Victory march

So, at long last, we've won something. The Rugby World Cup. And I'm not really sure how I feel about it.

Yes, I was nervous during extra time and when the final whistle went, of course I was pleased. But even then I hadn't really been able to get into the whole spirit of things, and I'd been relatively indifferent to our progress to the final.

I'm guessing it might have been something to do with the fact that we were favourites from the start. For a change, we were expected to win. In each of the knockout matches we just seemed to grind out victories with a kind of inevitability - even when we were behind and apparently up against it (as we were against Wales, France and Australia), the thought never crossed my mind that we (or, rather, the quite brilliant Jonny Wilkinson) wouldn't turn it around and go on to win. Part of the perverse thrill of supporting Newcastle is that we can lose just as handsomely as we can win - if we find ourselves a goal down or a goal up, that's no indication of how the game will finish. That unpredictability is what I felt was lacking, and perhaps why, for me at least, the excitement was too.

I'm also already sick of the jingoistic triumphalist whitewash across the media - it's even worse than the anguished post-mortem that would have droned on and on had we lost. Of course I'm sure the same would be true if we won the football World Cup - but then that's a sport I really care about.

So, in many ways the sporting result that gave me the most pleasure on Saturday wasn't the rugby at all, but Newcastle's comprehensive 3-0 defeat of Man City at St James's Park, a fine recovery after the 5-0 thrashing we suffered at Chelsea and a result which takes us up (temporarily, at least) to sixth in the table - not bad after a catastrophic start to the season. A clean sheet, two goals from the returning Shearer, the welcome appearance of two other lynchpins of the side (Woodgate and Dyer) and a torrid second half for that moneygrabbing traitor Distin - all in all, an excellent afternoon. Keegan's been waxing lyrical about Anelka for the last few months - nice to see Shearer remind him in no uncertain terms quite who's the best striker he's ever signed as a manager.