Posted inSport

Time to call it quits, Jake

I thought I was going to let my fellow bloggers run with the ball on this great rugby debate, but I just have to claim my pound of flesh. So, here goes! I think Jake White should do more than pee on the ashtrays on the desks of his bosses (as fellow blogger Chris Moerdyk […]

Posted inSport

Bread and circuses

Lo, Sunday morning dawned and strangely enough the world was unchanged! The fact that some beefy boys with cauliflower ears and bloodied eyes had spent 80 minutes throwing themselves on top of each other and shoving their heads up each other’s bums to win a shiny beaker the previous evening seems — oddly enough — […]

Posted inSport

Springboks the class of 1995 and 2007

One of the greatest moments of my life was watching a packed Newlands rugby stadium, comprising almost entirely white fans, thundering “Nelson, Nelson, Nelson” as Madiba made his way to commence his opening address for the 1995 World Cup. Madiba magic was born, and how the rainbow nation responded to it. Yet rugby was and […]

Posted inSport

Kraai the beloved country

Manne, I believe the Bokke are going to crush the whingeing Poms on Saturday. That goes without saying. However, in the event of the impossible becoming a reality, you need to be prepared — you need to know how to deal with your emotions without making your name totally tottie. Accordingly herewith: Traps’s guide to […]

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Where were you in 1995?

It came on suddenly during the week in the build-up to the 1995 Rugby World Cup final. I had been laid low by flu the previous week, but had recovered enough to make the most of the semifinal against France. But the flu boomeranged back and left me in bed — at least the All […]

Posted inSportTech

Rugby should embrace more technology

France won their quarterfinal match against New Zealand on the back of a scintillating try that included a forward pass between Frederic Michalak and Yannick Jauzion. The pass was blatant to the millions of fans watching on television but was missed by referee Wayne Barnes and his two touch judges. Similarly, Fiji came within a […]

Posted inSport

Why we’ll lose the World Cup

It’s Saturday evening. 9pm. The World Cup final. Fifteen men in green and gold line up to face fifteen men in white. It’s a showdown of epic proportions — England want to avenge past humiliations; South Africa are equally hungry and need to prove their worth as “past World Cup winners”. In the UK, millions […]

Posted inSport

Brian Ashton to be rewarded?

Barely weeks after the English media were telephoning vets across England to ascertain the price of having their coach spayed comes the heartwarming story of the English RFU’s decision to extend his contract. Wonderful news, which means I can now throw away my copy of Dr Alan Cresswell’s report. The vet from Bath was waffling […]