I think there was a corner issue with Ramos - Dennis at OTT (ironically seemingly similar to Taylor - Nickal at the next OTT). I remember Ramos giving a pissed interview about it.
McD I think was just too injured to be a factor internationally but no real insight there.
Re: the thread topic, I think Brands is hyper competitive (duh) but is a lot more empathetic than most people realize so he probably feels the same as if lost out there himself.