Well, the Rugby Championship is now officially under way as the All Blacks took on the Wallabies in Sydney (Host of the summer Olympics 16 years ago for those who are watching in Rio because we almost ended our successful Olympic campaign with 18 medals including 4 gold (Hamish Bond & Eric Murray, Mahe Drysdale, Lisa Carrington & of course Peter Burling & Blair Tuke), 9 silver (Natalie Rooney, the New Zealand women's rugby sevens team, Luuka Jones, the men's team sprint of Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell & Sam Webster, Valerie Adams, Genevieve Behrent & Rebecca Scown, Jo Aleh & Polly Powrie, Alex Maloney & Molly Meech & of course Lydia Ko) & 5 bronze (Sam Meech, Carrington, Tom Walsh, Eliza McCartney & of course Nick Willis) so here's a recap of the match that went down to the wire for the full 80 minutes:
The Rugby Championship 2016 kicks off with the Bledisloe Cup clash between the Wallabies and All Blacks in Sydney.
The away side have an unfamiliar look to their backline. Beauden Barrett wears the #10 jersey after leading the Hurricanes to Super Rugby glory.
Ben McCalman plays at flanker for the Wallabies, while Kane Douglas also gets a start in the pack. Will Genia and Bernard Foley partner in the halves. Several players (Such as David Pocock, Matt Toomua, Matt Giteau & Will Genia as well as Argentina half back Tomas Cubelli) amongst the Wallabies line-up have shaved their heads in support of teammate Christian Lealiifano, who was recently diagnosed with leukemia.
The national anthems will precede the haka...
1ST MINUTE, KICK-OFF: Foley does the honours.
1 MINUTE LATER: After a All Blacks handling error, the Wallabies' first scrum holds up very well. They put it through the hands towards Dane Haylett-Petty on the right side and the Western Force man makes good ground. A penalty is looming for offside...
1 MINUTE LATER: Codie Taylor is forced from the field for a concussion test so a less than fully-fit Dane Coles comes on...
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY GOAL: Foley, central, makes no mistake from the edge of the 22. He goes past 300 Test points, the sixth Wallaby to do so. 3-0
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: After a strong kick return from Israel Dagg, the ABs switch the ball to the left and Malakai's Fekitoa puts Kieran Read on the overlap. He tips it on to Ryan Crotty, who is 25 metres out, but he palms off Haylett-Petty and outpaces the cover to score a great try. 3-5
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett, just 6 or 7 metres in from touch, strikes it cool and calmly. 3-7
5 MINUTES LATER: Matt Giteau has limped out of action and straight down the tunnel. It may be a bad one. Matt Toomua comes on early.
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED PENALTY: Barrett, close to the left sideline, pushes this attempt right.
2 MINUTES LATER: Brodie Retallick is over the line but is held up. All Blacks penalty for offside. Once again the visitors have enjoyed success by attacking the left edge, with Waisake Naholo going close in the first instance.
1 MINUTE LATER, PENALTY: Barrett, out on the left once more, makes no mistake this time. 3-10
4 MINUTES LATER, TMO
1 MINUTE LATER, NO TRY: Retallick is over after some amazing handling and counter-attacking. The chance came about from a charged down Folau kick, but the recipient of the loose ball was in an offside position. It is a great shame as the offloading was Rugby Sevens like.
Another penalty against Australia, this one against Sekope Kepu for going off his feet.
2 MINUTES LATER, PENALTY: Barrett, from a similar position to the rest of his goal-kicks, is benefiting from that familiarity. 3-13
3 MINUTES LATER, TRY: The man of the moment, Beauden Barrett, goes over! Once again it is down the left that Naholo wins his side field position, before a brilliant Read offload allows the fly-half to slice through the line from just inside the 22. 3-18
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett tags the extras on from an angle he made easy by cutting inside. 3-20
3 MINUTES LATER: New Zealand threaten again after making their way upfield with ease. But the danger disappears when Dagg is caught for a high shot on Genia when chasing a chip through.
1 MINUTE LATER: Further reshuffles for the Wallabies, Toomua leaves the field as well so on comes Rob Horne. They will have limited options later on.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: This is becoming a nightmare for Australia. This time the charge down pays off when Jerome Kaino gets himself in front of Foley's clearance. He follows up himself to score. New Zealand are already in bonus point territory. 3-25
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Barrett, 20 in from the right touchline, sees his kick go the wrong side of the right stick!
4 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Aaron Smith wins a turnover for his side and the All Blacks move quickly. Barrett dances through in midfield after taking Naholo's pass, before returning the favour to the winger to make it home. 3-30
1 MINUTE LATER, CONVERSION: Barrett from close range. 3-32.
HALF-TIME: AUSTRALIA 3 - 32 NEW ZEALAND The All Blacks are turning in one of their all-time best Bledisloe Cup performances, while it can be described as no less than a shambles from the home side who look completely lost. Just before the half-time siren, Horne limped off, as did Naholo. The Wallabies have lost three second five-eighths in this half.
40TH MINUTE, 2ND HALF KICK-OFF
4 MINUTES LATER: We have been camped in Wallabies territory once again. The All Blacks' handling has been sublime and it is constantly punching holes into this tired-looking Australia defensive line.
1 MINUTE LATER: Almost another try when Ashley-Cooper fumbles a kick close to his line. It's a 5 metre scrum as he just managed to ground it. Dagg was lurking.
1 MINUTE LATER: Read picks and goes from the resulting scrum but the ball comes loose from his grasp.
4 MINUTES LATER: Almost another spectacular try for New Zealand. Fekitoa attacks from deep and releases Aaron Cruden on the inside. The first five-eighth stabs a kick forward for Julian Savea to chase...The replacement winger hacks it forward but it just evades him over the dead ball line.
5 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Coles is over! Kuridrani knocks it on cold and Fekitoa races away with the ball. But the numbers are there despite Foley's try-saver on the centre, they shift it right for the hooker to finish well. 3-37
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Barrett pushes it to the left.
2 MINUTES LATER, TRY: Savea scores his 40th Test try, his 1st at ANZ Stadium! Barrett came on the second phase to release the big winger after more good offloading from the forwards. 3-42
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Cruden takes over but misses from the left edge.
4 MINUTES LATER: The Wallabies have a rare visit to the All Blacks' 22 but provide little threat. There has been nothing for the home crowd to shout about tonight.
7 MINUTES LATER: With 10 minutes to go a good finish from the All Blacks could hand them their biggest ever win over their Tasman rivals. Their current largest points difference win over Australia is the 43-6 despatch in Wellington in 1996 (Well David Campese (The Mario Andretti (Father of Michael (Brother of John & 1st cousin of Jeff) & grandfather of Marco) & Sylvester 'Sly' Stallone (Brother of Frank) of rugby) was there at the old Athletic Park, so too is his opponent, the late Jonah Lomu (Also the 'Iron' Mike Tyson of rugby).
3 MINUTES LATER: Australia's lineout has been wretched this evening but they are going to kick a penalty to the five-metre line to attempt the catch and drive.
1 MINUTE LATER, YELLOW CARD: Uh-oh! Read drags down the maul and that will be his night over.
1 MINUTE LATER, TRY: Phipps squeezes over in the left corner. Some quick ball and quick hands from the Wallabies, who of course have the extra man, leave New Zealand short out wide. 8-42
1 MINUTE LATER, MISSED CONVERSION: Foley's sideline attempt is wayward.
3 MINUTES LATER, TMO
1 MINUTE LATER, NO TRY: Dagg manages to dot down from a cross-field kick from Barrett, despite the attempts of Phipps. However, there was a knock-on in the build-up.
All Blacks hoping to rub salt into the wounds by searching for a final try via a scrum penalty. Read's night might not be done, we are deep into added time.
FULL-TIME: AUSTRALIA 8 - 42 NEW ZEALAND
A crushing performance from the All Blacks who probably would have wiped the floor with any side this evening. Australia, who were rough around the edges, certainly did not make things easy for themselves.
And finally, the Springboks took on Argentina in the other match of the Rugby Championship held in Nelspruit so here's the full news report:
South Africa fought back from 13-23 down to beat Argentina 30-23 in their Rugby Championship opener in Nelspruit.
Nerves of steel are becoming a mandatory requirement for players and fans alike in the Allister Coetzee era after Warren Whiteley scored a last minute try to complete a strong comeback by the hosts.
There certainly were moments when South Africa must have feared the worst in losing only a second ever home game against the Pumas. But like they showed in the series against Ireland, this Bok team can grind out a win even if they looked wholly unconvincing for large parts of this contest.
Argentina gave everything and will be kicking themselves that they allowed the Springboks back into the game after taking an imposing ten-point lead with 12 minutes to play. The wet conditions definitely played a part in the standard of the game but Argentina will still feel they had a great chance to secure a memorable victory in South Africa.
In the end it wasn't to be thanks to some sublime combination play at the death. The Boks took the ball through the phases from a line-out inside Argentina's 22. Jaco Kriel and Juan de Jongh carried the ball well before the ball went out wide. Eben Etzebeth and Bryan Habana both drew defenders before Habana offloaded to Whiteley, who beat his man to crash over in the left-hand corner.
South Africa started the game strongly and looked up for the game. Jantjies missed an early penalty but soon made up for it when he exploited a gap in broken play. The ball was recycled quickly to Johan Goosen who found himself in space before putting Ruan Combrinck away for a try in the corner.
Argetina were reduced to 14 men when Manuel Montero was yellow carded for a dangerous tackle on Damian de Allende, but the Boks failed to capatalise on their numerical advantage. Instead they conceded 10 points during that period through a penalty and a try.
Some thrilling running rugby by los Pumas, which started inside their own 22, resulted in a brilliant try for Matias Orlando which Nicolas Sanchez converted for a 13-10 lead.
South Africa had a great chance to take the lead and ease the pressure when Lionel Mapoe went over after some build-up play following a 5 metre line-out. However, replays confirmed he lost the ball going over and the try was disallowed.
The 2nd half didn't start well for the hosts when Habana received a yellow card after slipping and taking out Cordero in the air. Still, Jantjies managed to level the score with a penalty despite Argentina enjoying a greater percentage of the possession throughout the game.
The Boks were guilty of too many basic mistakes, especially in the second half and didn't do enough with the ball when they did have it. Cordero punished some poor tactical kicking by Jantjies to stretch the lead to 23-13 after Argentina launched a counter-attack following a pointless up-and-under by Jantjies.
Etzebeth made a great cover tackle but the visitors recycled quickly before Sanchez chipped the ball over the Bok defence for Cordero to pounce.
South Africa looked down and out at this stage, just like they did in the 2nd Test against Ireland, but they composed themselves and hit back with a try through Goosen to get back into the game. From a scrum, the excellent Faf de Klerk gathered the ball and ran down the blind side, sucking in three defenders in before giving the inside pass to Goosen who timed his run well to run through unapposed.
A Jantjies penalty levelled things at 23-23 before Whiteley finished off with the match-winning try to spare the home side an embarrassing defeat.
And on Monday the closing ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympic games took place so here's the full rundown of the closing ceremony according to Wikipedia:
The closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics was held on 21 August 2016 from 20:00 to 22:50 BRT at the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro.
As per traditional protocol, the ceremony featured cultural presentations from Brazil and Japan, as well as closing remarks by International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach and the leader of the Games' organizing committee Carlos Arthur Nuzman, the official handover of the Olympic flag from Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike, whose city will host the 2020 Summer Olympics, and the extinguishing of the Olympic flame.
The creative director for the ceremony was Rosa Magalhães. Amid heavy rainfall, the ceremony began with interpretive dancers representing various landmarks in the host city. Martinho da Vila then performed a rendition of the classic song "Carinhoso (pt)" by Pixinguinha. In another segment, introducing the athletes, pop singer Roberta Sá channeled Carmen Miranda, the fruit-headdress-wearing, midcentury Hollywood diva who endures as a beloved camp figure. The Parade of Flags followed shortly after a choir of 27 children, representing the states of Brazil, sang the Brazilian national anthem.
The ceremony featured a performance of "Carry Me" by Norwegian electronic tropical music producer Kygo and singer-songwriter Julia Michaels, as part of a segment that promoted the new Olympic Channel service launching after the Games. The games' final medal awards for the men's marathon were also presented, along with the Kenyan national anthem.
Four newly elected members of the IOC Athletes' Commission were introduced: fencer Britta Heidemann (Germany), table tennis player Ryu Seung-min (South Korea), swimmer Dániel Gyurta (Hungary) and pole vaulter Yelena Isinbayeva (Russia). Lenine then performed his song "Jack Soul Brasileiro" in celebration to those who volunteered during the games. The flag handover ceremony began as standard with the Greek national anthem and the Olympic anthem. Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes handed the flag to IOC president Thomas Bach, who then handed it over to Tokyo governor Yuriko Koike. The flag will be raised in PyeongChang for the 2018 Winter Olympics that will take place on 9 February 2018.
The directors for the show were Hiroshi Sasaki (creative supervisor), Ringo Sheena (creative supervisor and music director), Mikiko Mizuno (choreographer and stage director) and Kaoru Sugano (creative director). Tokyo 2020's presentation for the next Olympics featured swimmer Kosuke Kitajima, long-distance runner Naoko Takahashi, boxer Ryōta Murata and Prime Minister Shinzō Abe. The Japanese national anthem arranged by Jun Miyake was sung while the flag of Japan was projected onto the stadium grounds. The flag then faded out to thank those who aided the country during the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.
A video presentation featuring characters from famous Japanese anime and prominent video games such as Captain Tsubasa, Doraemon, Pac-Man and Hello Kitty led up to Abe's appearance, which consisted of him transforming into Mario from Nintendo's Mario franchise and jumping out of a Warp Pipe given by Doraemon to help him get from Tokyo's Shibuya Crossing to Rio de Janeiro's Maracanã Stadium on time. Abe appeared at the Maracana dressed up as Mario.
Male rhythmic gymnasts from Aomori University and dancers then performed a dance routine highlighting Japan's electronic culture (choreographed by MIKIKO (jp), music by Yasutaka Nakata), before the presentation ended with the logo of the forthcoming Tokyo games. The last sequence of presentation used the music from Tokyo Metropolitan Theatre's 2012 play "Egg" (written by Hideki Noda, with music by Ringo Sheena) – contains the message: "sports, music or Olympics" and "War or Nationalism" shall not be linked again.
Speeches by organising committee chairman Carlos Arthur Nuzman and IOC president Bach marked the end of the games. Mariene de Castro sang in front of the Olympic cauldron as the flame was extinguished via piped rain. The ceremony ended with a fireworks display and a tribute to Rio's signature event, the Carnival, which takes place during the four days before Ash Wednesday. The segment showcased Brazil's musical dance culture. The 250-person strong parade was led by Brazilian model Izabel Goulart and street cleaner Renato Sorriso, with the carnival anthem Cidade Maravilhosa playing in the background. The performers in the closing ceremony consisted of actual dancers that will be in the 2017 Rio Carnival.
P.S. I did not know that I have another cousin because her name is Rosalie because she is Gemma's daughter & well I have never met her before in my whole life & I did not know that I have uncles & aunties because Ashley (Who is Bryan & Viv's son) is my uncle (Bryan is my grand uncle) or 2nd cousin but I do have 2 aunties (Actually my 3 2nd cousins) Gemma & Huia (Daughters of Poppa's sister Kathryn who is my grand aunty) & 1 uncle who is Ben (Kathryn's son) & also Paige Williams (My biological aunty Cathey Middelplaats's daughter who is my friend now despite that the fact that we are just cousins), Luca & Nico Mitchell (Cathey's 2 little sons with her husband John Mitchell & Paige's 2 little brothers) are my cousins that I really know that much & I did not know that Cathey is the sister of both Aunty Tania (Although she's coming here with Raejean/Giuseppe on December for Christmas, new year & the 1 year anniversary for Nan's passing) & my Dad but they did not grow up together with them.
And my cousin & friend Paige has sent me an email so here's her message being displayed in it's full entirety:
Hi Whetu,
Sorry for taking so long to reply, I am extremely busy with work at the moment.
I bet you have been watching the Olympics - didn't we do great!
Yes your right, I went to Sacred Heart College. Its was a good school, I loved it and made lots of friends whom I am still very close with :)
I recently graduated in May - four long years of study but I loved it so all paid off in the end.
I listen to any music- usually just what is on the radio.
Wish Jansen a Happy Birthday from me, hope you guys had a good birthday for him.
Love Paige xx
Sunday, 21 August 2016
Saturday, 13 August 2016
A Day Away/Dark Times/Pacifier/Run: The Saturday Dinner Report
Well, Mahe Drysdale (And I mean, this guy is incredible) goes back to back in the men's single sculls here in Rio to claim New Zealand's 2nd gold medal just like Hamish Bond & Eric Murray (And also, these guys are incredible) did in the men's pair but what about the finish, it's shades of the Evers-Swindell twins in Beijing 8 years ago but how about it? How about it! Commiserations for Valerie Adams as her challenger Michelle Carter of the USA snatched it right to the death in the shot put to steal the gold ending her chances of a hat-trick of gold medals as she joins Natalie Rooney, the New Zealand women's sevens team, Luuka Jones, the men's team sprint consisting of Eddie Dawkins, Ethan Mitchell & Sam Webster & the Women's coxless pair of Genevieve Behrent & Rebecca Scown as Silver medalists.
It was on Tuesday that I wished my half-brother Jansen a happy birthday because he is now officially a teenager because he is 13 now but Dad took me to watch Jansen play basketball & guess who was there! It was Poppa but Jansen's team lost so Pops took me to Spice Guru to have an Indian meal there for dinner because I probably had a chicken tikka masala for a main course with basmati rice & a garlic cheese naan but the dessert that I had was a birthday cake that I had but Dad took me home ending a great night it was.
2 days later, I went to the pool at the Splash Centre with Pops, then we went to New World to get the meal deal which was a bit unhealthy as well as getting more mochacchino, cold meat & Clausthaler beer, then we went to 15A Kells Avenue for lunch because we had Asian for lunch x dinner since I had an Italian on Wednesday night & then we did some jobs such as installing the lights for the garden then we had a dessert after that before we headed to Nan's grave & then back here in my flat to end a wonderful day it was.
And then 2 days later, Pops picked me up here to go to 15A Kells Avenue to prepare for lunch x dinner because Leon, Hanne & that Malaysian princess of Sophie were about to arrive & they did because I greeted Leon & Hanne 1st before I had to embrace my Malaysian friend Sophie because I have never seen her for like 9 long years! (That is a long time ago not in a galaxy far far away). So anyway, Pops has told the visitors to look at Nan's memorial garden before we start having our lunch or dinner so we had chicken casserole before having dessert and then afternoon tea but we did chat & I once told Sophie that she liked my glasses as well as my signature/trademark long locks or should I say rock star hair (That's just why because I'm into the alternative rock/heavy metal environment) because my Dad once looked like a rastafarian because he once had dreadlocks back in the day (Well I showed a photo of them) as well as she likes both her sister Amelia & brother Jason & of course that her greatest moment of her life was meeting me (Although she is heading back home on the 29th of August but I told her when will I see her next, she would come back to Wanganui once she gets a job in Auckland but the greatest moment of my life has to be the All Black's Rugby World Cup victories of 2011 & 2015 because we mastered the art of the sport 3 times in 1987 & the 2 that I've mentioned before) & I also told her that I thought Sophie was my only Asian friend but I have just found out that I have 2 Asian friends, 1 is Sophie & the other is John Coburn's partner Lim Chin Keong because Lim comes from KL in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia's capital) because I know where Sophie comes from because she hails all the way from Penang.
And Pops told the 3 visitors that he talked about her long lost daughter Cathey Middelplaats because Nan had a baby but she had no idea how to look after her but the Middelplaats family adopted her then several years later Cathey gave birth to her daughter which is my cousin, Paige Williams because several years later, Paige had to be graduated for her Bachelor of Commerce studies at the Victoria University in Wellington & it's been about a decade that Cathey had been together with her husband John Mitchell and gave birth to 2 sons Nico & Luca which are my other cousins as well as Paige's little brothers because Pops took me there to have breakfast the day after the All Blacks versus Wales clash.
And then all of a sudden, one of Poppa's niece Nufemmia once worked at HSBC because I'll tell you a funny story that Pops told Leon, Hanne & this time Sophie a great joke again about Uncle Wal being several stone had to look like a Buddha because he was getting hot during his trip to see the Terracotta warriors in China, LOL! (OMG it's so funny).
And I once told Leon, Hanne & Sophie what they were doing 20 years ago so Leon was in Wellington (He was 47 way back then because he is now 67 years old) while Hanne was here because she went to polytech & what was Sophie been doing when she was 6 years old? (Although she is now 26 years old) She had to go to pre school because the starting school age in Malaysia was 7 (Compared to 5 in New Zealand) & I was telling Leon that the brand new football/soccer season in England or especially Europe (Including France) was on so I was wearing Liverpool/Manchester United colors rather than Chelsea/Leicester City colours (And that's why because Sophie's favourite color is blue because her favourite colour is the same as mine & she has been to Old Trafford before because someone had asked anyone that they must keep off the football pitch) so I told him that both Paul Pogba of France & the recently retired Swedish international of Zlatan Ibrahimovic that they've joined FA Cup champions Manchester United because Manchester United have got England (Who lost to Iceland in a famous upset during the round of 16 in the Euros) captain Wayne Rooney, recently retired German international Bastian Schweinsteiger & France's Anthony Martial & they did win the FA Community Shield against English Premier League champions Leicester City coached/managed by Italian Claudio Ranieri & consisting of club captain from Jamaica Wes Morgan, Peter Schmiechel's son Kasper as well as Jamie Vardy & I also told him that the Euros was over because the Cristiano Ronaldo (Who still plays for European club champions Real Madrid along with Gareth Bale of Wales) led Portugal beat hosts France 1 - 0 during extra time to be crowned European champions & Lionel Messi (Who still plays for the world's best football/soccer club FC Barcelona along with Brazil's Neymar (Who is leading his country's under 23 men's team at the Olympics & 1 of 3 over aged players), Uruguay's Luis Suarez, club captain Andres Iniesta of Spain, Shakira's husband Gerard Pique, Turkey's Arda Turan, Croatia's Ivan Rakitic & Chile's Copa America winning goalkeeper Claudio Bravo) retiring from the international fold following his side's loss against Chile in the final of the Copa America Centenario & I also told him that I'm a rugby mad fan because he is a football/soccer mad person & Slovakian captain Martin Skrtel joining Turkish club Fenerbahce from Leon's beloved fan of the club, Liverpool (You'll never walk alone coached by German Jurgen Klopp & well, I'm a beloved fan of the Super Rugby franchise, the Hurricanes because they won the Super Rugby title since forming it's establishment 21 years ago) as well as young Portuguese footballer/soccer player Renato Sanches now playing for German club Bayern Munich (Which features the likes of Brazilian born Spanish international Diego Costa, Holland's Arjen Robben, Germany's Thomas Muller & Poland's Robert Lewandowski) & I told everyone that I made a great speech about the curse of the World Cup defeat way back in 2003 which is about the All Blacks campaigns of both 1999 & 2003 are ruined by a movie called Anaconda (A movie starring Jennifer 'JLo' Lopez, rapper Ice Cube & Angelina Jolie's father Jon Voight) but I can't remember it now during the speech & I did get it at the end of the speech, trust me & I told Sophie about the famous Malaysian people such as Lee Chong Wei, Alex Yoong & Michelle Yeoh.
And after the long discussion, I told Sophie to have a selfie with her & she constantly agreed so the selfie was taken & she took another one for me & the last one in the car before I headed back home so I had to officially say goodbye to Hanne & Leon as well as Sophie because I had to embrace her again & I told her that I love her & she said that she loves me too so awwwww...so cute, huh & I once told her that her favourite food is sushi because mine is Italian which is both pasta & pizza because she does eat a bit of pizza so I said goodbye to Poppa so Leon, Hanne & Sophie took me home to end a wonderful day it was & I had pasta for dinner after Valerie Adams won silver in the women's shot put, how disappointing.
It was on Tuesday that I wished my half-brother Jansen a happy birthday because he is now officially a teenager because he is 13 now but Dad took me to watch Jansen play basketball & guess who was there! It was Poppa but Jansen's team lost so Pops took me to Spice Guru to have an Indian meal there for dinner because I probably had a chicken tikka masala for a main course with basmati rice & a garlic cheese naan but the dessert that I had was a birthday cake that I had but Dad took me home ending a great night it was.
2 days later, I went to the pool at the Splash Centre with Pops, then we went to New World to get the meal deal which was a bit unhealthy as well as getting more mochacchino, cold meat & Clausthaler beer, then we went to 15A Kells Avenue for lunch because we had Asian for lunch x dinner since I had an Italian on Wednesday night & then we did some jobs such as installing the lights for the garden then we had a dessert after that before we headed to Nan's grave & then back here in my flat to end a wonderful day it was.
And then 2 days later, Pops picked me up here to go to 15A Kells Avenue to prepare for lunch x dinner because Leon, Hanne & that Malaysian princess of Sophie were about to arrive & they did because I greeted Leon & Hanne 1st before I had to embrace my Malaysian friend Sophie because I have never seen her for like 9 long years! (That is a long time ago not in a galaxy far far away). So anyway, Pops has told the visitors to look at Nan's memorial garden before we start having our lunch or dinner so we had chicken casserole before having dessert and then afternoon tea but we did chat & I once told Sophie that she liked my glasses as well as my signature/trademark long locks or should I say rock star hair (That's just why because I'm into the alternative rock/heavy metal environment) because my Dad once looked like a rastafarian because he once had dreadlocks back in the day (Well I showed a photo of them) as well as she likes both her sister Amelia & brother Jason & of course that her greatest moment of her life was meeting me (Although she is heading back home on the 29th of August but I told her when will I see her next, she would come back to Wanganui once she gets a job in Auckland but the greatest moment of my life has to be the All Black's Rugby World Cup victories of 2011 & 2015 because we mastered the art of the sport 3 times in 1987 & the 2 that I've mentioned before) & I also told her that I thought Sophie was my only Asian friend but I have just found out that I have 2 Asian friends, 1 is Sophie & the other is John Coburn's partner Lim Chin Keong because Lim comes from KL in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia's capital) because I know where Sophie comes from because she hails all the way from Penang.
And Pops told the 3 visitors that he talked about her long lost daughter Cathey Middelplaats because Nan had a baby but she had no idea how to look after her but the Middelplaats family adopted her then several years later Cathey gave birth to her daughter which is my cousin, Paige Williams because several years later, Paige had to be graduated for her Bachelor of Commerce studies at the Victoria University in Wellington & it's been about a decade that Cathey had been together with her husband John Mitchell and gave birth to 2 sons Nico & Luca which are my other cousins as well as Paige's little brothers because Pops took me there to have breakfast the day after the All Blacks versus Wales clash.
And then all of a sudden, one of Poppa's niece Nufemmia once worked at HSBC because I'll tell you a funny story that Pops told Leon, Hanne & this time Sophie a great joke again about Uncle Wal being several stone had to look like a Buddha because he was getting hot during his trip to see the Terracotta warriors in China, LOL! (OMG it's so funny).
And I once told Leon, Hanne & Sophie what they were doing 20 years ago so Leon was in Wellington (He was 47 way back then because he is now 67 years old) while Hanne was here because she went to polytech & what was Sophie been doing when she was 6 years old? (Although she is now 26 years old) She had to go to pre school because the starting school age in Malaysia was 7 (Compared to 5 in New Zealand) & I was telling Leon that the brand new football/soccer season in England or especially Europe (Including France) was on so I was wearing Liverpool/Manchester United colors rather than Chelsea/Leicester City colours (And that's why because Sophie's favourite color is blue because her favourite colour is the same as mine & she has been to Old Trafford before because someone had asked anyone that they must keep off the football pitch) so I told him that both Paul Pogba of France & the recently retired Swedish international of Zlatan Ibrahimovic that they've joined FA Cup champions Manchester United because Manchester United have got England (Who lost to Iceland in a famous upset during the round of 16 in the Euros) captain Wayne Rooney, recently retired German international Bastian Schweinsteiger & France's Anthony Martial & they did win the FA Community Shield against English Premier League champions Leicester City coached/managed by Italian Claudio Ranieri & consisting of club captain from Jamaica Wes Morgan, Peter Schmiechel's son Kasper as well as Jamie Vardy & I also told him that the Euros was over because the Cristiano Ronaldo (Who still plays for European club champions Real Madrid along with Gareth Bale of Wales) led Portugal beat hosts France 1 - 0 during extra time to be crowned European champions & Lionel Messi (Who still plays for the world's best football/soccer club FC Barcelona along with Brazil's Neymar (Who is leading his country's under 23 men's team at the Olympics & 1 of 3 over aged players), Uruguay's Luis Suarez, club captain Andres Iniesta of Spain, Shakira's husband Gerard Pique, Turkey's Arda Turan, Croatia's Ivan Rakitic & Chile's Copa America winning goalkeeper Claudio Bravo) retiring from the international fold following his side's loss against Chile in the final of the Copa America Centenario & I also told him that I'm a rugby mad fan because he is a football/soccer mad person & Slovakian captain Martin Skrtel joining Turkish club Fenerbahce from Leon's beloved fan of the club, Liverpool (You'll never walk alone coached by German Jurgen Klopp & well, I'm a beloved fan of the Super Rugby franchise, the Hurricanes because they won the Super Rugby title since forming it's establishment 21 years ago) as well as young Portuguese footballer/soccer player Renato Sanches now playing for German club Bayern Munich (Which features the likes of Brazilian born Spanish international Diego Costa, Holland's Arjen Robben, Germany's Thomas Muller & Poland's Robert Lewandowski) & I told everyone that I made a great speech about the curse of the World Cup defeat way back in 2003 which is about the All Blacks campaigns of both 1999 & 2003 are ruined by a movie called Anaconda (A movie starring Jennifer 'JLo' Lopez, rapper Ice Cube & Angelina Jolie's father Jon Voight) but I can't remember it now during the speech & I did get it at the end of the speech, trust me & I told Sophie about the famous Malaysian people such as Lee Chong Wei, Alex Yoong & Michelle Yeoh.
And after the long discussion, I told Sophie to have a selfie with her & she constantly agreed so the selfie was taken & she took another one for me & the last one in the car before I headed back home so I had to officially say goodbye to Hanne & Leon as well as Sophie because I had to embrace her again & I told her that I love her & she said that she loves me too so awwwww...so cute, huh & I once told her that her favourite food is sushi because mine is Italian which is both pasta & pizza because she does eat a bit of pizza so I said goodbye to Poppa so Leon, Hanne & Sophie took me home to end a wonderful day it was & I had pasta for dinner after Valerie Adams won silver in the women's shot put, how disappointing.
Saturday, 6 August 2016
Comfort Me/Home Again/La La Land/My Mind's Sedate: The 2016 Super Rugby Final review & short Rio 2016 Olympic Games report
Well, the #Olympics are back after 4 long years so yesterday I have just watched the opening ceremony and I did enjoy it but today I have just witnessed gold medals being won by Australia twice, Belgium, Hungary & Japan & I also saw 2 world records being broken. But last night the Super Rugby final was held between the Hurricanes of Wellington, New Zealand & the Lions of Johannesburg, South Africa, so let's see how it unfolds between the 2 sides with a full news report:
Wellington’s Hurricanes beat the Lions 20-3 at Westpac Stadium to become the 2016 Super Rugby Champions.
The Hurricanes also hosted the Super Rugby final last year but they were beaten 14-21 by the Highlanders.
The Hurricanes were the only New Zealand team who had not won a Super Rugby title but now all five New Zealand teams have won a title.
The victory makes New Zealand the first nation to have all of it’s teams win a title as only the Bulls have won a title for South Africa while the Brumbies, Waratahs and Reds have won Super Rugby titles for Australia.
The Hurricanes outscored the Lions by two tries to none which means that Hurricanes did not concede a try throughout the play offs and went through almost 300 minutes without conceding a try.
The last player to score a try against the Hurricanes was Ryan Crotty of the Crusaders in the first half of their final regular season round match.
Earlier this season the Lions hosted the Hurricanes in Johannesburg and that match was won 17-50 by the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes championship win, coming a year after they ended runners-up at the same venue, added another glorious chapter to New Zealand’s vice-like grip hold on the South Hemisphere competition.
The Hurricanes finally added their name on the trophy after 21 years of trying alongside New Zealand’s four other franchises.
The stage was set for the Hurricanes rather than the Lions as the ‘Cake Tin’ presented similar conditions to that prevailed a fortnight ago when they played the quarterfinal against the Sharks.
After an initial period in which the Lions showed their prowess on attack and defence, the Hurricanes flyhalf Beauden Barrett showed that he and his fellow players had a better understanding of the nuances of playing in rain, wind and soggy underfoot conditions.
Early on, Barrett snatched the initiative with a deft touch finder to transfer play deep into the Lions’ half.
The Hurricanes subsequently stole the Lions’ line-out ball and then moments later Barrett unleashed a cross-kick which left the opposition stranded. Rightwing Cory Jane latched on to the high ball and ran in to score but the TMO Ben Skeen spotted an infringement in the build-up movement and the try was disallowed in the sixth minute.
However, Barrett’s intervention at that stage was to prove telling in the next 15 minutes as his five-point contribution allowed the Hurricanes ran up a 10-0 lead. First, he slotted a penalty and then he banged over a touchline conversion after Jane was not be denied in his second attempt to cross the whitewash.
Jane’s try was the result of an absolute howler after the Lions tried to run the ball from their own tryline with disastrous consequences. Two passes later Lions centre Lionel Mapoe chipped ahead but the ball ended up in Jane’s waiting hands and he was given an unchallenged passage to the tryline.
This passage of play decided the Lions’ first-half fortunes as they never again managed to strike up the necessary cohesion to overcome this 10-point setback.
Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies was on target with a 25th-minute penalty to reduce the deficit but overall he was a pale shadow of the player that was in the forefront of his side’s magnificent performances of late.
Equally, up to this stage, his halfback partner Faf de Klerk was equally off colour and unable to provide the spark as he tried to work with mostly slowed-down ball.
Heading off towards the halftime break, the Lions on occasions enjoyed front-foot ball but the Hurricanes coped well defensively and even better when they started to dominate at scrum time.
When the teams returned for second-half play, the Hurricanes pinned the Lions down in their own half for the opening 10 minutes until De Klerk initiated a promising counter-attack to transfer the pressure. However, once the Hurricanes saw off that threat Barrett landed a 51st-minute penalty to open up a 10-point lead with a 13-3 scoreline.
In the ensuing play, De Klerk showed a few fine touches with some brave plays but his efforts were undone by errors and poor option-taking from his teammates. The Lions, however, were still rock solid on defence and they might have earned some reward at this stage but Jantjies fluffed a penalty around the hour mark.
Barrett again imposed himself on the match in the 68th minute when the Lions made an absolute hash of line-out defence and he pounced for a converted try which was the cue for 35 000 wildly cheering spectators that the 2016 championship had finally been decided as the celebratory chant Olé, Olé, Olé rang out at the stadium.
Beauden Barrett was named Man of the match while Victor Vito celebrated his 100th and final Super Rugby cap with a winners medal.
And then onto the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics so here's the full rundown of the opening ceremony according to Wikipedia:
The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 5 August 2016 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at 20:00 BRT (23:00 UTC). As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal ceremonial opening of this international sporting event (including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, as well as a new feature—the presentation of the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Laurel distinction) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Thomas and Andrucha Waddington, the ceremony featured presentations of the history and culture of Brazil, including its landscape and forests, the history of the Portuguese people, music and samba, and the favelas among other aspects. Portions of the ceremony were also dedicated to the topics of environmental conservation and climate change. The Games were officially opened by Acting President of Brazil Michel Temer.
Despite having a significantly lower budget than those of other recent Olympics, the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics was praised by the international media for its vivid, diverse performances, emphasis on multiculturalism, and its appeal to the issue of climate change.
The opening ceremony began with aerial images of the city of Rio de Janeiro in a music video with the song "Aquele Abraço", sung by Luiz Melodia. There was a brief instrumental version of Marcos Valle's "Samba de Verão" (or "Summer Samba") during the portion with performers in silver suits with giant silver sheets. After the projection of the first images, the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was introduced. Singer Paulinho da Viola sang the Brazilian National Anthem on a stage inspired by the architectural forms of Oscar Niemeyer. The singer was accompanied by a string orchestra. Brazil's flag was raised and 60 flags were carried by Olympic Brazilian athletes Virna Dias, Robson da Silva, Maurren Maggi and Flávio Canto, and children.
The artistic performances were set into motion with an homage paid to the spirit of gambiarra, defined by the organisers as "the Brazilian talent for making the most out of nothing". In this part of the opening ceremony, Brazilian design was honoured with references to Athos Bulcão, indigenous geometry, African prints and Portuguese tiles. Peace and sustainability were featured with the transformation of the peace symbol projection into a tree. This part of the opening is also an homage to the Amazon rainforest, whose biggest part covers the country. This was followed by the representation of the birth of the immense forests that covered Brazil and the arrival of the Portuguese people. From the beginning of life, the ceremony illustrated the formation of the indigenous peoples, whose entrance was represented by 72 dancers of the two major associations of the Parintins Festival. The arrival of Europeans in caravels, the forced arrival of enslaved Africans and the immigration of Arab and Japanese people was represented by descendants of these ethnic groups.
One parkour group crossed the stage and jumped on projections of building roofs in the ceremony that highlighted the urbanisation of contemporary Brazil, concentrated in large cities. To the sound of the classic song "Construção", by Chico Buarque, acrobats scaled the façades of buildings and set up a wall, behind which a reproduction of the 14-bis plane, flown in real life 110 years earlier in the suburbs of Paris arrived with an actor playing the Brazilian inventor Santos-Dumont. Gisele Bündchen interpreted "The Girl from Ipanema" and walked through Maracanã Stadium, while Daniel Jobim, grandson of composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, played the classic song. The walk of Gisele followed the curves that characterised Niemeyer's works, such as the Pampulha Church and the Cathedral of Brasília. It was later revealed that a pre-planned segment was in place for Bündchen after her catwalk, but it had to be cut because she walked too slow during the catwalk.
After Ipanema, the favelas were represented to the sound of samba and funk carioca, with singers Elza Soares, who played the "Canto de Ossanha", and Ludmilla, who sang the "Rap da Felicidade". Rapper Marcelo D2 and singer Zeca Pagodinho simulated a duel of rhythms. Rappers Karol Conká and MC Sofia followed. Cultural performances that simulated conflicts as maracatu and the bumba-meu-boi shared the stage of the stadium. Actress Regina Casé appeared in the stage and mediated the conflict, before she and the singer Jorge Ben Jor singed the hit song "País Tropical".
After that, the delegations representing 207 nations then marched into the stadium during the Parade of Nations. The crowd gave large applause for other Latin American nations as well as notably Spain, the USA, Canada, Portugal, and Russia. However, the biggest applause (aside from the host nation) came when the team of Refugee Athletes marched into the stadium just ahead of the Brazilian team. They received a standing ovation from the crowd. The Brazilian team was led into the stadium by model Lea T, the first transgender person to participate in an Olympic opening ceremony.
After the parade of nations, there was a massed parade of the 12 samba schools of the Rio Carnival's Special Group, and singers Anitta, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil performed the song "Sandália de Prata", by Ary Barroso. The segment was a tribute to Rio's most famous signature event; the Rio Carnival, which happens on the last four days before Ash Wednesday.
A short video on anthropogenic climate change – one of the themes of the event – was also brought to fore during the ceremony. The video, narrated by Brazilian Academy Award-nominee actress Fernanda Montenegro and British Academy Award-winning actress Judi Dench, also reading from Carlos Drummond de Andrade's poem "The Flower and the Nausea", featured Ed Hawkins' visual spiral indicating rising global temperatures, together with an animated projection of rising sea levels on places that included Amsterdam (host of the 1928 Games); Dubai; Lagos; Shanghai; Florida; and the city of Rio de Janeiro itself.
Kenyan runner and two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino ran up to the stage to receive the first Olympic Laurel award, accompanied by children flying 200 white kites shaped like doves. Earlier, children in Kenya inscribed messages of peace on the kites.
After the speeches by Rio 2016 Organizing Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman and by IOC President Thomas Bach, Brazil's Acting President Michel Temer recited the games' opening declaration from the stands. Contrary to usual practice, he was not introduced at the beginning of the ceremony, nor was he introduced at the end of President Bach's speech.
After a burst of fireworks, the Olympic Flag then entered the stadium, and was raised while the Olympic Anthem was sung.
The Olympic oath on behalf of the athletes was then recited by Brazilian sailor Robert Scheidt. The corresponding oaths on behalf of the judges and coaches were taken by Martinho Nobre and Adriana Santos respectively. Furher artistic performances followed.
Ending the Olympic torch relay at the end of the Opening Ceremony, Gustavo Kuerten brought the Olympic torch into the stadium, relayed the Olympic flame to Hortência Marcari, who relayed to Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, who then lit the Olympic cauldron.
Wellington’s Hurricanes beat the Lions 20-3 at Westpac Stadium to become the 2016 Super Rugby Champions.
The Hurricanes also hosted the Super Rugby final last year but they were beaten 14-21 by the Highlanders.
The Hurricanes were the only New Zealand team who had not won a Super Rugby title but now all five New Zealand teams have won a title.
The victory makes New Zealand the first nation to have all of it’s teams win a title as only the Bulls have won a title for South Africa while the Brumbies, Waratahs and Reds have won Super Rugby titles for Australia.
The Hurricanes outscored the Lions by two tries to none which means that Hurricanes did not concede a try throughout the play offs and went through almost 300 minutes without conceding a try.
The last player to score a try against the Hurricanes was Ryan Crotty of the Crusaders in the first half of their final regular season round match.
Earlier this season the Lions hosted the Hurricanes in Johannesburg and that match was won 17-50 by the Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes championship win, coming a year after they ended runners-up at the same venue, added another glorious chapter to New Zealand’s vice-like grip hold on the South Hemisphere competition.
The Hurricanes finally added their name on the trophy after 21 years of trying alongside New Zealand’s four other franchises.
The stage was set for the Hurricanes rather than the Lions as the ‘Cake Tin’ presented similar conditions to that prevailed a fortnight ago when they played the quarterfinal against the Sharks.
After an initial period in which the Lions showed their prowess on attack and defence, the Hurricanes flyhalf Beauden Barrett showed that he and his fellow players had a better understanding of the nuances of playing in rain, wind and soggy underfoot conditions.
Early on, Barrett snatched the initiative with a deft touch finder to transfer play deep into the Lions’ half.
The Hurricanes subsequently stole the Lions’ line-out ball and then moments later Barrett unleashed a cross-kick which left the opposition stranded. Rightwing Cory Jane latched on to the high ball and ran in to score but the TMO Ben Skeen spotted an infringement in the build-up movement and the try was disallowed in the sixth minute.
However, Barrett’s intervention at that stage was to prove telling in the next 15 minutes as his five-point contribution allowed the Hurricanes ran up a 10-0 lead. First, he slotted a penalty and then he banged over a touchline conversion after Jane was not be denied in his second attempt to cross the whitewash.
Jane’s try was the result of an absolute howler after the Lions tried to run the ball from their own tryline with disastrous consequences. Two passes later Lions centre Lionel Mapoe chipped ahead but the ball ended up in Jane’s waiting hands and he was given an unchallenged passage to the tryline.
This passage of play decided the Lions’ first-half fortunes as they never again managed to strike up the necessary cohesion to overcome this 10-point setback.
Lions flyhalf Elton Jantjies was on target with a 25th-minute penalty to reduce the deficit but overall he was a pale shadow of the player that was in the forefront of his side’s magnificent performances of late.
Equally, up to this stage, his halfback partner Faf de Klerk was equally off colour and unable to provide the spark as he tried to work with mostly slowed-down ball.
Heading off towards the halftime break, the Lions on occasions enjoyed front-foot ball but the Hurricanes coped well defensively and even better when they started to dominate at scrum time.
When the teams returned for second-half play, the Hurricanes pinned the Lions down in their own half for the opening 10 minutes until De Klerk initiated a promising counter-attack to transfer the pressure. However, once the Hurricanes saw off that threat Barrett landed a 51st-minute penalty to open up a 10-point lead with a 13-3 scoreline.
In the ensuing play, De Klerk showed a few fine touches with some brave plays but his efforts were undone by errors and poor option-taking from his teammates. The Lions, however, were still rock solid on defence and they might have earned some reward at this stage but Jantjies fluffed a penalty around the hour mark.
Barrett again imposed himself on the match in the 68th minute when the Lions made an absolute hash of line-out defence and he pounced for a converted try which was the cue for 35 000 wildly cheering spectators that the 2016 championship had finally been decided as the celebratory chant Olé, Olé, Olé rang out at the stadium.
Beauden Barrett was named Man of the match while Victor Vito celebrated his 100th and final Super Rugby cap with a winners medal.
And then onto the opening ceremony of the Rio 2016 Olympics so here's the full rundown of the opening ceremony according to Wikipedia:
The opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 5 August 2016 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at 20:00 BRT (23:00 UTC). As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal ceremonial opening of this international sporting event (including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes, as well as a new feature—the presentation of the International Olympic Committee's Olympic Laurel distinction) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture and history.
Directed by Fernando Meirelles, Daniela Thomas and Andrucha Waddington, the ceremony featured presentations of the history and culture of Brazil, including its landscape and forests, the history of the Portuguese people, music and samba, and the favelas among other aspects. Portions of the ceremony were also dedicated to the topics of environmental conservation and climate change. The Games were officially opened by Acting President of Brazil Michel Temer.
Despite having a significantly lower budget than those of other recent Olympics, the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics was praised by the international media for its vivid, diverse performances, emphasis on multiculturalism, and its appeal to the issue of climate change.
The opening ceremony began with aerial images of the city of Rio de Janeiro in a music video with the song "Aquele Abraço", sung by Luiz Melodia. There was a brief instrumental version of Marcos Valle's "Samba de Verão" (or "Summer Samba") during the portion with performers in silver suits with giant silver sheets. After the projection of the first images, the International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was introduced. Singer Paulinho da Viola sang the Brazilian National Anthem on a stage inspired by the architectural forms of Oscar Niemeyer. The singer was accompanied by a string orchestra. Brazil's flag was raised and 60 flags were carried by Olympic Brazilian athletes Virna Dias, Robson da Silva, Maurren Maggi and Flávio Canto, and children.
The artistic performances were set into motion with an homage paid to the spirit of gambiarra, defined by the organisers as "the Brazilian talent for making the most out of nothing". In this part of the opening ceremony, Brazilian design was honoured with references to Athos Bulcão, indigenous geometry, African prints and Portuguese tiles. Peace and sustainability were featured with the transformation of the peace symbol projection into a tree. This part of the opening is also an homage to the Amazon rainforest, whose biggest part covers the country. This was followed by the representation of the birth of the immense forests that covered Brazil and the arrival of the Portuguese people. From the beginning of life, the ceremony illustrated the formation of the indigenous peoples, whose entrance was represented by 72 dancers of the two major associations of the Parintins Festival. The arrival of Europeans in caravels, the forced arrival of enslaved Africans and the immigration of Arab and Japanese people was represented by descendants of these ethnic groups.
One parkour group crossed the stage and jumped on projections of building roofs in the ceremony that highlighted the urbanisation of contemporary Brazil, concentrated in large cities. To the sound of the classic song "Construção", by Chico Buarque, acrobats scaled the façades of buildings and set up a wall, behind which a reproduction of the 14-bis plane, flown in real life 110 years earlier in the suburbs of Paris arrived with an actor playing the Brazilian inventor Santos-Dumont. Gisele Bündchen interpreted "The Girl from Ipanema" and walked through Maracanã Stadium, while Daniel Jobim, grandson of composer Antônio Carlos Jobim, played the classic song. The walk of Gisele followed the curves that characterised Niemeyer's works, such as the Pampulha Church and the Cathedral of Brasília. It was later revealed that a pre-planned segment was in place for Bündchen after her catwalk, but it had to be cut because she walked too slow during the catwalk.
After Ipanema, the favelas were represented to the sound of samba and funk carioca, with singers Elza Soares, who played the "Canto de Ossanha", and Ludmilla, who sang the "Rap da Felicidade". Rapper Marcelo D2 and singer Zeca Pagodinho simulated a duel of rhythms. Rappers Karol Conká and MC Sofia followed. Cultural performances that simulated conflicts as maracatu and the bumba-meu-boi shared the stage of the stadium. Actress Regina Casé appeared in the stage and mediated the conflict, before she and the singer Jorge Ben Jor singed the hit song "País Tropical".
After that, the delegations representing 207 nations then marched into the stadium during the Parade of Nations. The crowd gave large applause for other Latin American nations as well as notably Spain, the USA, Canada, Portugal, and Russia. However, the biggest applause (aside from the host nation) came when the team of Refugee Athletes marched into the stadium just ahead of the Brazilian team. They received a standing ovation from the crowd. The Brazilian team was led into the stadium by model Lea T, the first transgender person to participate in an Olympic opening ceremony.
After the parade of nations, there was a massed parade of the 12 samba schools of the Rio Carnival's Special Group, and singers Anitta, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil performed the song "Sandália de Prata", by Ary Barroso. The segment was a tribute to Rio's most famous signature event; the Rio Carnival, which happens on the last four days before Ash Wednesday.
A short video on anthropogenic climate change – one of the themes of the event – was also brought to fore during the ceremony. The video, narrated by Brazilian Academy Award-nominee actress Fernanda Montenegro and British Academy Award-winning actress Judi Dench, also reading from Carlos Drummond de Andrade's poem "The Flower and the Nausea", featured Ed Hawkins' visual spiral indicating rising global temperatures, together with an animated projection of rising sea levels on places that included Amsterdam (host of the 1928 Games); Dubai; Lagos; Shanghai; Florida; and the city of Rio de Janeiro itself.
Kenyan runner and two-time Olympic champion Kipchoge Keino ran up to the stage to receive the first Olympic Laurel award, accompanied by children flying 200 white kites shaped like doves. Earlier, children in Kenya inscribed messages of peace on the kites.
After the speeches by Rio 2016 Organizing Committee President Carlos Arthur Nuzman and by IOC President Thomas Bach, Brazil's Acting President Michel Temer recited the games' opening declaration from the stands. Contrary to usual practice, he was not introduced at the beginning of the ceremony, nor was he introduced at the end of President Bach's speech.
After a burst of fireworks, the Olympic Flag then entered the stadium, and was raised while the Olympic Anthem was sung.
The Olympic oath on behalf of the athletes was then recited by Brazilian sailor Robert Scheidt. The corresponding oaths on behalf of the judges and coaches were taken by Martinho Nobre and Adriana Santos respectively. Furher artistic performances followed.
Ending the Olympic torch relay at the end of the Opening Ceremony, Gustavo Kuerten brought the Olympic torch into the stadium, relayed the Olympic flame to Hortência Marcari, who relayed to Vanderlei Cordeiro de Lima, who then lit the Olympic cauldron.
Thursday, 4 August 2016
Money For Nothing: The Life & Times Of Scottish Rally Driver Colin McRae
Billy Connolly, Dario Franchitti, Shirley Manson of Garbage, Richie Gray, Greig Laidlaw, Stuart Hogg, Finn Russell, Gavin Hastings, Chris Paterson, the late Bill McLaren, David Coulthard, Sir Jackie Stewart, Sir Sean Connery, Gerard Butler, the late William Wallace, James McAvoy, Andy Gray, Andy Robertson, Tilda Swinton, Andy Murray, Gordon Brown, Colin Montgomerie, Ewan McGregor, Billy Boyd, Karen Gillan, Ian McDiarmid, Robert Carlyle, Franz Ferdinand, The Proclaimers, Simple Minds, Biffy Clyro, Ewen Bremner, Paul di Resta, David Tennant, Peter Capaldi, Denis Lawson, the late Jim Clark, Calvin Harris, The Fratellis, Allan McNish, Drew McIntyre, Sir Chris Hoy...these are the famous faces of Scotland (Home of bagpipes, haggis, the Loch Ness monster & the tartan), but we can now reveal the one & only great Scot, a professional rally driver like no other with 25 wins & only 1 World Rally Championship to his belt, he is the one & only, Colin Steele McRae, now in this blog, I will tell you about the life & times of Colin McRae (He is the son of Jimmy & the brother of Alister) so here's one of the famous Scotsman, Sir Chris Hoy with that story:
I'm Chris Hoy, Olympic cycling champion, & lifelong fan of rally driving. Now I'm going to retrace the steps of one of my all-time sporting heroes, 90's rally legend, Colin McRae. With the help of his friends & family, I'm on a mission to uncover, what made him to such a revered driver. By tempting to drive like Colin, I'll discover a man who lived life to the limit, and drove to the limit too, like all geniuses, he had his flaws, but he was respected around the world. Now I'm going to experience the Colin McRae story...From the driver's seat.
As a professional cyclist, I've been crowned world champion 11 times, an Olympic champion on 6 occasions. But that doesn't stop me looking for the next big thrill. This is my purpose built track car, the toy that feeds me my love of speed.
Of course when it comes to driving, I'm just an amateur, but that hasn't stopped me wandering what life what have been like had I've chosen a different route, like Colin McRae.
Sadly, Colin died when a helicopter he was piloting crashed in 2007, the tragedy also claimed the life of his son & 2 other people. But for legions of fans, his success of a rally driver still an inspiration.
Now I'm going to retrace the steps of Britain's 1st world rally champion, & with the help of his friends & family, I tempt to drive just like Colin.
Before I meet those who knew him best, I want to understand what made Colin McRae legendary. So I'm getting the lowdown from a man who knows what it takes to drive a rally car. Meet American rally driver, Ken Block. Block is a superstar, famous for his trademark urban rally driving, which is becoming an internet phenomenon. In terms of driving style, Ken is as close as it gets to McRae, so with the help of archive footage, I wanted to grill him on what made Colin tick.
Bravery seems to be a key ingredient in a rally driver's makeup, & Colin's mantra of ''If in doubt, flat out'' often gave him the upper hand, but this approach also earnt him the nickname, 'Colin McCrash'. Colin was the 1st rally driver to gain notoriety in the USA, helped by a spectacular performance in America's 1st ever televised rally.
Another thing Colin is famous for, is his computer game. The legend's franchise has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making him a household name. I just hoped my driving would be better in a few days time, when I be doing this for real.
My 1st meeting with the McRae family is at Colin's farm in Lanarkshire, the house that he & his wife Alison made their family home.
My guide for the next few days would be Colin's dad Jimmy, who's a 5 time British rally champion, can take some of the credit for his son's glittering career.
To my amazement, Colin's treasured car collection is still housed here.
Every car we uncovered revealed another part of this fascinating story, the auto test Mini he drove aged 14, the Talbot Sunbeam he learnt to rally in, & his 1st professional car.
But there was one car that Jimmy had a special connection with.
Rallied by Jimmy, Colin & his brother Alister, this family played a part in all of their careers.
Jimmy was going to take me back where it all started for Colin.
We were going to find out exactly how his son became a rally legend. And I had a feeling that it might be a bumpy ride.
Colin's driving ability was obviously in his DNA. But I know his personal experience, that it takes hard work to get the top in your game.
His story starts on 2 wheels. By the age of 13, Colin showed promise on a motor bike. And had befriended Scottish junior champion, Robbie Allan.
Within a year, Colin had taken the Scottish junior scrambles crown, making a name for himself as one of the best young talents in the country.
But to his mother's relief, Colin didn't want to be a motorcyclist, he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps & become a professional rally driver.
In 1988 Colin entered the Scottish Rally Championship, in a humble Vauxhall Nova, one of the slowest cars in a 10 stage competition that year.
But keeping up with his father's Sierra would be impossible.
It remind challenging that year's favourite. Gillanders drove a Metro that it was so powerful it was eventually banned.
But that didn't stop Colin having a go.
Just a few rallies into the season, to everybody's amazement, Colin was keeping up with the big players.
Now McRae junior had a fighting chance to beat Gillanders in his monster Metro.
Colin & his co-driver Derek were steadily catching the leader of the pack.
By the final rally of the '88 season, Colin was poised to win the Scottish title.
The 20 year old was ready for a showdown.
But early in the rally, Gillanders lost control of his mighty Metro.
With his rival gone, Colin had won the Scottish Championship, but in his sign of things to come, he drove flat out anyway.
My next meeting with Jimmy is at the Sweet Lamb rally complex in mid Wales. Eventually, I'm going to emulate Colin McRae, by driving a world class rally car. But to get there, I must 1st learn the basics in a Talbot Sunbeam, which is exactly Colin did.
Throwing a rally car round a corner is like intricate dance routine, something that Colin had down to a fine art.
Back at Sweet Lamb, I was ready for my attempt at cornering.
I could see how Colin's experiences in motorbikes helped him, rallying is all about balancing the car, & understanding how it reacts to the slightest of movements.
Fortunately my career in 2 wheels seems to have stood me in good stead.
But riding a bike is a world away from my final challenge, driving a world rally spec Subaru Impreza.
Colin was signed by Subaru in 1991, at the age 23, he was at last a professional rally driver.
He started out in the British Rally Championship, which he won 2 years on the trot, his spectacular driving style in dared him to the fans, & fortunately, his new employers have deep enough pockets to keep providing him with new cars.
By the '93 season, Subaru were ready to give the young superstar a shot on the world stage.
Despite huge investment, the team were yet to win a single rally in the World Championship.
But the car he won 2 British titles in, Colin was totally at ease.
As the results came in, the final outcome was impossible to call.
But Colin had done it.
By 1995, Subaru's fortunes were changing, they had a powerful new car, the Impreza. And had signed up double world champion Carlos Sainz to lead the team.
With 2 rallies to go, McRae was just ahead of Sainz in the race for the driver's prize.
But Subaru were worried that the fight might end in a crash.
In the penultimate rally of the season, the pair were way ahead of the pack, when they ordered to stop racing each other.
But when the order came, Colin was in 2nd place.
In Spain, Colin recorded a faster time than Carlos, but his disobedience had jeopardized his chances of winning anything.
Colin was forced to give the victory to Sainz, meaning that they went to the final rally of the season on equal points.
Determined to become Britain's 1st ever world champion, Colin McRae drove like never before in front of his home crowd.
Quite simply, he was unbeatable.
Soon, I'm going to recreate Colin's famous victory, by driving the legendary WRC Impreza. And for my next lesson, I'm at a disused aerodrome awaiting an old friend of Colin's, Ken Block.
It may look like a thrill ride, but this car has a setup to handle just like a rally car would on gravel.
Using amazing dexterity, Ken was demonstrating how to keep the car perfectly balanced at all times.
To succeed in the Impreza, I needed to take note, especially is there is just 1 obstacle to tackle. A Vulcan bomber.
After his 1995 world title, Colin was at a all-time high, and away from the track, he married the girl of his dreams.
Colin had it all, he was the fastest rally driver of his generation, but his inconsistency opened the door, to an up & coming rival.
The Finn beat Colin to the world title in 1996, 97, 98 & 99.
But Colin and his Subaru team didn't like coming 2nd.
The losses had put Colin's relationship with Subaru under serious strain.
In the end, the team could not stop it's frustrated star from seeking pastures new.
Colin's new employers had high hopes for their latest car, the Focus.
Ford made Colin the highest paid rally driver in history.
But Colin had gone from a proven car he knew well, to one with teething problems, that was unfamiliar.
And without the firm hand of his old boss to keep in check, McRae often pushed his new machine beyond his limits.
The combination of extreme driving & mechanical failures, meant that Colin finished just 3 out of 14 rallies in 1999.
But his uncompromising commitment to being the fastest, was earning him more respect than ever before.
By 2000 Colin had a legendary reputation, but winning championships requires a more calculating approach.
But away from the madness of rally driving, Colin was growing up, He & Alison bought a farm in their home county of Lanarkshire, & were starting a family. And McRae's newfound responsibility was changing him as a driver too. Come 2001, he seemingly bonded him with his Focus.
But standing in his way was a young English star, driving for his old team.
McRae had a big point to prove against the Subaru driver, & what was held as the battle of Britain.
By the final rally of the season, Colin led by a single point. All he needed to do is to drive faster than Burns, & the world championship would be his.
Once again, after all the hopes & expectations, Colin had pushed it too far.
It was Colin's last real chance at the championship, 2 years later, he left the WRC to seek pastures new.
I'm in Azucar, Morocco, where Colin came to prepare for his next big challenge.
Unable to find the right offer from a WRC team, Colin turned to endurance racing, finishing 3rd in his class at Le Mans, before competing in the Dakar twice. The Dakar rally is the ultimate off-road marathon. The last time Colin entered it in 2005, it stretched from Barcelona, through the deserts of North Africa, before finishing in Senegal.
It seemed that rather than enjoy a little time off, Colin was intent on taking things up a gear.
I was about to get a taste of the world's longest rally, courtesy of Jimmy. And he lined up a very special vehicle. Developed by Colin's brother Alister, The McRae Enduro. This beast of a 4 by 4 is powerful enough to lug through the finest sand, is able to run for 2000 kilometres on a single tank, can cool itself for a searing heat, & has suspension that soaks up the toughest of terrains. Designed especially for the Dakar, The Enduro is quite simply, the beast of the car.
Jimmy didn't start rallying until he was in his 30s, & has a result, he missed out on international competitions like the Dakar. But I had a feeling had he started a little longer, He would have made for a name of himself, on the world stage.
Sadly, Colin never experienced a thrill of his brother Alister's creation. But at least Jimmy's been able to get his teeth into this 1.8 ton monster vehicle.
Winning the Dakar requires an equal mix of man & machine. And the true test of that was living on the horizon.
The Sahara desert is an unforgiving place, but it wasn't hard to see why Colin jumped at the chance to rally here.
In 2005, Colin blew the competition away, by the time he reached Africa, he built up an unbeliveable lead of over 5 minutes. And on my adventure, Jimmy was also getting the groove.
The McRae family truly are legendary dynasty of rallyers, but the reason Colin was so spectacular was he pushed his car to the absolute limit. A few stages from the 2005 finish, he wiped out. Once again, his flat out style saw another dream in tatters.
Back in the desert, I hoped we wouldn't have a similar experience. But then we got completely stuck.
My respect for Colin was growing by the limit, but then we found a magic button, that made life a whole lot easier.
Thanks to the car's self lifting mechanism, it was my turn at the wheel.
Jimmy is a very brave man.
I wanted to make my teacher proud, & if there is one thing learnt from Colin, It's the in knee situations, it's best to drive as fast a possible.
Our day in a desert was over, & what a day it would been.
Despite leaving the WRC, Colin continued to follow in his dreams, & to push himself, even further. By 2006, he was back in Scotland planning to return to rallying, but as a budding entrepreneur.
He designed a purpose built rally car, called the McRae R4. This concept vehicle was aimed to be a semi-professional market.
After years of work, he debuted the car in 2007.
But the R4 project was to remain unfinished.
The circumstances of the crash are well documented. But I wanted Jimmy to know that his son will always have a place in motorsport history.
5 years after Colin's untimely death, I'm going to recreate his most inspiring victory. By driving the same rally stage that he clinched the 1995 world title on.
As a top cyclist, I'm used to endless training, but I'm not sure if anything can prepare me for the challenge that awaits. Taking the control of a genuine WRC Subaru Impreza.
In the hands of a professional, this finely tuned 4 wheel drive beast, is capable of breakneck speeds, no matter what to what to any throw at it. The stakes couldn't be higher.
But fortunately, I'll have Colin's co-driver from 1995 by my side, Derek Ringer.
I was finally ready for the drive of my life. I'd just hoped that I make Jimmy proud.
As I attempted to tame the Impreza, by suddenly understood something Colin once said: ''If in doubt, flat out.''
And that's all folks for the life & times of Scottish rally driver, Colin McRae
I'm Chris Hoy, Olympic cycling champion, & lifelong fan of rally driving. Now I'm going to retrace the steps of one of my all-time sporting heroes, 90's rally legend, Colin McRae. With the help of his friends & family, I'm on a mission to uncover, what made him to such a revered driver. By tempting to drive like Colin, I'll discover a man who lived life to the limit, and drove to the limit too, like all geniuses, he had his flaws, but he was respected around the world. Now I'm going to experience the Colin McRae story...From the driver's seat.
As a professional cyclist, I've been crowned world champion 11 times, an Olympic champion on 6 occasions. But that doesn't stop me looking for the next big thrill. This is my purpose built track car, the toy that feeds me my love of speed.
Of course when it comes to driving, I'm just an amateur, but that hasn't stopped me wandering what life what have been like had I've chosen a different route, like Colin McRae.
Sadly, Colin died when a helicopter he was piloting crashed in 2007, the tragedy also claimed the life of his son & 2 other people. But for legions of fans, his success of a rally driver still an inspiration.
Now I'm going to retrace the steps of Britain's 1st world rally champion, & with the help of his friends & family, I tempt to drive just like Colin.
Before I meet those who knew him best, I want to understand what made Colin McRae legendary. So I'm getting the lowdown from a man who knows what it takes to drive a rally car. Meet American rally driver, Ken Block. Block is a superstar, famous for his trademark urban rally driving, which is becoming an internet phenomenon. In terms of driving style, Ken is as close as it gets to McRae, so with the help of archive footage, I wanted to grill him on what made Colin tick.
Bravery seems to be a key ingredient in a rally driver's makeup, & Colin's mantra of ''If in doubt, flat out'' often gave him the upper hand, but this approach also earnt him the nickname, 'Colin McCrash'. Colin was the 1st rally driver to gain notoriety in the USA, helped by a spectacular performance in America's 1st ever televised rally.
Another thing Colin is famous for, is his computer game. The legend's franchise has sold over 10 million copies worldwide, making him a household name. I just hoped my driving would be better in a few days time, when I be doing this for real.
My 1st meeting with the McRae family is at Colin's farm in Lanarkshire, the house that he & his wife Alison made their family home.
My guide for the next few days would be Colin's dad Jimmy, who's a 5 time British rally champion, can take some of the credit for his son's glittering career.
To my amazement, Colin's treasured car collection is still housed here.
Every car we uncovered revealed another part of this fascinating story, the auto test Mini he drove aged 14, the Talbot Sunbeam he learnt to rally in, & his 1st professional car.
But there was one car that Jimmy had a special connection with.
Rallied by Jimmy, Colin & his brother Alister, this family played a part in all of their careers.
Jimmy was going to take me back where it all started for Colin.
We were going to find out exactly how his son became a rally legend. And I had a feeling that it might be a bumpy ride.
Colin's driving ability was obviously in his DNA. But I know his personal experience, that it takes hard work to get the top in your game.
His story starts on 2 wheels. By the age of 13, Colin showed promise on a motor bike. And had befriended Scottish junior champion, Robbie Allan.
Within a year, Colin had taken the Scottish junior scrambles crown, making a name for himself as one of the best young talents in the country.
But to his mother's relief, Colin didn't want to be a motorcyclist, he wanted to follow in his father's footsteps & become a professional rally driver.
In 1988 Colin entered the Scottish Rally Championship, in a humble Vauxhall Nova, one of the slowest cars in a 10 stage competition that year.
But keeping up with his father's Sierra would be impossible.
It remind challenging that year's favourite. Gillanders drove a Metro that it was so powerful it was eventually banned.
But that didn't stop Colin having a go.
Just a few rallies into the season, to everybody's amazement, Colin was keeping up with the big players.
Now McRae junior had a fighting chance to beat Gillanders in his monster Metro.
Colin & his co-driver Derek were steadily catching the leader of the pack.
By the final rally of the '88 season, Colin was poised to win the Scottish title.
The 20 year old was ready for a showdown.
But early in the rally, Gillanders lost control of his mighty Metro.
With his rival gone, Colin had won the Scottish Championship, but in his sign of things to come, he drove flat out anyway.
My next meeting with Jimmy is at the Sweet Lamb rally complex in mid Wales. Eventually, I'm going to emulate Colin McRae, by driving a world class rally car. But to get there, I must 1st learn the basics in a Talbot Sunbeam, which is exactly Colin did.
Throwing a rally car round a corner is like intricate dance routine, something that Colin had down to a fine art.
Back at Sweet Lamb, I was ready for my attempt at cornering.
I could see how Colin's experiences in motorbikes helped him, rallying is all about balancing the car, & understanding how it reacts to the slightest of movements.
Fortunately my career in 2 wheels seems to have stood me in good stead.
But riding a bike is a world away from my final challenge, driving a world rally spec Subaru Impreza.
Colin was signed by Subaru in 1991, at the age 23, he was at last a professional rally driver.
He started out in the British Rally Championship, which he won 2 years on the trot, his spectacular driving style in dared him to the fans, & fortunately, his new employers have deep enough pockets to keep providing him with new cars.
By the '93 season, Subaru were ready to give the young superstar a shot on the world stage.
Despite huge investment, the team were yet to win a single rally in the World Championship.
But the car he won 2 British titles in, Colin was totally at ease.
As the results came in, the final outcome was impossible to call.
But Colin had done it.
By 1995, Subaru's fortunes were changing, they had a powerful new car, the Impreza. And had signed up double world champion Carlos Sainz to lead the team.
With 2 rallies to go, McRae was just ahead of Sainz in the race for the driver's prize.
But Subaru were worried that the fight might end in a crash.
In the penultimate rally of the season, the pair were way ahead of the pack, when they ordered to stop racing each other.
But when the order came, Colin was in 2nd place.
In Spain, Colin recorded a faster time than Carlos, but his disobedience had jeopardized his chances of winning anything.
Colin was forced to give the victory to Sainz, meaning that they went to the final rally of the season on equal points.
Determined to become Britain's 1st ever world champion, Colin McRae drove like never before in front of his home crowd.
Quite simply, he was unbeatable.
Soon, I'm going to recreate Colin's famous victory, by driving the legendary WRC Impreza. And for my next lesson, I'm at a disused aerodrome awaiting an old friend of Colin's, Ken Block.
It may look like a thrill ride, but this car has a setup to handle just like a rally car would on gravel.
Using amazing dexterity, Ken was demonstrating how to keep the car perfectly balanced at all times.
To succeed in the Impreza, I needed to take note, especially is there is just 1 obstacle to tackle. A Vulcan bomber.
After his 1995 world title, Colin was at a all-time high, and away from the track, he married the girl of his dreams.
Colin had it all, he was the fastest rally driver of his generation, but his inconsistency opened the door, to an up & coming rival.
The Finn beat Colin to the world title in 1996, 97, 98 & 99.
But Colin and his Subaru team didn't like coming 2nd.
The losses had put Colin's relationship with Subaru under serious strain.
In the end, the team could not stop it's frustrated star from seeking pastures new.
Colin's new employers had high hopes for their latest car, the Focus.
Ford made Colin the highest paid rally driver in history.
But Colin had gone from a proven car he knew well, to one with teething problems, that was unfamiliar.
And without the firm hand of his old boss to keep in check, McRae often pushed his new machine beyond his limits.
The combination of extreme driving & mechanical failures, meant that Colin finished just 3 out of 14 rallies in 1999.
But his uncompromising commitment to being the fastest, was earning him more respect than ever before.
By 2000 Colin had a legendary reputation, but winning championships requires a more calculating approach.
But away from the madness of rally driving, Colin was growing up, He & Alison bought a farm in their home county of Lanarkshire, & were starting a family. And McRae's newfound responsibility was changing him as a driver too. Come 2001, he seemingly bonded him with his Focus.
But standing in his way was a young English star, driving for his old team.
McRae had a big point to prove against the Subaru driver, & what was held as the battle of Britain.
By the final rally of the season, Colin led by a single point. All he needed to do is to drive faster than Burns, & the world championship would be his.
Once again, after all the hopes & expectations, Colin had pushed it too far.
It was Colin's last real chance at the championship, 2 years later, he left the WRC to seek pastures new.
I'm in Azucar, Morocco, where Colin came to prepare for his next big challenge.
Unable to find the right offer from a WRC team, Colin turned to endurance racing, finishing 3rd in his class at Le Mans, before competing in the Dakar twice. The Dakar rally is the ultimate off-road marathon. The last time Colin entered it in 2005, it stretched from Barcelona, through the deserts of North Africa, before finishing in Senegal.
It seemed that rather than enjoy a little time off, Colin was intent on taking things up a gear.
I was about to get a taste of the world's longest rally, courtesy of Jimmy. And he lined up a very special vehicle. Developed by Colin's brother Alister, The McRae Enduro. This beast of a 4 by 4 is powerful enough to lug through the finest sand, is able to run for 2000 kilometres on a single tank, can cool itself for a searing heat, & has suspension that soaks up the toughest of terrains. Designed especially for the Dakar, The Enduro is quite simply, the beast of the car.
Jimmy didn't start rallying until he was in his 30s, & has a result, he missed out on international competitions like the Dakar. But I had a feeling had he started a little longer, He would have made for a name of himself, on the world stage.
Sadly, Colin never experienced a thrill of his brother Alister's creation. But at least Jimmy's been able to get his teeth into this 1.8 ton monster vehicle.
Winning the Dakar requires an equal mix of man & machine. And the true test of that was living on the horizon.
The Sahara desert is an unforgiving place, but it wasn't hard to see why Colin jumped at the chance to rally here.
In 2005, Colin blew the competition away, by the time he reached Africa, he built up an unbeliveable lead of over 5 minutes. And on my adventure, Jimmy was also getting the groove.
The McRae family truly are legendary dynasty of rallyers, but the reason Colin was so spectacular was he pushed his car to the absolute limit. A few stages from the 2005 finish, he wiped out. Once again, his flat out style saw another dream in tatters.
Back in the desert, I hoped we wouldn't have a similar experience. But then we got completely stuck.
My respect for Colin was growing by the limit, but then we found a magic button, that made life a whole lot easier.
Thanks to the car's self lifting mechanism, it was my turn at the wheel.
Jimmy is a very brave man.
I wanted to make my teacher proud, & if there is one thing learnt from Colin, It's the in knee situations, it's best to drive as fast a possible.
Our day in a desert was over, & what a day it would been.
Despite leaving the WRC, Colin continued to follow in his dreams, & to push himself, even further. By 2006, he was back in Scotland planning to return to rallying, but as a budding entrepreneur.
He designed a purpose built rally car, called the McRae R4. This concept vehicle was aimed to be a semi-professional market.
After years of work, he debuted the car in 2007.
But the R4 project was to remain unfinished.
The circumstances of the crash are well documented. But I wanted Jimmy to know that his son will always have a place in motorsport history.
5 years after Colin's untimely death, I'm going to recreate his most inspiring victory. By driving the same rally stage that he clinched the 1995 world title on.
As a top cyclist, I'm used to endless training, but I'm not sure if anything can prepare me for the challenge that awaits. Taking the control of a genuine WRC Subaru Impreza.
In the hands of a professional, this finely tuned 4 wheel drive beast, is capable of breakneck speeds, no matter what to what to any throw at it. The stakes couldn't be higher.
But fortunately, I'll have Colin's co-driver from 1995 by my side, Derek Ringer.
I was finally ready for the drive of my life. I'd just hoped that I make Jimmy proud.
As I attempted to tame the Impreza, by suddenly understood something Colin once said: ''If in doubt, flat out.''
And that's all folks for the life & times of Scottish rally driver, Colin McRae
Saturday, 30 July 2016
Bullitproof/The General Electric/Wait & See/You Again: Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups 1987 to 2015
So today is the last day of July because tomorrow is the 1st day of August so I will be doing a blog about the 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) & 2011 (MMXI) triumphs of the All Blacks according to the book that I've got for my birthday (Along with the brand new Playstation 4 which I'm not playing at the moment (Well, I sometimes play a game called F1 2015 (MMXV) on Monday the day after a Grand Prix) although I managed to save some more money in order to by the PS4 but I'm still saving money to buy another controller for the PS4 which I will be using as a back-up or spare because I've already got one but the next game I'm going to get which is Dirt Rally so I would be getting that if I have enough money to buy), which is Sir Graham Henry celebrates The World Cups! 1987 to 2015.
1987 (The 1st World Cup was held back in 1987 with the All Blacks dominated the tournament in which they beat Italy (Including that all time great try from John Kirwan as well as Michael Jones scoring the 1st genuine try of the World Cup because the very 1st try of the World Cup was a penalty try), Fiji and Argentina in the pool games before taking on Scotland in the quarterfinals in which they won and Wales in the semifinals (Huw Richards got sent off for throwing that punch before Wayne 'Buck' Shelford threw a punch on Richards which went unpunished) before clashing with traditional rivals France (Who beat Australia with a desperate last minute try scored by Serge Blanco) in the final moments before New Zealand beat France 29 - 9 (With some great tries being scored by captain David Kirk as well as Kirwan) to win the very 1st ever Rugby World Cup title with Kirk lifting the World Cup title as seen on national television).
It was a bitterly cold mid-winter morning in Christchurch in 1987 and Craig Green was sitting on his tool bag on the roadside waiting for the pick-up that would take him to the work site where he would put in a day's toil as a roofing contractor.
It was not 7am and pitch black ''What am I doing here?'' thought Green ''I've just helped the All Blacks become the best rugby team in the world. I was a celebrity then but now I'm just Craig Green, labourer, wondering how I can pay the bills.''
Green's tax return for the previous year recorded an income of $6,000, less than a quarter of the national average wage.
The scorer of 110 tries in 1st-class rugby (And a record equaling 4 in the World Cup game against Fiji), Green was only 26 but couldn't see how he would continue to make such sacrifices to sustain his career.
He was a frustrated amateur 7 years before rugby would turn professional. ''It was pretty disappointing to realize there was nothing for the players in the wake of the World Cup triumph'' he said ''No bonus, not even a celebration dinner. It was a case of, 'Thanks, fellas, now get back to work - we'll call you when we need you.' ''
John Kirwan would recommend Green to the Treviso club in Italy, initiating a relationship that would flourish for 7 seasons, boost his sagging coffers and win him an Italian wife.
Not long after his return to New Zealand, rugby turned professional, with the players who'd succeeded him in the All Blacks suddenly on salaries of around $200,000.
''Good luck to them,'' said Green ''They won't need to be picked up at 7am for a day's labouring straight after playing an international.''
Green's heart-rending story helps put the inaugural Rugby World Cup, won so convincingly by the All Blacks, in context. Staged when rugby was still fearsomely amateur, the event which is now one of sport's glamour occasions, attracting millions of viewers worldwide and commanding ticket prices of more than $750 for a final seat, came only through the initiative and determination of the game's administrators in New Zealand & Australia.
Most of the Home Nations, and even the International Rugby Board, if truth be known, were lukewarm on the concept.
It took a lot of persuasion from the Kiwis and the Aussies to make it happen.
The whole event, involving 21 games in New Zealand & 11 in Australia, was shaped in 18 months. Incredibly, the tournament lacked a major sponsor until days before kick-off when the Japanese telecommunications firm of KDD - with no profile on the rugby stage before or since - stepped in and averted a mountain of blushes.
For an amateur event, the 1st Rugby World Cup was a resounding success, producing rugby as it should be played. The players triumphed, with officials for once taking a back seat.
The tournament would have been even better but for meddling by the IRB (Essentially British) administrators.
Not understanding how rugby consumes pretty much the wholde of New Zealand, they insisted the number of New Zealand, they insisted the number of New Zealand venues staging matches be restricted to 9.
Auckland and Wellington finished up hosting 5 matches each, Christchurch and Dunedin 3 each, and Rotorua, Napier, Palmerston North, Invercargill and Hamilton 1 each.
Whangarei missed out, so did New Plymouth and Nelson.
The consequence of this was that fixtures like Zimbabwe v Romania were played out before an Almost deserted Eden Park (Similarly Argentina v Italy in Christchurch) when the good folk of Whangarei would have adopted the teams they were hosting and put probably 10,000 into their stadium.
If you doubt that, note that 19,000 attended the Wales-Tonga game in Palmerston North (That city's only fixture), while 13,500 turned up at Rugby Park in Invercargill for the Wales-Canada match and a remarkable 30,000 packed Rugby Park in Rotorua for the 3rd place playoff between Australia and Wales.
Staging the tournament in May & June, which encroaches on winter when the weather can be diabolical, was risky, but miraculously all 21 matches in New Zealand were staged in fine (If sometimes extremely windy) conditions.
As host nations New Zealand was natrually expected to be hard to bowl but, based on performances over the previous 18 months, the Wallabies, prepared by Alan Jones, claimed the (Unofficial) No.1 ranking in the World.
They had followed up a famous 1st Grand Slam tour of the UK in 1984 with a Bledisloe Cup series triumph in New Zealand in 1986, after which the All Blacks had taken a fearful battering - literally & physically - from France at Nantes on their end-of-year tour.
The Nantes disaster resulted in the NZRU appointing a fresh selection panel for 1987. Brian Lochore was retained as convenor but Colin 'Pine Tree' Meads and 'Tiny' Hill were dropped, giving way to Alex 'Grizz' Wyllie & John Hart.
Lochore, Hart & Wyllie elected to be bold. Acknowledging they didn't posses the forward might to match teams like France, they opted for for a high-tempo game, one they were confident few other nations would be able to match.
To help implement this strategy, they installed John Gallagher, the Wellington-based policeman who had emigrated to New Zealand in 1984 & who had applied for naturalisation only in 1987, at fullback & 21-year-old Michael Jones as the openside flanker. Both would emerge as superstars of the tournament.
It was always expected that Australia would come through on its side of the draw to provide the All Blacks with their sternest challenge, but, to most people's astonishment, they would crash out against France in the semifinals.
In what ranks as one of Rugby World Cup's classic contests, France came from 0-9, 12-15 & 21-24 down to level at 24-all with 6 minutes to play at the Concord Stadium in Sydney, then uncorked an absolutely stunning long-range try, scored by Serge Blanco. Didier Camberabero converted from near touch to consummate Rugby World Cup's 1st massive upset.
Until that moment, the inaugural tournament had progressed pretty much according to the form book, with the exception of Fiji's upset win over Hugo Porta's Argentinian Pumas in Hamilton.
The Pumas were ranked 4th and were considered the team most likely to cause an upset; instead, they were upset themselves, walloped 28-9 in their opening encounter in Hamilton by a rampant Fijian side that scored 4 tries to 1. The Fijians had arrived in New Zealand only days after Colonel Rabuka's coup.
Although Fiji subsequently lost to the All Blacks and Italy - all 3 nations finishing with 1 win & 2 losses - it progressed to the quarterfinals by virtue of scoring most tries (6 compared with Argentina's 4 & Italy's 2).
With South Africa absent - it wouldn't enter the World Cup arena until 1995 - the quarterfinals predictably featured the 4 Home Nations, France, New Zealand & Australia, with Fiji the intruder.
The All Blacks eliminated Scotland 30-3, surprisingly embarrassing them in the scrums after 'Grizz' Wyllie packed down 80 scrums in practice midweek; France proved too strong for the gallant Fijians; Australia hammered Ireland and, in the only upset, Wales defeated England England 16-3 in a contest thatwas described as the most boring of the tournament.
The semifinals were contrasting affairs. The All Blacks blitzed their traditional rival Wales 49-6 at Ballymore in Brisbane, scoring 8 tries to 1, while the epic France-Australia game (Watched by a paltry 17,768 spectators at Concord Stadium in Sydney) went to the wire.
Not only did the Brisbane contest produce Wales' heaviest defeat in 107 years of international rugby but its lock, Huw Richards, had the dubious distinction of being the 1st player sent off in a World Cup contest.
Richards learnt of his penalty in bizarre circumstances. After losing his cool and weighing into Gary Whetton, he in turn was knocked to the ground by All Black No 8 Buck Shelford.
It took some time to revive Richards, after which referee Kerry Fitzgerald told him he was sent off! These days, video replays would have seen Shelford shown a red card too.
The playoff for 3rd was notable for the petulant behaviour of Wallaby coach Alan Jones - ''Where's Rotorua?'' he scoffed - and the sensational finish by the Welsh, who scored in the 79th minute & clinched victory with a sideline conversion from Paul Thorburn, to the delight of most of the 30,000 spectators.
David Kirk was only the 3rd-choice All Black captain, after Jock Hobbs & Andy Dalton had been forced out through injuries, but he was a truly inspirational leader in the final, played before a crowd of 46,000 at Eden Park, scoring 1 try & creating another for John Kirwan in the 61st & 64th minutes, that finished off the French.
Grant Fox contributed 17 points towards New Zealand's 29-9 victory, bringing his aggregate for the tournament to an astonishing 126 points from just 6 outings, an average of 21 points a game.
He converted 30 of New Zealand's 43 tries & added 21 penalty goals and a dropped goal. His record still stands.
And so New Zealand became the 1st holder of the Webb Ellis Cup, and deservedly so, for it was clearly the most accomplished team at the 1st World Cup.
Who would have thought, therefore, it would be another 24 years before the All Blacks would have their name engraved on the trophy again?
Quarterfinals
New Zealand beat Scotland 30-3, in Christchurch
France beat Fiji 31-16, in Auckland
Australia beat Ireland 33-15, in Sydney
Wales beat England 16-3, in Brisbane
Semifinals
New Zealand beat Wales 49-6, in Brisbane
France beat Australia 30-24, in Sydney
Playoff for 3rd
Wales beat Australia 22-21, in Rotorua
Final
New Zealand beat France 29-9, in Auckland
24 years later, in 2011 (And so on in 2011, the All Blacks opened with a win over the kingdom of Tonga (Who hijacked us at the start) at Eden Park in Auckland (41 - 10) followed by Japan at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton 83 - 7 (The night before the mighty green throng of Ireland turned the tables on Australia, causing an upset), then France in Auckland (37 - 17) with captain Richie McCaw becoming the 1st All Black to reach 100 test caps followed by beating Canada at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington 79 - 15 (The day after Tonga providing another upset victory over France as well as Dan Carter, who was ruled out of the tournament altogether with a groin injury), then it is quarter final time as we scraped Argentina 33 - 10 in Auckland (Although Colin Slade suffered an injury similar to Dan Carter's), then finally beating against our traditional Trans Tasman rivals Australia (Who defeated South Africa in the quarter final which was better off forgotten) in the semifinal 20 - 6 (It was the night after the French flair titans (Who gave England the chop in the quarterfinal) defeated the Welsh (Who had beaten the mighty green throng in the quarters) in the other semifinal in which Sam Warburton got sent off for that famous spear tackle) before we once again took on France in the final, just as it was back in 1987, with the weight of the nation above our shoulders (Although Stephen 'Beaver' Donald was called up in the last minute whilst he was white baiting, YA GOT THAT!! WHITEBAITING), we have won us the CUP!!! HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!!! And yeah, not only that we have ended our Rugby World Cup curse after 24 years of agony and pain, as if, not ONLY we beat France 8 - 7, we have managed to lift the World Cup trophy, not only because it is the greatest moment of my life).
Stephen Donald - Beaver to his rugby comrades - performed only a modest back-up role for the All Blacks in 2010, but it incorporated a calamitous 20-minute cameo in Hong Kong, where Graham Henry's men tackled the Wallabies in a showpiece encounter en route to Europe.
When Donald joined proceedings, as a substitute for Dan Carter, the All Blacks (Who already had the Tri-Nations Championship and the Bledisloe Cup in the bag) were ahead 24-12. Donald promptly missed a close-range penalty attempt, then, more seriously, with time running out, missed touch, allowing the Australians to counter-attack and score a match-winning try through James O'Connor.
Donald copped criticism for the defeat, the only one the All Blacks would sustain a year out from the 7th Rugby World Cup.
Coach Henry backed him. As the team headed for Europe, he said ''It was a difficult 20 minutes, but he'll bounce back. Some hadn't played international rugby for some time and found the pace of the game demanding.''
Assistant coach Wayne Smith said it was not easy for Donald in the circumstances ''You got to a dark place,'' he said ''I've been there myself. That's the accountability of the All Blacks jersey. He'll get another opportunity.''
Not everyone concurred with Smith's assessment. With seemingly the whole of New Zealand condemning him, events at Hong Kong Stadium took their toll. It would be a long time before Beaver would bounce back.
Carter wore the No 10 jersey exclusively in the 4 (Grand Slam) tests, Donald getting just 30 minutes against Scotland (Coming on with his team 35-3 ahead) and 3 minutes against Wales.
As the All Blacks wended their way home at season's end, Donald probably wondered whether he would represent the All Blacks again, especially given the progress Aaron Cruden & Colin Slade were making.
But, as would be recorded in Henry's autobiography, fate deals some intriguing hands and Beaver might still have an important card to play.
The All Blacks, having come gruesomely unstuck against the French at the quarterfinal stage in 2007 (And during the quarterfinals, France terminated the All Blacks dream of winning the World Cup just like as it was repeating the heroics way back in '99 through a blatant forward pass not seen by English referee Wayne Barnes (Although South Africa won the tourney beating England in the final), were the hottest of hot favourites, Henry and his brilliantly qualified assistants, Smith & Steve Hansen, were determined not (To use a dinkum Kiwi-ism) to bugger things up this time.
They put an incredible amount of time into analysing where things unfolded in Cardiff & how they could prevent a repeat.
The 2 major lessons learnt were:
(1) They had applied a Tri-Nations/Grand Slam mentality to the campaign, i.e. taking 1 game at a time, whereas World Cup rugby, once the post-section phase has been reached, is about sudden death. What you've achieved throughout the year and in the World Cup pool matches doesn't matter a hoot;
(2) Carter for the unexpected; in fact, prepare for the worst-case scenario. 2 worst-case scenarios had unfolded at Cardiff - the 2 specialist first-fives, Carter and Nick Evans, had both gone off injured and the referee did not penalize France for the last 50 minutes of the game.
Close analysis of the Cardiff quarterfinal revealed players becoming stressed in the 2nd half and losing focus ''They didn't handle the pressure'' noted Henry ''Their minds went blank.''
If the All Blacks were to be successful in 2011, they had to handle the unexpected; they had to embrace pressure. What was the worst that could happen this time? Dan Carter & Richie McCaw going down with serious injuries? Not Possible, surely!
The other major change since 2007 was the adoption of a shared leadership philosphy. Collectively devised by Messrs Henry, Smith & Hansen, along with manager Darren Shand & mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka, it involved the appointment of the magnificent 7 - McCaw, Carter, Mils Muliaina & Andrew Hore as on-field leaders & Conrad Smith, Brad Thorn & Keven Mealamu as off-field leaders.
The value of this leadership group would bear fruit in the desperate final half hour of the final.
As in 2007, the All Blacks breezed through pool play. After a tough 1st-up encounter against Tonga (Won 41-10), they demolished John Kirwan's Japan 83-7 & France 37-17 before moving on to Wellington to prepare for the clash with Canada.
While that game would be won handsomely, 79-15, it was what unfolded on the eve of that contest that traumatized the All Blacks coaches; indeed, the whole of New Zealand.
Carter, who for the 1st time in his illustrious career was to captain the All Blacks, was having a few harmless shots at goal on the Friday afternoon. 4 place kicks, that's all. The 4th was from straight in front of the posts. He swung through the ball as he had done thousands of times in his career, but this time pain seared through his left leg & he dropped to the ground clutching his groin.
He had torn the adductor longus tendon off the bone. His World Cup was over & a worst-case scenario was again confronting the All Blacks. ''We need to be strong & confront adversity'' Henry told his players ''Losing Dan is a hell of a blow but we've just got to get on with doing the business.''
Carter's injury allowed Cruden, so unlucky to miss original selection, to join the squad.
The French, battered by New Zealand, also lost to Tonga in one of Rugby World Cup's greatest upsets & were incredibly fortunate to advance to the quarterfinals, in the process becoming the 1st nation to do so after losing 2 pool matches. Their good fortune was that Tonga had stumbled against Canada, or they would have been, embarrassingly, on an early flight home.
Pretty much all the other 'seeded' nations advanced to the playoffs, Argentina at Scotland's expense (After winning a thriller in the rain in Wellington, 13-12) and Wales ahead of the nation that had twice previously embarrassed it in World Cup pool play - Samoa.
The greatest upset result was provided by the Irish, who knocked over the Wallabies in a riveting contest at Eden Park, 15-6. This had the effect of shunting Australia on to the same side of the draw as New Zealand, putting them on a collision course for the semifinals when many expected them to fight out the final.
The Springboks were the defending champions and, remarkably, brought 21 of the survivors from 2007 to the tournament. The team that took on Wales, and escaped oh so narrowly, 17-16, thanks to the Welsh fluffing some late kicks at goal, boasted an incredible 825 caps (An average of 55 per player).
The quarterfinals produced a series of enthralling contests. Wales, coached by Warren Gatland, outgunned Ireland 22-10, Australia edged out South Africa 11-9 (After which the South Africans said many unkind things about New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence), the All Blacks outmuscled Argentina 33-10 (Helped by 7 penalty goals from the boot of Piri Weepu, in the process losing Colin Slade with Carter's injury - a torn adductor muscle) &, in the most unlikely outcome, the French, who appeared to be down & out after losing to Tonga, defeated England 19-12.
The French are reowned for their inconsistency, but this time they appeared to be so far down the precipice there would be no way back. What made the difference? ''We talked a lot'' said France's man of the match, halfback Dimitri Yachvili ''It was obvious our performance against Tonga was unacceptable. There was a lot of soul-searching during the week.''
The 1st semifinal was virtually decided by referee Alain Rolland in the 17th minute when he red-carded Welsh captain Sam Warburton for a tip tackle on French winger Vincent Clerc.
Yes, it was a dangerous tackle and, yes it certainly deserved a yellow card (Francois Pienaar, the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain for the Springboks said that at best the yellow card, never a red card in the final & he also said that Warburton had been one of the cleanest players in the tournament just because Rolland killed the game so Pienaar was livid because he was absolutely livid that it's wrong, it is wrong because he may have calmed them down a bit). But in so diligently applying the law relevant to dangerous tip tackles, Rolland effectively destroyed a World Cup showpiece, an occasion for which the Welsh had spent 4 years planning.
Against 14 men for the final 63 minutes, France, even without scoring a try, held on to win 9-8. The plucky Welsh almost salvaged an amazing victory through a late try by halfback Mike Phillips, but Stephen Jones, on for the hapless James Hook, who'd had a wretched night as a goalkicker, struck the upright with his conversion.
24 hours later, the All Blacks eliminated the Wallabies, thanks to an explosive opening, which produced the game's solitary try in the 5th minute by Ma'a Nonu.
The contest was effectively over by halftime, although the Wallabies fought bravely throughout the 2nd half & deserved a greater reward than 1 penalty goal & 1 dropped goal.
Having dissected the French so ruthlessly in pool play, the All Blacks were raging hot favourites to take out the final, especially given the venue was Eden Park where they had been invincible since 1986.
However, the worst-case scenarios kept unfolding for Henry's team. Aaron Cruden limped off in the 33rd minute to be replaced by none other than Stephen Donald. Beacer, who'd been whitebaiting a fortnight before, now found himself in a World Cup final wearing Cruden's shirt, which was 2 sizes too small for him.
Weepu, who had been kicking like a machine throughout the tournament, had tweaked a muscle in a private practice session now couldn't land anything, as a consequence of which the All Blacks were only 5-0 ahead at halftime, courtesy of a classic try to Tony Woodcock, utilising the 'Teabag' lineout move that had been kept on ice for 3 years.
Beaver assured himself of immortality by landing a penalty goal 4 minutes into the 2nd half for an 8-0 advantage, which was trimmed to 1 point a few minutes later when Thierry Dusautoir scored a try that was converted.
The 8-7 scorline survived for the final 32 minutes of what surely ranks as Rugby World Cup's most gripping encounter.
While Messers Henry, Smith & Hansen died a thousand deaths in the coaches' box during that final, agonising half hour, the ultra-cool All Blacks, superbly marshalled by Richie McCaw (Ignoring a severe foot injury that shouldn't have even allowed him to start) operated with consummate skill. This time they were mentally strong, trusting in each other to get the job done.
Worst-case scenarios weren't going to deny them this time. Out of the 2007 wreckage had emerged a team with the mental strength to survive.
When South African referee Craig Joubert blew the whistle for full time, the All Blacks were still a point in front, 8-7. One point was enough, allowing McCaw to go forward & become the 1st New Zealander to accept the Webb Ellis Cup since David Kirk, at the same venue, 24 years earlier.
Quarterfinals
Wales beat Ireland 22-10, in Wellington
France beat England 19-12, in Auckland
Australia beat South Africa 11-9, in Wellington
New Zealand beat Argentina 33-10, in Auckland
Semifinals
France beat Wales 9-8, in Auckland
New Zealand beat Australia 20-6, in Auckland
Playoff for 3rd
Australia beat Wales 21-18, in Auckland
Final
New Zealand beat France 8-7, in Auckland
And finally guess what, it is only 6 days until the Rio 2016 (MMXVI) Olympic Games because there are so many Kiwi athletes competing so they can go for gold because I am still looking forward to it as well as my Malaysian friend sending me an email which is about that she will be heading to the once earthquake stricken garden city of Christchurch so here's the full message in it's entirety:
Morning Whetu,
Yes i will be heading to Christchurch next week, I am in wellington at the moment and it is very nice, people are very nice in the backpackers!
We will have a picnic when i come back
and Finally yes i am excited about the Olympics especially the Opening!
Talk to you soon!
So that's all folks for my XVIth (16th) blog of the year, MMXVI.
1987 (The 1st World Cup was held back in 1987 with the All Blacks dominated the tournament in which they beat Italy (Including that all time great try from John Kirwan as well as Michael Jones scoring the 1st genuine try of the World Cup because the very 1st try of the World Cup was a penalty try), Fiji and Argentina in the pool games before taking on Scotland in the quarterfinals in which they won and Wales in the semifinals (Huw Richards got sent off for throwing that punch before Wayne 'Buck' Shelford threw a punch on Richards which went unpunished) before clashing with traditional rivals France (Who beat Australia with a desperate last minute try scored by Serge Blanco) in the final moments before New Zealand beat France 29 - 9 (With some great tries being scored by captain David Kirk as well as Kirwan) to win the very 1st ever Rugby World Cup title with Kirk lifting the World Cup title as seen on national television).
It was a bitterly cold mid-winter morning in Christchurch in 1987 and Craig Green was sitting on his tool bag on the roadside waiting for the pick-up that would take him to the work site where he would put in a day's toil as a roofing contractor.
It was not 7am and pitch black ''What am I doing here?'' thought Green ''I've just helped the All Blacks become the best rugby team in the world. I was a celebrity then but now I'm just Craig Green, labourer, wondering how I can pay the bills.''
Green's tax return for the previous year recorded an income of $6,000, less than a quarter of the national average wage.
The scorer of 110 tries in 1st-class rugby (And a record equaling 4 in the World Cup game against Fiji), Green was only 26 but couldn't see how he would continue to make such sacrifices to sustain his career.
He was a frustrated amateur 7 years before rugby would turn professional. ''It was pretty disappointing to realize there was nothing for the players in the wake of the World Cup triumph'' he said ''No bonus, not even a celebration dinner. It was a case of, 'Thanks, fellas, now get back to work - we'll call you when we need you.' ''
John Kirwan would recommend Green to the Treviso club in Italy, initiating a relationship that would flourish for 7 seasons, boost his sagging coffers and win him an Italian wife.
Not long after his return to New Zealand, rugby turned professional, with the players who'd succeeded him in the All Blacks suddenly on salaries of around $200,000.
''Good luck to them,'' said Green ''They won't need to be picked up at 7am for a day's labouring straight after playing an international.''
Green's heart-rending story helps put the inaugural Rugby World Cup, won so convincingly by the All Blacks, in context. Staged when rugby was still fearsomely amateur, the event which is now one of sport's glamour occasions, attracting millions of viewers worldwide and commanding ticket prices of more than $750 for a final seat, came only through the initiative and determination of the game's administrators in New Zealand & Australia.
Most of the Home Nations, and even the International Rugby Board, if truth be known, were lukewarm on the concept.
It took a lot of persuasion from the Kiwis and the Aussies to make it happen.
The whole event, involving 21 games in New Zealand & 11 in Australia, was shaped in 18 months. Incredibly, the tournament lacked a major sponsor until days before kick-off when the Japanese telecommunications firm of KDD - with no profile on the rugby stage before or since - stepped in and averted a mountain of blushes.
For an amateur event, the 1st Rugby World Cup was a resounding success, producing rugby as it should be played. The players triumphed, with officials for once taking a back seat.
The tournament would have been even better but for meddling by the IRB (Essentially British) administrators.
Not understanding how rugby consumes pretty much the wholde of New Zealand, they insisted the number of New Zealand, they insisted the number of New Zealand venues staging matches be restricted to 9.
Auckland and Wellington finished up hosting 5 matches each, Christchurch and Dunedin 3 each, and Rotorua, Napier, Palmerston North, Invercargill and Hamilton 1 each.
Whangarei missed out, so did New Plymouth and Nelson.
The consequence of this was that fixtures like Zimbabwe v Romania were played out before an Almost deserted Eden Park (Similarly Argentina v Italy in Christchurch) when the good folk of Whangarei would have adopted the teams they were hosting and put probably 10,000 into their stadium.
If you doubt that, note that 19,000 attended the Wales-Tonga game in Palmerston North (That city's only fixture), while 13,500 turned up at Rugby Park in Invercargill for the Wales-Canada match and a remarkable 30,000 packed Rugby Park in Rotorua for the 3rd place playoff between Australia and Wales.
Staging the tournament in May & June, which encroaches on winter when the weather can be diabolical, was risky, but miraculously all 21 matches in New Zealand were staged in fine (If sometimes extremely windy) conditions.
As host nations New Zealand was natrually expected to be hard to bowl but, based on performances over the previous 18 months, the Wallabies, prepared by Alan Jones, claimed the (Unofficial) No.1 ranking in the World.
They had followed up a famous 1st Grand Slam tour of the UK in 1984 with a Bledisloe Cup series triumph in New Zealand in 1986, after which the All Blacks had taken a fearful battering - literally & physically - from France at Nantes on their end-of-year tour.
The Nantes disaster resulted in the NZRU appointing a fresh selection panel for 1987. Brian Lochore was retained as convenor but Colin 'Pine Tree' Meads and 'Tiny' Hill were dropped, giving way to Alex 'Grizz' Wyllie & John Hart.
Lochore, Hart & Wyllie elected to be bold. Acknowledging they didn't posses the forward might to match teams like France, they opted for for a high-tempo game, one they were confident few other nations would be able to match.
To help implement this strategy, they installed John Gallagher, the Wellington-based policeman who had emigrated to New Zealand in 1984 & who had applied for naturalisation only in 1987, at fullback & 21-year-old Michael Jones as the openside flanker. Both would emerge as superstars of the tournament.
It was always expected that Australia would come through on its side of the draw to provide the All Blacks with their sternest challenge, but, to most people's astonishment, they would crash out against France in the semifinals.
In what ranks as one of Rugby World Cup's classic contests, France came from 0-9, 12-15 & 21-24 down to level at 24-all with 6 minutes to play at the Concord Stadium in Sydney, then uncorked an absolutely stunning long-range try, scored by Serge Blanco. Didier Camberabero converted from near touch to consummate Rugby World Cup's 1st massive upset.
Until that moment, the inaugural tournament had progressed pretty much according to the form book, with the exception of Fiji's upset win over Hugo Porta's Argentinian Pumas in Hamilton.
The Pumas were ranked 4th and were considered the team most likely to cause an upset; instead, they were upset themselves, walloped 28-9 in their opening encounter in Hamilton by a rampant Fijian side that scored 4 tries to 1. The Fijians had arrived in New Zealand only days after Colonel Rabuka's coup.
Although Fiji subsequently lost to the All Blacks and Italy - all 3 nations finishing with 1 win & 2 losses - it progressed to the quarterfinals by virtue of scoring most tries (6 compared with Argentina's 4 & Italy's 2).
With South Africa absent - it wouldn't enter the World Cup arena until 1995 - the quarterfinals predictably featured the 4 Home Nations, France, New Zealand & Australia, with Fiji the intruder.
The All Blacks eliminated Scotland 30-3, surprisingly embarrassing them in the scrums after 'Grizz' Wyllie packed down 80 scrums in practice midweek; France proved too strong for the gallant Fijians; Australia hammered Ireland and, in the only upset, Wales defeated England England 16-3 in a contest thatwas described as the most boring of the tournament.
The semifinals were contrasting affairs. The All Blacks blitzed their traditional rival Wales 49-6 at Ballymore in Brisbane, scoring 8 tries to 1, while the epic France-Australia game (Watched by a paltry 17,768 spectators at Concord Stadium in Sydney) went to the wire.
Not only did the Brisbane contest produce Wales' heaviest defeat in 107 years of international rugby but its lock, Huw Richards, had the dubious distinction of being the 1st player sent off in a World Cup contest.
Richards learnt of his penalty in bizarre circumstances. After losing his cool and weighing into Gary Whetton, he in turn was knocked to the ground by All Black No 8 Buck Shelford.
It took some time to revive Richards, after which referee Kerry Fitzgerald told him he was sent off! These days, video replays would have seen Shelford shown a red card too.
The playoff for 3rd was notable for the petulant behaviour of Wallaby coach Alan Jones - ''Where's Rotorua?'' he scoffed - and the sensational finish by the Welsh, who scored in the 79th minute & clinched victory with a sideline conversion from Paul Thorburn, to the delight of most of the 30,000 spectators.
David Kirk was only the 3rd-choice All Black captain, after Jock Hobbs & Andy Dalton had been forced out through injuries, but he was a truly inspirational leader in the final, played before a crowd of 46,000 at Eden Park, scoring 1 try & creating another for John Kirwan in the 61st & 64th minutes, that finished off the French.
Grant Fox contributed 17 points towards New Zealand's 29-9 victory, bringing his aggregate for the tournament to an astonishing 126 points from just 6 outings, an average of 21 points a game.
He converted 30 of New Zealand's 43 tries & added 21 penalty goals and a dropped goal. His record still stands.
And so New Zealand became the 1st holder of the Webb Ellis Cup, and deservedly so, for it was clearly the most accomplished team at the 1st World Cup.
Who would have thought, therefore, it would be another 24 years before the All Blacks would have their name engraved on the trophy again?
Quarterfinals
New Zealand beat Scotland 30-3, in Christchurch
France beat Fiji 31-16, in Auckland
Australia beat Ireland 33-15, in Sydney
Wales beat England 16-3, in Brisbane
Semifinals
New Zealand beat Wales 49-6, in Brisbane
France beat Australia 30-24, in Sydney
Playoff for 3rd
Wales beat Australia 22-21, in Rotorua
Final
New Zealand beat France 29-9, in Auckland
24 years later, in 2011 (And so on in 2011, the All Blacks opened with a win over the kingdom of Tonga (Who hijacked us at the start) at Eden Park in Auckland (41 - 10) followed by Japan at Waikato Stadium in Hamilton 83 - 7 (The night before the mighty green throng of Ireland turned the tables on Australia, causing an upset), then France in Auckland (37 - 17) with captain Richie McCaw becoming the 1st All Black to reach 100 test caps followed by beating Canada at Wellington Regional Stadium in Wellington 79 - 15 (The day after Tonga providing another upset victory over France as well as Dan Carter, who was ruled out of the tournament altogether with a groin injury), then it is quarter final time as we scraped Argentina 33 - 10 in Auckland (Although Colin Slade suffered an injury similar to Dan Carter's), then finally beating against our traditional Trans Tasman rivals Australia (Who defeated South Africa in the quarter final which was better off forgotten) in the semifinal 20 - 6 (It was the night after the French flair titans (Who gave England the chop in the quarterfinal) defeated the Welsh (Who had beaten the mighty green throng in the quarters) in the other semifinal in which Sam Warburton got sent off for that famous spear tackle) before we once again took on France in the final, just as it was back in 1987, with the weight of the nation above our shoulders (Although Stephen 'Beaver' Donald was called up in the last minute whilst he was white baiting, YA GOT THAT!! WHITEBAITING), we have won us the CUP!!! HAIL TO THE KING BABY!!! I'VE GOT BALLS OF STEEL!!! And yeah, not only that we have ended our Rugby World Cup curse after 24 years of agony and pain, as if, not ONLY we beat France 8 - 7, we have managed to lift the World Cup trophy, not only because it is the greatest moment of my life).
Stephen Donald - Beaver to his rugby comrades - performed only a modest back-up role for the All Blacks in 2010, but it incorporated a calamitous 20-minute cameo in Hong Kong, where Graham Henry's men tackled the Wallabies in a showpiece encounter en route to Europe.
When Donald joined proceedings, as a substitute for Dan Carter, the All Blacks (Who already had the Tri-Nations Championship and the Bledisloe Cup in the bag) were ahead 24-12. Donald promptly missed a close-range penalty attempt, then, more seriously, with time running out, missed touch, allowing the Australians to counter-attack and score a match-winning try through James O'Connor.
Donald copped criticism for the defeat, the only one the All Blacks would sustain a year out from the 7th Rugby World Cup.
Coach Henry backed him. As the team headed for Europe, he said ''It was a difficult 20 minutes, but he'll bounce back. Some hadn't played international rugby for some time and found the pace of the game demanding.''
Assistant coach Wayne Smith said it was not easy for Donald in the circumstances ''You got to a dark place,'' he said ''I've been there myself. That's the accountability of the All Blacks jersey. He'll get another opportunity.''
Not everyone concurred with Smith's assessment. With seemingly the whole of New Zealand condemning him, events at Hong Kong Stadium took their toll. It would be a long time before Beaver would bounce back.
Carter wore the No 10 jersey exclusively in the 4 (Grand Slam) tests, Donald getting just 30 minutes against Scotland (Coming on with his team 35-3 ahead) and 3 minutes against Wales.
As the All Blacks wended their way home at season's end, Donald probably wondered whether he would represent the All Blacks again, especially given the progress Aaron Cruden & Colin Slade were making.
But, as would be recorded in Henry's autobiography, fate deals some intriguing hands and Beaver might still have an important card to play.
The All Blacks, having come gruesomely unstuck against the French at the quarterfinal stage in 2007 (And during the quarterfinals, France terminated the All Blacks dream of winning the World Cup just like as it was repeating the heroics way back in '99 through a blatant forward pass not seen by English referee Wayne Barnes (Although South Africa won the tourney beating England in the final), were the hottest of hot favourites, Henry and his brilliantly qualified assistants, Smith & Steve Hansen, were determined not (To use a dinkum Kiwi-ism) to bugger things up this time.
They put an incredible amount of time into analysing where things unfolded in Cardiff & how they could prevent a repeat.
The 2 major lessons learnt were:
(1) They had applied a Tri-Nations/Grand Slam mentality to the campaign, i.e. taking 1 game at a time, whereas World Cup rugby, once the post-section phase has been reached, is about sudden death. What you've achieved throughout the year and in the World Cup pool matches doesn't matter a hoot;
(2) Carter for the unexpected; in fact, prepare for the worst-case scenario. 2 worst-case scenarios had unfolded at Cardiff - the 2 specialist first-fives, Carter and Nick Evans, had both gone off injured and the referee did not penalize France for the last 50 minutes of the game.
Close analysis of the Cardiff quarterfinal revealed players becoming stressed in the 2nd half and losing focus ''They didn't handle the pressure'' noted Henry ''Their minds went blank.''
If the All Blacks were to be successful in 2011, they had to handle the unexpected; they had to embrace pressure. What was the worst that could happen this time? Dan Carter & Richie McCaw going down with serious injuries? Not Possible, surely!
The other major change since 2007 was the adoption of a shared leadership philosphy. Collectively devised by Messrs Henry, Smith & Hansen, along with manager Darren Shand & mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka, it involved the appointment of the magnificent 7 - McCaw, Carter, Mils Muliaina & Andrew Hore as on-field leaders & Conrad Smith, Brad Thorn & Keven Mealamu as off-field leaders.
The value of this leadership group would bear fruit in the desperate final half hour of the final.
As in 2007, the All Blacks breezed through pool play. After a tough 1st-up encounter against Tonga (Won 41-10), they demolished John Kirwan's Japan 83-7 & France 37-17 before moving on to Wellington to prepare for the clash with Canada.
While that game would be won handsomely, 79-15, it was what unfolded on the eve of that contest that traumatized the All Blacks coaches; indeed, the whole of New Zealand.
Carter, who for the 1st time in his illustrious career was to captain the All Blacks, was having a few harmless shots at goal on the Friday afternoon. 4 place kicks, that's all. The 4th was from straight in front of the posts. He swung through the ball as he had done thousands of times in his career, but this time pain seared through his left leg & he dropped to the ground clutching his groin.
He had torn the adductor longus tendon off the bone. His World Cup was over & a worst-case scenario was again confronting the All Blacks. ''We need to be strong & confront adversity'' Henry told his players ''Losing Dan is a hell of a blow but we've just got to get on with doing the business.''
Carter's injury allowed Cruden, so unlucky to miss original selection, to join the squad.
The French, battered by New Zealand, also lost to Tonga in one of Rugby World Cup's greatest upsets & were incredibly fortunate to advance to the quarterfinals, in the process becoming the 1st nation to do so after losing 2 pool matches. Their good fortune was that Tonga had stumbled against Canada, or they would have been, embarrassingly, on an early flight home.
Pretty much all the other 'seeded' nations advanced to the playoffs, Argentina at Scotland's expense (After winning a thriller in the rain in Wellington, 13-12) and Wales ahead of the nation that had twice previously embarrassed it in World Cup pool play - Samoa.
The greatest upset result was provided by the Irish, who knocked over the Wallabies in a riveting contest at Eden Park, 15-6. This had the effect of shunting Australia on to the same side of the draw as New Zealand, putting them on a collision course for the semifinals when many expected them to fight out the final.
The Springboks were the defending champions and, remarkably, brought 21 of the survivors from 2007 to the tournament. The team that took on Wales, and escaped oh so narrowly, 17-16, thanks to the Welsh fluffing some late kicks at goal, boasted an incredible 825 caps (An average of 55 per player).
The quarterfinals produced a series of enthralling contests. Wales, coached by Warren Gatland, outgunned Ireland 22-10, Australia edged out South Africa 11-9 (After which the South Africans said many unkind things about New Zealand referee Bryce Lawrence), the All Blacks outmuscled Argentina 33-10 (Helped by 7 penalty goals from the boot of Piri Weepu, in the process losing Colin Slade with Carter's injury - a torn adductor muscle) &, in the most unlikely outcome, the French, who appeared to be down & out after losing to Tonga, defeated England 19-12.
The French are reowned for their inconsistency, but this time they appeared to be so far down the precipice there would be no way back. What made the difference? ''We talked a lot'' said France's man of the match, halfback Dimitri Yachvili ''It was obvious our performance against Tonga was unacceptable. There was a lot of soul-searching during the week.''
The 1st semifinal was virtually decided by referee Alain Rolland in the 17th minute when he red-carded Welsh captain Sam Warburton for a tip tackle on French winger Vincent Clerc.
Yes, it was a dangerous tackle and, yes it certainly deserved a yellow card (Francois Pienaar, the 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain for the Springboks said that at best the yellow card, never a red card in the final & he also said that Warburton had been one of the cleanest players in the tournament just because Rolland killed the game so Pienaar was livid because he was absolutely livid that it's wrong, it is wrong because he may have calmed them down a bit). But in so diligently applying the law relevant to dangerous tip tackles, Rolland effectively destroyed a World Cup showpiece, an occasion for which the Welsh had spent 4 years planning.
Against 14 men for the final 63 minutes, France, even without scoring a try, held on to win 9-8. The plucky Welsh almost salvaged an amazing victory through a late try by halfback Mike Phillips, but Stephen Jones, on for the hapless James Hook, who'd had a wretched night as a goalkicker, struck the upright with his conversion.
24 hours later, the All Blacks eliminated the Wallabies, thanks to an explosive opening, which produced the game's solitary try in the 5th minute by Ma'a Nonu.
The contest was effectively over by halftime, although the Wallabies fought bravely throughout the 2nd half & deserved a greater reward than 1 penalty goal & 1 dropped goal.
Having dissected the French so ruthlessly in pool play, the All Blacks were raging hot favourites to take out the final, especially given the venue was Eden Park where they had been invincible since 1986.
However, the worst-case scenarios kept unfolding for Henry's team. Aaron Cruden limped off in the 33rd minute to be replaced by none other than Stephen Donald. Beacer, who'd been whitebaiting a fortnight before, now found himself in a World Cup final wearing Cruden's shirt, which was 2 sizes too small for him.
Weepu, who had been kicking like a machine throughout the tournament, had tweaked a muscle in a private practice session now couldn't land anything, as a consequence of which the All Blacks were only 5-0 ahead at halftime, courtesy of a classic try to Tony Woodcock, utilising the 'Teabag' lineout move that had been kept on ice for 3 years.
Beaver assured himself of immortality by landing a penalty goal 4 minutes into the 2nd half for an 8-0 advantage, which was trimmed to 1 point a few minutes later when Thierry Dusautoir scored a try that was converted.
The 8-7 scorline survived for the final 32 minutes of what surely ranks as Rugby World Cup's most gripping encounter.
While Messers Henry, Smith & Hansen died a thousand deaths in the coaches' box during that final, agonising half hour, the ultra-cool All Blacks, superbly marshalled by Richie McCaw (Ignoring a severe foot injury that shouldn't have even allowed him to start) operated with consummate skill. This time they were mentally strong, trusting in each other to get the job done.
Worst-case scenarios weren't going to deny them this time. Out of the 2007 wreckage had emerged a team with the mental strength to survive.
When South African referee Craig Joubert blew the whistle for full time, the All Blacks were still a point in front, 8-7. One point was enough, allowing McCaw to go forward & become the 1st New Zealander to accept the Webb Ellis Cup since David Kirk, at the same venue, 24 years earlier.
Quarterfinals
Wales beat Ireland 22-10, in Wellington
France beat England 19-12, in Auckland
Australia beat South Africa 11-9, in Wellington
New Zealand beat Argentina 33-10, in Auckland
Semifinals
France beat Wales 9-8, in Auckland
New Zealand beat Australia 20-6, in Auckland
Playoff for 3rd
Australia beat Wales 21-18, in Auckland
Final
New Zealand beat France 8-7, in Auckland
And finally guess what, it is only 6 days until the Rio 2016 (MMXVI) Olympic Games because there are so many Kiwi athletes competing so they can go for gold because I am still looking forward to it as well as my Malaysian friend sending me an email which is about that she will be heading to the once earthquake stricken garden city of Christchurch so here's the full message in it's entirety:
Morning Whetu,
Yes i will be heading to Christchurch next week, I am in wellington at the moment and it is very nice, people are very nice in the backpackers!
We will have a picnic when i come back
and Finally yes i am excited about the Olympics especially the Opening!
Talk to you soon!
So that's all folks for my XVIth (16th) blog of the year, MMXVI.
Sunday, 24 July 2016
Alive & Amplified/All Along The Watchtower/Cornflake Girl/Dreams: 3 weeks that shook the rugby world in 1995 (21 years ago)
So, this is my 15th blog of the year which means I have broken the record for most blogs in 1 year, so this is the one about rugby (Well I'm rugby mad at the moment) turning professional 21 years ago in 1995 as SANZAR's (Now SANZAAR since Argentina joined) proposals were under serious threat from a Sydney-based group called the World Rugby Corporation, so here's New Zealand rugby commentator Keith Quinn with that story:
South Africa, June 1995, It was the calm before the storm, The All Blacks taking time out to relax just prior to the 3rd Rugby World Cup. But this entire All Blacks squad would soon ready itself to sell out this silver fern and prepare to walk away from the 100 year old All Black heritage. This is the story of how 2 entrepreneurs almost pulled off the sporting coup of the century, taking the All Blacks with them. And how would the 11th hour, they were stopped. It's the story of how All Black rugby went professional during 3 dramatic weeks in the middle of 1995. The issue of paying players was a ticking time bomb, as far back as 1924, All Blacks have been complaining about the hardships that they endured on tour representing that country, even though the great George Nepia had been forced to go to England to play rugby league just to feed his family back on the East Coast, all sorts of schemes had been dreamed up by success of generations of All Blacks to make money, but by 1995 the issue had come to ahead. And in that World Cup year, an organisation called the World Rugby Corporation, the WRC, was to finally force the issue of All Blacks and money out into the open. These mock-up posters, never seen before, were prepared in secret by the WRC, as it geared up to take over the running of international rugby and turn the rugby world on it's head. They're a testament to how close the 1995 All Blacks came, to walking away from the All Black institution and tradition. The World Rugby Corporation came out of Australia, it was the brainchild of South African born rugby mad Sydney lawyer and deal maker, Geoff Levy. Levy dreamed of a completely new international rugby competition better than the World Cup with rugby stars like the Jonah Lomu's of the world bringing in a truly global television audience, to spice up the game he loved and followed all his life.
This new competition with the elite players featuring would be worldwide & professional & give greater control to the players. Amidst great secrecy Geoff Levy sold his idea of a new international rugby circus to Australian media magnate, Kerry Packer. WRC, the World Rugby Corporation would give Packer another weapon in his fight with arch-rival Rupert Murdoch over rugby league, which Packer had, and Murdoch wanted. During 1995, Murdoch was trying to rest control of rugby league, by setting up a rival competition which he called, Super League. A global fight between these Australian media giants Rupert Murdoch & Kerry Packer, was about to begin. The man chosen by Geoff Levy to sell the dream of Packer's WRC rugby circus to the players was Ross Turnbull. Turnbull was a Wallaby prop in his playing days, when he went by the nickname of Mad Dog, now he was to be the main WRC strategist.
Placing greater control of the game in the hands of the players was a tantalizing prospect for the 1995 All Blacks, as it was for the former All Black turned professional talent agent, Andy Haden.
For years rugby players like Andy Haden had felt ripped off by the men who ran the game, the administrators, the players did all the work, the administrators has got the perks, something had to change, and that sentiment was to provide fertile ground for the WRC it could not have launched itself at a better time, no one knows that better than Peter Fitzsimons. Fitzsimons is an ex-Wallaby lock & columnist & writer for the Sydney Morning Herald. This year (1999) he joined me on TV ONE's rugby talk show Tight Five. He followed this story closely, Fitzsimons characterizes what happened throughout 1995 to southern hemisphere rugby, as a war.
In New Zealand, the Blazer Brigade was led by Ritchie Guy, then the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, and a former All Black himself. In early 1995, he had a problem, how to keep All Blacks away from rugby league.
For months in the lead up to the 95 World Cup there was a phony war, WRC man Ross Turnbull has secretly begun talking to the world's top rugby players who were keen, but coincidentally the Blazer Brigade, the men from the rugby unions in New Zealand, Australia & South Africa, had also secretly begun their moves to protect their players, things began to move with surprising speed. Admist great secrecy of their own, the southern hemisphere rugby unions under the banner of SANZAR, came up with the new Tri Nations competition (Which is now the Rugby Championship when Argentina joined the competition since 2012 as well as the southern hemisphere's equivalent to the Six Nations), which they could sell to a broadcaster, and then pay real money to their star players, the All Blacks, & Wallabies, & Springboks. It was Ian Frykberg a Kiwi connection who made it happen, he introduced the unions, to the real money, Frykberg then put the southern unions together with another ex pat Kiwi, Sam Chisholm, Rupert Murdoch's right hand man. The southern hemisphere unions elected South Africa's Louis Luyt to do a deal with the volatile Chisholm, Doctor Louis Luyt is the hugely wealthy and influential businessman & rugby administrator, who also just happens to own the cathedral of South African rugby, Ellis Park, venue for much of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. At the World Cup, Jonah Lomu exploded onto the world stage. On June the 18th in a semi-final against England, the single try convinced Rupert Murdoch and his money men, their were huge obtainment dollars to be made out of rugby union, but they had to have Jonah Lomu, and everything went with him, the All Blacks, the Springboks, and the Wallabies. Sam Chisholm immediately summons Louis Luyt to London for a secret meeting, in which hundreds of millions of dollars, would be on the table.
The very next day, Louis Luyt was back in South Africa, the Rugby World Cup was still in progress, no one knew he'd even be gone. The deal Louis Luyt signed on behalf of the Springboks, the All Blacks & the Wallabies was for 555 million US dollars over 10 years, an unbelievable amount of money for a previously amateur sport, the rugby unions were delighted of course because they meant they could keep their players out of the clutches of rugby league & super league, but at this stage they were still completely unaware of the WRC bearing down on them.
So the day before the final of the 1995 World Cup, this amazing deal which would change the face of international rugby, was announced by the 3 southern hemisphere rugby unions.
Ritchie Guy was there that day, but he knew that even with the money to pay players, the unions couldn't underestimate the ongoing threats from outside.
And surely that would be the easy job, after all here was rock solid international competition announced, involving the All Blacks, the Springboks & the Wallabies, that had real money to pay & reward All Blacks stars like Jonah Lomu & Sean Fitzpatrick. While on the face of it, the WRC plan looked dead in the water in that point, people didn't bank on that determination of the Aussie battler Ross Turnbull, what should've been the end of the rugby war, was only the beginning.
The 1995 Rugby World Cup. And this would be the last time Louis Luyt and Springbok captain Francois Pienaar were to embrace. Because over the next 2 weeks, these 2 men were to become bitter enemies, at the heart of their argument was the amount of money being offered to the Springboks, the Wallabies & the All Blacks, by the World Rugby Corporation.
It profoundly offended Louis Luyt that Pienaar didn't say no, because to Dr Luyt, the Spirngbok jersey was not for sale to the World Rugby Corporation, especially now he had just negotiated the Murdoch deal, which was firmly in place.
When the cheering had died down just hours after the Springbok victory, the argument over the value of the All Blacks was to enter Sean Fitzpatrick's life. The occasion was the post match World Cup celebratory dinner in Johannesburg.
With the World Rugby Corporation promising paychecks worth many times more than their rugby administrators were offering under the Murdoch deal, it was obvious the players were going to listen.
But it wasn't necessarily that straight forward for the World Rugby Corporation. They weren't the only people trying to throw huge sums of money at the All Blacks during the middle of 1995.
July the 5th, 1995, soon after the World Cup final, the All Blacks were back in Wellington at a parliamentary reception. The All Blacks contracts have run out, they were no longer tied to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. They were free agents.
The reason there were no signatures, well Jonah Lomu and the rest of the All Blacks immediately following the parliamentary reception, snuck away to a meeting at this Wellington hotel were they met the number 1 man from the World Rugby Corporation. Geoff Levy had just flown in from Sydney, to meet the full squad, behind closed doors.
By now a couple of weeks later, in mid-July 1995, the All Blacks were in Sydney to prepare for the Bledisloe Cup, at this point the team negotiations with WRC were complete, and it was time that the All Blacks to finally commit to the rebel organisation once and for all. Almost to a man they were ready to do so. The New Zealand Rugby Union still had no idea that their star players were about to fly the coupe, coach Laurie Mains did know, and this created huge conflict for him.
By now the New Zealand Rugby Union was aware that WRC but they didn't yet realize what a threat that posed, all they knew was they had to resign the players immediately, because without the players, the 555 million dollar Murdoch deal was a dead duck, and the Murdoch organisation was putting the heat on New Zealand Rugby Union to deliver the players as they contracted to do, so the rugby union was in crisis. So cometh the hour, cometh the man, and the man was Jock Hobbs, Hobbs was ideally placed to represent the All Black establishment, he was a lawyer, a member of the NZRFU council, & a former All Black captain. And his job was to fight a last ditch stand to save the game he loved.
Hobbs was dispatched to Sydney, where he quickly came to the realization that the All Blacks committed instead, to the World Rugby Corporation deal. In Sydney he met with Murdoch's right hand man, Sam Chisholm. Chisholm was jumping up and down, demanding that the 3 southern hemisphere rugby unions, deliver the players for the new Murdoch deal. Later, at this Sydney hotel, Hobbs had to distinctly unpleasant task of reporting back to a specially convened meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Football council.
Friday, July the 28th, 1995, the eve of the centenary Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney. The stage was set not only for a great test match, but also for a showdown between the Murdoch and Packer camps that they would change international rugby forever.
During the week leading up to the Bledisloe Cup, the All Blacks were staying at the Manly Park Royal, and it was here that WRC's top man in Sydney came to do the deal. Geoff Levy knew that the All Blacks, as well as the Wallabies & the Springboks were absolutely committed, the pressing question now was when, not if the All Blacks were going to sign.
July the 29th, 1995, Bledisloe Cup day, it was perhaps the most stressful day in Geoff Levy's life, the dream of creating a new world order of rugby was within his grasp & headed towards it's game.
The All Blacks played a blinder that day, they were back on a high after the disappointment of the World Cup final (Oh well, disaster struck as New Zealand (Which featured rugby's 1st global superstar, Jonah Lomu) failed to regain the crown (With several players fell victim to food poisoning with the exception of captain Sean Fitzpatrick and the Brooke brothers of Robin & Zinzan), losing to debutants and hosts South Africa in the final in which united the host country as well as their leader Nelson Mandela). But at full time something happened which turned the rugby world on it's head, something that told every rugby supporter on both sides of the Tasman, that the union controlled game they knew it, was dead.
Normally after a Bledisloe Cup match, the All Blacks would shower, change and head off to the after match function, here at the ground, but that night in 1995, instead they came down here, boarded a bus and took off. All Blacks spend hours on bus journeys, but the short trip from the Sydney Football Stadium (Now Allianz Stadium present day) to the upmarket inner city suburb of Vaucluse, must be the most remarkable. Here we have the entire squad of more than 20 players, the 2 coaches Laurie Mains & Earl Kirton, & manager Colin Meads being driven, not to the home of Geoff Levy, but to the plush mansion of Brian Powers, Kerry Packer's top man in Australia. The last minute change of address was to provide the final proof to the All Blacks, that Packer was committed to making the WRC, an absolute reality.
At the Powers house, the All Blacks were to finally sign contracts, that look set to kill off the All Black legend forever.
So having signed the rebel WRC contracts that the All Blacks re-boarded the bus and headed back into town.
The centenary dinner that night was to celebrate 100 years of trans-Tasman rugby, the atmosphere was electric because the former greats of both New Zealand & Australia had begun to realize that the game for which they had made such great sacrifices was about to be sold out.
So what had gone wrong, well make no mistake about it, the All Blacks were gone, international rugby had just been turned on it's head, the 1995 All Blacks had signed contracts with the World Rugby Corporation, the WRC, for the promise of even greater riches they turned their backs on the very real 555 million dollar Murdoch deal, it meant, that they were no longer All Blacks, they've left behind New Zealand rugby union and just walked away the All Black tradition, and the silver fern.
When Jock Hobbs returned to New Zealand after the 1995 Bledisloe Cup, he was the man under enormous pressure, the weight of the Rupert Murdoch empire was being brought to bear by Murdoch's top man, Sam Chisholm.
Jock Hobbs still had no idea that the WRC had beaten the New Zealand Rugby Union to the punch, by actually signing up the players, during early August, he said about travelling the length and breadth of the country, talking not just to All Blacks, but to top provincial players who would make up the backbone of New Zealand teams in Murdoch's upcoming Super 10 competition, at these presentations, the All Blacks who'd already signed with WRC never let on, they held their tongues, while Jock Hobbs put the rugby union's case. Back in Wellington, it's hard now to imagine the pressure that Hobbs and the other lawyers on both sides of the rugby war were under. At one point during these difficult days, at least 1 of them actually feared for his life.
Just how much was involved became apparent back in Sydney when the 3 southern hemisphere rugby unions were summoned to crisis talks by the Murdoch organisation. The headquarters of the Australian Rugby Football Union, and it was had a meeting here that the man who originally broken the Murdoch deal, Ian Frykberg finally convinced the 3 southern hemisphere unions that they were in deep trouble.
Those words echoed around Sydney the meeting finally showed the rugby unions how far behind the play they were, it was a huge shock, especially to Louis Luyt.
Back home in South Africa was a fearsome Louis Luyt summoned the Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, and other senior players of the Springbok team, to come & see him immediately.
The problem was of course Pienaar & the Springboks along with the All Blacks and the Wallabies, had now all signed Turnbull & Levy's WRC contracts.
Because of the importance of secured the World Cup winning Springboks, Ross Turnbull remained in South Africa in the weeks since the cup, with the rugby unions now fighting back, Turnbull organised the satellite linkup to once again reinforce the commitment to the WRC of the Springboks, the All Blacks & the Wallabies.
At that time Francois Pienaar as World Cup winning captain, was the most popular rugby figure in South Africa, so why did he cave in, what did Louis Luyt say or do, to turn his head. Louis Luyt simply said: What do you want?
So with the South African staying, the tide of the rugby war swung back towards the establishment, Louis Luyt had found the weak link in the Springboks, Jock Hobbs was credited finding into the All Blacks armor, and he founded, in the heart of the Otago provincial side.
From the outset, the 1995 All Blacks had agreed that was all for one and one for all, they thought that they signing on with the WRC was in the best interests of the game. But within a few short weeks, it dawned 1 or 2 of them, just what they'd given up.
Yes what finally convinced Jeff Wilson to break ranks within rest of his World Cup teammates, was the fact under WRC, he would no longer be an All Black. The identical thought occurred to Josh Kronfeld.
On the 10th of August, Wilson & Kronfeld were heading out of Dunedin, with the Otago provincial side. Before they got on the plane, they phoned Jock Hobbs to say that during a stopover in Wellington, they would sign with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (So this is what Jock Hobbs had to say after both New Zealand Rugby Football Union contracts were signed by both Josh 'Crusher' Kronfeld & Jeff 'Goldie' Wilson):
''I do however, have the pleasure, in announcing that I am holding, letters from lawyers acting for Jeff Wilson & Josh Kronfeld, confirming, that these 2 All Blacks will sign contracts with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union''
Unlike the provincial players who would also sign with Hobbs, Wilson & Kronfeld had now signed with both the WRC & the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, this still rankles with the WRC liason man, Andy Haden.
It wasn't long before Sean Fitzpatrick, the All Black captain, who had thrown his considerable weight behind the rebel WRC, had also changed, to sign up with the NZRFU.
The rugby war then, was over, the Springboks deserted the WRC, so too are the All Blacks, and then the Wallabies, the Packer people who'd been backing WRC, seemingly just lost interest in turned of the money, cutting their losses rather than entering in prolonged legal battle to hang on to the players, the Blazer Brigade had won.
So how has it turned out? Well the century long All Black tradition survived, Murdoch's SANZAR deal has produced the very successful Tri Nations and Super 12 (Then Super 14 when both the Cheetahs & the Western Force joined the competition and now Super Rugby (Used to be Super 15 when the Melbourne Rebels joined which is now Super 18 (The Southern Kings rejoined the competition along with 2 newcomers the Jaguares/Jaguars of Argentina & the Sunwolves from Japan) competitions, rugby is the winner, as indeed are the players now earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the 2 All Blacks who were 1st to sell out the WRC dream, Kronfeld & Wilson, have gone on to enjoy spectacular success, but it hasn't been without it's odd moments of tension with senior players.
The aftermath of Jock Hobbs was more drastic, the rugby establishment, the men who ran the game he helped save, dumped them, from the reformed New Zealand Rugby Union council.
But to me the most interesting post-script of the 1995 rugby war involved a story I heard about Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, the 1st southern hemisphere player to sell out from the WRC rugby circus.
In this match in 1996, Pienaar was to come of 2nd best, he was injured badly enough to be carried off on a stretcher. For a variety of reasons, Francois Pienaar, never played for South Africa again.
That's all folks for my record breaking 15th blog of the year.
P.S. My friend & dear cousin Paige Holly Williams (Who is a Kiwi girl who works as a faculty administrator at the open polytechnic & her surname must be Welsh as well as I didn't know that she has been graduated for her Bachelor of Commerce studies at Victoria University in Wellington) has sent me another email that I wrote on Tuesday, she wrote that she's just at work at the moment so let's see how it unfolds when she wrote to me:
Haven't been up to much just lots of house work as I am renovating at the moment. How about you?
I love Nico and Luca (It's an Italian name because it's meant to be Luke like Luke Skywalker) equally I don't have a favourite haha (LOL!)
My favourite colour would have to be green! (Well that's Irish colors because my favourite color blue is indeed French colors while light blue would be Italian colors & dark green is South African colors, what in the blue/green hell)
Me and Jarrod have been together for four years now. (And yeah yeah yeah whatever it must be 2012) We met when I was 18. (I was 21 way back then)
We are cousins and friends :) hopefully k can come and visit soon.
Take care
Paige xx (2 kisses)
Sent from my iPhone
And it's only 13 days until the Rio Olympics so I am looking forward to it & I might be at Poppa's on a traditional Thursday because I would be seeing the Danish Terminator of Hanne (Who has been living here in New Zealand for 43 years since 1973) & of course football fan Leon Benbaruk (He's a fan of Liverpool FC who has been living here in New Zealand for 36 years since 1980) as well as an old friend of mine from Malaysia, Sophia Ong (A self proclaimed Manchester United fan because I didn't know that she has been to the spirited home ground of Man United, Old Trafford but I exactly remember who her best friend was apart from me was all of one of her friends back home in Malaysia) all the way from Penang because I have never seen her for 9 long years! Because they will be having lunch at 15A Kells Avenue (It's been about 2 months since they had lunch there).
South Africa, June 1995, It was the calm before the storm, The All Blacks taking time out to relax just prior to the 3rd Rugby World Cup. But this entire All Blacks squad would soon ready itself to sell out this silver fern and prepare to walk away from the 100 year old All Black heritage. This is the story of how 2 entrepreneurs almost pulled off the sporting coup of the century, taking the All Blacks with them. And how would the 11th hour, they were stopped. It's the story of how All Black rugby went professional during 3 dramatic weeks in the middle of 1995. The issue of paying players was a ticking time bomb, as far back as 1924, All Blacks have been complaining about the hardships that they endured on tour representing that country, even though the great George Nepia had been forced to go to England to play rugby league just to feed his family back on the East Coast, all sorts of schemes had been dreamed up by success of generations of All Blacks to make money, but by 1995 the issue had come to ahead. And in that World Cup year, an organisation called the World Rugby Corporation, the WRC, was to finally force the issue of All Blacks and money out into the open. These mock-up posters, never seen before, were prepared in secret by the WRC, as it geared up to take over the running of international rugby and turn the rugby world on it's head. They're a testament to how close the 1995 All Blacks came, to walking away from the All Black institution and tradition. The World Rugby Corporation came out of Australia, it was the brainchild of South African born rugby mad Sydney lawyer and deal maker, Geoff Levy. Levy dreamed of a completely new international rugby competition better than the World Cup with rugby stars like the Jonah Lomu's of the world bringing in a truly global television audience, to spice up the game he loved and followed all his life.
This new competition with the elite players featuring would be worldwide & professional & give greater control to the players. Amidst great secrecy Geoff Levy sold his idea of a new international rugby circus to Australian media magnate, Kerry Packer. WRC, the World Rugby Corporation would give Packer another weapon in his fight with arch-rival Rupert Murdoch over rugby league, which Packer had, and Murdoch wanted. During 1995, Murdoch was trying to rest control of rugby league, by setting up a rival competition which he called, Super League. A global fight between these Australian media giants Rupert Murdoch & Kerry Packer, was about to begin. The man chosen by Geoff Levy to sell the dream of Packer's WRC rugby circus to the players was Ross Turnbull. Turnbull was a Wallaby prop in his playing days, when he went by the nickname of Mad Dog, now he was to be the main WRC strategist.
Placing greater control of the game in the hands of the players was a tantalizing prospect for the 1995 All Blacks, as it was for the former All Black turned professional talent agent, Andy Haden.
For years rugby players like Andy Haden had felt ripped off by the men who ran the game, the administrators, the players did all the work, the administrators has got the perks, something had to change, and that sentiment was to provide fertile ground for the WRC it could not have launched itself at a better time, no one knows that better than Peter Fitzsimons. Fitzsimons is an ex-Wallaby lock & columnist & writer for the Sydney Morning Herald. This year (1999) he joined me on TV ONE's rugby talk show Tight Five. He followed this story closely, Fitzsimons characterizes what happened throughout 1995 to southern hemisphere rugby, as a war.
In New Zealand, the Blazer Brigade was led by Ritchie Guy, then the chairman of the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, and a former All Black himself. In early 1995, he had a problem, how to keep All Blacks away from rugby league.
For months in the lead up to the 95 World Cup there was a phony war, WRC man Ross Turnbull has secretly begun talking to the world's top rugby players who were keen, but coincidentally the Blazer Brigade, the men from the rugby unions in New Zealand, Australia & South Africa, had also secretly begun their moves to protect their players, things began to move with surprising speed. Admist great secrecy of their own, the southern hemisphere rugby unions under the banner of SANZAR, came up with the new Tri Nations competition (Which is now the Rugby Championship when Argentina joined the competition since 2012 as well as the southern hemisphere's equivalent to the Six Nations), which they could sell to a broadcaster, and then pay real money to their star players, the All Blacks, & Wallabies, & Springboks. It was Ian Frykberg a Kiwi connection who made it happen, he introduced the unions, to the real money, Frykberg then put the southern unions together with another ex pat Kiwi, Sam Chisholm, Rupert Murdoch's right hand man. The southern hemisphere unions elected South Africa's Louis Luyt to do a deal with the volatile Chisholm, Doctor Louis Luyt is the hugely wealthy and influential businessman & rugby administrator, who also just happens to own the cathedral of South African rugby, Ellis Park, venue for much of the 1995 Rugby World Cup. At the World Cup, Jonah Lomu exploded onto the world stage. On June the 18th in a semi-final against England, the single try convinced Rupert Murdoch and his money men, their were huge obtainment dollars to be made out of rugby union, but they had to have Jonah Lomu, and everything went with him, the All Blacks, the Springboks, and the Wallabies. Sam Chisholm immediately summons Louis Luyt to London for a secret meeting, in which hundreds of millions of dollars, would be on the table.
The very next day, Louis Luyt was back in South Africa, the Rugby World Cup was still in progress, no one knew he'd even be gone. The deal Louis Luyt signed on behalf of the Springboks, the All Blacks & the Wallabies was for 555 million US dollars over 10 years, an unbelievable amount of money for a previously amateur sport, the rugby unions were delighted of course because they meant they could keep their players out of the clutches of rugby league & super league, but at this stage they were still completely unaware of the WRC bearing down on them.
So the day before the final of the 1995 World Cup, this amazing deal which would change the face of international rugby, was announced by the 3 southern hemisphere rugby unions.
Ritchie Guy was there that day, but he knew that even with the money to pay players, the unions couldn't underestimate the ongoing threats from outside.
And surely that would be the easy job, after all here was rock solid international competition announced, involving the All Blacks, the Springboks & the Wallabies, that had real money to pay & reward All Blacks stars like Jonah Lomu & Sean Fitzpatrick. While on the face of it, the WRC plan looked dead in the water in that point, people didn't bank on that determination of the Aussie battler Ross Turnbull, what should've been the end of the rugby war, was only the beginning.
The 1995 Rugby World Cup. And this would be the last time Louis Luyt and Springbok captain Francois Pienaar were to embrace. Because over the next 2 weeks, these 2 men were to become bitter enemies, at the heart of their argument was the amount of money being offered to the Springboks, the Wallabies & the All Blacks, by the World Rugby Corporation.
It profoundly offended Louis Luyt that Pienaar didn't say no, because to Dr Luyt, the Spirngbok jersey was not for sale to the World Rugby Corporation, especially now he had just negotiated the Murdoch deal, which was firmly in place.
When the cheering had died down just hours after the Springbok victory, the argument over the value of the All Blacks was to enter Sean Fitzpatrick's life. The occasion was the post match World Cup celebratory dinner in Johannesburg.
With the World Rugby Corporation promising paychecks worth many times more than their rugby administrators were offering under the Murdoch deal, it was obvious the players were going to listen.
But it wasn't necessarily that straight forward for the World Rugby Corporation. They weren't the only people trying to throw huge sums of money at the All Blacks during the middle of 1995.
July the 5th, 1995, soon after the World Cup final, the All Blacks were back in Wellington at a parliamentary reception. The All Blacks contracts have run out, they were no longer tied to the New Zealand Rugby Football Union. They were free agents.
The reason there were no signatures, well Jonah Lomu and the rest of the All Blacks immediately following the parliamentary reception, snuck away to a meeting at this Wellington hotel were they met the number 1 man from the World Rugby Corporation. Geoff Levy had just flown in from Sydney, to meet the full squad, behind closed doors.
By now a couple of weeks later, in mid-July 1995, the All Blacks were in Sydney to prepare for the Bledisloe Cup, at this point the team negotiations with WRC were complete, and it was time that the All Blacks to finally commit to the rebel organisation once and for all. Almost to a man they were ready to do so. The New Zealand Rugby Union still had no idea that their star players were about to fly the coupe, coach Laurie Mains did know, and this created huge conflict for him.
By now the New Zealand Rugby Union was aware that WRC but they didn't yet realize what a threat that posed, all they knew was they had to resign the players immediately, because without the players, the 555 million dollar Murdoch deal was a dead duck, and the Murdoch organisation was putting the heat on New Zealand Rugby Union to deliver the players as they contracted to do, so the rugby union was in crisis. So cometh the hour, cometh the man, and the man was Jock Hobbs, Hobbs was ideally placed to represent the All Black establishment, he was a lawyer, a member of the NZRFU council, & a former All Black captain. And his job was to fight a last ditch stand to save the game he loved.
Hobbs was dispatched to Sydney, where he quickly came to the realization that the All Blacks committed instead, to the World Rugby Corporation deal. In Sydney he met with Murdoch's right hand man, Sam Chisholm. Chisholm was jumping up and down, demanding that the 3 southern hemisphere rugby unions, deliver the players for the new Murdoch deal. Later, at this Sydney hotel, Hobbs had to distinctly unpleasant task of reporting back to a specially convened meeting of the New Zealand Rugby Football council.
Friday, July the 28th, 1995, the eve of the centenary Bledisloe Cup match in Sydney. The stage was set not only for a great test match, but also for a showdown between the Murdoch and Packer camps that they would change international rugby forever.
During the week leading up to the Bledisloe Cup, the All Blacks were staying at the Manly Park Royal, and it was here that WRC's top man in Sydney came to do the deal. Geoff Levy knew that the All Blacks, as well as the Wallabies & the Springboks were absolutely committed, the pressing question now was when, not if the All Blacks were going to sign.
July the 29th, 1995, Bledisloe Cup day, it was perhaps the most stressful day in Geoff Levy's life, the dream of creating a new world order of rugby was within his grasp & headed towards it's game.
The All Blacks played a blinder that day, they were back on a high after the disappointment of the World Cup final (Oh well, disaster struck as New Zealand (Which featured rugby's 1st global superstar, Jonah Lomu) failed to regain the crown (With several players fell victim to food poisoning with the exception of captain Sean Fitzpatrick and the Brooke brothers of Robin & Zinzan), losing to debutants and hosts South Africa in the final in which united the host country as well as their leader Nelson Mandela). But at full time something happened which turned the rugby world on it's head, something that told every rugby supporter on both sides of the Tasman, that the union controlled game they knew it, was dead.
Normally after a Bledisloe Cup match, the All Blacks would shower, change and head off to the after match function, here at the ground, but that night in 1995, instead they came down here, boarded a bus and took off. All Blacks spend hours on bus journeys, but the short trip from the Sydney Football Stadium (Now Allianz Stadium present day) to the upmarket inner city suburb of Vaucluse, must be the most remarkable. Here we have the entire squad of more than 20 players, the 2 coaches Laurie Mains & Earl Kirton, & manager Colin Meads being driven, not to the home of Geoff Levy, but to the plush mansion of Brian Powers, Kerry Packer's top man in Australia. The last minute change of address was to provide the final proof to the All Blacks, that Packer was committed to making the WRC, an absolute reality.
At the Powers house, the All Blacks were to finally sign contracts, that look set to kill off the All Black legend forever.
So having signed the rebel WRC contracts that the All Blacks re-boarded the bus and headed back into town.
The centenary dinner that night was to celebrate 100 years of trans-Tasman rugby, the atmosphere was electric because the former greats of both New Zealand & Australia had begun to realize that the game for which they had made such great sacrifices was about to be sold out.
So what had gone wrong, well make no mistake about it, the All Blacks were gone, international rugby had just been turned on it's head, the 1995 All Blacks had signed contracts with the World Rugby Corporation, the WRC, for the promise of even greater riches they turned their backs on the very real 555 million dollar Murdoch deal, it meant, that they were no longer All Blacks, they've left behind New Zealand rugby union and just walked away the All Black tradition, and the silver fern.
When Jock Hobbs returned to New Zealand after the 1995 Bledisloe Cup, he was the man under enormous pressure, the weight of the Rupert Murdoch empire was being brought to bear by Murdoch's top man, Sam Chisholm.
Jock Hobbs still had no idea that the WRC had beaten the New Zealand Rugby Union to the punch, by actually signing up the players, during early August, he said about travelling the length and breadth of the country, talking not just to All Blacks, but to top provincial players who would make up the backbone of New Zealand teams in Murdoch's upcoming Super 10 competition, at these presentations, the All Blacks who'd already signed with WRC never let on, they held their tongues, while Jock Hobbs put the rugby union's case. Back in Wellington, it's hard now to imagine the pressure that Hobbs and the other lawyers on both sides of the rugby war were under. At one point during these difficult days, at least 1 of them actually feared for his life.
Just how much was involved became apparent back in Sydney when the 3 southern hemisphere rugby unions were summoned to crisis talks by the Murdoch organisation. The headquarters of the Australian Rugby Football Union, and it was had a meeting here that the man who originally broken the Murdoch deal, Ian Frykberg finally convinced the 3 southern hemisphere unions that they were in deep trouble.
Those words echoed around Sydney the meeting finally showed the rugby unions how far behind the play they were, it was a huge shock, especially to Louis Luyt.
Back home in South Africa was a fearsome Louis Luyt summoned the Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, and other senior players of the Springbok team, to come & see him immediately.
The problem was of course Pienaar & the Springboks along with the All Blacks and the Wallabies, had now all signed Turnbull & Levy's WRC contracts.
Because of the importance of secured the World Cup winning Springboks, Ross Turnbull remained in South Africa in the weeks since the cup, with the rugby unions now fighting back, Turnbull organised the satellite linkup to once again reinforce the commitment to the WRC of the Springboks, the All Blacks & the Wallabies.
At that time Francois Pienaar as World Cup winning captain, was the most popular rugby figure in South Africa, so why did he cave in, what did Louis Luyt say or do, to turn his head. Louis Luyt simply said: What do you want?
So with the South African staying, the tide of the rugby war swung back towards the establishment, Louis Luyt had found the weak link in the Springboks, Jock Hobbs was credited finding into the All Blacks armor, and he founded, in the heart of the Otago provincial side.
From the outset, the 1995 All Blacks had agreed that was all for one and one for all, they thought that they signing on with the WRC was in the best interests of the game. But within a few short weeks, it dawned 1 or 2 of them, just what they'd given up.
Yes what finally convinced Jeff Wilson to break ranks within rest of his World Cup teammates, was the fact under WRC, he would no longer be an All Black. The identical thought occurred to Josh Kronfeld.
On the 10th of August, Wilson & Kronfeld were heading out of Dunedin, with the Otago provincial side. Before they got on the plane, they phoned Jock Hobbs to say that during a stopover in Wellington, they would sign with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (So this is what Jock Hobbs had to say after both New Zealand Rugby Football Union contracts were signed by both Josh 'Crusher' Kronfeld & Jeff 'Goldie' Wilson):
''I do however, have the pleasure, in announcing that I am holding, letters from lawyers acting for Jeff Wilson & Josh Kronfeld, confirming, that these 2 All Blacks will sign contracts with the New Zealand Rugby Football Union''
Unlike the provincial players who would also sign with Hobbs, Wilson & Kronfeld had now signed with both the WRC & the New Zealand Rugby Football Union, this still rankles with the WRC liason man, Andy Haden.
It wasn't long before Sean Fitzpatrick, the All Black captain, who had thrown his considerable weight behind the rebel WRC, had also changed, to sign up with the NZRFU.
The rugby war then, was over, the Springboks deserted the WRC, so too are the All Blacks, and then the Wallabies, the Packer people who'd been backing WRC, seemingly just lost interest in turned of the money, cutting their losses rather than entering in prolonged legal battle to hang on to the players, the Blazer Brigade had won.
So how has it turned out? Well the century long All Black tradition survived, Murdoch's SANZAR deal has produced the very successful Tri Nations and Super 12 (Then Super 14 when both the Cheetahs & the Western Force joined the competition and now Super Rugby (Used to be Super 15 when the Melbourne Rebels joined which is now Super 18 (The Southern Kings rejoined the competition along with 2 newcomers the Jaguares/Jaguars of Argentina & the Sunwolves from Japan) competitions, rugby is the winner, as indeed are the players now earning hundreds of thousands of dollars. And the 2 All Blacks who were 1st to sell out the WRC dream, Kronfeld & Wilson, have gone on to enjoy spectacular success, but it hasn't been without it's odd moments of tension with senior players.
The aftermath of Jock Hobbs was more drastic, the rugby establishment, the men who ran the game he helped save, dumped them, from the reformed New Zealand Rugby Union council.
But to me the most interesting post-script of the 1995 rugby war involved a story I heard about Springbok captain Francois Pienaar, the 1st southern hemisphere player to sell out from the WRC rugby circus.
In this match in 1996, Pienaar was to come of 2nd best, he was injured badly enough to be carried off on a stretcher. For a variety of reasons, Francois Pienaar, never played for South Africa again.
That's all folks for my record breaking 15th blog of the year.
P.S. My friend & dear cousin Paige Holly Williams (Who is a Kiwi girl who works as a faculty administrator at the open polytechnic & her surname must be Welsh as well as I didn't know that she has been graduated for her Bachelor of Commerce studies at Victoria University in Wellington) has sent me another email that I wrote on Tuesday, she wrote that she's just at work at the moment so let's see how it unfolds when she wrote to me:
Haven't been up to much just lots of house work as I am renovating at the moment. How about you?
I love Nico and Luca (It's an Italian name because it's meant to be Luke like Luke Skywalker) equally I don't have a favourite haha (LOL!)
My favourite colour would have to be green! (Well that's Irish colors because my favourite color blue is indeed French colors while light blue would be Italian colors & dark green is South African colors, what in the blue/green hell)
Me and Jarrod have been together for four years now. (And yeah yeah yeah whatever it must be 2012) We met when I was 18. (I was 21 way back then)
We are cousins and friends :) hopefully k can come and visit soon.
Take care
Paige xx (2 kisses)
Sent from my iPhone
And it's only 13 days until the Rio Olympics so I am looking forward to it & I might be at Poppa's on a traditional Thursday because I would be seeing the Danish Terminator of Hanne (Who has been living here in New Zealand for 43 years since 1973) & of course football fan Leon Benbaruk (He's a fan of Liverpool FC who has been living here in New Zealand for 36 years since 1980) as well as an old friend of mine from Malaysia, Sophia Ong (A self proclaimed Manchester United fan because I didn't know that she has been to the spirited home ground of Man United, Old Trafford but I exactly remember who her best friend was apart from me was all of one of her friends back home in Malaysia) all the way from Penang because I have never seen her for 9 long years! Because they will be having lunch at 15A Kells Avenue (It's been about 2 months since they had lunch there).
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