But let the record show that, by and large, Australian sport and sporting champions were solidly behind YES. All the major sports declared and proselytised for yes, as did nearly all of our Indigenous champions from Evonne Goolagong-Cawley and Ash Barty to Cathy Freeman, Adam Goodes and Johnathan Thurston \u2013 not to mention a slew of non-Indigenous sportspeople led by the likes of Darcy Moore and Nathan Cleary.<\/p>\n
The only sportsperson I can think of who came out against it, who people took even half<\/em>-seriously was Sam Newman, yes? And when Newman called for people to boo the Welcome to Country at the AFL and NRL Grand Finals a fortnight ago, that call was magnificently rejected.<\/p>\n The unity and beauty engendered by that rejection as Australian sports fans listened to the Welcomes to Country in respectful silence was brilliant.<\/p>\n Nathan Cleary declares support for the Voice<\/span>Credit: <\/span>TIKTOK\/@ROYAHSEE<\/cite><\/p>\n I repeat, the referendum will likely go down. But Australian sport can be proud of the role it played in at least trying for unity and respect.<\/p>\n Fire at will. I care about this, and cannot help but say it.<\/p>\n And so to the pointy end of the Rugby World Cup.<\/p>\n I am not sure if the shadow that just flitted over my soul is contemplation of the Wallabies recent demise, or comes from them actually passing by overhead on their way home . . . but this weekend will still bring some great rugby clashes.<\/p>\n TFF, in Marseilles as we speak, will be attending Wales versus the Michael Cheika-coached Argentina side late Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n That\u2019s the same Wales, who \u2013 did we mention? \u2013 put 40 points on the Wallabies a fortnight ago. They will win.<\/p>\n The next day, also at Marseilles, I\u2019ll be reporting on Fiji against England, where you must bear in mind that our Pacific island cousins beat England at Twickenham six weeks ago. What a wonderful thing for rugby if Fiji could make it through to the semi-finals. It is unlikely, but possible \u2013 helped by the fact it is against nature for such an ordinary English side to make it to the World Cup semis.<\/p>\n Maro Itoje and England have some work ahead of them.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n The other quarter-finals, in Paris, are the truly colossal clashes. It is one of the few failings of this grand tournament that \u2013 because the seedings were locked in years ago and are now totally out of date \u2013 the four best sides in the tournament are all on one side of the draw. It will see mighty Ireland take on the All Blacks late on Saturday evening, French time.<\/p>\n Ireland has never won a quarter-final in any World Cup, but if there is still any justice in the world they will do it this time. This All Blacks side is a pale imitation of the great All Blacks sides of the past, and should be handed their hats.<\/p>\n And finally, tomorrow, the brilliantly skilled French hosts play a brutal South African side, which will see a real contest of two completely different styles. It will be good for rugby if the jour de gloire <\/em>for France arrives, and I hope it does.<\/p>\n Which brings us to Eddie Jones, and the ongoing saga of whether he is or isn\u2019t going to hook up with Japanese rugby.<\/p>\n Not only has Tom Decent\u2019s scoop a fortnight ago \u2013 of Eddie liaising with Japanese officials just before the Cup, in Paris, when he is not even a year into his five-year contract with Rugby Australia \u2013 not gone away, it gains gravitas with every passing day.<\/p>\n Endless stories in the Japanese media appear to confirm he is the front-runner for the spot. Eddie says he can\u2019t control what the Japanese media write.<\/p>\n But yes, you can, Eddie. You need to take a page out of the book of US Civil War general William Sherman, who, when back in the 1860s was asked to run for US President, famously said: \u201cIf nominated, I will not run. If elected, I will not serve.\u201d<\/p>\n And that would be the end of it.<\/p>\n Put out a statement to the Japanese media: \u201cThis is all nonsense. I have never been interviewed, and am not available any time in the next four years.\u201d<\/p>\n Boom. Game over. What I can\u2019t figure is why, if the stories are not true, you appear to have made no such statement? This is continuing to make Australian rugby bleed. You have to end it, one way or another.<\/p>\n Australian Cameron Smith is one of the stars of the LIV Golf series.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n TFF has been bemused by the recent whinges from LIV Golf identities over how their efforts are not being recognised by the Official World Golf Ranking, meaning \u2013 as their rankings drift south with every passing month \u2013 those with no major wins entitling them to automatic invitations \u2013 can neither play majors nor qualify for the Olympics.<\/p>\n Guys, bring it in tight.<\/p>\n When you decided to take your clubs and ball to join LIV; when you decided to leave the tour that had made you and take the blood money of the Saudis, ignoring the stench, that came with a couple of other things.<\/p>\n One was that you were joining an absolutely private golf tour, a closed shop where no one can simply qualify. It was pointed out to you that by joining LIV you would damage golf, and the tour.<\/p>\n Dustin Johnson sprays champagne after his 4 Aces team won LIV Golf Adelaide.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty<\/cite><\/p>\n You didn\u2019t care. You had made your choice to take the money, and so you did. You gave up all the rest, the rankings, the glory, the chance of Olympic selection because the money was just too good to knock back.<\/p>\n But now you want back into legitimacy, to a comfy seat in the very clubhouse that LIV tried to burn down?<\/p>\n No. Just, no.<\/p>\n Still, speaking of LIV, may I pose a serious question: does anyone have an update? I know they played a tournament in Adelaide a few months back, but have not heard of them since. I thought Greg Norman told us the new format, and these players, were going to take the world by storm? It hasn\u2019t. It is out there, drifting around somewhere I guess, but no one seems to care. It is not rating, making headlines or generating even the tiniest amount of buzz. The players are drowning in money, no doubt, but that\u2019s all they\u2019ve got.<\/p>\n Victorious Collingwood skipper Darcy Moore: \u201cI\u2019ll be voting yes. To me, I feel like it\u2019s an intuitive next step and seems to be an important and practical way to help Indigenous Australians and recognise them in the constitution. There\u2019s sort of nothing in there that I\u2019m in the wording of the question that seems to be problematic to me. It all seems pretty straightforward. So I\u2019ll be voting yes.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Sir Clive Woodward on our Eddie: \u201cWhen we started to fall out was that [2019] World Cup final. They played a brilliant [semi-final] game against the All Blacks, but that final was a complete no-show. I don\u2019t think Jones ever recovered from that. It was such a massive disappointment; he\u2019s never been the same coach since.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Melbourne\u2019s Steven May thinks they should have won the AFL premiership: \u201cAnd I don\u2019t want to talk about them constantly. But you know, we lose to Collingwood, and they go on to win the flag, and it f***ing hurts. Because we\u2019re a better team than them, we should have smoked them. And to sit there on grand final day and watch them hoist the cup, and get the medals, I\u2019m sitting there going, \u2018Jeez, our team\u2019s so much better than these guys\u2019. We should\u2019ve been out there, but we weren\u2019t.\u201d <\/em> Give him a gold medal in the oldest game of the lot: shoulda-woulda-coulda?<\/p>\n Collingwood\u2019s Jordan De Goey with the ultimate look at the scoreboard response: \u201cI guess I\u2019m the one with the medal around my neck at the moment, so that\u2019s all I can really say.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Michael Lynagh on the Wallabies: \u201cIn Australia, we have a federated system and states are their own little fiefdoms and they don\u2019t like each other and don\u2019t trust Rugby Australia. There\u2019s got to be a change in how we\u2019re doing those things. They are big, bold decisions that will not be popular but if we don\u2019t there will be real problem in going the same way we\u2019re going . . . there\u2019s a real possibility of Australian rugby disappearing down a big sinkhole.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Letter from Official World Golf Ranking advising saying it won\u2019t recognise LIV tournaments: \u201cSimply put, the board committee does not believe it is equitable to thousands of players who strive every day to get starts in OWGR eligible tournaments to have a tour operate in this mostly closed fashion.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Michael Payne, who was the IOC\u2019s director of marketing and TV for 20 years on why cricket \u2013 absurdly, in my view \u2013 has been let into the Olympics: \u201cThe TV revenue from India is currently peanuts. And if you are Thomas Bach at the IOC, with a mission to promote the Olympic movement around the world, you look at your globe and you\u2019re doing pretty well except for one glaring geographic hole: India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. And one way to short-circuit that is to put their sporting religion into the Olympic programme.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ange Postecoglou on Australia as a soccer nation: \u201cI just don\u2019t think the nation as a whole has that inside them to understand you can make an impact on the world of football, but it requires a kind of nationalistic approach that I just don\u2019t think Australians at their core are really interested in. It\u2019s kind of insurmountable, you can\u2019t make the necessary steps.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Bryson DeChambeau on how LIV changed golf for the better, no, seriously: \u201cPeople are going to say that it\u2019s sad that we came over here. But . . . we want to continue to change and grow the game in places like Saudi Arabia, like Singapore, like Australia.\u201d<\/em> Yes, mate, such selfless devotion to growing the game, you are the Christian missionaries of your age.<\/p>\n Statement attributed to Josh Addo-Carr after he weighed in to the Middle East situation: \u201cAs a proud First Nations man, I saw a message of support against displacement and land rights, and I shared this without full consideration to, or understanding of, the current events happening overseas.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n Ange Postecoglou. <\/em>Led Tottenham to the top of the Premier League standings.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
No Wallabies, but the grand show goes on<\/h3>\n
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Eddie can end the drama \u2026 if he wants<\/h3>\n
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LIV golfers get their money, but that\u2019s it<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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What They Said<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Team of the Week<\/strong><\/h3>\n