From the Touchline

A lighter look at what is happening at Rugby World Cup 2011.

The number

3 - The number of days until the first game of RWC 2011, and the number of head coaches in charge at a record third World Cup:
- Graham Henry (with Wales in 1999, with New Zealand in 2007 and 2011)
- Eddie O'Sullivan (with Ireland in 2003 and 2007, with USA in 2011)
- John Kirwan (with Italy in 2003, with Japan in 2007 and 2011)

He said it

"I suppose I won't be able to say I'm the best rugby player in the family any more."
- Canada fly half Ander Monro isn't getting carried away by the news that he may be distantly related to Honor Dillon, the fiancee of All Black Dan Carter.

Hollow cheers

Wallabies coach Robbie Deans was impressed by the crowd that turned out at Auckland Airport on Tuesday morning to welcome the Australian team.

But he couldn’t help but notice that some of the younger members of the crowd were not there by choice. And possibly weren’t wearing their colour of choice.

“It was great to see all the school kids,” he told the media at Australia’s first press conference, before going on to sheepishly admit: “They possibly weren’t all excited about having to wear gold. But at least they’re getting involved.”

There’s no ‘I’ in team

A large banner in the Wales team room at their Wellington hotel reminds players that the team is more important than the individual.

It reads: “When you put on that jersey the name on the front is more important than the name on the back.”

Presumably it’s not the sponsor they’re referring to.

Dylan's despatches

England hooker Dylan Hartley had his video camera out at a media session on Tuesday, but the team's in-house reporter was a bit behind the news.

Asked by a New Zealand TV crew if he was looking forward to the official welcome and capping ceremony at Dunedin Town Hall later in the day, Hartley responded: "We're going to the Town Hall later? I didn't know that," before turning to England's media manager and saying: "Thanks for the briefing."

Cold comfort

Post-match ice baths may be all the rage with conditioning coaches these days, but Ireland's Jonathan Sexton and Ronan O'Gara obviously like to do things the natural way.

The fly halves stripped down to a pair of shorts and took to Queenstown's Lake Wakatipu on Tuesday for a quick post-training dip.

The lake's temperature at this time of year is usually around 10-15 degrees Celsius and the pair gingerly entered the water before enjoying a brief splash around.

Perhaps they were trying to decide who had the ice-cool temperament to claim Ireland's No.10 shirt as his own.

Grinning Bull

Three-time Rugby World Cup player and 2003 champion Phil Vickery says he's the "luckiest (expletive deleted) in the world".

The 'Raging Bull' has scored a job as a commentator for UK broadcaster ITV and says he is relishing the chance to watch the 2011 tournament from a warm, cosy box on the other side of the fence while catching up with old mates.

And in something of a shock, the former England captain is hoping the Kiwis will lift the Cup.

"Everyone's always on their backs," he says. "They look really fit and really fast at the moment and I'd like to see them get up.

"At the end of the day though, if we see a northern hemisphere-southern hemisphere final in October, I'll be happy."

Boks grounded

Sparks were literally flying in front of the media troops attending South Africa's training session in Wellington on Tuesday.

'Invited' by security to wait outside the Rugby League Park complex until the team had arrived, they looked on as the team bus momentarily grounded its rear bumper heading up the steep road to the ground.

Their mirth was short-lived, however, when it became apparent that the players, rear bumper permitting, will get a bus trip up the hill each day while the press corps with all their heavy photographic gear will have to scale the 200m 'west face' on foot.

Lovely boy Johnno

England manager Martin Johnson has a reputation as a hard and uncompromising enforcer, but it apparently was not always thus.

Russell Alve, who partnered Johnson in the second row when he played rugby in New Zealand as a 19-year-old, says Maori teammates nicknamed the newcomer 'lovely boy' after the character La-dee-da Gunner Graham, an effete aesthete in the 1970s TV sitcom It Ain't Half Hot Mum.

“He was a little bit wet behind the ears," Alve told the UK's Daily Telegraph.

Colin Meads, who was chairman of the King Country side and Johnson's mentor at the time, is reported as saying: “Martin was a quiet, nice young fella. He changed from being a soft Pom and then he developed.

“I said to him, ‘Martin, you’ve got to get more aggressive. You are allowed to hurt the opposition when you’ve got the ball. You’re allowed to knock someone over. You’ve got to get more aggressive’."

Luck of the draw

Despite their tender years, Taylor Paris, 18, and Conor Trainor, 21, shoulder some of the most arduous responsibilities in the Canada squad.

As the youngest members of the Canucks, they must ensure the team's moose mascot - name Captain Green - obeys a strict schedule. He must attend breakfast, lunch and dinner, each official team function and training. During games, he is expected to take his spot beside the halfway flag, except if it is raining when he might get a space on the bench.

Full back Matt Evans says the mascot is named after a former Canadian army captain who was paralysed serving in Afghanistan and later spoke at a fundraiser attended by team members.

"This was showing our respect for him and what he's done. His speech was just an inspiration," he said.