'Thank you Paddy O'Brain (sic), you won the World Cup for New Zealand'

All Blacks halfback Piri Weepu. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Mr Calm

Last Sunday was a year to the day that All Black cult hero Piri Weepu broke his leg. That didn't stop the chunky Wainuiomata wonder banging over four penalties against the Australians, despite feeling a bit crook on the paddock. So it's no surprise that a T-shirt conceived on Friday afternoon and printed at the weekend has become a huge hit.

"It's gone crazy," Rob Ewan of Mr Vintage told Cup Shorts. "It's our best-selling T-shirt ever."

Chariots of the gods

The IRB wallahs know how to party. It comes as no surprise they enjoy riding in style too. Land Rover has laid on suitable chariots for the privileged rulers of the game, but a snout close to their rarefied atmosphere tells us the vehicles must pass certain requirements. For starters, they must be hardly used, we're told, with less than 3000km on the clock. Imagine one delegate's horror when a fresh, shiny beast turned up having covered 3600km. Wouldn't do at all, was the ruling, and an appropriate replacement was sought.

Heavenly signs

A sign outside a church in Devonport reads: Please God let them win.

It doesn't identify "them" but this section is "The Paper They Read In Heaven".

Merry Xmas Bryce

The gnashing and gnarling out of South Africa against New Zealand whistler Bryce Lawrence is becoming more desperate.

The latest bleat over the reigning world champions' early exit comes courtesy of Springbok conditioning coach Neels Liebel. Writing on his Facebook page, the "quiet and controlled" Liebel complained: "Thank you Paddy O'Brain (sic), you won the World Cup for New Zealand," he wrote.

"Give the Boks a Kiwi ref and the Aussies v NZ a SA ref. A set up for Kiwi success."

The online petition organised in the "quiet and controlled" republic to stop Lawrence refereeing again has topped the 80,000 mark. They want to hit 100,000 before Sunday's final whistle.

Place your bets

The TAB has taken a large bet on Sunday's World Cup final and the punter should know early in the piece whether it's a winner or not.

The bet was $50,000 at $2.70 on a successful All Black penalty goal being the first scoring play in the final. If that is the case, the return would be $135,000 for a clear profit of $85,000.

The first scoring play is one of at least 40 betting options that are currently available on the match.

One that has already attracted a lot of interest is the comparison of points scored by Grant Fox in the 1987 final, also against France, and how many Piri Weepu will score this week. Fox contributed 17 points to the All Blacks 29-9 triumph in 1987 and he is the $1.40 favourite. Weepu is currently paying $3.25 to exceed 17 points, while the tie has been priced at $10. The All Blacks are $1.08 favourites to win the Cup with France at $7.

Going backwards

Quade Cooper's NRL hopes have been bruised by his less-than-stellar show over here. News Limited reported yesterday that Cooper could now expect offers between A$250,000 ($322,000) to A$300,000 a season from the league clubs - not the A$700,000 a season he demanded earlier this year.

A quick calculation suggests Cooper's cup form lapse could cost him nearly A$1.4 million if he had been planning a three -year rugby league career.

Before we leave it

Here's some more Quade-speak (translations to this column, please) from the Daily Mail: "The first thing I have learned is the obvious one. Everyone is trying to get at me personally, but I think I am definitely going to be better off for it," Cooper said.

"The way everyone came at me from all angles, whether it be media, the crowd, trying to make a big buzz out of it. I got used to it and I think I grew a lot of confidence out of it.

"I am not in a position to point fingers about that or have a cry about it. It's there, it's going to happen, and it has happened.

"For me it was just about getting on and doing the best that I could for my team, and I feel that I did that."