At altitude the result is that usually the ball goes dead and a drop-out ensues.They are supposed to be playing for a cup named after a Rugby schoolboy, William Webb Ellis, who picked up the ball and ran. There is unease here at the discrepancy between referees in the interpretation of the laws, and it is given as one reason for excessive kicking out of hand and for the excessive number of penalties awarded.Derek Bevan of Wales, who refereed the 1991 World Cup final and the opening match between South Africa and Australia last month, is considered to be one of the best in the world, but New Zealand were unhappy with his performance in their 48-30 victory over Scotland on Sunday.The All Blacks, who have introduced a number of talented three-quarters into this tournament, are deliberately attempting to play a more dynamic, exciting game, one which is very different from the New Zealand stereotype of masterful forwards and a tight game plan.Laurie Mains and Earle Kirton, the All Blacks coaches, were both critical of Bevan after the Scotland match “It is as if they have become too important,” Kirton said. “There is no general philosophy about the game and they concentrate far too much on technicalities They’re obsessed, for example, with the offside law. Scotland were also unhappy in that they weren’t allowed to play a rucking game.”Nor was he impressed with the handling of the South Africa-Western Samoa game by the Scottish referee, Jim Fleming. Bevan, who sometimes gives the impression of having eyes in the back of his head, was bound to upset the All Blacks because he did not allow them to get away with any off- the-ball offences. Mains said he did not understand a lot of his decisions.Kirton stood out as an adventurous stand-off and he also had a spell with Harlequins in London.

“If we played rugby in New Zealand like England are playing here we’d be in trouble,” he said. “We have to play an entertaining game otherwise the spectators would turn to rugby league.”You can play a 10-man game at Twickenham because a lot of people are there for the occasion rather than the rugby. It’s a social day where you take the hamper into the car park and meet friends. It’s possible to win the cup with a big pack, kill the ball on the ground and have a specialist goal-kicker. We could do that but it’s not rugby.”Meanwhile, Scotland, who were preparing to fly home, will have to rebuild for next season. Apart from losing their captain, Gavin Hastings, who has retired from international rugby, they will also have to look for a new coach and a new manager because Dougie Morgan and Duncan Paterson are also retiring. The SRU said yesterday that the coach who would replace Morgan would not necessarily come from Scotland.Kenny Milne, the hooker, and Iain Morrison, the flanker, also played their last games for Scotland in the quarter-final against the All Blacks..

The Wallabies – those who are not staying on in South Africa for rest and recuperation – leave for home today with their failure to beat England having sent Australian rugby into a frenzy of uncertainty. Bob Dwyer, the coach, said before the quarter-final that he did not believe the Australian public to be so fickle as to abandon a game they had taken to as never before since Dwyer’s team won the 1991 World Cup.
That theory is about to be tested, since not only is it well known that Australians love a winner but the temptations of Rupert Murdoch’s Super League have suddenly become even more enticing amid the disillusionment of defeat.As many as eight of the beaten Wallabies – Horan, Little, Burke, Roff, Smith, Bowen, Ofahengaue and Tabua – are targets for rugby league. On top of that, Michael Lynagh, the captain, will probably announce his retirement in the next week and David Campese is thinking along the same lines.There may be others, too, which means that the greatest of all eras in Australian rugby has ended Lynagh passed 900 Test points in the England match. Campese won his 91st cap, has 61 Test tries and will keep going towards his century only if the selectors give him reason to believe he will not be dropped.On the evidence of the past three weeks he may well be disappointed.