Southern dodos flee the fiscal winter

SO, Steve Hansen has gone back to the ‘Land of the Long White Cloud’, joining fellow Kiwi returnees Graham Henry and Wayne Smith in their bid to capture the Webb Ellis trophy for New Zealand for the first time since 1987.

There is no question that the Southern Hemisphere nations are now closing ranks. England's World Cup victory shook the Tri-Nations to the core and the easy arrogance that once came with knowing the world's best rugby was played south of the equator has evaporated.

At the lower level of Irish club rugby, we are also going to see a mass southern hemisphere coaching and player exodus over the next few years.