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JULY 2005
The Lions would certainly have a phobia for the colour black, after
their recent tour to New Zealand. The All Blacks were simply awesome
in the second Test Match. Results and Stats below; They really look good the All Blacks the pace, power and precision in which they are playing the game is setting the benchmark for the 2007 World Cup. In June 2003 before the last World Cup both the Wallabies and the All Blacks were looking shaky. The All Blacks played France in Christchurch and though winning the game their forward pack was demolished. The Wallabies played England in Melbourne; the Poms won and also put the Wallaby forward pack to the sword. Fast-forward to 2005 and the All Black scrum and lineout were superb against the Lions and they combine this rock solid platform with an ability to go forward out wide and in close, they can attack you form anywhere. The Wallabies on the other hand are again struggling at the set pieces; they never seem to get the scrum and lineout firing well on the same day. The scrum was just Ok on the weekend against the Boks and the lineout was dreadful. I will give Eddy Jones full points for giving everything a go. Against France on the 2nd of July in Brisbane the Wallabies attacked very wide off nearly every phase. Unusual pattern in that in Rugby most coaches work to the theory of you must go forward before you go across. Not during this match in which the Wallabies won 37-31, they really used the width off the field with very little go forward around the ruck. Certainly will not work against the All Blacks or Boks, as they go forward and are combative in every phase of play.
What a difference some altitude and the presence of Nelson Mandela
makes; 9th July Sydney and the Wallabies belt the Boks 30-12, 23rd
July Joburg and the Boks belt the Wallabies 33-20. In the Joburg Test
the Boks played like men possessed with South African Icon
On the 2nd of July I spoke at the Indonesia Development Rugby (IDR)
Luncheon in Jakarta at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. It was a fantastic
weekend and very successful fundraiser.
Went to Jakarta over the weekend, traffic is a
nightmare and very
Dangerous they simply don't look anywhere when The Indonesian Development Rugby Lunch was a big success they raised heaps of dough, which was great with 400 people attending. Andy McIntyre and myself spoke and though not many people were listening (they were really giving then free beer a nudge) Andy and I enjoyed ourselves. They had the British Lions Game and French Test on the big screen after the lunch. On Sunday we ran a coaching clinic for some juniors, they were raw to say the least with catching and passing being beyond a few of them but they had a great time. Heaps of photos and good publicity for Rugby in Indonesia.
It was a great weekend and with rap like I have given the Ritz-Carlton I am expecting some more contra rooms Ha Ha. Thanks to the guys from IDR Steve Barber, President Andrew Nugroho and of course Paul Quaglia. Quagz’s auction technique was sensational, very good for a man who does not drink and leads the life of a monk. Back here in Singapore the Club Season has arrived with 2 Premier Games on this weekend; Bucks versus Wanderers and Singapore Cricket Club versus Bedok Kings. Wanderers are last year’s final winners but Bucks always have a good off-season and start well. Andy Douglas the Captain of SCC informs me that they have the Singapore version of a Jurassic Park forward pack and also a mysterious Nigerian player. Bedok Kings will also be tough with a large number of National Players in their squad including the infamous 10 Plates Rong and his brother the netball fan Captain Rong.
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BLACK
OUT
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Dan Carter’s 33 points in the Second Test is the highest individual
scoring record against the Lions.
Nelson
Mandela watching from the stands and giving the Boks a pep talk before
the game. They really tackled hard and belted the Wallabies all over
the Park, forcing errors and an unusually high number of turnovers.
Wallaby lineout was shaky and the scrum was under enormous pressure.
Add to this 70,000 insane drunken Dutchmen (I say that with the most
respect, bad boys those lads), playing at altitude and you can see why
it is a long time since the last Wallaby win in Joburg. I am serious
if you want to see the crowd make a difference go to Joburg, the noise
level is amazing, they yell abuse and throw everything but the kitchen
sink onto the field. For some reason lost in time, Australians are
called sheep shaggers in South Africa so when you run on the field
there are 70,000 sheep impersonators in the stands, it sounds exactly
like the Goulburn sheep sales.
they are crossing lanes or merging into another road. I was constantly
on edge and was not helped by a helmet less lunatic on a motorbike who
literally attempted to commit suicide by driving under our 4WD, he had
a smile on his face the whole way and we missed him by inches. We
stayed at the new 6 star Ritz-Carlton, absolutely fantastic, 4ft
plasma screens, silver service room service, the absolute works. I
told the organisers that they would have to get the Police to evict me
on Sunday night as I was moving in for good. 
