New Zealand 8 – 7 France

In the first of two huge sporting occasions that took place today, New Zealand finally broke the 24 year old curse and managed to regain the rugby World Cup in a tense affair at Eden Park.  Even better for the Kiwis, they put to bed their tag of ‘chokers’ and ‘bottlers’ and managed to beat their bogey team, France, in a match that mattered. They’d already hammered them in a pool match but that meant nothing today as the French were within a whisker of pulling off one of the most unlikely World Cup victories in rugby history.

In the end they didn’t, and in the last few minutes New Zealand played hide-the-ball and saw out the final seconds to get their hands on the Webb Ellis trophy.  The referee may have been a little kind to them once of twice but the French can hardly complain; without one of the most bizarre decisions of recent years in the semi-finals, they’d have been back on French soil by now.  Well done the Kiwis.

Manchester United 1 –  6 Manchester City

It says something for the global power of the beautiful game that this domestic league fixture will have been watched by many more people then the rugby final played earlier. The enormous draw that is the Manchester debby has been given even more spice in the past couple of seasons as Manchester City have been funded to a degree which allows them to compete on the same financial playing field as United.  They can even pay wages which United cannot match.

That still wouldn’t have led anybody to predict this type of score line.  Perhaps a draw, maybe a narrow win to either side, but a six – one hammering at home by City?  The sending off of Johnny Evans certainly did not help United but to concede six goals will have had Sir Alex spitting feathers and napalm.  He even said as much in a post match interview, commenting that at 4 – 1, they should have shut up shop and avoided a proper drubbing.  They didn’t, and we now have a new favourite for the Premier League title.  Check out the highlights: