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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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wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
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