Posted inSport

On a road to nowhere?

Good luck to Peter de Villiers; he’s certainly going to need it. According to reports, his election to South African rugby coaching’s top job was a close-run thing, with many on the presidents’ council in favour of Heyneke Meyer. So, even before De Villiers has set a foot on his new coaching path, there is […]

Posted inSport

Into the unknown

Don’t know about anyone else, but I’m actually looking forward to a bit of a break from all the rugby we’ve had this year. There’s been an absolute glut, and as South African supporters we couldn’t have asked for a better year: a World Cup win, two local teams fighting it out for the Super […]

Posted inGeneral

‘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 inSport

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 inSport

Centre stage

For quite some time now, debate has ebbed and flowed over the value of Francois Steyn to the Bok cause and the position best suited to maximising this value. There is no question that he can add value — young, big, fast, precocious, he seems to have it all.

Posted inSport

Cricket dumbed down

I’ve found it quite difficult to get too excited over cricket’s Twenty20 World Championship. This may be in no small measure to the Rugby World Cup taking place at the same time. My eggs are firmly in the rugby basket at this stage, but I am keeping an eye on developments on the cricket field.

Posted inSport

The agony and the Ecstasy

The All Blacks are leaving no stone unturned in their preparations for the World Cup. According to media reports this week, the Kiwis have enlisted the assistance of an expert to help predict weather patterns for the tournament, which in turn may influence team selection. According to these reports, the expert produces his forecasts based […]