There is something special about a one club man (or woman). A couple of years ago I witnessed a player play his 500th game for a local rugby club. The blood, sweat and beers that bloke gave to the club over the decades is astounding to say the least. He definitely took loyalty to the next level.
Continue reading “Loyalty, Love and the Collective Self.”
The Waratah’s season for 2019 is over. Well really it’s been over for months.
No heart, no idea and not even enough smarts to punch someone whilst the ref’s not looking.
Rugby Australia and NSW Rugby Union have declared an intention to terminate Israel Folau’s contract unless any mitigating circumstances are presented.
They have not been able to make contact with him to discuss directly. Instead opting to flag impending termination.
Holding orthodox Christian views and presenting them publicly is no longer acceptable to Rugby Australia.
Unquestionably Israel Folau has a passion for both the God of the bible and Rugby Union.
These two passions we share, however where we differ is nuance and methods of evangelism.
Izzy has come under intense scrutiny with his Instagram post which can be found here.
A game of rugby can be an absolute thing of beauty, but it can also be a real dogs breakfast. The sheer complexity of the laws when combined with an over exuberant referee and a group of players with little to no law knowledge is like a slow motion car crash, you don’t want to look, but you simply can’t look away.
Dangerous tackles deserve tough sanctions in my opinion (discussed here) but the discussion surrounding the red carding of Sio Tomkinson of the Highlanders (the video can be found here) is mind boggling. From keyboard warriors to “respected” news outlets all crying foul of what is a reasonable open and shut case. Continue reading “Your Opinion does not Dictate Reality”
Being a Waratah’s fan is hard work. We have more than a few fair weather supporters, but we don’t have a lot of fair weather to report.
In a game which had high error rates, a penalty count of 26 and multiple disallowed tries there was an air of inevitability of a Waratahs defeat.
We specialise in well constructed multiple phase play, followed by an error that would get you dropped from an under 11’s side. Tonight did not disappoint.
But the greater disappointment is there is no surprise. This is Waratah’s rugby.
Try as he might, Michael Hooper (Waratah’s captain) must be getting tired of ‘finding the positive’ in subpar performances on an endless loop.
With two minutes to go, the Waratah’s were awarded a kickable penalty. Bernard Foley is an excellent kicker with a career average above 80%. Victory was there for the taking.
But our Waratah DNA took over. It missed to the left.
Awarded a penalty in the 84th minute (4 minutes into injury time) on our own 5 metre line. It would take something special to go 95 metres for an unlikely victory. The Tah’s didn’t have the courtesy of making their mistake early, rather waiting 20 odd phases, 2 penalties and 65 metres to make that inevitable mistake.
Welcome to 2019 Waratah Fans.
