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Friday Funnies - National Anthem goes up in smoke

It's been a week since the horror that took place prior to kick-off in South Africa's 20-13 loss to France in Toulouse. While the dust has settled somewhat, this joke of a performance is worthy of a place in our archives.

Disgracing ones country is no laughing matter, but you can't help but find Reggae singer Ras Dumisani's rendition of the South African national anthem pretty humourous.

There's plenty to choose from. Was it the out of place bongo drums, the high pitch as he got into 'Die Stem', or simply the look of utter dismay on the players faces afterwards?

On a serious note though, the wailing from Reggae Ras angered the Springboks, who then had to witness a rousing performance of the French anthem, La Marseillaise.

"Every time you go out on the field and sing the national anthem, it's very important for us and that's something that really fires you up because you know you're playing for your country," said a visibly upset Victor Matfield.

"It was a joke out there. The guys couldn't sing along to it and even the crowd were starting to laugh. It was very disappointing."

Many have speculated as to who appointed the singer. The South African embassy in France was originally blamed, but they've since distanced themselves from it saying that they had only provided the French Rugby Federation with Dumisani's agent's name, as it was the only name it had of a South African singer living in France.

SA Rugby Union President Oregan Hoskins has since revealed that he received an official apology from his counterpart in France. He said that he's accepted that French rugby officials did not deliberately try to "sabotage the anthem and, as much as the performance still rankles, we regard the matter as now closed".

Dumisani has been interviewed since, and even performed the anthem again on various radio stations. He was just as bad.

"No one told me they were upset with the singing," he said. "In fact, someone just came up to me and told me how beautifully I had sung. Everyone at the stadium told me I sang well, even after the match.

"The Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika has been my tune since I was a baby. How can I not know the words? I am the biggest reggae man in South Africa and the Springboks are my team."

Lets hope that's the last time we see Dumisani, or any other poor singer, making a mockery of an anthem before a big match. One would have thought there's an official screening process by now. I think it's safe to say that after this fiasco, there will be.

Time: 02:03

Behind the scenes with a Television Match Official

This weekend we have another feast of rugby action which is bound to produce some tight matches and the occasional match changing decision. As we saw last weekend, the man blowing the whistle is in a highly scrutinised position and needs to be on top of his game at all times.

Luckily for him, the Television Match Official (TMO) was brought into the game a few years back. Many questioned it's use, as they felt it would slow the game down and cause more harm than good.

These days though, it's become an integral part of the game, with referees referring to it whenever there's even the slightest bit of doubt involved in a decision.

Yes, at times the TMO can be overused by refs, but all in all it's a brilliant option to have and you can be sure that the whole of Ireland is today wishing that it was used in football, one of the few remaining sports that still refuses to bring the available technology into the game.

This interesting video gives us a nice behind the scenes look at what it takes to be a television match official, and how the process takes place after the referee has called for the TMO to come into play.

Time: 03:07

Saracens beat South Africa at Wembley

South Africa's midweek side failed for the second time on this tour as they went down 24-23 to Saracens at Wembley on Tuesday night.

The visitors had a healthy 18-6 lead at halftime, but Saracens, whose team started with 10 'ex' South Africans, came back thanks to tries by Ernst Joubert and Brad Barrit, as well as a 75th minute match winning drop goal by Derick Hougaard.

It sounds like a report from a Currie Cup match, but the Brendan Venter coached side (who insist they're not London South Africa), quite simply had the better second half as they mixed it up physically and scored the points when it counted.

"This was a brilliant evening for the club," Venter said. "We have shown a lot of ambition, and with the guy hitting the crossbar, us winning in the end and with 46,000 people watching - it doesn't get much better than this."

Springbok assistant coach Dick Muir said "We have brought a whole lot of youngsters over here. Some have shown they are world-class players and others have not."

The South African's were impressive in the first half, but failed to turn up in the second as Saracens came back into the match. Hougaard had a horrible night with the boot, and was even booed at times as he kept persisting with badly struck drops.

Ironically, it was he who finally slotted one late in the game, winning the match for a jubilant Saracens in front of a highly impressive amount of fans at the stadium.

It was a strange night for South African fans though, because despite losing, all Sarries points were scored by their own countrymen. Hougaard was a Bulls legend, Joubert captained the Lions, and Barrit was a Sharks midfield warrior for years. The latter has an English passport now though, so his SA days are over.

We've included some of the big hits from the match, as there were plenty on show. Enjoy.

Time: 07:26

Saracens fan wins £250 000 in the ultimate Crossbar Challenge

Last night young Stuart Tinner took home a £250 000 jackpot after completing a crossbar challenge at halftime in front of 46 000 people at Wembley.

The stadium erupted as Tinner, wearing socks to make the kick, hit the crossbar with his first attempt during halftime of Saracens 24-23 win over South Africa.

Tinner, 24, is a job centre worker from Hertfordshire and still lives at home with his parents. He’s a hooker for Welwyn RFC fifth team.

He was chosen at random, along with two others, after sending in a text message while sitting in the stands.

"I guess I just kicked it as hard as I could and I don't really believe what happened. If you're going to feel the ball then you can't have shoes on. You've got to really get a feel for the ball.

"I have already spoken to my parents and they told me to keep my feet on the ground. They saw it on television," he said.

Saracens are on a huge marketing drive to get more people to get to watch the matches live. This season they’re staging four matches at Wembley in an attempt to increase their supporter base.

Tinner hitting the crossbar will have done wonders in terms of media attention. Saracens did apparently take out insurance to cover the competition prize.

"What we try and do at Wembley is to provide a great game of rugby and extra - and with a guy winning quarter of a million at half-time, we had something a lot of people will remember," said Saracens chief executive Ed Griffiths.

"It's an amazing feeling, I'm still in a daze. It won't change me, I'm still going to work in the morning but what a night it's been. I support Saracens but I don't get to see them very frequently but you can put me down as a season-ticket holder now," Tinner enthused.

"This is the second best day of my life - the best was when I lost my virginity."

Superb.

Note: We've added a pretty funny behind the scenes clip with the jackpot winner.

Wycliff Palu's yellow card hit on Rob Kearney

One of the biggest talking points from the Ireland vs Australia draw at Croke Park was the Wycliff Palu sin-binning for an alleged dangerous tackle on Rob Kearney. We'll have another look at it as it's still a big topic for discussion.

Kearney collected the ball and rather than kick, he chose to run straight into 120kg Palu, who put in a massive hit that rocked the Ireland fullback to the floor.

Referee Jonathan Kaplan was slightly behind where the tackle took place, and obviously saw Kearney bounce off the hit from Palu, leading him to believe it had the impact of a traditional shoulder charge type hit.

"I thought it was a pretty good hit but he obviously saw it the other way," a baffled Palu explained later.

"When I started seeing him reach into his pocket, I was trying to say 'sorry let's talk about it' but I think he'd already made up his mind. I think he said no arms, shoulder charge."

Palu’s arms looked to be wrapping around his man as he made the front on tackle. There was no shoulder charging motion, and the hit seemed to be at the correct height to be considered legal.

We’ve included comments from the BBC’s Keith Wood, Jeremy Guscott, and Jonathan Davies. Interestingly, it’s the Irishman Wood who is the only one who views the hit as illegal, while the other two neutrals think it’s perfectly fine.

Ben Tune, in the Australian studio, also couldn’t believe Palu was yellow carded.

The Wallabies were playing pretty well at the time and with Palu off for ten minutes, lost a little momentum. Do you feel that Kaplan got it wrong, or was he correct to yellow card Palu?

Time: 03:22

South Africa meet Saracens for prematch drinks

Professional rugby can unfortunately come with the sacrifice of losing all that is great about the game. The off the field fun is disappearing as players are in peak physical condition, and also have to be on their best behaviour at all times.

Saracens host South Africa tonight in a friendly tour match at Wembley. A few night ago the teams got acquainted with one another and had a good old fashioned night in at the pub.

For some it was a matter of catching up with old friends, especially with the South African element that currently exists at Saracens. For others, it was a chance to meet new friends and get closer to the guys they'll be up against come kick-off at Wembley.

"Both squads got together for a meal on Sunday night and it was fantastic for the players and coaches to just sit down and have a chat and also see a few friendships renewed," said Saracens head coach Brendan Venter.

"But come kick-off both teams will want to win what promises to be a fiercely contested game and a historic occasion at one of the best sporting venues in the world."

This type of meet-and-greet probably doesn't happen very often these days, what with the hectic schedules of the players, and of course the fierce competitiveness that exists.

It's great to see though, and perhaps initiatives like this will go a long way towards bringing back more of the traditional rugby clubhouse gatherings at grounds. Not long ago, players and fans would mingle and have a drink and a chat after a match. It's sorely missed by older rugby fans, who no doubt have many tales to tell of nights spent drinking with famous players.

Festivities aside though, tonight will be a chance for the South African Dirt Trackers to redeem themselves after their poor performance against Leicester last week. It's pretty much the same team that will run out against Saracens, minus the front row from that night, who've all flown him injured.

Possibly expansive, most definitely physical, this should be an intriguing battle once again.

:: Spoiler Alert ::
Saracens have beaten South Africa 24-23 thanks to a Derick Hougaard dropgoal late in the game.

Time: 01:44
Note: Thanks to Skysports for the clip

Saracens Team: Michael Horak, Noah Cato, Kameli Ratuvou, Brad Barritt, Michael Tagicakibau, Derick Hougaard, Neil de Kock, Rhys Gill, Ethienne Reynecke, Richard Skuse, Mouritz Botha, Hugh Vyvyan, Wikus van Heerden (c), Justin Melck, Ernst Joubert. Replacements: Schalk Brits, Carlos Nieto, George Kruis, Andy Saull, Kevin Barrett, Alex Goode, Rodd Penney

South African Team: Earl Rose, Odwa Ndungane, Juan de Jongh, Wynand Olivier, Jongi Nokwe, Ruan Pienaar, Heini Adams, Wian du Preez, Adriaan Strauss, CJ van der Linde, Danie Rossouw, Andries Bekker, Jean Deysel, Dewald Potgieter, Ashley Johnson. Replacements: Bandise Maku, Heinke van der Merwe, Alistair Hargreaves, Davon Raubenheimer, Francois Hougaard, Meyer Bosman, Riaan Viljoen

Sean Lamont takes care of the Fijian wingers

The Lamont brothers returned to international rugby on the weekend as they were recalled by new Scotland coach Andy Robinson for the match against Fiji at Murrayfield. Right wing Sean managed to make his impact felt with two great hits.

Both brothers have been out of the limelight in recent times as they battled back from bad form and injury problems. The Evans brothers, Thom and Max, then emerged as the Scottish brothers on the block, which overshadowed the Lamont’s to an extent. Because of that, this recent call up came as a nice surprise to Sean.

"To get the call with the amount of talent that Scotland has in the back three, I'm very surprised, but very happy," he said.

Younger brother Rory disagreed though. "I wasn't surprised," said the full-back. "I was hopeful that we'd both get picked. Having seen Sean play, I knew he was back to his best rugby and I knew he had a good chance."

Scotland expected a bit of a physical stuff against Fiji, which is perhaps one of the reasons why Robinson went ahead with the selection of the powerful, well built outside backs.

"I expect hard hits, occasional high hits and the odd swinging arm, as you do against the islanders," said Rory. "Genetically, they're just a little bit different to British players. They're strong and quick. But I feel ready for it."

Ironically it wasn’t actually the Fijians who put in the biggest hits of the match, but Rory’s brother Sean, who as you can see here nailed both of the South Sea Islander's massive wings with two awesome tackles.

Time: 01:16

Bryan Habana cited for alleged kick on Vincent Clerc

Springbok wing Bryan Habana has been cited for an alleged kick on Vincent Clerc during the Test between France and South Africa in Toulouse on Friday night.

The French achieved a famous 20-13 win in the South of France, but once again there's been another citing after a weekend of international rugby.

Habana is accused of kicking out at Clerc, who was lying on the floor at the time.
The case will be heard by the International Rugby Board’s disciplinary committee on Wednesday.

According to citing commissioner for the match, Scott Nowland from Australia, Habana contravened Law 10.4 (c), which covers kicking an opponent.

With the clamp down on foul playing currently taking place, Habana may find himself banned for a lengthy period if deemed to be guilty. The recommended entry level for kicking an opponent is four weeks. That would mean he'd miss out on the upcoming Test against Italy, as well as the clash with Ireland the following week.

It will be interesting to see what the outcome of the decision is, considering that it wasn't as clear cut as one might think. If you want to play devil's advocate you could say that judging by Habana's reaction, Damien Traille may well have pulled the wingers leg towards him, either intentionally or when trying to pull himself up.

The main thing that would indicate that would be Habana's expression and line of sight.

On the other hand though, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and sounds like a duck...

-----------------------------------

17/11/09 UPDATE:
Bryan Habana has been cleared of foul play and is free to play against Italy this weekend.

The IRB's judicial officer for the match, Lorne Crerar, considered a series of video clips as well as the player's explanation and was unable to determine, upon the balance of probabilities, that Habana had deliberately kicked Clerc.

A statement issued by the Six Nations disciplinary committee, which oversees the European November internationals, said that a "detailed examination of the video clips shows the upward body movement of France number 15 (Damien Traille) while gripping the lower leg of Bryan Habana, pulling Habana's leg towards him and the prostrate player (Clerc)".

Time: 01:14

Ireland and Australia draw after dramatic late try

Australia’s hopes for a Grand Slam are over as Ireland scored a late try to take their meeting to a dramatic 20-20 draw in front of a capacity crowd at Croke Park.

It was a nail biting finish to an exciting match, as Ireland pounded away at the Wallaby line in the last few minutes. They were rewarded when Brian O’Driscoll breezed through a huge gap to score a late try, which was converted by Ronan O’Gara.

The Wallabies scored early on through winger Drew Mitchell, then Rocky Elsom scored in the 62nd match, which looked as though it could have been the winning try.

Tommy Bowe had scored for Ireland shortly after Australia had opened up a 13-6 lead. Matt Giteau and Ronan O’Gara exchanged penalties before Wyclif Palu was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Rob Kearney.

The Wallabies held off Ireland’s late onslaught, but eventually the pressure told as the gap opened and O’Driscoll did the rest.

"We felt like we left a lot of good opportunities out there, and big improvements can be made, but there were pleasing aspects from the game,” O’Driscoll said afterwards.

"We hung on until the death when things weren't going brilliantly for us and that is the mark of a good side. We gifted them an early try and had to battle our way back into the game.

"That was down to a bit of miscommunication between me and Ronan and it gave them a headstart.

"We had to play catch-up and that makes it difficult against a good side like Australia,” he added.

Wallaby captain Rocky Elsom was disappointed to concede the late try that cost his side the shot at achieving a Grand Slam.

"If we had defended that last phase, we would have deserved to win but who would have thought, in his 100th game, Brian would come up with the goods?," asked Elsom.

"I thought we could have stopped that last play but they executed it really well."

Time: 02:01
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England booed but come up with win over Argentina

England were booed by their home crowd at Twickenham on Saturday after a disorganised Argentina team stayed in the match to only go down 16-9 in the end.

A week ago England lost to Australia, and this performance against the South Americans has disappointed the expectant fans.

England coach Martin Johnson has since admitted that the fans were justified in being vocal about the team’s performance.

"I think we probably deserved it. Errors really hurt us. We had far too many. At times we could have kept the ball in hand but didn't," he said.

"We kicked poorly, we didn't chase well and they put the pressure back on us. It ultimately comes down to finding a way to win the game which we did. We have got to improve for next week. We can't produce a performance like that again. It wasn't good.

"At times the crowd had every right not to be happy. A lot of them kept with us and that was great."

"Jonny Wilkinson made couple of errors more than normal but his presence steadies the team. That is what veteran players do."

Argentina captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe, whose team plays Wales next weekend, indicated that England were predictable. "We analysed how England were going to play and it didn't surprise us. It will be even tougher at the Millennium Stadium.

"We put England under pressure. Our defence was really, really good. I am just disappointed that, from one little mistake, we ended up losing the game.”

Centre Gonzalo Tiese was disappointed with the loss but proud of how the team played.

"England have been together for three weeks. We just met up and had to go through every aspect of the game briefly because we didn't have enough time.

"We had a smart game plan. We played some smart rugby. We controlled the game for long periods of time. We have a good base now and hopefully with an extra week we can improve a lot," he said.