Rugby Too Late

It has been too long since I have written, and the only excuses I have are that I have been busy completely changing my life, and there's little matter of not being able to find my own blog... momentary forgetfulness.

I have gone from being employed, in a flat, with a cat, and happy in CT to soon to be unemployed (out of choice - but still an idiot), no cat (died), not so happy in durban.

I may have stopped but rugby has not skipped a beat...

What I can say is that I have loved and hated the rugby I have been watching, cursed, swore, and cheered all in the name of rugby.

There has certainly been a lot that has happened and trying to go through it all in the first blog back would be suicide, so I will start merely with the Lion's tour, and see how we go from there.

The Lions tour has so much history and legacy attached with it, and so many Greats have come out of these tours that I feel even though the media tried its best to hype the event up as much as possible, it still fell short of the previous tours in some respects.

First off, the fact that the Lions didnt play full strength side, the whole concept of the tour being about the celebration of rugby was seemily lost. I know we are in a professional era and that players are paid to play, and the corporations (unions) invest huge amounts of time and money in the assest we call players, so I can with some understanding see why the springboks (SA Rugby =another Corporation) were not allowed to play for their Unions. The risk of loosing an asset for the "big game" is not one worth taking.

Regardless I feel that in denying the springboks from playing for their unions demisnished the tours appeal. It could not be hidden that the "warm up" matches where very weaking supported. This may have a lot to do with the fact that fans knew that their favourite players would not be in the teams and that the matches would inevitably turn out to be a very one sided battle. The second factor contributing to the lack of support could be due to the ridiculous prices that where being charged for tickets. The average South African family cold simply not afford to go watch the games.

The lack of players and high prices aside, the midweek matches had some true gems, the opening match was the perfect start to the tour. In my mind I think that the invitational team made the Lions truly realise that they were here to play a great rugby nation, and if they didnt give it their all that they would be going home battered, broken and empty handed.

Other great midweek/warm up games include the Cheetahs and the emerging springboks. The later being probably more memorable then any of the other, simply becoz it was played in terribly conditions, by a team that was out to prove themselves and they used their ability rather then shere braun (unlike the spear the week before) to keep them in the game, and ultimately leave the field with their heads high and the scores leveled at 13 a piece.

As for the tests, so much soap opera drama around good ol' Uncle Dev, that I can barely recall anything great being said about the game of rugby itself. But im not going to get into Dev and his mechanics theories, rather im going to say well done to him and his team for the series win.

The Lions tour have a history of making greats, i think that this one didnt exactly make greats but certainly opened the world to prospective legends. I think that with the right coaching, and mentoring Ruan Pienaar will be a SA rugby legend. Along with Francios Steyn and even Morne'. I also think that the series was a preemptive fairwell to great legends on SA rugby. Dont get me wrong I hope they will stick around longer but i dont see that happening. Currently John Smit has extended his career by movin got tighthead, good move, as his captaincy has proven time and again to be an essential part of the Springbok success. I think we will be seeing a lot of legends looking to boost their retirement funds by moving overseas for the twilight ends of their careers.

The most important thing I wanted to say about the Lions tour, is that regardless of what let downs there were, what rubbish went around in the media, the one thing that surpassed all expectations for me was the Lions fans. What an incredible bunch of true fans, not just of the Lions team but of rugby and the spirit of rugby. I met them on nights out before the lions game in durban (they literally drank durban dry, bars were out of alcohol everywhere!!) and they were more fun, more open and a whole lot less brash then I expected. Dont get me wrong, they werent angelic, they are naughty as hell, but incredible good fun. so thanks to the supporters, and hopefully I will join then on a NZ or AUS tour someday.

frank

A kid in a sand pit screaming...

Have you ever watch two young kids in a sand pit fighting over a toy? Well they will both kick and scream convinced that its theirs, when an adult has to come in and make a clear authoritative judgment on who the toy actually belongs to.

I would like to now introduce our beloved Sports Minister, Mr. Makhenkesi Stofile.... the child in question.

Recently, after the Springbok emblem saga began he claimed "that SA Rugby is using the Springbok emblem illegally, as it has failed to renew its licence to use it (the emblem). Stofile has told Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Sport that his department is the rightful owner and manager of the Springbok trademark, the King Protea. Stofile told the committee during the presentation of his department's annual report that legal action to recover royalties owed by SA Rugby for the alleged unauthorised use of the emblem is at an advanced stage".

Ok fine, its yours, take it.

But wait!

"The Springbok emblem belongs to SA Rugby and it will be their property until 2016 at least. One of South Africa's leading intellectual property legal firms, Spoor and Fisher, checked the Register of Trademarks (which is something I would have thought stofile and co would have thought to do before reaching an ADVANCED stage in their movement against SA rugby). Doctor Owen Dean from the firm agrees with former South African Rugby Football Union (Sarfu) President, Louis Luyt, that the union registered the trademark in 1996. Sarfu is now defunct but, one of the two bodies it spawned, SA Rugby Union and SA Rugby, now owns the trademark."

I’m sorry, I just can’t help it. Minister, either you are a complete IDIOT!

Presently because you did not go to appropriate lawyers to confirm your FACTS before launching into a public forum claiming you are owed money blah blah etc etc. Who ever told you that you owned it, fire them! While you are at it RESIGN! Surely at your level, with your connections, this many years in the “game”, you seriously should have the competency enough to find out details of a theory before claiming them as fact.

My concern ironically is less about the bok emblem, and even less about your need to fight, its more about how stupid you make your government position, your ministry and our country look. You are, after all, a representative of this great country and you are not doing a very good job of it. If you have a conviction, I can't hold it against you, but if you go about following that conviction to the point of stupidity, then you are just a kid in a sand pit screaming "ITS MINE!!!".

The springbok must go?

Wow! We are certainly living in interesting times. Unlike that which is on most peoples minds and lips, I'm NOT talking about the rand/dollar exchange (R10,40 WFT is going on?) and I'm NOT talking about the pending economic recession and how one sector in the US (sub-prime mortages) can bring the world to its knees (and say uncle), and I'm NOT discussing the fact that Obama just might be the next president of the United States (first African American President) even though I think Cain one the last debate and that Cain picked the most politically advantageous running partner possible.

No, I'm talking about the thing that makes me scream at the TV, make me jump up and down like I was jubulant 8 years old, the thing that brings me and others much joy, and occasional sorrow... Watching he springboks play rugby!

The SPRINGBOKS! WIN!

The King Proteas. win.

Springbok: speed, eligance, tough etc etc

King Protea: Big pansy flower...

Mmmmm tough choice...

Ok but let’s get serious for a second, we have some or other the poltical figure, almost on a yearly basis, crying out for the Springbok emblem to be abolished, saying that it's representative of the apartheid era and needs to be removed in order to truely unite this country, (Winning unites this country, and sa soccer is in a mess, the olympic team was dismal, should the sport authorities not be more concerned with that?) and currently we have a springbok allegedly stating to a crowded hall that he found it difficult to not vomit on his springbok jersey.

Naas says "shoot it"!

Ok my abbreviation of Naas's comments are mainly to show how easily things can be misused/misinterpreted, Naas wasn't in fact saying he supported getting rid of the springbok emblem, he was saying that if they are going to do it, get on with it, do it and lets move the hell on already. I think he like many others are tired of politically motivate tits using the emblem as a weapon/tool to get their names in the paper, to get a rise out of the "Afrikaners" or to imply that they actually have the power to do something that will effect something we love, while under the guise of reform and anti-racist etc etc etc blah blah blah.

Firstly Naas is right, if you are going to do it, DO IT! And stop talking about doing it.

But wait, that’s right, YOU CANT! The Springbok is a registered trademark, only SA rugby can remove it, if you use political power to intervene (expropriation?) it can be done, but that would involve significant legal implications, which is more work then I'm sure any politician actually wants.

Secondly, the emblem stands for what people want it to stand for, if you want it to represent a racist oppressive white government then go ahead see it as that, but I can guarantee that there are millions of other South Africans, as well as rugby lovers around the world that see it as something completely different, as an emblem for pride, tenacity, courage, dedication, skill, passion, and a strong rugby nation!

Springboks; an emblem recognisable to anyone that has heard about rugby, respected by anyone who loves rugby, and worn proudly by some of the greatest athletes in the world.

Which brings me back to Luke. DUDE! Fine, be the individual, stand for what you believe in but don't be a hypocrite. Your dad was a great activist, you and your family did what millions, literally, didn't have the balls to do. I stand in amazment.

But in honesty I have never liked you. I'm saying this to put my bias out there in the open so as to try and avoid its influence as much as possible, but its true. I have had few encounters with you, I have seen you around, spoken to you on several occasions and although people change and I give you the same right, and pray that you have matured. When I met you, you were a complete self righteous, arrogant, thug. When you left in Durban I was overjoyed to see you f off to the cape.

But I digress.

I really don’t like you BUT you are an incredible rugby player and at one point, the best rugby player in your position in South Africa and arguably the world, and for that you should have been in the Springbok squad. You would have made an incredible Springbok, and your attitude aside, I would have been screaming for you until my voice gave out. I still think you could get back to that phenomenal form, and hope that you do. I think by no selecting you when you were the best player in your position in the country, Jake White must have had other reasons, possibly coz he felt you and therefore your dad came with political baggage. This I feell opened the door even more for politics to play a role in rugby. If you were the best player you should have been chosen.

But now that you have been chosen you go and allegedly say things that can be turned into "sound bites" that can be used by anyone with an agenda, manipulating it into what ever they want to make you the big bad wolf. You have been in the media's lense most if not your whole life, surely by now you would have smartened up on what to say, and when to say it. I hope you didn’t say what you reported said, in the context portrayed by some of the media and I hope that we can all just get back to playing rugby.

Isn’t that what its all about?

I remember reading an article in which Butch James was interviewed and asked about playing rugby overseas etc etc. The thing that stood out for me the most was the fact that he loved that there was no political or public pressure. It must be hard for players to have very little influence and to be tossed around as political pawns by those who have no real interest in benefiting rugby and in many cases have never even played or even care to watch it. But do so simply to use rugby because they understand that it can be used to get them into the public eye, raise a lot of public opinion, and in the end benefit their personal political or public careers.

But going back to Luke for a sec...

This is a great article, written by someone with way more right to lecture Luke then I do, Luke, by some miracle I hope that you get a chance to read this article, between rugby, photos shoots and reading religious or spiritual books.

Posted to the web on: 17 October 2008:
A lesson for Luke from a dusty township scrum by Charles Leonard

THERE was just one effective cure for the Highveld dust clogging your nose and throat after the season’s first game. A whole crate of them in cold brown bottles fresh from the shebeen awaited us as we stumbled from the rugby field. My new team-mates were already enthusiastically gulping them down. But our club chairman, Mark Alexander, had other ideas for the new Boerseun lock forward. As we sat down behind his maroon Beemer, away from the others, he started explaining the dos and — especially — the don’ts of nonracial sport in the 1980s. A bit superfluous, I thought, seeing that I had sought this township club out.It was after university and I still wanted to play rugby . The mainstream part of the sport was run and played by white fascists, so it was a simple decision for me to follow the example of Eastern Cape’s Watson brothers who, a decade earlier, started playing nonracial rugby on “the other side” under the banner of the South African Rugby Union (Saru).“That’s fairly obvious,” I thought, as Alexander ended his sermon with: “No racist comments are allowed on the field!” I guess he didn’t want to take any chances because, to use the old struggle cliche, even rugby was a “site of struggle”. Under PW Botha, repression was widespread — and Saru’s guys didn’t escape. In fact, one of our unions, Central Karoo, had to cancel some of its provincial matches because most of its players were in detention.The leading political resistance organisation of the time, the United Democratic Front , was such a broad church that, in addition to the obvious political and civic organisations, it accommodated outfits as diverse as the South African Scooter Drivers’ Association, the Silkscreening Training Project, and even sports bodies. It was at the formation of its umbrella body for sport, the National Sports Congress, that I met Cheeky Watson at Wits University in 1989. I immediately clicked with Cheeky — probably because we both didn’t look like the other white lefties, having been in the sun a bit, and because we shared a passion for rugby.I interviewed him for Vrye Weekblad, where I was the sports editor (which was a bit like being the political editor for Sports Illustrated). Cheeky told me of the sacrifices they had to make and harassment they had to endure at the hands of the Security Branch. Forfeiting a certain Springbok cap by choosing to play in the townships and his unwavering belief in transforming our sick society were inspirational.Reading the transcript this week of his son Luke’s talk at the recent Ubombo Rugby Festival in Cape Town took me back to 1980s state of emergency. I saw the same burning passion Cheeky had, although expressed in a rambling and slightly self-righteous way. I could understand why Luke had to keep himself from “vomiting” on the Springbok jersey. Unlike most of his pampered, PlayStation-playing team-mates, black and white, he carries the heavy burden of history, knowing how his father, uncles and their friends took huge risks playing the rugby they did. The S pringbok was one of the symbols of the disgusting system they were fighting. This history and knowledge have made Luke an outsider.It wasn’t caused only by the “Dutchmen” he apparently referred to (it wasn’t in the transcript but he allegedly used the term during the question-and-answer session after his talk) – a “soutie” in the form of Jake White did not exactly reach out to him when he was given his token Bok jersey for the Samoa test last year.It was not his disrespect to the S pringbok that I found offensive in Luke’s speech, even though I think it should stay because it has long been re-appropriated (famously so, by Nelson Mandela at the 1995 World Cup). It was his use of the derogatory term “Dutchman” that irked me — and not only because I am one myself.Rugby was only one of the things I learnt about during my township rugby-playing days. Later in my first season we, the Pumas, played against another club, the All Blacks. I was the only white person in the Longdale Stadium, our ground west of Johannesburg.As our hooker was about to throw the ball into the lineout, one of the opposition supporters chanted “AWB! AWB! AWB!” to try to distract me. The referee, who was known as a karate expert, stopped the game immediately, pointed at the culprit and shouted: “Hey jy, fokof! (hey you, f*ck off!)”The chanter had to leave the stadium sheepishly. Only once the poor sucker had closed the gate behind him, the ref said to the hooker: “Gooi in! (throw in!)”Saru was serious when it said no racism was allowed on those fields — even when it was directed at a Dutchman like me.That still applies today and Luke, who should be a role model for kids, should take that to heart. It may not save him the inevitable hospital passes and late tackles his unfortunate comments will cause next season when he play against other South African teams, but an apology is the least he can offer. He also owes it to the people who played township rugby, for whom nonracial principles applied in all directions.n Leonard is news editor.

Thanks Leonard.

Ok to sum up,

Butana and co "loyal ANC supporters" agree the emblem must go, but the ANC support the emblem , Naas says that they should kill it if they want to kill it and move the hell on, ex-bok captains and players alike are disgusted at the notion and this may lead to more vomiting, and finally legally the Afriforum, between fighting Luke and everyone else, will fight to keep the registered trademark of the Springbok on the green and gold jersey.

Here is to another day in South Africa!

Frank.

Ps "Sports Portfolio Committee chairman Butana Komphela told delegates: “The Springbok divides us. We have a responsibility to unite our country" and Mandela says that there is no greater power then sport to unite a nation, take a look at how the 1995 world cup and how the SYMBOL of mandela wearing a SPRINGBOK jersey helped unite this young democratic nation.

SA sports has BIGGER PROBLEMS, so do your job and prioritise or better yet: Butana, your 15min are up, LEAVE!

Rugby and Politics

RUGBY

POLITICS

Why would those two words ever be seen together? They shouldn't! However here in the great land of sunny South Africa you cant seem to seperate them.

The use of rugby as a cohesive tool to help mend a broken country, joining all under one flag has been examined and discussed at length, the fact of the matter is that rugby can and is used as a political tool. I dont seem to mind when the tool is used with out interfernece with its mechanisms but let me explain.

When Nelson used the Afrikaaners passion for rugby to create a common ground to show unity, to appeal to their hearts, thats clever and thats politics.

When the politicians ride on the backs of a rugby victory, 1995, 2007 world cup, thats ok, its great advertising and great use of a national resource.

However the use and abuse of rugby by administrator and politicians is killing the game I love, and that isn't ok with me. When half wits, Butana Komphela, use rugby to get there names in the paper (we will take away their passports, sprinbok emblem is a swastika,) it messes with the players minds, unsettles supporters and creates negativity of various forms.

When politicians use the rugby entity to maniplulate situations to further their own agendas, it should be seen and acknowledge as an abuse of their position and not tollerated.

There are HUGE problems is so many aspects of this country, there are huge problems with our sports, from olympics, to soccer and rugby. I see them, others see them, the country cry out for our leaders to try and solve them, and yet they dont.

We need change.

Not in emblems but in action.

Butana, be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

Nelson Mandela Rugby's role in his rise. From The Economist print edition

Nelson Mandela
Rugby's role in his rise
Sep 11th 2008 From The Economist print edition

TOWARDS the end of his 27 years in jail, Nelson Mandela began to yearn for a hotplate. He was being well fed by this point, not least because he was the world’s most famous political prisoner. But his jailers gave him too much food for lunch and not enough for supper. He had taken to saving some of his mid-day meal until the evening, by which time it was cold, and he wanted something to heat it up.

The problem was that the officer in charge of Pollsmoor prison’s maximum-security “C” wing was prickly, insecure, uncomfortable talking in English and virtually allergic to black political prisoners. To get around him, Mr Mandela started reading about rugby, a sport he had never liked but which his jailer, like most Afrikaner men, adored. Then, when they met in a corridor, Mr Mandela immediately launched into a detailed discussion, in Afrikaans, about prop forwards, scrum halves and recent games. His jailer was so charmed that before he knew it he was barking at an underling to “go and get Mandela a hotplate!”

Mr Mandela’s story never fails to inspire. As a young man, he started an armed struggle against apartheid. It went nowhere, and he went to jail. While maturing behind bars, he decided that moral suasion might work where bombs had failed. It did. South Africa’s white rulers surrendered power without a civil war. Several books have been written about Mr Mandela’s crucial role in coaxing his countrymen towards a more civilised form of government. John Carlin’s is the first to tell the tale through the prism of sport.

This premise is not as odd as it sounds. It was not only Mr Mandela’s regal charm that won over white South Africans. It was the fact that he took the trouble to study and understand their culture. At a time when many blacks dismissed rugby as “the brutish, alien pastime of a brutish, alien people”, Mr Mandela saw it as a bridge across the racial chasm.

The game is not an incidental part of Afrikaner culture, like cricket is to the English. To many Afrikaners, who have grown up playing rough games on sun-baked ground so hard that every tumble draws blood, rugby is little short of everything. Mr Mandela knew that if he was to convince these people that one man, one vote would not mean catastrophe, he had to “address their hearts”, not their brains. If the fearsome terrorist on the other side of the negotiating table was a rugby fan, could he really be as bad as they thought?

Mr Carlin focuses on the decade after 1985, when most blacks thought the country was sliding into war. He draws on his experiences as the South Africa correspondent for the Independent, a British newspaper, during the transition to democracy. But the book does not climax, as a standard historical text might, with South Africa’s first proper multi-racial elections in 1994. Instead, it builds up to the rugby world cup final in 1995, which was held in South Africa and which the home team won.

This makes sense. Elections are all very well, but the moment when black South Africans started cheering for a mostly-white rugby team, when white fans in the stadium tried gamely to sing a Zulu miners’ anthem and when Mr Mandela donned the green jersey of the Springboks—“It was the moment I realised that there really was a chance this country could work,” gushes a teary-eyed rugby official.

Mr Carlin brings the story alive by telling it through the eyes of a broad spectrum of South Africans. Among these is Desmond Tutu, the Nobel prize-winning archbishop of Cape Town, who was in America on the day of the final and had to find a bar that would let him watch it at an ungodly hour of the morning. Also, Niel Barnard, a former chief spy for the apartheid regime, who used to keep a thick file on Bishop Tutu. And Justice Bekebeke, a young township firebrand who killed a policeman for firing at a child during a riot and spent time on death row.

Mr Bekebeke is the most interesting of Mr Carlin’s portraits. On the morning of the match, he is still too bitter about a lifetime of injustice to support the Springboks. But then, something changes. The surging emotion of the event sweeps him along. “I just had to give up, to surrender,” he says, “And I said to myself, well, this is the new reality. There is no going back: the South African team is now my team, whoever they are, whatever their colour.”
Many writers reveal the nuts and bolts of South Africa’s transformation to non- racial democracy. But few capture the spirit as well as Mr Carlin.

---------------------------------------------xxxxx---------------------------------------

I wonder how many administratos, players, coaches etc, read this article, and how it changed their views, if at all.

FRANK

Reasons to support the sharks

Simply put, Durban has the hottest woman!




The sharks girls are a piece of Natal rugby history, they have been around for longer then I can remember (thats not saying too much, as im not that old), and I know they (the sharks) were the first South African franchise to start with the "hot girls at rugby games" concept.


The sharks girls dont dance.


They don,t distract from game time.


They aren't cow girls with stupid, weak choreographed (ok that word looks wrong) moves.


They are some of the hottest woman SA has on offer and they support the Sharks.

It doesnt get any better!

ps: For the record these arent mindless barbie dolls, the last S sharks girl in the picture to the right -------------->
is a qualified accountant, ex- tutor.

And the most legendary sharks girl (in my limited opinion), Courtney (sorry no pic:)), has a Business Science degree in Finance, and had a song on East Coast Radio for a while, and will eventually take over the world. So for all those hottie haters out there, dont hate the player, or the game, but what ever you do DONT hate the shark girls.

Thanks you ladies, see you all again soon!


FRANK

Bok Quick Hitters

Habana, no one can deny the talent, however I feel he could be getting bigger then the game. Can anyone really think of anything incredible he has done lately? I unfortunately can’t. Maybe the defences are just covering him better, but a great wing adapts and still make mince of the defences. He is a great talent and has proved himself at international level, however I feel he has lost his way a bit and that he needs the right kind of coaching to be recoverable.

The Beast, fantastic scrumming! You are all over the field in defence and when you are caught on the wing, it’s like watching a elephant bull at full charge, but most importantly you keep the ball alive and don’t get fumbled into touch like so many winger/props before you. Keep it up!

Adrian Jacobs, people have said you were too small and that you have unbalanced the backline. BOLLOCKS! South Africans have an obsession with size, we wasted arguably one of our greatest talents, Brent Russel and we often get punished by Giteau! Sorry old boys, SIZE ISN'T EVERYTYHING! Adi, you are the example to all those school boys out there, run the right lines, keep your line, hit it at pace and score tries. Simple. You have been a great center and with Jean, a great pairing. When Fourie comes back (hopefully attempts to tackle lower, thereby avoiding cheek to head collisions) I look forward to seeing you accept the challenge and hold on to your position.

Nokwe, Great talent, blistering pace, hands look perfect so far and his ability to step without slowing down is deceptively important.

JP, I was never your biggest fan, in fact I wanted to shoot you after your first 5 games for the sharks, however I stand by the fact that I was wrong, there is a reason Eddie Jones is a international coach and I’m not, he saw your talent from the get go, and its taken me time to see it (or you to prove itJ). You have been playing phenomenal rugby and you have made the green and gold proud. Thank you, and good luck!

Andries Bekker, definite talent, my only question is where will he fit in, as the enforcer in the Bakkies mold or as the specialist, Matfield mold? I look forward to watching a promising career.

Bismark, he has been Smit's understudy for years, and a great replacement. He has size, strength, experience and capability. He is more powerful and dominating then we may realise, he never looks tired and is always keen to run at someone, and often over them. However I would like to see him hold onto the ball a little more in contact, I believe it involves more technique then strength.

Ndungane, does the job, I have no complaints.

Jean, ridiculously quick for your size, a step that still fools the greatest opposition, you came back time and again from the most daunting odds and South Africa is grateful.

Spies, you have been given the chance, and I'm left wondering "was Spies on the field?".

Bolla, not a game winner, not quick enough and I've met you in person and you are always polite and very accommodating but I have never liked your attitude on the field. Not to mention that there are greater scrummies in this country who beat you on several levels, passing, kicking, speed, defence, etc etc.

Steyn, to much to say for the quick hitters.

Luke, great to see you on the bench.

Ruan, SEE THE LIGHT! You are the next fly half for South Africa, accept it, embrace it, and take us to greater heights.

BLAKE