"Before we insult these young men, who I am sure tried to the best of their ability, I think we should bear a couple of facts in mind. Firstly very few of us armchair critics have any idea of the pain which a professional sportsman goes through on a daily basis. And secondly, how can you blame those exhausted young men, who simply wanted to go home and relax with their families? They looked unhappy for the whole tournament. For them it was very hard work and excruciating pain. Even amid our disappointment, we should show them some compassion."

For fuck's sake, what planet are you on?

They are paid (note I don't say 'earn') three or four times as much in a week as I earn in a year. They are pampered and cossetted, they lack for nothing and they have the best of everything. They train a couple of hours a day and play three hours a week. It's an easy life. Excruciating Pain? The only excruciating pain round here is the pain they give us all in the arse.

If I performed as badly in my job as they have done in theirs, I'd be out on my neck, and that's precisely what they deserve. They let themselves and millions of fans down - thousands of whom had scrimped and saved from their comparatively minuscule earnings to travel to SA and cheer them on.

They should be absolutely ashamed of themselves. Spoilt, pampered lightweights the lot of them. Absolute shite.