Mat talks
The passing away of local identity Percy (Sonny) Erceg last month has left a huge hole in the community of Kaitaia. Percy was a person who gave his sweat to see the Far North prosper.
Sure, we will always remember him as one of our greatest All Blacks but his commitment within organisations like Rotary, schools and business which also stood out.
Percy loved his rugby. He always believed the best players came from the Far North. Many Northland coaches took the hint. He was all North Auckland, who stuck to old-fashioned politics. A number of years ago, as Mangonui chairman, I pushed for the Far North to form their own provincial union. Backed by every club, Percy was defiant. There were some highly charged verbal exchanges but at the same time, there was that respect for each other. That’s how sincere the guy was. Who could ever fault his rugby
career? All Black, Maori All Black, Auckland representative, coach (Maori All Blacks, Mangonui Pirates) and president of the Mangonui sub union for many, many years. As his wife Faye said, “Percy was a special man” who practised his beliefs and his philosophy every day of his life.
World Cup cricket, which started last week, has quickly seen classy sides like South Africa and Sri Lanka fall over big time. Sri Lanka were easily disposed of by New Zealand, and Bangladesh could get the same treatment. England, one of the favourites, were surprisingly knocked over by Pakistan. But it’s Australia who, with India, that are the big threats to the Black Caps. New Zealand have a balanced side with world-class batsmen and explosive bowlers like Trent Boult. But it’s the pressure in close matches that sets this side apart. There is no doubt New Zealand will make the top four playoffs.
The Blues still fancy their chances of making the Super Rugby playoffs if they win their next two matches. Unbelievable, this. Coach Leon McDonald is optimistic even though the side is sitting in 13th place. “A few bonus points and we could make it,” he said. It’s not going to happen; but the embarrassment for McDonald’s performance as a coach is worse than that of his predecessor, Tana Umaga.
Big club match this Saturday with Awanui at home taking on arch-rivals Eastern. Word is Awanui have all their Fijians available and they are raring to go. The question is, how is astute Eastern coach David Jurlina planning to block the Pacific Islanders? Could it be, for instance, by putting an extra flanker in the backline?
And that’s how Mat sees it.
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