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BRISBANE - Australian newspapers on Monday sought to ease the pain of the Wallabies' rugby World Cup exit at the hands of England - and the boot of Jonny Wilkinson - by taunting the All Blacks.
"At least we didn't choke," Brisbane's Courier-Mail screamed across its back page, asserting that Australia were simply beaten by a better team, whereas New Zealand fell apart under the pressure from an inspired French team.
"While Australia was edged out of the cup 12-10 by England's Grumpy Old Men, New Zealand was French fried by the tournament host in another quarter-final, extending the Kiwis' catalogue of World Cup disasters," the newspaper said.
The paper also pointed out that the only Australian still involved in the World Cup was sacked Wallabies coach Eddie Jones, now a consultant with South Africa.
Veteran Australian rugby reporter Peter Jenkins offered a more sober assessment of the Wallabies' demise.
"Just three months ago hopes were high after a breakthrough victory over the All Blacks in Melbourne, another over the Springboks in Sydney and Australia almost stealing their first win in South Africa for seven years," Jenkins wrote in Sydney's Daily Telegraph.
"A soft underbelly in the forwards, supposedly consigned to the past, was exposed.
"The scrum was man-handled by England. Even worse, they were comprehensively out-muscled at the breakdown, driven off the ball on crucial occasions when the Red Rose heroes flooded the tackle contest."
The Sydney Morning Herald also said that no matter how bad the Wallabies were, the All Blacks were worse.
"Has there ever been a more horrible day in Australian-New Zealand rugby history?" it asked.
"Probably not. In the first quarter-final, Australia ended their worst World Cup campaign by losing to a substandard England, suffering greater humiliation than they did four years ago when defeated by the same team in the final.
"Losing a World Cup final is forgivable. Being defeated in a quarter-final by B-grade opponents isn't.
"But this is nothing compared to the doom and gloom New Zealand is now suffering.
"For 20 years, the All Blacks have supposedly been the best rugby team in the world. And all they have to show for it is one World Cup triumph - in 1987."
Former Australian rugby coach Alan Jones, now Sydney's highest rating radio host, was brutal in his assessment.
"Well the self-indulgence of the Trans-Tasman rugby world has been ruthlessly punished at the weekend," he said.
"One can only wonder where the so-called defenders of the system that produced this are now going to hide.
Jones said the Australian and New Zealand squads had been weighed down by too many coaching and administrative staff and said complacency was the key factor in the losses.
He said the Australian Rugby Union's determination to sign a New Zealand coach to replace John Connolly, believed to be Canterbury's Robbie Deans, was not the answer.
- REUTERS
