Chris Rattue: Tough questions from a hectic sporting weekend

Keven Mealamu is the country's top hooker. Photo / Getty Images

Some questions from the weekend.

1.) Will Freddy Fittler appeal to himself?

The Roosters league coach has fined himself $10,000 for a drunken hotel incident, but has escaped suspending himself. This column understands that he has opted against lodging an appeal to himself because he would have turned himself down.

2.) Is there anything better in rugby these days than a Lions tour?

Yes and no. The last tour here wasn't much chop, thanks to Clive Woodward squeezing the life out of the thing with his obsessive planning and PR madness. That, and the fact that the Lions didn't put up much of a fight. Ian McGeechan has the magic Lions touch though and he has put this wonderful institution back on track. The Lions hung in magnificently in Durban and almost shocked the world champion South Africans.

There were plenty of ifs, buts and maybes as well: Stephen Jones missed two early penalties that could have halted the Springboks' early dominance, a Lions try opportunity was rubbed out for a debatable obstruction call, and another try went begging because of poor ball retention by wing Ugo Monye. This was a terrific occasion, helped by a huge number of Lions supporters at the ground. One of the appealing aspects about the Lions is that they are a team of no tomorrows. There are no World Cup ramifications, no development plans - just the here and now.

According to the commentators, Springboks captain John Smit has rated this series as more important than the World Cup (mind you, he probably won't say that during the World Cup, especially if they win it again). As for the Lions' series prospects, they won't be given much of a chance at altitude but this team seems to have a resilient character so don't count them out.

3.) Do the Springboks need a new coach?

They are surviving on the power of their individual talents, but Pieter de Villiers looks like a man out of his depth. With the players at their disposal, the Springboks could be so much better than what they produced in Durban yesterday. They were a shambles at the end thanks to a helter-skelter replacement policy. Their defence is also highly susceptible - the Lions exposed them out wide and scored a couple of tries through major holes in the middle. The home side was also outscored three tries to two.

There is so much going right for South African rugby, but they are playing with fire hanging on to this bloke. He had no top level CV to speak of when he was appointed Jake White's successor, and it shows.

4.) Did France really win the Dave Gallaher rugby series against the All Blacks by one-all?

Apparently, on points differential.

5.) Do we need points differentials in rugby series?

Definitely not. Rugby tests should be win-or-lose, all-or-nothing deals. Points differentials cheapen the occasion.

6.) Should the All Blacks have been told by their coaches about the points differential?

One would have thought so. Just imagine, horrors of horrors, if the players had read about the rule anyway. If a rule exists to decide how a series is won or lost, the players need to know .

Thankfully, things get easier from here on. There's bound to be some cup on offer for the match against Italy on Saturday and if the game ends in a draw, working out who becomes the holder will be the least of Graham Henry's worries.

7.) Is Keven Mealamu our No 1 hooker?

He's back, on that display. Andrew Hore or no Andrew Hore, you'd start Mealamu in the Tri-Nations. It was a strong performance from the Auckland No2. From the moment we clapped eyes on a dynamic little fella about a decade ago, you knew something special had arrived.

The feeling was that he had played pretty well in a dreadful Blues campaign this season, but it was a little hard to gauge his true form. We got the answer on Saturday night though. Mealamu has still got it.

8.) Are you glad Brad Thorn had a go at rugby?

You'd better be. The All Black pack would be fragile without the magnificent man mountain.

9.) Will the Douglas Batty floppy hat catch on?

No chance. The Northland-raised Batty got a bit of TV airtime during the US Open golf tournament, which will have done nothing for New Zealand's terrific reputation as a centre of sartorial elegance. Quick, get Karen Walker on the makeover job.

10.) Is Aled de Malmanche an official All Black yet?

Yes, no, maybe. He got so close, before the big hook came out and oops, exit stage left, get off the field mate, Kevvy is okay. What a thing to do. He'd even got to stand in the huddle.

11.) Was that sushi on the All Blacks' changing-room table?

How modern. Surely, you'd want something a bit more substantial and easy to get your gnashers into after playing a rugby test. All that fiddling about - getting the wasabi and soy sauce on and unpeeling the strips of ginger - it must be so frustrating.

12.) Did the All Whites win the Confederations Cup?

It sure looked like it, given the celebrations after drawing 0-0 with Iraq. Coach Ricki Herbert absolutely monstered someone with a bear hug.

"I think tonight was another milestone for the country," said Herbert. "I think we proved a few doubters wrong." I think Herbert might have misjudged what this country rates as a milestone. Still, it was a minor confidence booster going into the World Cup finals qualifying matches against either Bahrain or Saudi Arabia.