Inside Sport October 2015

IT WAS A TRICKY MONTH to choose a cover subject – a bit like being a Wallaby selector! Of course it had to be rugby union’s time to take centre stage, with the Rugby World Cup kicking off in Britain right about NOW. Israel Folau is deservedly the Wallabies’ poster boy, recently voted player of the year for the second year running, but we’ve featured him on the front and in feature articles a couple of times already. It was definitely time to share the love around. So who, we asked ourselves, was the second best player in the squad – as in, the second most likely player picked to start in any of the big matches? That came to the question of: Michael Hooper or David Pocock?…

BENNETT'S RETURN Your article about Wayne Bennett's return to the Brisbane Broncos ("Back In The Saddle", Sept edition) gives him just about all the credit for the side's resurgence this season. But I am definitely reserving judgment until we see how far they get in the finals. I know he can coach a bit, but the reason he was brought back was to get these underachievers over the line and win a competition. Until he guides this mob to a premiership win, the jury will have to stay out on Sir Wayne. He may have turned St George around when he was there, but the guy certainly didn't perform any miracles when he was at Newcastle. And then he left them in a mess. Let's wait and see how Brisbane…

LOSER The shock of Australia’s loss in the Ashes, one in hindsight that eminently felt like it could have been won, was always liable to produce some ridiculous reactions. WAG-shaming was the most absurd of them all, an utterly sexist indictment – we lost because our batsmen can’t focus on the swinging ball with their sweethearts around? – that seemed to have been dragged out of a bygone past. Maybe it’s an echo of cricket’s hidebound traditionalism, but this is a contention without much proof to begin with, and is totally out of step with present-day conventions of family life or the demands of international cricket. Whether the WAGs deserve as much attention as they get is a fair question, but being blamed for their partners’ performance is crossing a…

WIN Think you can write a funnier caption for this pic than our humour-challenged Inside Sport staffer? Check out page 87 for your chance to prove your wit and win stuff.…

“Speak about FIFA? I don’t care about FIFA and Qatar. I don’t give a fuck.” – Cristiano Ronaldo, ornament to football. “I was very proud of Dad and what he achieved in Ashes cricket, but actually my heroes were slightly different growing up. They weren’t English. As a young kid you get influenced by winning teams, don’t you? So Glenn McGrath is my hero.” – Stuart Broad, with an interesting confession. “Forty-four people voted for Beijing, but what are their motivations? A large number of the voters represent countries who don’t even take part in the Winter Olympics ... They may be thinking about how voting for China could help them down the road, or how a few weeks in Beijing may be more preferable to a few weeks in…

AUSTRALIA’S LATEST WORLDBEATERS Bronte Campbell is the fastest woman swimmer in the world after taking the 50 and 100m freestyle double at the recent World Swimming Championships in Kazan, Russia. Which also finally makes her the fastest woman swimmer in her family, after edging out sister Cate in both events. She is only the third swimmer in history to win the women’s 50-100m freestyle double at the world titles. “That was unbelievable” said Bronte, who finished with three golds and a bronze; she was part of the women’s team that won the 4x100m freestyle relay, alongside sister Cate Campbell as well as Emily Seebohm and Emma McKeon, in a new championship record; she also won a bronze in the 4x100m medley relay. “Everything at this meet has gone right for…