Sitting here this morning bored out of my skull, wondering what to speak or write about got me thinking how big a part rugby plays in our daily lives.
And with no rugby this week everything seems empty and lost, blogger’s have gone into limbo, I mean can life go on? My point here is we should just talk about what we all do best, Just talk KAK…….
We can talk rugby yes, even though it is a quiet week, but there are a lot of things we can speak about, I mean we can speak about Puma’squeaky knees, Rudi’s slet sappies and hand brakes and brake shoes.
I mean there are the clowns on Voldy we can all laugh about? Or my fight against anyone dissing my Sharks or Loosehead (Loskoppietjie) can tell us why he is a fitter and turner? Lions supporters can tell us how they are going to get through the next year with no Super Rugby.
Oh hell, I can babble away all day but come on peeps, lets discuss all the issues on hand, Smallies come tell us how much you dislike the Sharks and that we have stolen all your players, Just For Kicks come tell us about ostriches and how their vision is clouded with their head up their @sses, I mean in the ground?
And of course let’s post some music and funny clips, I mean this is the ONE and ONLY blog where we can enjoy ourselves, this is the first year I have known Morné (Pissant) that he is smiling (WP trophy cabinet has a trophy at last).
Guys, all that is asked is that we do not get personal to the degree of insulting each other or each other’s family, but get your asses over here and kick up a storm!
120 @ Just For Kicks:
You looking forward to your new adventure in Scotland?
Okay gonna pack up now. Been at my desk the whole day.
Cheers all.
Catch up tomorrow.
@ Puma:Yup, Furniture (including MTB) have gone, tickets are paid for, house is signed and sealed, kids have been accepted into their new school, so all looking fine and dandy…….except…….my bank advisor is on his way up to take all my loot off me, and tell me it’s going to be worth 14 times less by this time tomorrow, or to put it another way, it’s like going from owning an estate of one sort (wine estate) to another estate (council estate). Instead of the ‘Big Mac Index’, it is the ‘Mac JFK Index’
It’s Movember, and if you’re wives have been anything like mine, when I told her I was joining the movement, this next tweet will go a long way to explaining just why I shaved mine off before it had even surfaced! –
Kirst @thejollyjammer
Girls have another name for Movember. We call it ‘celibacy’ or ‘The Month When Men Forfeit Sex for Facial Hair and Man Points’.
simplysean.co.za reminds us that Ostriches surprise selection of Marco Wentzel isn’t the first strange choice by a Springbok Coach – there were some others as well. Have a gander at his blog:
‘When last has a week been filled with such strange events in South African rugby? Breyton Paulse has been named captain of a Kaizer Chiefs rugby sevens team, Demetri Catrakilis became a very uncharacteristic household name, and Western Province got to drink from the Currie Cup (even though some of the players had to show their ID books to do so).
All this pales in comparison to Heyneke Meyer’s announcement as to who will be on standby for the squad for the Springbok end of year tour (or the EOYT as the kids call it these days). Marco Wentzel? It was apt that he left the announcement for Halloween, because there’s no better way of describing the 33-year old London Wasps lock other than a ghost of Rudolf Straueli’s past.
When it comes to surprise EOYT Springbok selections, there is plenty of precedent. As an unwanted stroll down amnesia lane, let’s take a look at some of the ‘best’.
2008 – Earl Rose
This selection was so unpopular, he’s still thought of by some as Peter De Villiers’ worst selection even though he didn’t play.
Some said Earl Rose had it all. Unfortunately, they were referring to all the protective gear that is conceivably possible. Headguard, shoulder-pads, knee-pads, a selection of gloves. Hey may have been unwilling to tackle, but no-one can say he wasn’t prepared.
P Divvy identified him as one to watch for the future. That has to go down as one of the worst prophecies in Springbok history. Recently, after Griquas refused to renew his contract, he went on trial at the EP Kings and only managed to grab the headlines when he recently crashed his car into a fish and chip takeaway in Gordon’s Bay (hopefully, after the crash, the passenger had the foresight to lean out the window and say to the person working the counter “Hake and chips, please”).
2001 – Deon de Kock
A scrumhalf who boasts a 2-test cap history racked up against Italy and the USA. He was playing for the Valke when he was called up, and when his name was brought up by coach Harry Viljoen, the other selectors said “Great idea” while thinking he was talking about Neil de Kock (I only made some of that up).
Since he was called up to the Springbok squad the year before, the Bulls felt obliged to call him up to their Super 12 squad for the 2002 campaign. Upon closer inspection, he was found surplus to requirements in a team that ended up with a record of Played 11 Lost 11.
1994 – Lance Sherrell
Okay, he was selected for an old-fashioned tour of New Zealand rather than a modern EOYT, but one has to make an exception to the criteria in order to include the ex-Western Province flyhalf. Lance Sherrell is someone who only made the Western Province team because he could kick (sort of).
In those days, the Springbok coach had an extremely limited say in squad selection. Before the tour, everyone thought that coach Ian McIntosh was paranoid when he said that the Springbok hierarchy was out to get him. When Sherrell was selected in the squad, we all started to believe him.
1996 – Theo Oosthuizen
Andre Markgraaf shocked everyone when he included the uncapped 32-year old Griquas flank in his end of year tour. After all, it was hardly like he was a future challenger to the likes of Andre Venter or Ruben Kruger, let alone the recently deposed captain Francois Pienaar.
It was rumoured he was chosen on the basis of his friendship with Markgraaff. It’s possible that Markgraaff did it after a failed blackmail and the coach got confused as to which of his friends had tape-recorded a previous conversation about black administrators.
2002 – Half the team that lost against Scotland
Rudolf Straueli had so many odd selections during his disastrous tenure as Springbok coach. It’s hard to discern which individual deserves to stand out on his own amidst the unlikes of Jorrie Muller, Christo Bezuidenhout and Gus Theron (it’s a pity that Gus Theron didn’t end up being capped, because he never ended up with proof of his call-up to provide all his doubting friends).
Since we are coming up to the 10-year anniversary of arguably one of the most embarrassing results in Springbok history ever, let’s take a moment to digest the names of some players who were in the starting XV for the 21-6 loss to Scotland.
There were 4 players in the starting line-up who were never called up for the Springboks again after that tour, namely Friedrich Lombard, Wessel Roux, Jannes Labuschagne and Pierre Uys. Deon Carstens started at prop, and afterwards had to wait seven years before he was recalled to the Springbok squad again. There was one other player who had to wait 10 years before he was mentioned to be a possible part of the Springbok squad.
His name is Marco Wentzel.’
@ Just For Kicks:
Great will make an effort. I did the Spur adventure series at the beginning of the year, the one with the runand bike at Oak Valley. The run killed me. The ride was great though
@ Just For Kicks:
Wow big move. You going for business?
@ Stormersboy:Yup, going to start a wine business over there. Kids are about to go to high school, so seemed as good a time as any to do it. Bean1 wants to be near her folks as well, hence the reason for heading up north
@ Just For Kicks:lots of names from the past. Let’s hope that franco van der Merwe and Juandre don’t get injured then 😉
126 @ Stormersboy:This was the same one, although the kids did the shorter of the two races, so they weren’t as knackered! I did the Apple Blossom a few weeks ago – awesome race, you must do that next year.
@ Just For Kicks:awesome man! Iwent to Caroline’s white wine and Cap Classic review last night. Still feeling the effects! We come from a wine making family so it’s always close to my heart.
129 @ Stormersboy:Yup, heaven forbid, or Ostrich may have to do something really daft like call up a youngster (e.g. Anton Bresler, Willem vd Sluys, De Kock Steenkamp, Wilhelm Steenkamp, or Steven Sykes) from SA.
@ Stormersboy:I wasn’t there, but a client who was here today said that she had a ball there last night! Some good wines on show too! What is the wine you are associated with?
The fine rugby brains at Ballz Radio have come up with what they think is the worst Bok team. Your thoughts?: 15. Roger Smith, 14. Darius Botha, 13. Jorrie Muller, 12. Hugo Van As, 11. Naqelevuki, 10. Earl Rose, 9. Stompie Fourie, 8. Elandre VD Berg, 7. Harold Karele, 6. Thando Manana, 5. Quinten Davids, 4. Johnny Trytsman, 3. Etienne Fynn, 2. Dale Sandton, 1. Gerhard Harding
@ Just For Kicks:
My family owner Clos Malverne and my Dad ran the farm when he and my mom were just married. I don’t have any current connection other than some clients over the years and of course, the enjoyment of the stuff.
I went to Carolines just to enjoy it with some old banking mates.
Pity GoBokkeAndIreland is’nt around anymore…
Wanted to offer FREE ADVERTISING SPACE here on R-T for the months of November and December, to help the new business out.
@ grootblousmile:A very nice gesture – I am sure he’ll log on again – otherwise email him
138 @ Just For Kicks:
Yip, I’ll wait and see if he reads… if not I’ll mail him.
YOung Player of the year: Eben Etsebeth
Players Player of the year: JP Peterson
Super Rugby Player of the year: Keegan Daniel
Player of the Year: Bryan Habanna
Coach of the year: John Plumtree
SA Team of the Year: Sharks
SA U 20 Player: Jan Serfontein.
Currie Cup Player of the year: Deon Fourie
@ grootblousmile:
Hi GBS – that would be awesome! And very, very generous. Many thanks. If you can mail me, I can get you and the owners talking. They’d be extremely grateful – first round of drinks on me when you next in Cape Town!
142 @ GoBokkeAndIreland:
OK… just going out to the Blou Bul Makietie today… and it’s my Wedding Aniversary today, so tonight is out.
Will mail you tomorrow, Saturday 3 October.
@ grootblousmile:
Cool – no problem, no rush. Thanks again. Congrats on the Anniversary, and enjoy your Bulls thing!
I am having this wonderful discussion/argument on twitter about the so called big schools and the luring/poaching of players. Well One of the guys working behind the scenes at Grey College almost had a fit. Saying nothing of the matter is happening and that kids moving there in the higher grades living 1000’s of kilometers away as well as attending the school on a rugby scholarship chose to go there out of their own.
Then he went on about the boys but japped on about the schools glory and how their winning percentage is these past 150 years etc etc.
Have to say if you go on about glory of the school then you do not care about educating those boys as losing is part of a lesson learned in sport. Maybe our teams of today are suffering due to that win win attitude. See as they learn the lessons of losing at the highest level these days at not at school as it is suppose to be.
Also maybe Freestate lose a lot of talent due to Grey recruiting talent and giving them lots of freebies. You grow up like that when that proffesional contract comes you are going to look for those freebies even if its a overseas club.
Anyone have a point of view about it?
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