Asking Div to explain tempts fate
Tightheads & Loose Balls: If there was any doubt about the pressure the All Blacks will be under to win the World Cup at home, Mils Muliaina dispelled it this week.
"You have to embrace the challenge otherwise you are going to have the burden of the world coming down on you if you don't win," the 94-Test veteran told Tightheads. "You have to embrace the fact that four million people want you to win. That's excitement in itself. If you can do that, outstanding, but if you don't, you probably have to make your way quietly out of the country."
WE were reminded of the saying "don't do as I do, do as I say" this week when All Blacks coach Graham Henry questioned the ambition of young players who chase a quick buck in Europe. "It irritates me that guys (just) under the All Blacks group who have a dream of being an All Black for 25 years, all of a sudden get offered $500000 (R2.5-million) and bugger off," Henry sighed. "They don't carry on and fulfill the dream. There's plenty of time to do all of that other stuff. There are guys I know who've gone overseas and regretted it immensely. Often it's (the result of) their partner's pressure; they want to do an OE (overseas experience)." Henry, too, succumbed to the allure of the pound when he coached Wales between 1998 and 2002.
SUPERSPORT, we often point out, stop at nothing to please their strategic patterns. We were however still mildly shocked to read that they had posted on their website a story, credited to Peter de Villiers, saying Rassie Erasmus was "almost certainly joining the Bok management for the World Cup". Tightheads was relieved to learn that the story wasn't penned by P Divvie at all and that his name had appeared in error.
WHEN De Villiers named his squad this week he was questioned about his trip to meet Sharks coach John Plumtree. "Ja, I didn't go to discuss John Smit with him. John Smit was only one of the issues I had to discuss with him. I actually went to discuss Bismarck with him more than anything else. Although everybody is in awe of Bismarck, everybody forgets that if he goes on the way he is we won't have a hooker to go to the World Cup. If he is number one in everybody's ratings.." The explanation was accepted by the media who figured no good could come of further interrogation.
THE Lions need not worry. Thursday's no-show by print journalists at their weekly press conference should not be interpreted as the hacks having given up on the struggling team. Most newspapers simply did not have an edition on Friday since it was a holiday.