What a great game of rugby it was last Saturday night in the final Test between the Wallabies and the British and Irish Lions — and how unlucky were the Wallabies not to secure the series with what would have been a well-deserved win in the second Test, which the Lions won with a controversial try on full-time.
Last Saturday, the Wallabies showed they were capable of applying sustained pressure for the full 80 minutes and played a hard, physical game that the Lions were unable to counter. The Wallabies won 22–14 and led from the start.
Two players stood out in my mind: ex-Brumbies halfback, 35-year-old Nic White, playing in his last Test match, and big second-row forward Will Skelton, who basically monstered his opposition forwards and did some great work in the tight. Nic played a brilliant on-the-ball, judicious kicking game that had the Lions continually on the back foot.
The Wallabies are hitting form just when it counts, with the next Rugby World Cup set to be played in Australia in two years. If they keep building like this, they’ll be in with a strong chance of taking the title. The recent Lions tour also brought a financial boost, gifting Rugby Australia around $50 million — a welcome windfall that could help pay down its debt.
Whilst the Lions were covering themselves in glory, their very ordinary Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer, and his French counterpart, President Macron, were playing into the hands of the murderous terrorist rulers of Gaza — Hamas — by indicating they will recognise a Palestinian state, even while Hamas remains in control of Gaza. This is despite the fact that the Arab League — comprising Gaza’s Arab neighbours and other influential voices in the Middle East, such as Oman and the UAE — has called on Hamas to disarm, release the hostages, and condemned their horrific attack on Israel on 7 October 2023. The League also stated that Hamas should have no role in the government of any future Palestinian state.
Hopefully, Albo will stick with the current Australian position—that recognition of a Palestinian state will only follow a peace process in which the Palestinians recognise Israel’s right to exist and agree on permanent, secure boundaries, among other essential criteria for statehood. Starmer and Macron seem to be trying to outdo the mistakes of their predecessors, whose Sykes-Picot Agreement divided the Middle East after World War I, betraying both Arabs and Jews alike.
I was also appalled to see Hamas release a dreadful video of a 24-year-old Jewish musician who appears to be starving in the tunnels. He looked skeletal and was shown digging what appeared to be his own grave—shades of the Nazi death camps. Meanwhile, the image of the skeletal little Gazan boy, which drew widespread attention, seems to have been misrepresented; reports suggest he has a medical condition, and other photos show his mother and older brother appearing well-fed. While Israel could have handled aid distribution better, ultimately, it is Hamas that is preventing aid from reaching those in need. I’d suggest that aid be distributed by soldiers from the US, Egypt, and Jordan. That way, it would reach Gaza’s long-suffering citizens.
