Monday Morning Review 19 July 2021
Why the wallabies win was special.
I don’t think its out of line saying that Marika Koribete has been easily our best player this year. So the collective groan of disgust that all Rugby fans let out when he was red carded in the first 5 minutes of the decider could be heard all over Australia.
After i grabbed my 2nd Guinness from the fridge (ok 4th) and was considering what movie to put on, my wife reminded me that i was trying to make it in sports media, to get off my phone and to actually look up and take in what was unfolding.
Hmmm…. Actually France haven’t really run away with it here, look at Michael Hooper throwing himself around with reckless abandon, geez Tate has sped the game up, bloody hell Alan has had a lot of carries already and man i like what Swain and Swinton are doing. Interesting, i might just hold on till half time.
We are putting up some fight here. This is good to see. But surely the French will run away with it in the 2nd half, not many teams win with 14 men.
I can’t remember the last time our national team made me yell at the tv. But the fight, the passion and the improvements our national team showed was enough to warm the heart of even the most disillusioned rugby supporter. One of my die hard rugby league mates summed it up perfectly “how good was that”. And it was. Superb.
For me,
We Nailed our selections this week
We have improved week to week and it has been noticeable.
Taniela Tupou is worth his considerable weight in gold. His impact at the back end of games has me convinced he should start off the bench. His impact is immense. We are lucky to have two world class Tight Heads at the same time.
My old mate BPA had easily his best game in the gold jersey. He will be missed.
Noah Lolesio is starting to show what he is capable off. What a talent.
After watching NZ dismantle Fiji earlier, i am not confident enough to say we are on that level yet, but we are trending in the right direction.
The Red Card.
Firstly, yes i hear everyone that says you must protect a player from head injury. I had two bad concussions last year, my dad had a stroke during his playing career from head trauma and anyone that’s ever seen my brothers instagram can understand why he retired early. I more than most agree that head injuries must be taken seriously. But…
In my view a referee has two obligations.
First and foremost the safety of the players
A referee has an obligation to protect the game.
The way the whole red carded unfolded was poor.
The ref was right at the spot the tackle happened.
He didn’t immediately blow a penalty, so any potential indiscretion could not have been obvious. In fact he blew a knock on.
His Assistants on the sideline didn’t see anything (surprise), so again any indiscretion can’t have been obvious.
They watched the tackle over and over again for what must have been 5 minutes, looking at different angles and different speeds to try and find a problem.
After all this they come to the decision that Marika has committed a heinous offence and must be red carded.
The French captain in the meantime is standing in the back ground smiling.
Yes the refs have a tough gig, but at what point do we start using common sense. Thankfully the Wallabies performed admirable, and in many ways i think the card might have been the catalyst.
A lockdown dish you must try.
Beef Bourguignon
It’s not as complicated as it looks and sounds. But it is both heartwarming and spectacular. A morale boost sorely and surely needed. Mum I will drop some round this arvo.
Make it stand out
A quote I’m pondering
“Don't aim at success. The more you aim at it and make it a target, the more you are going to miss it. For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it. I want you to listen to what your conscience commands you to do and go on to carry it out to the best of your knowledge. Then you will live to see that in the long-run—in the long-run, I say!—success will follow you precisely because you had forgotten to think about it”
Vicktor E Frankl. From his book A mans Search for meaning.
Things I’m Learning this week
I’m progressing my Adobe Premiere skills, shooting daily videos and continuing my writing practice. But this week i am going to focus on upskilling myself as a rugby coach and learn more about coaching Lineouts. Toyota Verblitz Head Coach Simon Cron was kind enough to send me the video he did with the Waratahs. Well worth a look. https://nsw.rugby/news/2020/03/31/nsw-positive-rugby-foundation-launches-classic-coaches-online-masterclass
If you haven’t listened to the Podcast we did together here it is