Daily we are confronted with traumatic events that redefine our lives and bring home the sombre realisation that many things are beyond our control: 9/11, tsunamis and the unavoidable encountering of Sharks supporters. When the genius concerned lists the day the Sharks won the Currie Cup for the first time at Loftus Versfeld among his […]
Sport
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
The best symbol of a united nation
Tuesday midday in GP: A R29 “business lunch special” at a Chinese restaurant in Rosebank with a colleague followed by filter coffee and baklava at Fournos around the corner. And as I used my finger to wipe the last drops of honey from the plate, I sighed in satisfaction: “What is this life if, full […]
Posted inSport
I dunno … maybe we should all go running
If I bungle my argument along the way, please excuse me, I’m actually fairly vexed as I write this: I’ve just had my third debate about rugby being “left alone” in recent days. Just as we had anticipated, South Africa returned with the World Cup in hand and the politics came following after. The issue […]
Posted inSport
Jake White and the (other) succession debate
So Jake White has quit his job. By now that should not come as a surprise to too many people. It shouldn’t be a shock that the South African Rugby Union (Saru) will shoulder much of the blame for his decision. But what I find intriguing is the number of people arguing why Saru should […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Transformation of rugby needs quotas
OK, let me be brave and write about something I am not supposed to know much about, namely rugby. (After all, I supported the Springboks because of JP Pietersen’s sexy legs.) These are the facts: only two of the regular players in the World Cup-winning Springbok rugby team are not lily-white. At the same time, […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
Wanted: A government that is not embarrassed by its people
It is nice to have a President who cares what the world thinks. It would be far nicer to have one who cares what the people of South Africa think. Thabo Mbeki’s desire to change the nickname of some national sports teams may seem like a frivolous diversion from our national challenges. In reality, it […]
Posted inSport
Rugby administrators bungle again
As I sit, gazing out of my office window, through the pouring rain, at the 15th green at Johannesburg Country Club, I take small comfort in that my only consolation is that those well-heeled midweek golfers who taunt me on a daily basis will not be able to do so for the remainder of this […]
Posted inSport
Rainbow nation my foot!
Black consciousness as a political movement may be suffering from a image crisis in this age of non-racism and rainbow-nationhood, but once in a while events remind us of how its teachings remain as relevant as when they first surfaced at black universities in the 1960s and early 1970s. For it were the Zim-Zims (as […]
Posted inSport
‘There’s nothing wrong with the game’
So, now that an Aussie has helped us in our World Cup endeavours, it’s probably not bad form to agree with that Aussie when he says something worth listening to. In the aftermath of the World Cup, much has been said and written about the final as a spectacle, specifically portraying it as a drab, […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
‘Bafana Bafana’ offends Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki, presumably in an effort to appear even-handed, has lashed out against the nicknames of our national football teams. Even though the people chose them.
Posted inSport
White is the man to transform SA Rugby! But no one will listen!
Congrats, Bokke! On Saturday you made us all proud. You will go down in history as one of the greatest teams in rugby history, not just because you won, but also because you came through against all the odds. Looking back to the 2003 World Cup, Springbok rugby was a shambles. Working at the event […]
Posted inSport
Steak, the World Cup and good bones
I have to confess that the highlight for me of Saturday’s World Cup game was the steak. We braaied, of course, and it being a special occasion, I got in some prime rump from the nearby Famous Butcher’s Grill. It is not cheap, but with a teriyaki marinade tends to evoke the sort of eyeball-rolling […]