This is New Zealand!

Watch the All Blacks perform the Haka.

All Blacks Dominate Wallabies

On Saturday night at Eden Park, Auckland, the All Blacks made the Wallabies (Australia) pay a huge price for their victory last week.  Demolishing the Australians 39 points to 10, the All Blacks were strengthened having their captain Richie McCaw back from recuperation.

Number 10, Daniel Carter kicks the Aussies into tomorrow.

Went round to a friend's place and watched the replay, projected onto their wall which was cool.  The little picture-frame hook near the top of the picture was of constant interest to me, but from memory, the ball never hit it.  Mmmm, had some good Munchos which went so well with the dry gingerale.  I even got given a little Wallabies cupcake, complete with green icing, two yellow pebbles and a wallabies flag sticking out the top.  That's devotion.  Watching the Wallabies get thrashed with half the room Aussies and half Kiwis, it doesn't get much better than that.

Dominate.

Those Rugby Players are hard men.  My jaw drops as I see them throwing their bodies down onto the ground, or into two oncoming defence players.  Or in the middle of a ruck, getting the cleats in the back, or having a 110kg All Black sitting on your head.  You'd have to be 50% stupid and 50% brave to play a game like that.  Not my cup of tea.

Jimmy Cowan Should be Fired

"...Cowan was arrested outside the One Blue Dog bar in Esk Street in Invercargill about 4am on Sunday and spent several hours in custody." - www.stuff.co.nz

www.stuff.co.nz reports on the verdict of the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU)...

"The New Zealand Rugby Union today demanded halfback Jimmy Cowan stop drinking as a condition of his ongoing employment. The All Black was also fined and ordered to seek alcohol counselling after three charges have been laid for disorderly behaviour in recent weeks."

Halfback Jimmy Cowan, The All Blacks

Family First responds to the situation, asking the question "who should we look to as role models?"...

“Our traditional approach to role models has been based on status, position or job – a sporting star, being on television, on radio, an actor/actress, a high public profile etc, but we should be defining role models to our young people based on the strength of character.”

The general consensus of those calling for Jimmy Cowan to be dropped from the All Blacks appears to be that since the halfback is a role model (particularly) for the young boys of New Zealand, we should set an example. Well, I agree; we should set an example. However, it is not Cowan's fault that the next generation of New Zealand's men look to him as one of their role models. He is just a man, and we all slip up now and then - some worse than others.

I remember the outrage when the news came out that Harry Potter actor Daniel Radcliffe would be acting nude in a London stage play entitled Equus, which came out early 2007. Below is a quote from this article...

“The London Daily Mail quoted from letters written to Radcliffe's fan sites. "We as parents feel Daniel should not appear nude. Our nine-year-old son looks up to him as a role model. We are very disappointed and will avoid the future movies he makes," one parent wrote. ”

Parents should not be encouraging/allowing their children to treat these professionals as their role models - whether they be in the sports industry or hollywood. There is the occasional person that shines through the smoke of the often debauched and immoral group of celebrities who have surely evolved into a new Western aristocracy. However, wouldn't it be better if children were encouraged by their parents to look back at their family tree, and to read of the heroism for instance, of their great grandfather in World War Two.

Sadly, today there are too few heroes.

Back to Jimmy Cowan. The reason he should be fired is not that he happens to be looked upon as a role-model by some. It is because he is representing his country, New Zealand in a series of international rugby games. By letting him continue on with the All Blacks as they have, the NZRU is saying loud and clear...

"Yeah, this is New Zealand, we don't really care who we let represent us in international sport".

Blues no match for Crusaders Steel

What an excellent game. The Crusaders fought hard against the rowdy Blues, and defeated them! I think I've lost my voice for a day or two, we'll see. Lyd told me I was getting pretty loud - but I couldn't really hear myself. CAN...A...BRYYYYYY!!!. Oh, good times.

The Blues were no match for the Crusaders!

In memory of the brave New Zealand and Australian Soldiers at Gallipoli, a lone soldier played the Last Post as we all stood. No words were said; the silence spoke. I was disgusted at the impudence of a few animals who shouted out the name of their team, as the trumpeter paused during his performance. And no, it didn't seem right to clap at the end, it's a solemn thing. We don't have to defile everything with clapping do we?

Argh, and then the half-time "entertainment", how utterly degrading and repulsive. Couples were asked to start kissing if they saw themselves on the big screen. Not just a peck, we're talking serious snogging here. The thing was rigged, I'm sure of it. They filmed three "couples". First two women, then two men, then a man and a woman. I couldn't care less what they do in the privacy of their own homes, but to have it played on a massive screen when you're at the rugby game is too much. What's the six-year-old girl in front of me, or the four-year-old boy to my right supposed to think. "Mum, what are those two guys doing?". Of course, pretty much everyone was laughing "it's just a bit of harmless fun" they say. Oh yeah?

I feel like ripping into the Paul Kelly Motor Company Dancers, but maybe I should leave that for another time. Apart from all the rubbish, it was a darn good game of Rugby, and...

We Are The Champions, My Friends!!!