Looking Both Ways.

,
George Hook – Swimming against the tide?

That was the difficult rugby week that was! Don’t know whether to laugh or cry about Ireland’s performance. I was certainly laughing at George Hook’s pre Aussie match article in the Independent.ie.

Not a fan of Hook at all but his written word makes for interesting reading. He was on a crest of a very large negative wave on Team Ireland and his description of the Irish hacks following them was classic.

‘fans with typewriters, he thundered. Continuing his analysis, Hook opined, ‘whereas Kidney’s pronouncements on the state of the team are as intelligible as Benedict XVI explaining transubstantiation.’

Brilliant!

He was ‘mea culpa’ this week, eating humble pie by the teaspoonful. I predicted an Irish win to anyone who’d listen though few bothered to treat my prediction as anything more than fantasy league. It was the same scenario as the England game in the 6N when Ireland applied a raison d’être to raise their game.

If Hook was repentant, it wasn’t by a big margin, for this week he urges caution amongst the Irish supporter’s unthinking classes and rightly so.

Like England, the Aussie’s were sucked in by Ireland’s game plan and swept away by their forward effort. The blinding efforts of the pack somewhat smudged the lack of form in the backs with few exceptions.

No Schadenfreude Here!

Schadenfreude, hubris, self exaggeration, bloated overreaction were all missing in action as Ulster banished the 2 game streak Blues with some tantalising glimpses of back play.

Ulster go quietly about their business in an unfussy, unspectacular manner and occasionally, like the sun peeking from behind a rain cloud, show a glimpse of an Irish rugby future through the play of their backline.

Whilst Ireland backline play remains shrouded in more covert fashion than a rendition flight, Ulster offer up previews of their forthcoming show in the theatre of Heineken dreams.

I watched them at Ravenhill on Friday night and later viewed the recording, confirming my vague notion that the second half had been better than it looked during the actual game.

The Ships of Life beckon towards the Shore

Watching a recording of the Irish match later I was impressed by Rory Best’s game and for those who think he was keeping the middle of the front row warm for the fabled Flah’s return, dream on.

That dream has turned to a nightmare for Jerry Flannery and retirement beckons like the old man in a Friedrich painting, standing on the shore, as the ships of life approach.

Of course life could never be as doom laden as a Friedrich painting but for the professional rugby player faced with retirement through ill fate, there is an element of having been cruelly robbed before it’s time for the boat to come in.

Flannery though had a good run, winning Heineken cups and a Grand Slam and can look back on a career where he gave everything to the Munster and Ireland cause.

He is safely wedged in the annals of Irish rugby legend. That legendary status awaits Rory Best, who despite the cat calls and moaning has persevered and is now I believe; ready to don the mantle of the Irish hooking greats.

Have You a Kitchen Sink Handy?

Halftime in the Ireland game was enlivened by Francois Pienaar, the South African rugby legend, when he suggested that Ireland having thrown the kitchen sink at Australia should have also thrown the ironing board, dishwasher and DVD.

I’ve felt like throwing the remote control at the TV when watching Ulster but have never had thoughts akin to throwing the full domestic implements at the opposition.

Top marks to Francois, who was thrown out of South African rugby amidst rumours and innuendo about his state of mind, for coming back in the best possible manner.

Phew, After All That!

Where the Rabo Pro12 hums along in its own humdrum way, so the World cup staggers under the burden of expectation, predictability, (most of the time) and a schedule that militates against the lesser ranked nations.

Such is life, I suppose and commercial considerations naturally.

It was too much for one Samoan player miffed at the brevity of his team’s turnaround before playing Wales. If it’s possible to rant on a tweet, then this man managed it in bucketfuls.

He escaped censure after his, ‘I was tired and emotional’ explanation, though for some his comments weren’t without meaning.

The Samoans bring something to the World cup table, (not to mention the treatment table) and it’s a pity they are forced to play games with little time for recovery.

Steve Walsh is Elvis!

I have been struck, a number of years now, how Kiwi, but Australian affiliated referee, Steve Walsh bears a passing resemblance to Elvis Presley of a certain age.

Had Elvis been a referee, I think he would have communicated to the players through his songs.

To the front row at scrum time he might have crooned:

‘We can’t bind together with suspicious minds.

We can’t build a scrum of dreams, on suspicious minds’

“Right, Crouch! Touch! Pause! Engage!”

Those Damn Frogs

The All Black nation are whipping themselves into a veritable frenzy about the French XV to play their rugby team this Saturday. Be careful what you wish for! France may have picked a ‘B’ team to incense the Blacks, but what if France were to win

New Zealand will have kiwi fruit all over their collective! The amount of schadenfreude, lament, introspection and almost suicidal despair will be unwatchable I warrant.

The Kiwis might have been better keeping counsel on this one as defeat will be more unpalatable than a plate of l’escargots with a strong garlic accent.

Meanwhile, Back at the Board

Undecided Darkside/Lightside of the UAFC messageboard continues his solo, unrelenting effort, to burst the Kidney bubble and deal a blow against the ‘fans with typewriters’.

With his ‘Declan Kidney – the amazing diminishing rugby coach’ post he defends his position much like the knight in Python’s ‘holy grail, who vows to fight on despite missing his limbs.

More a fanatic with a typewriter, D/L’s degree of difficulty in defending his anti kidney position must have increased tenfold after last weekend.

Nevertheless he can take heart and a grasp of rhetoric from the acerbic Hook and remember Kidney’s pronouncements are as ‘intelligible as Benedict XVI explaining transubstantiation’

C’mon ULsterrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hope to see some of you at the Errigle on Sunday for the Ulster game. Word on the block is that Ian Humphreys will not start the game as he has not sufficiently recovered from the shoulder injury following a Cardiff Blue late hit!

Hey! Bungalow Bill!

So where is John E King and why does he refuse to meet me at Ravenhill? Following JEK’s recent revelation at the FRU dinner that he was at Ravenhill for the Glasgow match, the great man refuses stubbornly to produce any proof of his presence.

I scanned the horizon for him at the Cardiff game but sadly there were the usual suspects and JEK wasn’t amongst them.

He must have a Harry Potter invisibility cloak. Perhaps we will be honoured by his presence at the Errigle on Sunday around 4.30pm, but then again, maybe not.


Corrections, comments or questions?

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.