It’s hard to make decisions staring down the barrel of a smoking gun Part II

The sporting world is the best escape imaginable. After watching a few sporting events this week, it perplexes me that there are even people in the world who have no interest in sports.

I reported last week that the British and Irish Lions are on tour and they will have a tough time making decisions as they staring down the proverbial barrel of a smoking gun.

But what of those teams who go into a tournament/match as favorites and everything goes wrong? In this instance its even harder to make said decisions.

It all started last week Wednesday when a certain Manchester United traveled to the eternal city of Rome to take on Barcelona in the Champions League final. Although many acknowledged that it would not be one-way traffic. It was widely believed that the Red Devils where the favorites going into the match.

Turns out that the scaly Brits from Manchester never even pitched for the match. Don’t get me wrong, there were on the field, but they were completely dominated to the extent that even the staunch Man U supporters, you know the Porras who support the club because of Ronaldo who they regard as a fake Porra because he comes from Madeira, acknowledged that Man U were never in the game.

All indications point towards geriatric Alex Ferguson’s poor selection of the side going into the game. Many believe that Man U would have faired better with Dimatar Berbatov or Carlos Tevez upfront instead of plating an extra man in midfield. But Ferguson stuck by his guns going into the match, and is a firm believer of players getting themselves out of trouble on the field.

Some will argue that it is tantamount to suicide to play that way in the final. But it’s hard to make decisions staring down the barrel of a smoking gun.

The second final this week was the Super 14 final which saw my boys from New Zealand The Chiefs take on the most hated rugby team in South Africa The Bulls.

With it being the final, many thought that it would be a tight affair. And when the Chiefs scored first it looked like it was headed in that direction, but then the Bulls hit back with 3 quick tries in the first half, which started an onslaught that really couldn’t be stopped.

Some argued that it the Chiefs contested better on the ground then they would have had a chance. Some also felt that Steven Donald put too much emphasis on the passing game where a kicking game would have served the team better. But as always, hindsight is a great thing, and in the heat of the moment it’s hard to make decisions staring down the barrel of a smoking gun.

Even Hitler was pissed off that the Chiefs lost. See below:




The final shock of the weekend is the early exit of Rafael Nadal from the French Open courtesy of lowly ranked Swede Robin Soderling. By all accounts Soderling came out to play and set a blistering early pace taking Nadal’s power game out of the picture.

Nadal could have fought back and won the match had he slowed the game down to a pace that suits him. However, that is all easier said then done and it’s hard to make such decisions staring down the barrel of a smoking gun.

In other news, the British lions came through their first South African outing unscathed, although they were behind for the majority of the match. Looking at the side that ran out. 8 of the players that Ian McGeechan picked for the team on the weekend maches my selection for the first test. So I'm almost there.

Change your perception, they are ordinary people

One of the biggest questions on every sports fans lips is that are the sports people we see on the field the same off the field? Is Paul Gascoigne really a mad bastard? Has Tiger got the same kak chip-on-his shoulder attitude at home then her does on the course?

Obviously they have to have been normal people at some point, but somewhere along the way some sports personalities just loose their normality and change.

I was privileged enough to go to school with Bradley Habana, Brian Habanna’s older brother, he was a few years ahead of me, but a real nice guy who was in the first rugby team when I was a young overweight under 14 player. He took the time to sit with me at times and explain the finer points of the game, and coach me as to what its like playing in the first team.

Ill never forget that, he didn’t have to waste his time with a youngster like me but he did. Now a few years on, he has a top job at ABSA and has a brother who is a Springbok. And how he has changed. I didn’t expect him to recognise me when he saw me on the weekend, In fact I never even spoke to him, but I saw that he has picked up the arrogance that only fame and fortune can give. And that’s a pity.

Bradley’s brother, Brian Habanna, is the same age as me. We never played rugby against each other at school because he went to KES who play in a higher league then my school did. But we did play against each other at Varsity level for our respective fraternity houses, and we developed a loose friendship. I always joke that one day I was asking Brian when he was going to get his break and play for the Lions in the Super 12 and a year later he was a Springbok.

Rumours were rife in the Bok camp that Brian had changed when he became a Bok. He wasn’t the carefree cool guy he was before; he had developed an attitude and a tendency to rebel to authority.

But as with all things, the few affect the public’s view on the many. And we get the feeling that all sports people don’t really have time for the plebs.

My friend Candice came up to Gauteng to visit her mom for the weekend and was able to organise some free tickets to the Bulls vs Waikato Chiefs game on the weekend. She got this through her friendship with Chiefs fly half Steven Donald. After the game she got an sms that me and her should go on the jaul with the Chiefs.

Now bearing in mind my experiences with celebrities, you can understand my reluctance to go. But Candice wanted to see Steven so we went.

We ended up at Vaca Matta in Monte Casino where Steven Donald, Liam Messam, Sione Lauaki, Richard Kahui and a few of the junior players were drinking at the bar. Candice introduced me as her brother to avoid the awkwardness and the boys just accepted me in their group of friends and we partied hard together.

WOW WHAT AN EXPERIENCE. You spend your life watching these boys play their hearts out, playing rugby at the highest level, you idolise these boys, and then you end up drinking with them.

To offset the HEAT Magazine, no the boys were not pissed, and were very well behaved.

What surprised me is that the guys you never expected to party are the biggest partiers on the team. Speaking to Ben May, Chiefs prop, I said the last person I expected to bust some moves on the dance floor is the Big Man Sione Lauaki. He looks at me and says: “Ah Mate Lauaki loves this.”

Although all of the guys are great guys I really had the greatest time with new squad member Tobi Lynn. Before Sunday the 26th of April, Tobi Lynn had never tried a Hunters Dry. So he had one with me and didn’t stop with them the whole evening.

Every evening with Candice has classical chirps. At the bar Candice is running her mouth saying what a big Chiefs fan I am and that I am the most knowledgeable rugby person she has ever met. Donald, Lauaki, and Messam obviously thought she was talking crap so they threw the questions at me:
Lauaki: Which island is Taranaki on?
Me: North Island.
Donald: Capital of New Zealand?
Me: Wellington
Messam: Who had his testicle rucked off in a game against the Wallabies in the 1980s
Me: Buck Shelford.

And here comes the classical chirp: Richard Kahui who was watching this said: F’ing hell boys, he knows more about New Zealand rugby then 3 All Blacks.

Oh yes. To answer the question about if Paul Gascoigne is a nutter in real life, trust me, HE IS!