The World's Cup: Northern hemisphere tries to move on

The Australian players look on as Craig Joubert awards Australia a late match winning penalty. Photo / Getty Images

Steve Deane scours global media for an offbeat look at rugby's biggest show.

COLD LIGHT OF DAY

As the Scots cry into their Irn-Bru and munch on a consolatory deep-fried Mars bar, another view of the refereeing decision that shafted them is emerging. Turns out, according to utterly unbiased Aussie broadcaster Fox News, Craig Joubert was correct both in not going to the TMO and in his ruling that a Scotsman was accidently offside following a botched lineout. Joubert could only have gone to the TMO for four things: ball grounding; to see if a goal kick went over; an infringement leading up to a try; or foul play. Commentators and players who called for the use of the TMO - such as Michael "I don't understand why he didn't do it" Lynagh - didn't know the rules. Lynagh later accepted Joubert could not have gone upstairs.

COLD LIGHT OF DAY 2

Joubert may well have got the call spot-on, even without the TMO assistance he wasn't allowed to call upon. According to rule 11.9 accidental offside would still have occurred even if - as replays appeared to show - Nick Phipps had touched the ball in between it being knocked forward by a Scotsman and ending up in Jon Welsh's hands. While Joubert had been subjected to demands to quit the tournament immediately and never ref again, little attention seems to have been paid to the Scottish players who completely cocked up the most important lineout in their nation's history. Funny old game.

NORMAL SERVICE

With the humiliation of a Southern Hemisphere quarter-final sweep now firmly behind them, the North is moving on in traditional head-in-the-sand fashion.

"It is less than four months until the Six Nations kicks off and in a few weeks we will start looking forward to that," Welsh star Jamie Roberts told the Daily Mail.

"It is something we desperately want to win." Good on you. A second division championship is still a championship.

MISERY BOYS

Yet more woe for England. Turns out the campaign from hell has one final twist of the knife, with England fined $76,840 for failing to honour media commitments following their rogering by Australia. The English failed to come up with the requisite 10 players to break down their humiliating exit for the global media. If it truly is how we deal with adversity that defines us, then England are a bunch of sooky gits. Perhaps they just sent Sam Burgess out to explain what went wrong - it was clearly all his fault anyway.

MR DROP

Nothing says the Home Nations have all been eliminated more than the local coverage turning to mascots from a bygone era for a storyline. Oh well, at least they do it well. The Telegraph's piece about 1987 World Cup mascot Mr Drop is brilliant.

"For a short period he was the symbol of the new world order. A figure who, like Alexander the Great, united a disparate group of peoples into one common cause."
He was also the lovechild of a cross-eyed basketball and a rugby ball holding a globe. Just plain weird.