Tightheads & Loose Balls
● People keep asking Tightheads just how big a beating the Sharks’ brand will suffer next year.
We don’t know, but things will certainly be very interesting in Durban with rumours suggesting head coach Robert du Preez is likely to see out his contract.
Du Preez, whose Sharks team has underperformed since he took over in 2016, has also increasingly become a public relations liability. In an act of triumphalism following their win over the Stormers, he referred to the Durban press as “a bunch of cockroaches”.
We don’t mean to nit-pick here, but he really ought to know that it’s an “intrusion” of cockroaches. The more acceptable use of the word “bunch” might be “there is a bunch of Du Preez’ at the Sharks”.
● Tightheads is off to the Super Rugby climax courtesy of the Vodacom Red Final Tour this week. There is a slight problem however. Well, it’s not really a problem, more a balancing act as to what to pack. The first few days, you see, will be spent in sunny Dubai where the temperature is likely to reach a toasty high of 40°C tomorrow. Then it’s off on a horrifyingly long flight to Christchurch where there will be a low of 3°C this week. It is certainly a tour on which a cap and a beanie will be essentials.
● Tightheads this week chewed the fat with retired Springbok fullback Thinus Delport. The affable former tackle-breaker inquired about rugby writers’ wellbeing in this country before answering his own question. “Sometimes you guys have it tough. I’ll never forget that Tri Nations tour with Nick’s [Mallett] team where we stayed on that island, Couran Cove [just north of Queensland’s Gold Coast]. They organised a touch rugby match between team management at the media. It was supposed to be a game of touch, but nobody told Nick or he conveniently forgot.”
● Someone on Twitter last week popped the question: “Where’s Ben McCalman?”
Soon enough there was an article informing Twitteratti about the former Wallaby backrower’s whereabouts.
A shoulder injury brought a premature halt to his career last year and McCalman is now back on the family farm some 500km northwest of Sydney.
● On the farm, the McCalmans are battling a crippling drought. “It hasn’t really rained properly since I’ve been home,” McCalman told www.rugby.com.au.
Since he returned home in December 2017, the area has received only one sixth of its average rainfall, and that was after a brutally dry year in 2015.
“A lot of the older blokes that I’ve spoken to, they reckon it’s the worst one [drought]. They’ve said that we’ve had drier times, but you’d always get a two or three-month break, a big storm and you’d be right a while — you could stop [hand] feeding [sheep] for a bit.
“But it’s just a matter of holding on and feeding stock with grain now, keep them ticking over.”
Sounds like McCalman can compare notes with a few retired Springboks.
● Last week, Tightheads reported Ryota Kabashima’s arrest on suspicion of possessing cocaine at Jake White’s team in Japan. It prompted the Toyota Verblitz to withdraw from the Top League Cup.
It has now emerged that New Zealandborn Steven Yates was taken into custody on suspicion of also possessing cocaine. Clearly there’s too much white mischief going on at that club.