created a record for substituting fieldsmen in the space of three days, apparently because the players in question would have otherwise wet themselves.
Stories abound of touring cricketers having to tear off the field in India or Pakistan with urgent ablution needs, but the sight of four Englishmen being subbed in the space of the first hour's play on Saturday was something new for Australians.
The issue weighed heavily on Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting during last year's Ashes but, given the frightening pasting England have received since Thursday, it could well be incontinence really is the problem.
More likely, though, is the suggestion that the English are running off to have a quick consultation with the team psychologist, who is now shaping as one of the busiest officials in the touring party.
Whatever the reason, it just goes to show that - though Freddie's Forgettables seem to have no plan or pattern behind their performance - they've at least paid close attention to the things that really matter.
Never mind the batsmen are unable to play a forward-defensive shot and the bowlers struggle to land the ball on the cut strip; the English are well ahead in terms of massages and cups of tea.
On that score, they stand alongside Welsh rugby administrators as leaders in their field.
High
Glenn McGrath, whose six wickets in England's first innings dealt something of a credibility blow to those who dubbed the Australians, "Dad's Army".
Low
The Kiwis extra-time loss to Australia in the Tri-Nations final - the second time this season they've fallen on the wire.
