You can watch all of this but what you don't see is the heroics from the veteran outside back before and after the match. Bucket list: Adam Ashley Cooper after Australia's win over Wales and with Guy Grinham in the corporate box at Twickenham after the Test. After the full-time whistle, as the crowd filters out of Twickenham, he climbs high into the stands, through the remaining fans dressed in gold, and behind the glass of a corporate suite. That's where he finds Guy Grinham, who he played junior rugby with and against on the Central Coast, and later knew as a referee of Shute Shield and match-day official of Super Rugby. Grinham is on a hospital stretcher and breathing with the assistance with oxygen tubes, but he has an unbreakable smile on his face.

"A year and a half ago he was diagnosed with cancer, and just recently he was given a brief amount of time to live," Ashley-Cooper explains from London. "Along with the help of his brother and best mate, he put together a bucket list. And on that bucket list was to watch the Wallabies at the World Cup. "He was on his way over to watch but when he got off the plane he went downhill significantly. The cancer spread into his vertebrae, so he had to get to hospital. The nurses told him to ring his parents about coming over to give them their final goodbyes, because he didn't have much time left. "We organised a signed jersey, and I went and saw him in hospital [before the match against Wales]. We talked about playing footy when we were younger, and what the Wallabies were doing, instead of talking about the position he was in." Phone calls were made, favours called in, and an ambulance and nurses were arranged so Guy and his family could run a line through the big ticket item on his bucket list. "He passed away earlier this week," says Ashley-Cooper. "He was my age - 31. He had a wife and two kids. It's a sad story. But I'm really happy I got to share a moment with him after the win. It was the least I could do, to go there and represent the group. We were on the bucket list, and that is pretty special."

As the Wallabies prepared for their quarter-final against Scotland at the same venue on Monday morning, the team gathered around and shared a moments silence in Guy's honour at a training session. It was another small but significant moment from the Wallabies that you rarely hear of, let alone see. Man of many words Still on the Wallabies, hands up if you thought Michael Cheika could make such a difference less than a year in the job as coach? Liars.

A snapshot from one of his mornings this week: he did a press conference in English, then another in French, and then another Italian, and then he walked into a team meeting and peeled off an inspirational line to the troops, presumably in English. In other Wallabies news, while there's been much respect shown for Matt Giteau as he approaches his 100th Test his teammates have not missed since they were shown footage of a baby-faced, peroxide-headed Giteau meeting the Queen during a tour in 2002. His teammates have been comparing him to Justin Timberlake's "noodle hair". In other words, when the pop singer had hair like two-minute noodles. Starting out: Matt Giteau before his Test debut in 2002. Credit:Wallabies Goodbye, amigo

And speaking of players with funky haircuts, he was the cornerstone of "The Three Amigos" but time has finally caught up with James O'Connor. In 2013, one senior ARU official told this column: "Kurtley [Beale] gets into trouble because of alcohol. Quade [Cooper] doesn't know any better. O'Connor was the most cunning. He knew what he was doing. It was never an accident. He always escapes before the heat arrives. He's usually the architect of the problem. The best result is not having the three in the one team at the one time." Cooper and Beale are likely to be on the Wallabies bench against Scotland. Earlier this week, O'Connor was granted a release from his Queensland Reds deal and is now expected to return to French rugby powerhouse Toulon. "Personal matters" were cited as the reasons, but those who are fully aware of the situation tell us the 25-year-old was left jaded and angry after failing to make the World Cup squad. His deal with the Reds was heavily based on incentive, and after a lacklustre and injury-plagued year the dollars he was hoping for didn't materialise.

Cassidy still a power This column doesn't subscribe to Melbourne's theory about being the centre of the sporting universe, but it does know how to run a racing carnival. Late last week, it launched the Spring Carnival at the MCG with a sprinkling of legendary horses, jockeys and trainers stepping out into the middle of the arena. That included Might and Power, the hulking ironhorse that won the 1997 Melbourne and Caulfield cups, and then the Cox Plate the following year. One bloke who couldn't get close enough to him was Jim Cassidy, the evergreen jockey who rode him in all three.

"Be careful, he doesn't really like blokes," advised Might and Power's strapper as "Pumper" came closer. Yeah good. "He just put his head down in my hand," reports Cassidy. "It nearly brought a tear to my eye. Me old mate and I, in the middle of the MCG. It was gold." Cassidy, 52, is keeping everyone guessing about his riding future. He has Chris Waller's Grand Marshal in the Caulfield Cup this Saturday. Jimmy Cassidy with Might and Power.

Twist over Taupau A fortnight ago, Wests Tigers forward Marty Taupau swore black and blue – black and gold, if you will – to this column that he had not asked for a release. "I am really embarrassed by it," the Kiwi representative said. "I've had to phone all my mates and tell them there is nothing in it." Then reports mysteriously emerge this week that he is being pursued by Manly. It won't surprise if he's there in 2017, but the whole thing reeks of the modern-day ploy from player managers and clubs to force a player out of his contract with a year left to run.

Help! Fitz needs cover We told you last month about the terrible circumstances concerning Maitland Blacks hooker Dominic Punch, who suffered life-threatening injuries when a scrum collapsed in the Newcastle second-grade grand final. He has dislocated his C5 and C6 spinal vertebrae and the road ahead will be a tough one. The mighty Blacks are holding a luncheon at their home ground Marcellin Park on Sunday, with cricketing legend Michael Hussey and rugby/Herald legend Peter FitzSimons the guest speakers. The club is hoping to raise $150,000 for the day, but it's also looking for big business to help cover the $20,000 needed for a marquee, not least so Fitz doesn't get sunburnt on the noggin.

Contact Dan Gollan on 0402 119 193 if you can help. The week THE QUOTE "I can really feel your neurons." – This quote has nothing to do with sport, but I overheard a man say it to a woman in Bondi café on Sunday morning and I thought I should share. THUMBS UP

In the 1989 film Back to the Future II, Marty McFly travelled into the future in a DeLorean and discovered the Chicago Cubs had won the 2015 World Series. The perennial battlers took one step closer with a series win over St Louis. The hoverboard must be around the corner. THUMBS DOWN The tennis diehards tell you that Thanasi Kokkinakis is the anti-Kyrgios. He's a gentleman of the court, they say. Then he defends Nick Kyrgios' abuse of officials and racquets and says it doesn't hurt the game. Awesome. It's a big weekend for … England rugby fans as the World Cup on home soil reaches the exciting quarter-final stage of the ... Oh, that's right. #sadface It's an even bigger weekend for … the Newcastle Jets, as they return to Hunter Stadium for the first time this A-League since Hurricane Tinkler finally went away. They play Sydney FC on Saturday. Get around them, Novocastrians.

Q and A We speak to leading jockey Blake Shinn ahead of Saturday's $3 million Caulfield Cup. You're on Who Shot Thebarman for Chris Waller. I see you're spruiking ​"Who Shot Thebarman" hats on social media. Impressive. Yes, got the hat. I'm getting in the spirit of it with all the owners and the Waller team. It's good to get behind it as people live the dream, having a runner in the Caulfield and Melbourne cups. How's the horse tracking?

He's going really well. He had a great run in the Turnbull, and now he's starting to get out to his preferred distance of 2400m. The barrier's not ideal but he'll be powering to the line. How's your Caulfield Cup form? I haven't had many rides. About three or four rides but never gone any better than sixth. Good times. Earlier this year, you were named the NSW Racing Writers' Racing Personality of the Year. What does that entail? The journos must have liked me because I gave my time to the media throughout the season. I like to give them a bit of myself to show another side to a jockey's life.