Rugby Union - by Craig Hill

Larkham has a nose for the inflammatory
Greg Growden
Monday, June 11, 2007

Stephen Larkham's nose is a big blob - and he's none too impressed by it. As the Wallabies pivot admitted after the Fiji Test, he's starting to look like the old Parramatta league workhorse and now Wallabies defensive coach John Muggleton.

No, Muggo, marvellous character that you are, Larkham's observation is not a compliment.

Yet again Larkham plays in a Test and gets bashed. But this time not from a frenzied opponent, aiming to maim Australia's chief playmaker, but instead a missed tackle in the opening minutes, an accidental collision, and his nose suddenly becomes a fat, lumpy, broken schnoz.

And he knows those nasty South Africans are just waiting to see a graphic photograph of his hooter, so they know exactly what they have to charge at in Cape Town next weekend.

Larkham is accustomed to being a marked man, especially in Springboks territory, but it doesn't stop this fearless operator from trying to prick away at them in the hope that at last Australia can enjoy a victory in South Africa.
The Wallabies have been impatiently waiting since 2000 for such a moment.

Late on Saturday night, as the official Test function went on behind him, with the Fijian singing, involving a special cameo appearance by Lote "Tony Bennett" Tuqiri in full cry, Larkham said: "There are certainly weaknesses in the Springbok game, which we've noticed already on video. And we'll certainly be studying the video very diligently the next couple of days."

Then Larkham smiled, as best he could.