This column is predominantly focused on writing about issues in rugby and cricket. Based on this past weekend’s abysmal showing by the Aussies, I don’t really want to write about that. Sure the Wallabies snapped a four game losing streak, but it was a scrappy affair against Argentina where we were kept scoreless in the second half having only 20% of possession. There isn’t much to write about there except thank God, Ewen McKenzie moved Israel Folau to fullback. And, the Australian cricketers lost again. (Congratulations to Clint McKay by the way, becoming just the fifth Australian to claim a hat-trick in one day international cricket!)

Nevertheless there is still hope. Australia is still good at sport, just not the ones televised on prime time television.

Jessica Fox is not a name many reading this would have heard. She is one of Australia’s best canoe-ers, and over the weekend became our latest world champion. At the canoe world championships in Prague, Fox won the C1 category at a blistering pace, besting the runner up by ten seconds. Fox has dominated the C1 category this year, winning four World Cups and the under 23 world championships. She has also spent much of the year lobbying to have the C1 included on the Olympic program. She is also only 19 years old. However, the first I heard of her was a small snippet at the end of the sports segment on the news.

Australia also had two others make the final in the C1, Ros Lawrence (who also made the final of the K1 discipline) and Alison Borrows. Inspired, I looked up a little bit more about the canoe world championships, and was left asking, why isn’t there more of this on our TV’s?! It’s bloody exciting! It’s wonderful though that these men and women are doing so well, but there should be more coverage!

More Australians excelling over the weekend have been in the America’s Cup. Sure they’re on boats with the flags of America and New Zealand, but the fact that they have been poached says enough for our nation’s sailing ability and prowess. The captain of the American boat is an Aussie! In saying all of this, there has been coverage for these Aussies, and why not? We should be proud as punch! It does seem that the Kiwis will win this year’s edition of the race, unless the Yanks can pull some sort of miracle off on the water of San Francisco Bay. Good on the Kiwis! Besting the Americans on their own soil and at their own game is probably one of the best things you could achieve as a yachtsman and to that I say bravo!

Hopefully these lesser known sportsmen and women will continue to excel and are given their due recognition. In the meantime, I’ll be having my fingers crossed for the Aussies to win the final match of the ODI series in England and bring home some silver wear, and for the Wallabies to finally live up to their potential and win by more than one point against a nation who doesn’t even have a professional domestic league. Here’s hoping to have some good news to write about in a rugby and cricket column!