Inside Sport December 2015

WE TAKE OUR selections of the Top Ten Australian Sportspeople of the Year very seriously around here. As you would. But I have a hunch we’re going to get some stick this time around – as we usually do. But maybe more than usual. Why no Nat Fyfe, Brownlow medallist? No Massimo Luongo – player of the tournament in a winning Asian Cup campaign? No Mitchell Starc – player of the One-Day World Cup and undoubtedly the world’s best white-ball bowler? No Rohan Dennis, winner of the Tour Down Under, world hour record-holder, world champion team time-triallist, Tour de France stage-winner? No Matthew Dellavedova, toast of the USA when the NBA Finals came around? No Israel Folau, deemed the rugby player of the year (again) when they handed…

THREATENED KIWIS The Wellington Phoenix haven’t been the most successful franchise in the A-League, but they’re not Robinson Crusoe. They do, however, add a bit of something to the competition, and it would be nice to think that the A-League has added something to New Zealand football in return. Did the participation of the Phoenix in the A-League assist, even in a small way, in NZ qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and nearly doing so in 2014? I’d like to think so. One problem with NZ football is that it is stuck in the Oceania Football Confederation along with a number of other fine nations who, despite their many other qualities, can’t play football. So NZ can organise a few friendlies with nations that can actually play, but to…

WINNER Couldn’t help but love those internet memes that illustrated how rugby’s “World” Cup only applied to half the planet. Yep, it’s a proud moment for our rugby hemisphere, which went to the game’s historic birthplace and proceeded to lock their northern counterparts out of the tournament’s last four. Furthermore, the open, athletic style of the south proved itself an effective way to win, as well as an attractive way to play. Particular credit should go to Argentina, now a two-time Cup semi-finalist and on the cusp of joining Super Rugby – seeing how the sport has progressed there over the last few decades is proof of what can be cultivated when a game commits itself to being global. Some astute observers noted that there was a bit too much…

Scottish pro Chris Doak cared not for the burn at the Old Course, splashing out for his second shot at the Dunhill Links Championship. His luck would run out, though – Doak withdrew a round later because of a wrist injury. This is how you explode out of the tunnel pre-game ... Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ receiver Vincent Jackson was Action Jackson as his team went up against Jacksonville. Fired up as he was, Jackson had only one catch, but the Bucs did win. First thing that comes to mind: hope that bloke is covered for dental ... Mike Sawyer copped one from Jimmy Lange in their light heavyweight bout in Virginia, which Lange won – no surprise – by TKO. Carlos Sainz experienced a force of 46G in this scary…

“This will probably go down as the best loss in my career ... We know the history of Wales and we are the first team to actually qualify properly.” – Welsh football star Gareth Bale, on his team making it to Euro 2016. Wales had made only one previous major tournament appearance, the 1958 World Cup, via a play -off after another team withdrew. “Dick Johnson hasn’t finished heaps of races, so he can’t talk.” – V8 driver Renee Gracie, half of the all-girl duo racing at the Bathurst 1000. Johnson had said the pair was a million-to-one to finish the Great Race. “I was relieved after the first press conference. I have said some stupid things in my life. But never in English ... Did I dream about becoming…

AUSTRALIA’S LATEST WORLDBEATERS A roll call of world champions emerged from last month’s IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha. Carlee Beattie (Qld, above left) soared to the top of the podium (finally!) in the T47 long jump for athletes with arm deficiencies. Her trophy cabinet already contained the silver medal from the London 2012 Paralympic Games, as well as a silver and bronze from the IPC Athletics World Championships in 2013 and 2011 respectively. She was thrilled to make the step up: “I’ve always been the bridesmaid, so to have this before Rio is such a massive confidence boost. It will give me the drive to keep going, to want it even more and to make sure that I can do the same thing again at the Paralympic Games” Scott…