This rugby-head is enjoying the football World Cup a little too much.
So much so that I had a crisis of conscience on Saturday night. You see, I'd watched the week's knockout games in Russia then tuned in to the oval-ball fixture between the Hurricanes and Blues in Wellington not long after.
The latter was appreciably deflating. Despite some skilful tries and the home team's win, it was at best mild entertainment. Compared with the football, the 15-man game was borderline insipid.
It's tough to ascertain whether our national game (or the repetitive nature of Super Rugby) has lost its lustre, or whether the round-ball spectacle played out on the world's biggest sporting stage is simply shaping up as a classier act.
A little of both, I'd suggest.