.... mud .. guts ... and glory!

Obi and soccer ball ... and my hound and rugby ball!

And so .... one week to go till the end of RWC 2011.  The majority of my Kiwi friends are delighted that their Flightless Fowls are through to the final ... and yes, maybe they deserve to be there ... but France certainly don’t ... and nothing anyone can say will ever make me think any differently.  The players at RWC have given their all ... it’s sad that the same can’t be said of the match referees and the IRB in general.  Sadly, the calibre of refereeing has not been up to scratch and leaves a blot on the copybook of RWC 2011.  New Zealand itself has been a tremendous host.  The country and the people have opened their hearts and their homes and welcomed visitors and players alike with huge enthusiasm and warmth ... the vibe has been awesome and I’m SO proud of my adopted country!

On my ramble this morning, so many people commiserated with me over Wales’ loss on Saturday night ... the general consensus was that they had been robbed of a place in the final.  They were all delighted that I’m still proudly flying my flag ... and that I will continue to do so till the end of the tournament despite my disappointment in Saturday’s result.  I love the way my flag has bought people out of their shells ... they chat to me so enthusiastically about rugby and life in general ... so many want to know where ‘home’ is seeing as I fly a Welsh flag ... AND what I think of living in NZ.

I was told this morning that I kick my hound’s ball incorrectly .... I kick it with my toe instead of my foot .... no wonder I have such a HUGE hole in my takkie!!!  A gentleman walking on the beach had been watching all the dogs at play .. and my hound had pinched someone’s soccer ball and was having a great time dribbling ... yes, dribbling it ... along the beach with her paws.  He’d been watching me kick it for her ... and he’d seen the Welsh flag .... so he came over to chat and show me the correct way to kick her ball .... which I’m still unable to do .... it’s hard unlearning a bad habit!!

See the soccer ball .... and she's carrying the rugby ball
.... not for long though!

Rugby ball forgotten about .... we only want the soccer ball now!!

If she could have done, she’d have bought the soccer ball home with her today instead of our rugby ball ... she was having so much fun with it!  The owner of the dog who’s ball it was, kicked it out to sea and she struggled to get a grip on it to bring it back to shore.  I could see her head bobbing further and further away as the elusive ball headed off to Rangitoto .... hound in hot pursuit!

I wondered if her disinclination to bring the rugby ball home was her way of telling me how disappointed she is with RWC ...... nah .... she’s only a dog .... what does she know about the glorious game of rugby and all its ridiculous rules.  Would that rugby could be played as it used to be played ..... mud, guts and glory .....

Pete at the coffee shop had an interesting analogy for a good referee ..... he likened a ref to a flight to South Africa ... you’re not aware of whether or not the flight was good .. you can’t remember what the cabin crew were like .. you just know you’ve arrived at your destination.  A good ref should be unobtrusive .... allowing the game to flow ... but not directing it .... you should be unaware of his existence until the final whistle blows ... something maybe the IRB needs to bear in mind in the future ....

In the meantime I have it on good authority that my Sharks are performing delightfully well back in good old SA .... a home semi-final ‘nogal’ ..... methinks I need to sort out some live-streaming to be able to watch the semi’s and the final over the next two weeks!  My Bokke and my Dragons weren’t able to lift my Yayness levels ... maybe my Sharkies will!!