The Truth

Big weekend for footy fans

Mon, 06 Sep 2010 15:44:00 +1200

It’s going to be a big weekend for footy fans. It all starts on Friday night with the Far South’s favourite sons attempting to defend the Ranfurly Shield against North Harbour. The mighty Southland Stags got a rude wakeup call losing to Northland last weekend and the team will surely respond with a more determined effort this week. At home in Inver-Vegas with the Log of Wood at stake is all the motivation they need.

Following the Stags game, the Warriors kick off the NRL finals against the Titans on the Gold Coast. After finishing the regular season in 5th position, a loss won’t necessarily end the Warriors Premiership hopes. But momentum is key at this time of year and a loss will create a huge mountain to climb. A win is truthfully the only acceptable result and with a fully fit team for the first time in a long time, there is no reason why the Warriors can’t brush aside the Titans.

Then on Saturday night the All Blacks play Australia in Sydney. It will be interesting to see how the All Blacks play without Dan Carter, and interesting to see if already having the silverware locked away affects their motivation. On the other hand the Aussies will have their tails up after beating South Africa last week, but must contend with the fatigue and the travel factor coming back from Africa after two bruising test matches. If they can overcome those difficulties, this game could be their best chance to break the current losing streak against the AB’s.

Don’t be surprised to see another fast Wallaby start and possibly a healthy lead at half time. But the All Black forward domination should eventually take its toll on those tired Aussie legs before game breakers like Nonu, Jane and Dagg break them open in the final quarter, and that is the truth.

What doesn’t kill you

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 15:44:00 +1200

What a luxurious position the Warriors find themselves in. They have made the NRL finals with one week to spare. Anyone who has followed the ups and downs of this club for a while will know anything could happen from here. They could suddenly go cold and crash out of contention, or they could go all the way to the 2010 Premiership.

This coming week against the Eels they can only improve their position in the top eight, and a win will certainly improve the chances of success in the NRL finals series. The format of the NRL finals series is by far the best in the world giving home advantage to the top four, a week off for the top two ranked winners after round one, another bite of the cherry for the top two ranked losers, while the bottom two losers can hang up the boots and head off to the pub for a well deserved drink. So much better than waiting all season for the business end only for it to be over in the blink of an eye. If the Warriors can go into the finals better than 6th, the chances are they will play again in week two win or lose.

It’s only five week’s into the ITM Cup yet it seems all over for Otago. I almost threw the remote at the TV last Thursday night when poor decision-making along with stupid infringements and ultimately terrible leadership cost the team any chance of scraping themselves off the bottom of the championship ladder. It sure is a sad state of affairs that Dunedin’s fancy new stadium will almost certainly be hosting a 2nd division team next year. Although this inevitability is a tragedy in its own right, worse will come if the Otago Rugby Union implodes over it.

Despite the results, there is a lot to like about the new direction Otago are taking. They have a new coach, an improved development program and a new found appreciation of the provinces that make up the union. They are a notoriously hard side to support but as they say what doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger and now is not the time to give up, and that is the truth.

Sweet smell of success

Mon, 23 Aug 2010 15:44:00 +1200

IIts official, I have a problem. I take great pleasure in the pain and suffering of others. More specifically the pain the All Blacks inflicted on the Springboks. Poor little Peter de Villiers crying into his bushy moustache. Poor John Smit. What a way to celebrate your 100th test cap, missing the tackle on Ma Nonu that set up the match winning try. I know its immature but ha ha ha. I guess this is how others must feel when the All Blacks lose.

Remember it was only 12 months ago the reverse situation occurred with the Boks taking our world number one ranking with a 3-nil clean sweep over the All Blacks. And this is why, when it comes down to it, if you are a passionate sports fan like yours truly , then you absolutely must take all the pleasure you can from victory because the flip side is so god darn awful. For example, I was sitting in row 56, seat number 126, of Millennium Stadium in Cardiff when the All Blacks went crashing out of the last rugby World Cup. I know what loss feels like, so rather than theorise and speculate on whether or not we have peaked too early and will face the same fate in the next World Cup, I will sniff the sweet smell of success, soak up the warm fuzzies and enjoy right here right now. And nobody should have a problem with that.

With only two weeks of the NRL regular season left, the Warriors need just one more win to secure a finals spot. After a frustrating loss to Manly last week, a top four position is now out of the question, and with the Bronco’s and Eels to come a finals spot of any description is no certainty. This weekend’s game against the Bronco’s is a must win being the last home game of the year. Unfortunately the Warriors are so inconsistent but at times brilliant they could lose this weekend and miss the finals completely or go on to win the Premiership. This makes them a bloody hard team to support but support them I must and that is the truth.

The Mighty Stags!

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:44:00 +1200

All hail, the great revival of domestic rugby in New Zealand. Certainly the game has taken on a whole new importance down here in the Deep South for two very different reasons. For the ITM Cup leading Southland Stags, the impact of winning, and now defending the Ranfurly Shield has transformed the attitude of the entire district.

Although the Wakatipu is in Otago, Southlander’s have always been the backbone of this area. Proof of the support the Southland team are getting can be witnessed every time they play in all Queenstown and Arrowtown’s sports bars and pubs. After just edging out Otago last week, many expected Counties to leave Invercargill with the Ranfurly Shield tucked under Tana Umaga’s arm. But never underestimate the mighty Stag’s and how much that Shield means to them. For the moment the Shield is safe as the team hits the road for a few weeks before returning home to defend the Log of Wood against North Harbour on the 10th September.

As for poor Otago supporters, things couldn’t be worse. Firmly rooted at the bottom of the points table, the boys really have to turn it around at home this weekend against Hawkes Bay. Another loss, and the axe will begin to drop on Otago’s participation in the top flight of New Zealand rugby. Second division here we come!

Manu Vatuvei. Who can stop The Beast? The answer put simply is no one when he gets to within a few metres of the line. The guy has become one of the hardest men in the NRL to put down. It is now a 95% certainty The Warriors will make the playoffs in three weeks time. With another win or two they could even make the top four and really improve their chances of Premiership success. But after watching a typical fumbling bumbling display from the Warriors for most of the match on Sunday against Newcastle, it has become quite obvious their success will come down to the impact of big Manu. The guy is of freakish proportions that would easily be a match for Jonah Lomu in his prime. If The Beast can keep striking, the Warriors can go all the way, and that is the truth.

That crazy clown could be on to something...

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 15:44:00 +1200

I’m starting to think that crazy little clown Peter de Villiers might be on to something. There is no way Tony Woodcock should have stayed on the field after delivering a cheap shot to one of the Wallabies on Saturday night. Maybe the All Blacks are being favoured by the referees. Either way, nobody can argue we don’t deserve our number one ranking as the All Blacks are clearly better than any other team in the world with or without the help of favourable refereeing decisions.

So now we sit at the top of the tree, the chasing pack will be aspiring to beat us, particularly next year at the World Cup. There is nothing new in this. It’s always been the case, if you want to win the World Cup, you have to work out how to beat the All Blacks. And the tactic being employed this time around is to invent a conspiracy theory that we are cheats and favoured by the referees. If anything, it would be better for us to be more harshly treated by the referees now to save us the pain of another Wayne Barnes shocker in the big dance next November. There is only so much ‘luck’ you get before the worm turns.

Almost over shadowing the All Black game down here in the Far South was the Ranfurly Shield game between Otago and Southland. What a cracker of a game with Southland proving they are deserving Shield holders with a hard fought and determined victory. As for Otago, good things always seem to be so close but yet so far. By rights, Otago should have beaten Southland on Saturday. They were however fraught by the sin-binning of two players, a dodgy refereeing decision that awarded Southland the winning try, and most tellingly their own inability to nail all the opportunities that came their way. Could’ve, should’ve, didn’t, and that is the truth.