Rafa lucked out?
Surely Rafa Benitez's luck must run out sometime? Since he took the reigns of the great northwest club and claimed a fortunate European Cup in his first season, he has sailed through the next five years with the air of the unsinkable Titanic.

Last week he saw his troops limp to a 1-0 win over arguably Europe's weakest Champions League side, Debrecen, but exit the competition thanks to a desperate group stages. However, he still seems to be safe in his job.

A necklace of poor signings and then his stubborn refusal to either play them or play them in their correct positions has seen Liverpool scrape and scratch their way to the heights of fifth place in the league. Arguably their most creative player, Yossi Benayoun, has been installed as bench-warmer-in-chief while David Ngog leads the line with a bizarre impression of a headless chicken.

In fairness any team in the world would miss the brilliant Fernando Torres, but his reluctance to provide cover for El Nino has left Liverpool toothless to say the least.

The boardroom strife between Tom Hicks and George Gilett has left the owners reluctant to sack the Spaniard, but the five-year contract signed only this summer by Benitez must be scrutanised. How was he offered this in the first place? The enormous payoff that would be due to him seems to be the only thread by which his job now hangs. Wins over Manchester United and Everton in the last few weeks have kept the Anfield gaggle happy, but if morale boosting victories over their arch rivals are all that can be celebrated, one must question what direction the club is going and if Rafa is the right man to row the boat.

Bad blood
The alleged refusal of the South African rugby team to applaud the Irish team off the Croke Park pitch is a horrible indictment of Peter de Villiers’ team.

After Declan Kidney’s 15 warriors sealed their unbeaten year, Kidney was rightly named as IRB Coach of the Year. When interviewed by RTE after the match, Kidney displayed outstanding humility and modesty and paid tribute to his players that had earned him the accolade instead of milking the moment.

South Africa were name as IRB Team of the Year after a successful Lions campaign and a victorious Tri-Nations competition, but the behaviour of their players – including Schalk Burger's try celebration – leaves a sour taste in the mouth.

The bad blood is said to stem from the Lions' refusal to attend the after-match drinks with the Springboks, but their lack of respect for the game’s traditions stinks. Roll on the 2011 World Cup!

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