Brave show
BUT of course we were not allowed to entirely forget Wellington. The Lions were there in the Super Rugby final, in conditions almost as bad as ours in the quarter-final, also having just got off a monster eastward flight.
The Lions put on a brave show. It was great to see them still driving at the Hurricanes’ line as the final minutes ticked away in a game they could no longer win. It was heroic. This is the essence of rugby.
The Hurricanes’ rush defence was highly disconcerting for the Lions – they do it so well, it becomes a means of attack. Jantjies and company almost weathered the storm – but almost just ain’t enough.
One doesn’t like to whinge, but when will the Sanzar people get around to recognising that the competition is hopelessly skewed in favour of New Zealand and Australian sides? If Kiwi or Aussie teams have to fly to South Africa for a play-off, the distance is the same, but the flight is east-west – nothing near as enervating as west-east. Surely the play-offs could be spaced by a fortnight to allow players to recover from jet lag?
Otherwise it would make more sense for us to play our rugby in the northern hemisphere competitions. The distances are much shorter and the flights are south-north – no jet lag.
Boss ladies
A READER sends in a snippet from a book, Don’t Quote Me, by Don Atyeo and Jonathan Green.
“Margaret Thatcher, interviewed in The Sunday Telegraph on October 26, 1969, after her appointment as shadow spokesman on Education: ‘No woman in my time will be prime