THE more I read the protestations of the Anglo-French protagonists from Premier Rugby Limited (PRL) and the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR), the more my blood boils.

His passing went largely unnoticed, even within the rugby family, which was strange, given how he shaped the careers of so many promising players in their formative years.

It’s only a few months since I last put pen to paper yet so much has happened in the intervening period, it’s hard to know where to begin.

Agony or ecstasy, there really is nothing in between. So said Warren Gatland an hour after Saturday night’s captivating third Test in Sydney, and how right he is.

It’s a dozen years since our columnist was manager of the Lions tour heading into a decisive final test in Sydney. He’s been facing his demons this week.

With Warburton out, if Deans chooses to recall George Smith to the fray, we could see a sizeable shift in that battle at the breakdown.

The haunted look on Brian O’Driscoll’s face at the final whistle said it all.

One of the downsides of all these evening kick-offs is that it’s well past midnight before you shut down the laptop.

It was difficult not to have a degree of sympathy for the Australians on Saturday night.

Hard to believe I’m here more than a week already with return visits to Sydney and Canberra already fading into the background. Sydney has grown on me over the years and is now one of my favourite cities in the world.