Sir Bob Jones
In a troubled world to a degree unprecedented since the end of the 2nd World War, which as individuals we’re all helpless to do anything about, thank God for the salvation of sport.
Yesterday, we watched Afghanistan hand a hiding to Australia, something which would make New Zealand cricketers and their fans feel a lot better after their humiliating exit from the World Cup, including a beating from Afghanistan.
The Afghani team are all expats fleeing from their Taliban wrecked homeland. Their World Cup performances however, raises the possibility that they could become the 9th Test playing nation.
Who would have believed that even a year ago?
Then on Saturday three of us sat down to watch the Warriors thrash the bottom team Gold Coast, as the commentators had assured us they would easily do.
Instead, we sat delighted as the no-hoper side, seemingly scored a try every time they got the ball. Fortunately this wasn’t often, such is the nature of league, thus they were confined to running up only a mere 30 points in the first half and 36 in the second.
Why anyone supports the Warriors given their persistent abject performances, is on face value, a huge mystery.
But possibly therein lies the answer, namely the aforementioned “face value” as crowd shots at Warrior home games reveal highly improbable newspaper readers, so possibly they’re oblivious of their team’s woeful, mainly away record.
This delight was followed by the much hyped Rugby final. This time the commentators got it right, picking an Auckland victory, albeit it not so decisively.
Nevertheless, it was vigorously contested and thus a world-wide spectacle, thanks primarily to the clear man of the match winner, namely the referee, who scarcely blew his whistle from beginning to end.
This I gather is the long overdue awakening by rugby administrators, that the excessive referee involvement, thanks to the petty rules, was killing its support, notably with school boys who were turning to soccer in droves.
A final thought re rugby and league is my impression that league is now dominated by Maori players and rugby by Islanders, the latter being culturally more tolerant of rules.
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