Rugby Union: Bill's back and the party goes on
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Your support makes all the difference.FOR AUSTRALIAN fans still walking on air after watching the Wallabies' triumph over France in the World Cup final on Saturday, rugby union truly is the game they play in heaven.
John Eales and his team will be welcomed like conquering heroes when they arrive home this evening with "Bill", a nickname for the William Webb Ellis Trophy that Australia has now won twice, the first nation in the history of the World Cup to accomplish that feat.
The Prime Minister, John Howard, was among thousands of fans who stayed awake until 4am on Sunday to watch the match. "It was fantastic, wasn't it?" he said yesterday. "I got a third wind and stayed up and watched a magnificent game of rugby. I thought the boys were terrific."
The match at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff was headline news on television bulletins yesterday, second only to coverage of Saturday's republic referendum.
Hotel and pub owners said that huge crowds watched the game in New South Wales and Queensland, the two states where rugby union is played. For the Adrenaline Bar, a sports bar in Brisbane that is part-owned by Eales, it was the biggest night in the club's history. By the time that the match started, there was a queue outside stretching the length of a city block.
In Sydney's Darling Harbour, the cavernous OneWorld sports bar said that more fans had turned out than for any other sporting event, despite the 2am kick-off. They were still celebrating yesterday afternoon, more than 12 hours after the team received their trophy from the Queen.
The Wallabies' win, when it came, was no less delicious for the fact that it was expected. Jimmy Thomson, a Sydney fan, said: "The French were the underdogs for the very good reason that they were not as good as us. It was a matter of sitting back and enjoying Australia's thoroughly deserved victory."
Another fan, Hugh Kerr, said: "It was a good game of rugby. We broke them in the first half and they fell to pieces. It was excellent. It was bloody terrific, actually."
The match ended too late to make the Sunday newspapers. But the early editions of today's newspapers were wall-to-wall Wallabies. The Australian devoted four ecstatic pages to them, headlining its coverage: The Greatest Team On Earth.
The Sydney Morning Herald's correspondent, Peter Fitzsimons, wrote: "It doesn't get better than this. For the past six weeks, Australia have proceeded in triumphal fashion against the best the world could throw at them; conceded only one try along the way; played bursts of truly exhilarating football, including many memorable tries; and ultimately won the day with the eyes of the world upon them."
The Herald's headline on the front of its rugby supplement was: Bill Is Back. The newspaper said of the team and their support staff: "The World Cup is a reward they all deserve. Australia should be proud. The best thing? They'll be home tonight, waiting to hear your applause."
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