Cartoon / Rod Emmerson
Jandal news
Another sign that the world's best-ever tournament (source: IRB) is coming to a glorious end: Official RWC Jandals, which started at $20 a pair, are now $10. Our shopping advice: Wait one week.
(And sorry, Cory, no word on a pricing scheme for single Jandals.)
Take it on the
chin
The Welsh squad - who evidently haven't had much to do this week - want to make a clarification about the number of chin-ups Ken Owens did at Les Mills. Readers with too much time on their hands may recall CupShorts sensationally revealing on Wednesday that the hooker had huffed his way through two chin-ups.
The Welsh media liaison writes: "I hope you don't mind me getting in touch about this, it may seem incidental in the grand scheme of things and amongst all the positive output your paper has been printing about Wales, but this is something that has very much struck a chord with the squad.
"Whilst I accept that the CupShorts are intended to be light-hearted and read with a sense of humour very much switched on, there is a central problem with this comment, referred to below, on our young hooker Ken Owens.
"The impression created is that he 'gave up' in the gym, wasn't working hard enough and didn't complete his set of chin-ups. This is factually incorrect, Ken did exactly the same circuit as the other forwards in the gym. He did weights for three main muscle groups (heavy weights) some ... exercises in between, followed by weights for four other main muscle groups.
"The chin-ups were to be done in three sets of two and were part of the exhiliary (or extra mid-level exercise) session. All of the forwards did their three sets of two as prescribed by our head of physical performance, Adam Beard, and Ken was one of those players.
"I would like to ask you to correct this misconception, ie, that Ken was not working hard in the gym and did not meet the expectations of the coaches. The comments about his appearance can be taken in the good humour in which I'm sure they were written."
Happy to clear that up, lads. Have you guys got much on today?
How many get in? Not many, if any
Closed All Black training sessions are just that: Closed - meaning no members of the public allowed in. Unless you're a hiphop artist popular among young people who wear baggy trousers.
Rapper Scribe tweets: "Just got back from All Black closed training session. I always turn into a little kid when I'm around them."
Monday's headline
A sneak preview of Monday's RugbyHerald headline should the unthinkable happen in tomorrow's semifinal:
"Henry improves on 2007 result - master coach eyes second in 2015"
Or: "Taylor bats well in opening Zimbabwe match"
A red-and-black Eden Park
Andrew Mehrtens' picks for the teams to make the final: All Blacks v Wales. "Making an Eden Park all decked out in red and black for the final," says the Canterbury legend.
Quade's payday
Once upon a time, Australian rugby players were all private school types with university degrees and professional careers plotted out for them. Conversation on the tour bus would cover the full gamut of intellectual issues.
Today's mob stay mentally active on the bus with marathon sessions of rock-paper-scissors. Forest View High School (Tokoroa) graduate Quade Cooper took this photo of the Faiinga twins paying up $300.