A Damp Squib

It's finally over.

At least for another 4 years.

If you've not already seen the final match or heard the result, England lost 15-6 to South Africa.

The result notwithstanding, it was certainly an improvement over the 36-0 loss in the pool stage and a good result given the almost no one apart from the players, management and the most deluded of supporters expected England to make it to the Final.

It wasn't an entertaining match by an means - a few tries would have been nice but the match was never about entertaining the public who no doubt paid at least several hundred Euros each, apart from those who had the benefit of corporate entertainment. No, this was all the about the result - how the winner went about it will have been entirely irrelevant - as previous World Cup Finals have all demonstrated. Never have I seen a team in tears while receiving their runner's up medals - even the Wallabies managed to hold it together in 2003 - most of them anyway.

It's been tough for all the playerss these last few weeks - physically, mentally and emotionally - especially for the Wallabies and the All-Blacks. Going forward, the Springboks get to call themselves World Champions again for another 4 years and rugby in Argentina has been given a shot in the arm but it will be quite a while before the game takes root in the otherwise football-mad country. England's come a long way since they played their first pool match in the tournament and there is at least some hope that England have turned their fortunes around and might have a fighting chance of winning the 2008 6 Nations tournament.

The Rugby World Cup Circus starts up again in just under 4 years and this time, in the rugby-obsessed nation of New Zealand. If the All-Blacks don't win on home soil, they will almost certainly get lynched by the Kiwi public.