If there’s an upside to the Rugby World Cup final, it’s that we’ll finally see the back of Dan Carter. Yes, it’s true New Zealand breeds rugby players like sheep. And there will be others to plug the gap. But Carter’s precision boots won’t be easy to fill. Indeed, we may never see his like…
Author: kazblah
Rupert’s conversion on the road to Twickenham
Somewhere in the past week, Rupert Murdoch has become a rugby union fan. While I don’t follow his Twitter feed religiously — there is food to be digested after all — I’ve never known him to tweet about sport. Yet since Monday, there have been three in a row about rugby. Including one sticking the…
Turning 50
I reached my half century yesterday. I’ll admit it hasn’t been the most technically brilliant innings. It’s had a bit of the Glenn Maxwells about it — a lot of air swings and inside out shots while going for the big hits. It has on occasion lacked discipline, like a young Dave Warner; elegance, like…
FIFA’s problems solved. Honest.
Stop everything. I think I’ve found the new FIFA president. With candidates falling like flies ahead of the February 26 vote, caught up in corruption probes of their own, there has emerged a person with exactly the qualities you’d expect in the boss of soccer’s ‘governing’ body. Here are some of his recent quotes —…
Wallabies’ lucky World Cup escape
A couple of minutes short of full-time and I was ready to call an end to our Rugby World Cup campaign. We were two points behind a Scottish outfit that had just intercepted yet another errant Wallabies pass to score what looked like a match-winning try. Time was fast running out. We were all over…
Flying Dutchman crashes to earth
He scored one of the goals of last year’s FIFA World Cup, a leaping horizontal header that earned him the nickname The Flying Dutchman and many a social media meme. This week, the Netherlands found themselves inexplicably struggling to qualify for next year’s European Championships. Two goals down against the Czech Republic and needing every…
Wallabies channel their inner Gandalf
I’ve got my annual health check on Wednesday. I could probably cancel it. Because the Wallabies’ game against Wales is as rigorous a heart stress test as you’ll get anywhere. There we were, six points ahead with 20 minutes to go. The Welsh had thrown the kitchen sink at us but hadn’t broken our line….
Would the last person to leave FIFA please turn out the light?
Here’s a picture of FIFA’s executive boardroom. Yes, it would probably be right at home on a Star Trek set. But the point is, it’s empty. You see, after a night of the long knives wielded by FIFA’s ethics committee (sorry, that phrase still cracks me up), there’s no one left to run the joint….
kazblah 