Will Ireland miss Poite’s scrum scrutiny?

Australian sport is going through a rough time at present, something an ultra-competitive, sports-mad nation is finding difficult to come to terms with.

It hasn’t helped either that a series of off-field incidents involving players from a range of professional codes, and revolving mostly around alcohol abuse, has also had a negative impact on the public’s perception of their once-revered sportsmen.

Rugby union wasn’t immune from the cross-fire and I found it quite strange to see the rugby fraternity in the country almost welcoming a Lions victory in the recent series, once it meant the coaching tenure of Robbie Deans came to an end.