This is a WORLD CUP not a tournament to make everyone living 4 hours either side of GMT happy.

We have MySky here, with around half the pop using it, and as a motor racing fan, if the Monaco Grand Prix is on at 3am my time, I record it and watch it the next morning with my croissants, OJ, and espresso.

Seems the only people pissed off about things are some saffas – why is this, still grumpy you got rolled in the quarter?

As we can all see you absolutly have no clue at all.
I suggest sticking to rugby.

Last updated 05:00 19/10/2011

It takes an Englishman to see some logic among all the French madness.

Dave Ellis is that man.

The Yorkshireman is Marc Lievremont’s defence coach. He’s on his third World Cup campaign with France after holding down the same job with Bernard Laporte in 2003 and 2007.

As Kiwis try to decipher some of Lievremont’s whacky outbursts in his ongoing battles with his players ahead of Sunday’s title match with the All Blacks, Ellis insists the head coach is as serious as he is honest.

“Some of the things he said, I would never say. Never,” Ellis said of Lièvremont’s tirade against his partying players after their shoddy semifinal win over Wales.

“But he tells it as it is. I think part of him must come from Yorkshire. He got stuck into the players because that’s how he felt. And when you ask him a question about it, he tells you how he feels.”

And Ellis was quick to point out the sense of France playing Morgan Para at No 10. That was Lievremont’s genius, converting the halfback to push out a position when France hit an early injury crisis.

Lievremont copped a ton of criticism for the shuffle and has received little praise as Parra has guided the team to the final.

“Everybody criticised Marc about Morgan Parra playing at 10. But you’ve got to take your hat off to him. It was a hell of a choice,” Ellis said.

He was happy to put his hand up for Parra, a player he has worked hard with in the miserly French defensive line.

Ellis pointed out that Parra had made 14 tackles against Wales. That was third only to loose forwards Thierry Dusautoir and Julien Bonnaire on a night when the Welsh threw everything at the French, requiring them to make 184 tackles.

To their credit they only missed eight and conceded one soft try to Welsh halfback Mike Phillips.

“It’s my third World Cup and I wanted to make it my best,” Ellis said of this tournament.

“I just wanted to give 100 per cent concentration to the job in hand. I was determined that we were going to go further than we did in the last two, and we have. I put every single minute into it.”

Not that his work has finished. He knows the All Blacks will target his area more than any team has – because they already have.

The All Blacks ran in five tries in their 37-17 pool win over France. That was more than half the tries France conceded in pool play and they have only given up three in winning their two knockout matches.

Ad Feedback With their attack spluttering, defence has been a major ingredient in getting them into their third final.

Ellis acknowledges there might be another factor in the French making the final. He happily admits that they do indeed have a guardian angel with them this time, a point emphasised by Lievremont.

“We didn’t have much luck in 2003 or 2007. We’ve had a bit of luck this time around. So you just take it.”

Ellis has learned to ride the roller-coaster that is French rugby. It certainly makes for a dramatic existence.

“With the French, they have ups and downs but they can always pull one out of the bag.

“They can have a shocker but then the following week they can come out and raise the standards and beat the best in the world.

“I think that’s the worrying factor for the other teams, knowing that while France are in the competition, that could happen to anybody.”

Ellis’ contract finishes after the final. He’d love to get a job with the embattled English team and he’s open to offers.

“You never know where the next challenge is and I’m quite excited about where it may come from. I deliberately cut my ties with London Irish earlier in the year so I could start afresh.”

- Stuff

Specially the highest NZ and Aus TV audience…

When its played in a convenient time in a particular timezone of course viewership will be higher…Except this timezone, though beneficial for the antipodeans, is a fckup for potential viewers in the rest of the world

But we shouldn’t let the facts get in the way of some “exciting” records…

well then, just to be clear i’ll restate what pops said, and which you and i agree with:

.
yes – there are some saffa’s whining and dissing.

yes – the tournament is a great success because thats what the majority of travellers as well as viewers around the world think it is (including me, even though we were cheated).

and yes – it was a helluva expensive event which had run at a helluva loss.

.

there then…simples…ja…