So what's it all about (Alfie) ?

The Final

England 6 - South Africa 15

So it was all about this ?

Another fraught French evening, players fearful of getting caught in possession, or throwing the game breaking interception pass. And we were back to that kicking game, so beloved of Laporte's hapless warriors last weekend. In reality, it made for a poor game. The Kiwis who had hung on to their tickets so grimly, so determined to see out the last of this World Cup even though Carter and Co had long returned to the Land of the Long White Cloud, were rewarded with, well, a grim game. A great deal of blood and thunder at the breakdown, crunching defense, a display of macho sufficient to make Jean Claude Van Damme beat a hasty retreat and... kicking. High kicks, spirals to corners, deep drop outs from 22's, end over end punts, grubbers, up and unders ("cathedrales", I believe they're called in France). A veritable feast of, well, kicking.

The England team tried to out Bok the Bokke. Having been crushed 36-0 a month ago playing a clunking neither here nor there kind of game, Ashton and his merry men decided to follow the formula of the past two matches. Get territory deep, then see if Jonny's boot could engineer a lead that they could defend. Limited, but they could have won it, if Cueto had been wearing boots a size smaller.

How the fluent attacking talents sitting at home in Canterbury and Sydney would have squirmed to see the showpiece final played in such a dour manner.

But, hey, they were watching it, not playing it.