By SCOTT MacLEOD
Anger at a possible ban on Australians singing Waltzing Matilda at Rugby World Cup games has spread to the top.
Australian Prime Minister John Howard has reportedly said the move by the International Rugby Board was "very silly" and "ridiculous" as debate raged over what should be allowed
under rules for pre-match cultural events.
Mr Howard urged Australians to defy the ban, saying: "I resent it. How are they going to stop it? Nations determine their culture - not other people."
Banjo Paterson's ballad about a suicidal sheep rustler is regarded as an ingrained part of the national psyche, even though the words have to be splashed on a screen to help Australians remember them.
The board's decision that Matilda was merely a song, and not a national anthem or as culturally significant as the haka or war dances from South Africa, Tonga, Samoa and Fiji, was therefore greeted with umbrage.
Australians yesterday lashed back at the board, which some portrayed as a bunch of Wallaby-bashing Englishmen.
The ABC quoted Queensland historian Richard Magoffin as saying Matilda was the world's most recorded song and intrinsically Australian.
He backed its "cultural" significance by saying Matilda had four Aboriginal words in it.
Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper spoke of the "derision" of people such as Stephen Muecke, a professor of cultural studies at the University of Technology in Sydney.
Mr Muecke said the ballad was "more than just a song - it's like the Australian haka". It was better than the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, which sounded like it was "written by committee".
The most scathing attack came from journalist Greg Growden, who suggested Northern Hemisphere teams invent their own cultural events.
The English could "wave hankies in the air" and whinge about New Zealand stealing their game.
Scotland could chant "You lookin' at me, Jimmy?" before smashing bottles over their opponents' heads.
The Irish could perform Riverdance and the Italians could harass female stewards before running away.
The last time Matilda was sung before a New Zealand test was on July 26, when the All Blacks waltzed in seven tries.
