It was a jolly poor show all round. Needing a 7.55 to win the contest and with not long to go on the clock, Julian pulled into a short and messy barrel, punching through the curtain before playing it safe on the rest of the wave with three relatively minor tags.

But Julian out-Brazilianed the young Brazilian, going for a mid-wave claim after what was little more than a head-dip, and finishing the ride with an almighty salute to the heavens as though he’d just ridden the wave of his life. It resembled a rather hopeful and overenthusiastic lbw appeal. Arguably it wasn’t quite cricket.

The judges not only gave him the score he needed, they gave him an 8.43, as though they figured that by adding an extra point or so and making the margin between their two totals slightly bigger, the injustice of their decision to give Julian the win would somehow go unnoticed. His other wave had probably been overscored too.

Gabriel wasn’t happy, as well he mightn’t be. He had a bit of a cry, hinted at a conspiracy theory in his live interview which he gave in Portuguese, and stormed off the stage after receiving his second-place trophy rather than staying to shower Julian in champagne, as is the usual practice. His ever-present stepdad Charlie wasn’t best pleased either, reportedly taking to the VIP tent and hurling furniture around in a fit of rage.

All this did nothing to temper a feeling shared by certain members of the wider surfing community that Brazilians are quite simply bad sports, and tend not to play with a straight bat. Like their footballing counterparts, the logic went, their fancy footwork is undermined by an unseemly desire to win at all costs. Surely it was only a matter of time before Medina followed the lead of Luis Suarez (Uruguayan, but close enough) and tried to take a chunk out of a fellow professional. Perhaps he would introduce the noble art of diving into surfing, and start rolling around clutching his face like his compatriot Rivaldo during heats.

Unsurprisingly, Gabby incurred the wrath of pretty well the whole of Australia, a country renowned for its good sportsmanship and rich tradition of grace and magnanimity in defeat. The Medina family, they said, had brought the world of cricket, I mean surfing, into disrepute.

Yes, it was a good day for Australian surfing, and a good day too for another sport at which Australians have historically excelled, and in which they partake in their usual spirit of gentlemanly fair-mindedness  – namely, Brazilian-bashing. It looks like marvellous fun, and you can practise it for free in the comments section of any good surfing website.

The always entertaining Stab comments section has actually been wiped clean underneath their round-up of the final day in Portugal, due presumably to the unpleasant torrents of xenophobic diatribe it contained. Instead we’ve selected a few of the more measured reactions to Gabriel’s world title triumph from Stab commenters over the last few days:

MURKLEMAN: STOP FUCKING CRYING YOU LITTLE WANKER!!!!!

Adam: The set dodger wins the World Title. This is the darkest day in the history of professional surfing. I only hope this slum rat is not the last champion crowned. I see the whole sport collapsing due to the total loss of credibility the sport has suffered today. RIP Pro Surfing

Blow Hole: It’s a known fact that Latino men like to pleasure each other

Sir Donald Bradman: I have always maintained that the Brazilian temperament is fundamentally unsuited to the sport of cricket. They have no idea how to behave out in the middle.