Hail fellows, all well met!
Frankly I’m looking forward to feeling human again after the weekend and having my first night of relatively normal sleep with no small hours degustation of all things Arnott’s Shapes related.
After five odd nights of little sleep, and what little sleep to be had being grabbed in short bursts only, interrupted by lots of little Chicken-Crimpy type things washed down with copious amounts of port, rum and coffee, I’m near certain that Gary the dog is beyond curiosity and is genuinely concerned for my wellbeing. He’s accustomed to seeing me doing the odd night on the couch, though I’m not sure if he’s actually linked raised voices from She-Alpha with the probability of He-Alpha sleeping on the couch. But five nights straight? This is new territory indeed. And the poor fella looks a bit perplexed by it all.
But it is what it is and we have another six weeks of it in front of us. I hope the Snack Brands guys have programmed overtime and the Bundaberg folk have full warehouses because the nights will be long and lonely without our tummy-warming friends to make the passing of incessant TMO interventions tolerable.
Other than noting (with some relief) that the Wobbs finally won a game, I’ll leave the hyper-analysis, prophetic predictions and technical assessments to others. Others on this site, ably assisted by Doctor Google, will help you find all you need there. For me? Even in only the opening stanza, the things that grabbed my attention this weekend were the moments of magic and heartbreak – the humanity of the World Cup.
For instance, yeh ok Ireland did beat Romania 82-8. But my arm hairs stand on end even now thinking about how Romania took the initial lead in the match when, after only two minutes of mindless forcies-back kicking, Hinckley Vaovasa took advantage of lax chasing by the Paddies to put No9 Gabriel Rupanu into space and seize the most improbable of leads by grabbing a try that will get him beers for the rest of time. Surely the Paddies then did them over with a dozen tries. But for one fleeting moment there, the team ranked 19th in the world tipped the team ranked BEST in the world (at least for today) fair on their heads. It almost makes me tear up.
And then there’s the other side – the heartbreak. And among the injuries and lost opportunities, the moment from the first brace of matches that surely grabbed us all most brutally was that split second late in Bordeaux that saw the Flying Fijians almost rescue a match that English referee Matt Carley had managed to crucify all on his lonesome. I refer of course to the moment that saw us all issue a universal groan of sympathy on seeing Semi Radradra spill the chance to steal the game for Fiji in the closing seconds of their 32-26 loss against Wales. I mean no ill will to the 3.2 odd million folk of the land of fathers, valleys and vales. But surely the rest of the rugby universe did shudder on seeing intergalactically recognised nice-guy Semi RanOverYa spill that pill with the try-line wide open.
And to me it will be one of the rugby tragically romantic moments I will remember for all time. I mean this is a guy whose ball control is normally so magnetic it borders on telekinetic. But in that one split second the rugby gods said “No!” and we all bemoaned the moment with our heads encased in our hands.
And that got me thinking of other rugby tragedy moments that stick in my mind, such as when Wendell Sailor ‘blitzed’ up and out of the defensive line in the 2003 World Cup Final, leaving the crucial hole through which Jason Robinson then buzzed to level the game and send the teams to overtime. Forget Mat Rodgers shanked kick, it was White Line Wendell’s gamble that lost that World Cup.
Or even the comical moments, like that time England was behind Wales 16-15 in a 6 Nations fixture in 2015 and in the closing minutes of the game, James Haskell was thundering towards the Welsh tryline for the match winning try and… he ran into the post, fell backwards and the moment (and the match) was lost.
And of-course, who could forget Campo’s ‘mana from heaven’ pass that cost us the 1989 Lions series…
Sometimes the rugby gods are as cruel as they are fickle.
What are the moments you remember?
Around the campfires…
While the rest of the world watches those with fashionista selected tracksuits detrain from luxury coaches in the shadows of grey concrete stadiums that charge far too much for tickets and beers in far off places, the true heart and soul of rugby continues to beat at the grassroots. And so in keeping that faith I’ll list some more finals results over the weekend gone:
Over in the South Australian competition, the upcoming weekend signals the big show with six different clubs involved which is a fantastic spread. Most of the matches see minor premier against second placed. But of note in the Ressies, perfect season undefeated minor premiers Brighton were well beaten by Barossa 29-7 last weekend (?) and so it’s Barossa Rams aiming to drink the wine against Old Collegians this coming weekend. All the action is out at AA Bailey Reserve at Clarence Gardens, so if you’re about Adelaide next weekend, do yourself a favour. Results next week.
Down in Tasmania, the big show has been danced and won by… I’ll publish KB’s write-up as a separate article shortly.
Back east in Illawarra rugby (south coast NSW), Shoalhaven Rugby Club have been crowned back-to-back Illawarra Rugby 1st Grade Premiers after a hard fought 36 – 15 victory over Avondale Wombats. With halftime nearing and the score 10-7, Avondale appeared the stronger team and generally in-control of proceedings, but the Shoalies had other ideas. And with a try just before oranges, Shoalies burst forth to take control in the second period and weren’t to be caught. Interestingly, the match was a reversal of the Ressies form which saw the Wombats 39-35 victors over the Shoalies who have now lost a GF two years in a row (poor buggers). There would be some hangovers of epic proportions around the ‘Gong and southern regions today.
A little to the north in the Central Coast area of NSW, Central Coast Grammar has stunned all manner of folk in taking out the Waratah Shield by beating Randwick Boys High School 25-18 in extra time last Wednesday, 6/09. Of note was that this was the first year the Erina Heights lads had even been invited to play in the Waratah Shield, after taking out the ISA Division 2 premiership for the first time in 18 years. So well done lads. It’s great to see regional schools taking it to all manner of much more fancied opponents.
And lastly for today, big ups to the Quinn family of the Blayden Red Kites women’s team over in Blaydon-on-Tyne (near Newcastle in the UK) who last weekend fielded 7 members of the Quinn family in a local pre-season outing against Ryton RFC. Hayley Quinn, her wife Kirsty, Hayley’s sister Rachel, and Rachel’s daughters Molly, Rosie, Grace and Lucy all stormed about. Cheers and beers (or milkshakes depending age I guess) to them all.
Well there’s enough from me for today. Thoughts and prayers for an unrepentant sinner like me are welcomed below.
