Where's Wally? Petaia's job far from child's play

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Where's Wally? Petaia's job far from child's play

By Georgina Robinson and Tom Decent

Wallabies rookie Jordan Petaia has been slightly below-par when it comes to perhaps his most important job at the World Cup; looking after Wally the team mascot.

For years, the youngest member of each Australian touring squad is tasked with keeping Wally close at all times and there are always attempts to stitch up the youngster.

Teen sensation: Petaia chills out with Wally.

Teen sensation: Petaia chills out with Wally. Credit: Rugby Australia Media

Even Petaia admits he has struggled to keep Wally with him at all times, though the Cauliflower did notice the team mascot make an appearance at Australia’s captain’s run in Sapporo last Friday.

"There’s been a few [times]," said Petaia on Tuesday. "It went missing in Perth. I lost it in Odawara I think. That was on me, I left it in the hotel somewhere. He’s safe now. I can’t keep track."

During a flight to New Zealand last month, flight attendants made an announcement asking if someone had lost a toy Wallaby. With his tail between his legs, Petaia had to put his hand up and collect Wally.

Rest assured, however, Petaia is taking better care of Wally than some others. According to Will Genia, James O’Connor got up to a bit of mischief back in the day.

"Wally was abused back then. Poor Wally," Genia said.

Lost in translation

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Spare a thought for the Tongan forwards over the next month.

A communication snafu between team officials and sponsor Mizuno saw the Japanese athletic wear company take things a little too literally recently.

In the lead up to the World Cup a team official sent a photo of a bag with a number 12 printed on it, asking for all luggage to be so numbered for the squad.

The result? A little too accurate. The entire Tongan squad are walking around with the number 12 on their bags. Oops!

Mario's mea culpa

Former Wallabies assistant coach Mario Ledesma, now in charge of Argentina, has apologised for comments he made after his side’s 23-21 loss to France at the weekend.

Ledesma is one of the nicest guys in world rugby yet couldn’t hold back his frustrations following the Pumas’ narrow loss to France, which could see them miss out on qualifying for the group stages if they do not beat England on October.

Australian referee Angus Gardner was in Ledesma’s firing line, with the Argentinian boss complaining about a number of things and saying his team were being officiated like a "small nation".

Mario Ledesma wasn't happy after his side's 23-21 loss to France in their World Cup opener.

Mario Ledesma wasn't happy after his side's 23-21 loss to France in their World Cup opener. Credit: AAP

Ledesma has got on the front foot to make peace ahead of Argentina’s fixture against Tonga on Saturday.

"When the whistle blew, I was left feeling frustrated with the loss, especially considering all the effort and work we put into it, as well as the travel time where Argentina puts in more than anyone," Ledesma said. "All of that came into my mind and I said things I didn’t mean. My intention was never to imply that we had lost because of the referee.

"I used to work right next to Gardner [at Rugby Australia headquarters]. It never occurred to me for a second to doubt either him or the other referees, nor question his integrity or impartiality."

Show pony

Pre-match entertainment has been a little left-field here in Japan. The Cauliflower witnessed motocross riders impressing hundreds of fans outside City of Toyota Stadium with all sorts of aerial tricks.

While there were no major accidents that we saw, one rider was trying to impress those at ground level with a cheeky no-hander. He fell off his bike and smacked his head into the grass before being helped up.

To his credit, he got back on the bike, even if his ego was a little bruised.

Small town humour

There is no question the best games to go to during World Cups are the ones in smaller towns or regions.

For raw emotion, few games will rival the Fiji v Uruguay clash in Kamaishi on Wednesday. Kamaishi was the small town almost wiped out by the devastating 2011 tsunami.

Eight years later it is home to the only purpose-built stadium for the tournament, a memorial to the community so affected by the disaster.

At the other end of the country, Wallabies fans are in for a treat in Oita, where Australia play Uruguay next week.

The town is rolling out the welcome mat, and its quirky sense of humour, sending an oversized plate of sashimi out on the baggage carousel at the airport this week. Itadakimasu!


An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated Mizuno was a Chinese company.

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