Barmy CV: Three months on the booze

BRISBANE - Rugby's Barmy Army is on a mission.

They want to see as many World Cup games as possible and have spent thousands of dollars and travelled thousands of kilometres to avoid missing an English match.

But of the group enjoying themselves yesterday at Brisbane's Palace Backpackers Hotel, only two had succeeded.

Paul Biles, 34, and Craig Perrett, 21, have travelled from Perth to Adelaide to Melbourne, and finally to Brisbane, for tomorrow's game between England and Uruguay.

The pair also have tickets for the quarter-finals, semifinals and final.

"Wearing the white shirt of England has given us a licence to act in ways that would otherwise be unacceptable," Perrett said.

"The English support is only going to grow, and it's only going to get more intense.

"We see ourselves as the equivalent of the English 'Barmy Army' - we wear the shirt with pride, have a laugh and get very drunk.

"This is the advent of our second student lifestyle."

While the exchange rate has taken the pressure off their finances, they still claim Australian beer is much too expensive.

"I need more money to keep going," James Marshall said.

"I've just checked my bank balance and it's pretty low, so I think a few of us are going to have to call our families at home for help."

The group of about 10 are from the outer fringes of London and admit that, while they are huge rugby fans, the World Cup is an excuse to travel.

"We have all quit our jobs because we were kind of in a rut, and following the English team around Australia seemed like a good excuse," 22-year-old Ryan Williams said.

"And it will look good on our CV: three months on the booze in Australia."

pf* An Australia-England final showdown is the expected outcome of the World Cup, according to a handful of former Wallabies.

John Eales, Chris Handy, Tim Horan and Toutai Kefu all felt the hosts would meet the team ranked No 1 in the world at Sydney on November 22, according to a poll held by the Australian newspaper.

Former first five-eighth Paul McLean also predicted the Wallabies would reach the final, but believed it would be against France.

He said England could not handle a team "playing differently," so he expected France to win their anticipated semifinal.

Andrew Slack is the only former player of the six who tipped the All Blacks to emerge from Australia's expected side of the draw and make the final.

"I don't think we're any wiser at this stage of the tournament, but I've always thought it would be an England-All Blacks final," Slack said.

McLean felt Australia would be motivated to the hilt for their anticipated semifinal against the All Blacks

"I saw the Wallabies the morning after Bledisloe II [in Auckland]. They know they can beat New Zealand."

Eales, who lifted the trophy after Australia beat France in the 1999 final, believed their semifinal against the All Blacks would be "a toss of the coin affair, but the Wallabies know how to beat them."

- NZPA

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