Bloody George Gregan and those three little words...

Ok so, the Chiefs and the Stormers are about to kick off round 5 of the Super 14 Rugby competition and I must be honest and admit that last weekend was the first time this year that I have sat down and watched an entire game. Tragically, it has taken me this long to find any enthusiasm at all for the 2008 rugby season. Perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it still feels like summer, the sun is shining, the beach is calling and daylight savings is yet to end; or maybe it has more to do with those three little words... “Four more years”.

In 2003 as the whistle blew on the Rugby World Cup semi-final that ever-constant Australian half-back, George Gregan, spat a phrase at Byron Kelleher that ripped open the freshly cut wound and exposed New Zealand’s sunburnt emotions to a splash of hot water that only George could supply. “Four more years”. They were only three little words, a simple fragment of a sentence and yet the torrid of emotions that those words evoked bubbled up with green acidic bile. Fury raged with disappointment, disbelief collided with anger and yet somehow there was a feeling of numbness, of nothingness, complete and utter sadness. I cried, I was heartbroken and I cried all because our national rugby team had lost a simple game of Rugby. I like to think that I am a rational person and in my better moments I know that there are far more important things to cry over; such as wars, death and destruction, but somehow I found myself with tears streaming down my face and the inane urge to pummel the TV screen. And all the time that dark little puk-like face sneered at me while he mouthed the words... "Four more years".

Leading into 2007 we were the best and I am certain of that because in recent times there was no one else that had even come close. Our teams had dominated Super 14, we had locked up the Bledisloe Cup in our trophy cabinet year after year, the Tri-nations had been ours since 2004 and we had easily accounted for the Lions when they toured here in 2005. We were a nation of happy and confident rugby supporters looking forward to October when Richie McCaw would hold the Webb-Ellis Cup aloft. And even when our All Blacks stumbled we still believed that Graham Henry aka Ted and his management team were heading in the right direction, we thought that our team was strong in almost all positions including the bench, and we were definite that we had captain fantastic in Richie. We firmly believed that we were destined to be World Cup champions again – finally after 20 years.

But as the world cup drew ever closer the cracks began to show. Players that could have been key components went down injured in Super 14, Ted continued his rotation policy even as every professional and armchair expert called for him to cement his top 15, and then as the country was beginning get to really excited about the world cup the coaching staff threw us a curve ball with the naming of the team, and there were glaring omissions that even now I am struggling to understand. I am sure the management team had their reasons but it just seems crazy to leave behind guys that you have been developing in order to take players that were outstanding in the Super 14 and the NPC competitions. Good players, but the reality is that Super 14 is a step up from NPC and test level is a whole giant step up from Super 14. The pace is faster, the gaps close sooner, the tackles are harder and every other player out there is as fit and wants it as much as you do. Great players are made in test matches, and it is their mental strength that gives them the edge. Sometimes a player comes along that is good enough to step up but usually that edge is developed over time. Mental strength comes from experience and being the star player at Super 14 level is simply not enough on its own, it is just a starting point.

That day of the quarter final it seemed as though Ted and his lieutenants had under-estimated the French. The coaching staff had been saying all along that it was the French that we had to be weary of and yet he chose a team that did not reflect our strength, players with very little if any game time together. It wasn't our top 15 and it shouldn't have even been the top 15 for the French. There was no cohesion, and there were players out there that were out of position or simply didn’t make the grade because they were in fact too green, and did not have the necessary experience to handle that level of pressure. Once again I sat staring at the TV in disbelief. It was the year that should have been our time for redemption and I couldn’t even bring myself to watch the final ten minutes of the game. We had lost, and we had lost in the quarter finals – our worst performance at a world cup. Yet again we were meant to have had the team, the management, the game plan and we failed...It was “Four more years” repeating.

Obviously I am still reeling about the 2007 world cup and it still breaks my heart to even think about it. It was meant to be the promised year, and in Ted we trusted but now not only does it break my heart to think about it, it has stripped me of the fanaticism I had for the great game of Rugby. I no longer tune in every weekend for the games, I can hardly muster up the enthusiasm to read the sports pages on a Sunday morning, and I don’t even really know who are in the Super 14 teams this year - I mean who is the No. 7 at the Chiefs now that Marty Holah has left?

So as I sit here watching the Chiefs cling to the Stormers I feel nothing. There is no excitement, no fervour - I am simply underwhelmed and I am waiting for something to re-ignite my passion for the game. I am the product of a time when we as a nation would wake at 2am, struggle out of bed wrapped in a duvet and sip a hot cup of milo while we watched our boys take on the rest of the world. I crave those past years, pre "four more years", when Rugby was all about playing for your mates and that comraderie showed out on the park. Bodies got put on the line for your mates and that meant something.

We need to ask ourselves why have we put so much meaning into winning the Rugby World Cup? Because there is something certainly missing and it is more than just the William Webb-Ellis Trophy - it is that indescribable, intangible feeling that comes with the new rugby season. A feeling that is not too dissimiliar to the one that children know the night before Christmas. As we have embraced the need to prove ourselves on the World cup stage it seems to me that we have lost sight of what is really important. All too often we preach about the lack of thought for "grass-roots"rugby and yet what are we doing to support it? It seems as though there are a lot of NPC tickets that go unsold and many local rugby clubs need coaches, players, supporters and members. Do we really care? Because in my opinion it seems that we are only interested in winning the World Cup and proving to the rest of the Rugby world that we are in fact the 'Best'.

Is it that we are still grieving or are we so obsessed with the World Cup that we have lost sight what really counts - enjoying the game. In the age of professionalism have we sold out Mother Rugby to worship at the altar of the Rugby World Cup? Because George Gregan and his four more years - well it shouldnt really matter, should it?


Definitions:
Each blog I will provide a entry of my opinion but will also follow it with practical definitions and explanations that will hopefully in the understanding of modern Rugby.

Phase of play: Tackle: A player may tackle an opposing player who has the ball by holding him while bringing him to ground. The tackle is complete when the ball-carrier is held on the ground (but keep in mind that if the ball-carrier is forced, or falls, to the ground without being held the tackle is not complete and the ball-carrier may get to their feet and continue). Once tackled, a player must immediately release the ball, either by passing to a team mate or placing it on the ground. The tackler must release the tackled player and move away. After the ball has been released by a tackled player — commonly referred to as the tackle-ball — players from either side may play the ball, provided they are on their feet and have approached the breakdown area from the side of their goal-line. However, the tackler and the tackled player can play the ball as soon as on their feet—regardless of what side they are standing.Note: A tackler is defined as a player who goes to ground in the act of making the tackle, not simply any player involved in making the tackle.

Rule of Law: Tacklers cannot tackle above the shoulder (the neck and head are out of bounds), and the tackler has to attempt to wrap his arms around the player being tackled to complete the tackle. It is illegal to push, shoulder-charge, or to trip a player using feet or legs, but hands may be used (this being referred to as a tap-tackle or ankle-tap).

Position: No 7 or better known as Openside flanker.Role: The openside flanker binds onto the side of the scrum furthest from the sideline. Their first priority is to be first to the ball when a breakdown occurs. It is their responsibility to clear up messy balls to start a new phase of play, meaning they play a major role in maintaining and/or gaining possession after handling errors or attacking the tackle-ball situation to strip the ball from a player who is on the ground and not protected by his/her team-mates i.e. a ruck. Provides a strong defensive screen and acts as a linkman between forwards and backs on attack ie joins the backline when needed and also used to take the ball up to the opposing teams defensive line and set up a ruck to act as foundation for the next phase of play.

Current players of note: Richie Mccaw (All blacks, Crusaders, Canterbury), George Smith (Australia, Brumbies), Phil Waugh (Australia, Waratahs), Juan Smith (Springboks, Cheetahs), Schalk Burger (Springboks, Stormers).

Round 6 games to watch: Crusaders v Waratahs, Stormers v Blues.