St Elmo's Fire

Dear Highlanders

Ever since making my way to this part of the world, I have been persistent in my idignation towards you as I felt you never ever lived up to the expectations that a crazed rugby head like me would, in a moment of buffoonery pledge their undying and unconditional support to you. For years you have implored me to give you the time and attention you so badly craved for, and yet I spurned you. You begged us to " surround the enemy so you could put them to the sword," but I turned away refusing to pay homage to your gobble de gook.

For years I felt ashamed as I watched your progressive demise which was eating away at your very core like an uncontrollable cancer. At a time when all New Zealand sides were exhuberant and bursting at the seams with talent, you lagged behind and stuck out like a sore thumb as you continously showed a propensity for lack of innovation. Week in and out , you played the same old, pedantic and almost robotic style of rugby, which was sorely attributing to your degeneration.

We stopped coming to the 'Brook in our droves as you refused to listen to our pleas for change. You remained steadfast in your resistance to our pleas for change, yet it was we the fans who had made you and the 'Brook a household name affectinately known as the "House of Pain!"
If the last two S14 rounds are anything to go by, it appears you have finally heeded our calls this year with change even going as far as the very echelons of administration in the Highlanders. Coach Moore (who we all new was a fantastic coach) has been lingering in the coaching doldrums of division 2 rugby,has taken the bull by the horns. His brand is exciting, enterprising and showing signs of innovation. With a bit of North Island flair to boot we could be on to a winner. Our old school style rugby has never excited in defeat or in victory and yet the last 2 games, although we lost , I felt proud to be a fan and relished the thought of yous playing in your first home game at the "Brook tonight.

I am sure I and many others come rain or sunshine(the forecast is for rain) will make my 15 minute pilgrimage to the Mecca we call the "House of Pain" surround those so called Waratahs while you put them to the sword!!!!!!!!!!!! Win or lose as long as you display the courage, tenacity and expanisve rugby which you have fearlessly showed in the last 2 weeks, we will stand proud!
So I say to the Waratahs, beware the Ides of March, for cometh the Highlanders and so too cometh the fans tonight at the "House of Pain"

Your Prodigal Fan

St Elmo's Fire

It's all about Rugby

After last week's impressive performance by the New Zealand Sides, and the ever grafting Aussies, followed by the disastrous South African side, the Super 14 has an all too familiar look about it. Ok maybe I am generalizing and a team like the Sharks is actually a cut above the rest, but have really bee tested yet? We will see how the Stormers do against hot favourites Crusaders but it has to be said the SA Rugby have got a hard year ahead of them is the first two weeks is anything to go by.

The Aussies are working hard and as far as rebuilding goes they are on the right course and with a man like Robbie Deans on their side the Bledisloe Cup and the Tri-Nations this year is surely going to be a thriller. The Super 14 team to watch from Australia are the Waratahs, who are back from a slump in 2007 but the others are full of exciting youngsters and can always pull a shock on any day.

In saying all the there is no doubt who has adapted to the new rules the quickest and that is the New Zealanders. They are playing the game with the new rules like they have been playing with them for years and they have not missed a step at all. It is looking very much like the All Blacks three year backlash has just started.

The man I feel sorry for is Mr Pieter de Villiers the new Springbok coach he has his hands full and I foresee a disaster of a year for the Springboks and the only thing that south African Sides will do well in is the Vodacom Cup and the Currie Cup...so much for being World Champions.

Back with a BANG!!!

After a very long leave of absence I must say its good to be back talking sports. The Afcon Cup, which was won by Egypt, showed the world that Africa is coming and I am waiting in anticipation for the World Cup in 2010 as I am sure their will be some serious suprise results.

The Super 14 kicked off last week and what a humdinger of a first round, with all the new Experimental Law Variations, and the hunger for the game that was evident from some of the players performances, it is sure to be a cracker!!!

The Premier League is hotting up and as we hit the home stress its is clearly now a three horse race lead by Arsenel who are brimming with confidence, then Manchester United who are looking a bit shaky and Chelsea who have been flying under the raider but getting the results that have kept them in with a shout.

The FA Cup and Champions League are at the business end and now if teams slip up they are out. The teams looking good in the FA Cup are Chelsea, Man United, Portsmouth and giant killers Barnsley. In the Champions League it is a serious toss up as there were so many first round draws but it must be said the 2004/5 Champions Liverpool and 2005/6 Champions Barcelona are looking the part after the first round.

The Golf is blazing it up with the World Golf Championships going on right now and that man Tiger Woods on the prowl. He had to prove that a cat really does have nine lives in the first round by coming back from being 3 down with 5 holes to play against big hitting J.B. Holmes and eentually winning the match 1up. With the first Major coming up in April, The US Masters, the other noteable prize on the cards in 2008 is the Fedex Cup. Points are being earned on weekly basis as all the players strive for play-off spots and the biggest pay check in Golf History - US$10million, which was scooped in 2007 by none other than Tiger himself, can he do it again?

There is plenty more out there and unfortunately I can't cover it all but all I can say is that 2008 is going to be a great year in Sport.

CHAMPIONS!!!!

Congratulations to the Springboks they are the Rugby World Cup Champions and to Kimi Raikkonen for demolishing the hopes of Lewis and Alonso.

Well done!!!!

N.B - There will be reviews coming soon so stay tuned.

Weekend Fireworks!!

Welcome Back Elmo!!! It is sure going to be a tantalizing weekend of sport all around. There are three rugby finals in two weeks, the Currie Cup next week and the NPC and the World Cup finals on Saturday. In soccer the English Premier League is back and the drama takes off with the Merseyside Derby leading up to back to back fixtures of rival clashes in the coming weeks like Liverpool vs Arsenal and Manchester United vs Arsenal. Finally, well at least on my sporting radar, Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso battle it out for the Formula 1 title. It can be said that Hamilton has done to Formula 1 what Tiger did to golf.

But to stick to what has been keeping us on our toes the most we look at the Rugby World Cup. If you are looking to watch a game full of running, tries, big hits, expansive and attractive rugby don't miss France vs Argentina on Friday. No jokes people the words have been flying back and forth between players and the Frenchmen are out for revenge. Each side out not only to win but to thump the opposition and with a nothing to lose attitude both sides are going to be hungry, especially if you consider that most of the guys playing have not played many games in front of the home crowd don't miss it.

On the other hand if you are looking for a battle of forward play, kicking, kicking oh did I mention kicking and more kicking, that would ordinarily bore one into submission. Then don't miss the the final between England and South Africa. This is sure to be one crap game to watch but a nail byter nonetheless. As mentioned in St Elmo's fire England do have the upper hand when it comes to scrums, but the boks dominate the line outs. With the BOOT playing such a huge role in this socc....sorry rugby match England go up, although South Africa do have more kickers than England. I am honestly getting bored just writing about all this kicking so let me sign off.

Its going to be close and sadly sadly sadly determined by 10-man rugby - (I mean its the 6th World Cup and you telling me the game has gone back to where it started in fact they ran more 50 years ago than these teams do). Opportunistic tries will be as creative as these sides get but one thing that I will appreciate in the game will be the passion and the desire to win which England have shown more of in the last two games. England come in this game with experience and hunger, South Africa come into this game with desire and nerves and due to this I say that England will take it....but I really hope I am wrong.

St Elmo's Fire

After a rather forced hiatus, it is with great pleasure that I announce the return of yours truly. My full week (and then some) of mourning is officially over and those black clouds that had become a burden on me have cleared and 'tis fair to say that life is a bit brighter!

So with great vigour , I will dissect the very interesting and rather unfancied World Cup Finalist. As always it is wise to give credit where it is due and these two teams are officially the best 2 in the world in my eyes and should be in everyone else's. For, a world cup is the true barometer with which we can truly find a world champion. That being said, too much emphasis has now been put towards the world cup being 'the holy grail' of rugby. Never mind the most consistent team in the history of the game that goes out with every intention to win every single game that they play. Never mind the team with a 42-6 win loss record over the last four years. All these stats i'm afraid amount to nothing now, for the 6 weeks of every four years this game have become the 'be all and end all.'

So what of the 'boks and the 'poms(note how only the Southern hemisphere teams have names of endearment,pumas,wallabies,abs and springboks).For me . these teams play very similar styles of rugby i.e Pound the opposition into submission in the forwards, play territorial football, forcing opposition to attack from deep within their halves and then takin any points on offer with the boot.
The 'boks however are different for they play a basic sit and wait till the opposition make a mistake and punish them style , while the poms are prepared to attack should the need arise.
So where are the weaknesses for both teams? Well for me the 'boks have a huge set piece problem and I would not be surprised if england tries to exert pressure especially at scrum time(as did the Pumas and quite effectively too) Except the poms are more adept in this department. We should see a lot of one off runners off the rucks and mauls as I beleive the poms will be silly to try spread it with the likes of Hapana Habana out wide.
For me the poms biggest weakeness will be the channels outside the inside centre and outside the centre. i don't think they have an accomplished centre pairing and Josh Lewsey will be sorely missed. The question is, will the boks venture out wide and open up the game? Simple answer to that will be no! for their same game plan has worked for them since Jake White took over so expect no changes at all.

In conclusion this will be become a kicking duel and I just have a gut feeling that some how the 'poms(who have 8 players from the previous world cup) might just fancy their chances and snatch the trophy again. Experience and B.M.T will count in this game and the 'poms have an abundance with that boy Johnny at the forefront!

The Underdogs

Will this be the year of the underdogs in the Rugby World Cup? England take on France in the first semi-final and they are clear underdogs (again) and after recent results against France there is no way anyone is giving them a chance. But then again that's what happened with Australia.

Argentina play the Boks and the Pumas are clear underdogs a lot of people are not really giving them a chance. Stats say that this will be win number 12 out of 12 for South Africa but need I remind you that stats said New Zealand does not miss out on semifinal action but alas.

All I can say is that a lot of people, particularly in South Africa, are looking at the final and not concentrating too hard on the semi's. Argentina have two players in the running for world player of the year. This means they have been tipped as the best players IN THE WORLD this year now you cannot ignore that. Hernandez has been a revelation at the World Cup for Argentina and with his dad being a former Argentinian soccer player it is understandable why his kicking game is so on point.

Dubes Says:(my predictions have been so crap thus far but anyway) -
France are going to have trouble against the English who have improved game to game. And in all honesty France did not have to do much against New Zealand in terms of creating attacking options they just kicked and capitalised on errors, its going to be a different game this time out which England will take with Jonnies boot.

Argentina are going to come out guns blazing and this is going to be a serious soccer match like you have never seen. Both teams are going to be scared to run it in their own half...(unless Fourie du Preez is in control)... and as a result it will be a goal kicking competition and tries will be scored two ways, through forward play from a line-out close to the try-line or through some opportunistic play and fortuitous bounces. No real phase play and not too much running rugby. The boks won't mind this as they usually struggle to be creative in the backline., a guy like Habana needs space and without Jean de Villiers he isn't getting much. It will be tight but I give it to the Boks as they are more experienced in playing boring defensive rugby.