Separated at birth? French wing Maxime Medard (left) gets his adamantium claws ready for action, while Wolverine contemplates Sunday's clash with Canada. Photos / File
Tweeting twits
More highlights from the Wallaby twitteratti at the Rugby World Cup.
Quade Cooper: "So, what are the must-see sights in Auckland?''
(CupShorts' suggestions: Richie McCaw lifting the Webb Ellis Trophy; Wallabies at the airport the day after a semifinal.)
James "Bieber'' O'Connor: "Having coffee with the boys at the 'viaduct' - awesome spot right here on the harbour.''
We demand to know what viaduct cafe would be irresponsible enough to serve caffeine to a 12-year-old.
Make a date
The World Cup organisers can't be accused of being behind the times. They've got the official 2012 calendar of the 2011 RWC on sale now. But print production deadlines are a
bitch and these puppies were presumably heading for the shops before the squads were announced. On the cover of the editions we've seen: Sitiveni Sivivatu and Sebastien Chabal, neither of whom made the cut for the actual tournament.
Gurning Gatland
Nasa scientists have updated the list of the "most intensely grinded elements in the universe''. Galactic cobalt found at the heart of a black hole has been replaced at the top of the list by Warren Gatland's teeth during Sunday night's televised post-match interview.
The new No 10
Tonga yesterday named Taniela Moa at first five-eighths for tomorrow's match against Canada. Meaning he now has two things in common with Piri Weepu. (Moa has, according to one well-placed source, "the widest feet in the world''.)
Crane capers
A question from a CupShorts chum watching Friday's opening festivities on the telly: "Were those circling container cranes at the waterfront actually part of the opening extravaganza? Or was it just security footage of disgruntled fans who had got off the stalled trains, hijacked the hefty vehicles and were trying to find a way out of the yard? They could have gone straight over any gridlock and on to Sandringham Rd.''
'I see Saffer people'
The Fijians, preparing for their match against the Boks, aren't happy about staying in the same hotel as the South African embassy. A Fiji Sun writer opined: "Just about wherever we turn in this building we see South Africans. Strange move by the Rugby World Cup powers-that-be to do that to us.''
Richie who?
Josh Kronfeld suggested last week that Richie McCaw might be a tad over the hill. From memory, the last time Josh opined on McCaw's worthiness was back in 2001, when he suggested that the hallowed black No 7 was being given away cheaply.
The former England winger opened up about his struggles post retirement.