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Claims of racism levelled at Phil Kearns following bizarre on-air Irish comment
By Ian Cameron
FoxSports commentator and former Wallaby hooker Phil Kearns raised the ire of Irish people the world over following bizarre comments made during the Australia Ireland match in Sydney.
Ireland clinched a series win over Australia following a closely fought third test victory at Allianz Park.
Kearns - who is known for his outspoken commentary - made the comments during a pause in play in the 47th minute.
Kearns appeared to be frustrated at the amount time Ireland were taking before a scrum, a practice the former Wallaby felt the referee should have stepped in on.
Kearns then said: "Fiddle-a-dee, Fiddle-a-dee, Fiddle-a-dee, potato...out the back there having their own little chat."
It didn't go down to too well with Irish watching on Fox Sports, among others RugbyPass columnist Neil Best.
Many questioned the appropriateness of the comments, which some felt bordered on racism.
It's not the first time Kearns has got on the wrong side of the Irish. At the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand he said the Irish wouldn't have much to "cheer about" minutes before kick-off between Australia and Ireland's pool match.
Ireland went on to beat Australia resoundingly.
Kearns represented the Wallabies 67 times and was captain on ten occasions. He was part of the famous World Cup winning team of 1999.
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Latest Comments
If the Welsh players cannot be bothered to get themselves.fit, for what is essentially their full time job and their country, then there is no hope for them.
Most of their forwards were huffing and puffing within 15 minutes!
Go to commentsFor the sake of the game we must restrict the TMO to advising the ref only when called on to do so. Im sick to the back teeth of the endless interventions. With an inexperienced whistler like the bloke this morning, the TMO ran the show.
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