Country before money

Tuesday, 10 September 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Over the past few weeks there has been the perennial question on whether one chooses money before the country. The Aussie Rugby dressing room was buzzing as questions were asked as to whether controversial fly half Quade Cooper would choose an overseas stint as opposed to staying back in Aussie and even risk non selection. He made the choice of country.

In sunny Sri Lanka there was a doubt when Sanga was faced with a similar situation. The widespread coverage that it got was unprecedented, with all and sundry adding their views to the pot. Whilst the matter appears to have been resolved, it is apparent that all is not well. In the local schools circuit, we were greeted once again with the news that two schoolboys had failed the drugs test. The school has taken ownership of the issue, by indicating that they had administered a supplement to the lads, and hence the penalty that is to be imposed on the schoolboys may be light as they had in all probability taken the supplement without a second thought. Whilst the game has indeed progressed in leaps and bounds, the question being asked is whether the school boys need a supplement or nutrition. I would opt for the latter and leave the supplement issue to be looked at when they are at club level. Many believe that the competitive nature of the sport in its current format has played a major role in this area. During the school season, the cases of indiscipline were high and once again fingers are pointed at the competitive structure. As one drives on the road these days the competitive edge appears to have manifested itself here as well. The desire to beat the traffic lights; be the first in the queue, weaving in and out of traffic with scant respect for other road users and driving using two lanes is a common sight. However when it comes to international tournaments the competitive edge appears to take a back seat. As one critic remarked, we are fantastic losing finalists. On the international rugby front, the Pumas gave a good account of themselves against the mighty All Blacks. The score line may not necessarily reveal the quality of the Pumas play, but the All Blacks had to dig deep to find some inner strength to overcome the Pumas. The Pumas have traditionally been a great scrummaging team and with the new laws, it suits their game well. There were a number of times that they taught the All Blacks a trick or two at scrum time. In the end the class and professionalism of the All Blacks prevailed and they dutifully wrapped up the match. Such is the All Blacks class. The Wallabies are definitely in a deep hole at the moment with no signs of light at the end of the tunnel. They were simply outclassed by a clinical Boks side that played hard physical rugby. The Wallabies set pieces was in shambles, the front row collapsed often, they lost the line outs, lost the ball in contact and were outnumbered at the breakdown point. As all married couples will tell you, a honeymoon does not last forever, and new Wallabies coach McKenzie will be hard pressed to produce a Wallabies victory next week. If not, he may be looking at following the footsteps of the departed Robbie Deans, a lot quicker than expected. In general Aussie sport is at a low ebb, and for a country that takes a lot of pride in its sports, it must be a bitter pill to swallow. (The writer can be reached via [email protected].)

Country before money

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