Ali’s over WC emphasis
4 Sep 2008
Ali Williams doesn’t enjoy the pressure of World Cup rugby and believes it negatively influences the standard of the game.
Williams claimed he had been “dragged down” by the tournament in France last year, and said the boring style of rugby was to the detriment of the game.
“The game of rugby is running rugby, isn’t it? It [the World Cup] is a pressure cooker and brings out a different style. It’s not the sort of rugby I enjoy,” Williams told the Dominion Post.
He also complained about the pressure the All Blacks received from the public and media. “It just became a pain in the ass more than anything.”
Williams also had a dig at the Springboks and their style in winning the Webb Ellis Trophy, as he believes a match such as their 101-14 rout over an under-strength Samoan team was more entertaining than those in the World Cup.
“You’d far rather watch some of these games than you would some of those [World Cup] games.”
89 Comments
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4 Sep 2008, 10:57 am
#45 Crowthorne:
“Quite interesting that the people who despise the intensity and thrill level of something like the world cup are the people who generally don’t do well in it”
That explains why SA wants to join the NH competitions because they can`t win the S14 if their life depends on it.
4 Sep 2008, 10:59 am
#51 Namblack:
Except of course when the AB`s gets pulled out for the first part of the comp.
4 Sep 2008, 11:00 am
#43 Namblack: thanks ive never heard that one before, you are truly hillarious. You must watch too much Seinfeld.
Nzinchina: we have been dogged by political interference. Too such an extent that our performances over the years have been severely affected. Bottom line, once again, SA 2wc trophies- NZ 1wc trophy(lets call it half a trophy seeing SA were not there)
4 Sep 2008, 11:01 am
#51 Namblack: We won it last year, excuses aside, they are for losers! It is thrilling to watch when we come close too – as the Sharks were sortof competitive through the season – OK at least we got a few wins!
) And who says we want ot join the N hemisphere? I personally prefer the running style of the S14 over the bump and grind of the N.
4 Sep 2008, 11:02 am
#50 Crowthorne:
one has to over simplify on a blog otherwise it gets dragged down by long posts.
no other sport in nz (with the possible exception of ocean racing) comes close to rugby in popularity and it is supported by 100% of the country. this is not mirrored by any other nation on earth.
hence the huge reverence of the all blacks and the mountain of expectation on them.
4 Sep 2008, 11:04 am
#55 ed zachary: Ok fair enough, but you have to admit they have delusions of grander because they do so well!
4 Sep 2008, 11:09 am
#56 Crowthorne:
actually, thats my point – the pressure becomes too great for the really big event – RWC
anyway, its a hackneyed subject thats been argued ad infinitum
4 Sep 2008, 11:10 am
The AB’s at the moment are a rather average team comprised of lots of inexperienced newbies at every level you want to gauge it..
They lack the collective spark the team of 2006 had and now rely on one or two dynamo’s to carry them.
Yet here we are sitting on top of the 3N and the IRB, which must be an indictment on the sport in general. Everyone, and rightly I might add, abuses NZ for failure at the RWC even though we crave it the most.
But free falling from grace appears to be a worrying trend
4 Sep 2008, 11:17 am
#41 Namblack: Yes so we were third. We were 3rd last year. What does that mean? There were two better sides in the competition. Also Aus were second. Their name isn’t on the trophy.
In the WC last year the Kiwi’s weren’t in the Top 4 of the competition because they lost in the 1/4 final. England lost the final. Their name isn’t on the trophy.
Next to 2007 on the super 14 trophy the bulls name is engraved. The winner is the only name that is remembered. There is very little difference between the side that finished 2nd or 14th.
So congratulations to the Kiwi’s they won the 3N many times, we didn’t we have accepted that and tried our best to move on, some people might say we have taken a consolation prize in the WC, I beg to differ!
4 Sep 2008, 11:50 am
#34 NZINCHINA: We the world CHAMPIONS !!! period
4 Sep 2008, 11:55 am
What a choker. Are they trying to get out of playing the WC at home where you feel the real pressure. I think only 1 country has managed to win it at home. Could be wrong
4 Sep 2008, 12:32 pm
Its funny that TheTackler didn’t come here to put his two cents on this article and have a dig at the boks. He probably realised that Ali Williams has just embarrassed the ABs by implying that they have no backbone to handle the pressures during Wold Cups. IDIOT!!!
4 Sep 2008, 13:02 pm
#25 Richie_7: I would give a leg for a AB/Bokke final in christchurch…you know why choker? Because we will be you like we did in 95. You always choke! Choke till you blue in front of a home crowd!! You cant even win a 3rd place play-off against us in 99, thats how bad you choke….and as for Ali Williams!……(sorry, I choked on a jellyfish)
4 Sep 2008, 13:08 pm
never been much of a thinker, old Ali
4 Sep 2008, 13:16 pm
WC results:NZ Played 6 Won 1 = 16.97% winning percentage
SA Played 4 Won 2 = 50.00% winning percentage
Prefer those stats.
In two years time no one will even remember (or care) who won the 2008 tri nations, but EVERYBODY remembers who won the world cup and in which years.
4 Sep 2008, 13:54 pm
#65 Cape Shark:
Yeah but in the mean time get ready for another 4 years of snotting at the hands of th AB`s.
Thats what i prefer.
4 Sep 2008, 14:05 pm
#66 Namblack: You have reiterated my point!! Who will remember who won a test at Newlands in 2008 or in Wellington or wherever, but EVERYBODY remembers who wins the world cup, that’s my friend is fact. Nobody cares that the ABs are the best team between world cups but everyone knows that they haven’t won it since…….. when was it????????????? 1987!!!!
4 Sep 2008, 14:14 pm
#65 Cape Shark:
But you care Cape Shark………cause you love your Boks, and you don’t liked seeing them humiliated. Arrogant Chumps who got lucky………twice……..
.
..
.
. is the poisoning of the opposition “luck”.
.
.
..
.
.
All together now sing along with Barny………….”
“We are Chumps my friend,
and we’ll go on losing till the end,
we are the Chumps, we are the Chumps of the World.
(long air-guitar solo by Bakkies).
4 Sep 2008, 14:27 pm
#68 cane:
2 out of 4 hardly seems lucky to me.
Anyhow everybody remebers the greatest rugby humiliation ever!!! Was that not All Black vs France in 99?? In front of a massive world wide audience!
4 Sep 2008, 14:32 pm
#68 cane:
Chumps of the world I am afraid has been reserved by the ABs and the ABs alone. SA on the other hand have the right to call themselves world champions for the next 4 years!!!
1 win in 6 attempts by the supposed best team in the world???
Even England have won it the same amount of times as you. BWWWWWWWWWWWWhaaaaaaa
So how then does that Barney song go again, you seem to know it better than me?
4 Sep 2008, 15:03 pm
#70 Cape Shark: LOL
4 Sep 2008, 15:07 pm
Well if that’s the way the AB’s (via Ali W) think, then why the hell are they hosting the next world cup????
4 Sep 2008, 15:14 pm
#70 Cape Shark:
The snotting have already started my friend and the world is laughing already at the Bok Chumps, last in trinations with the same team.
Its going to continue for the next 4 years or maybe 8 years thats if you get lucky again like last year., are you ready for it! :tears:
4 Sep 2008, 15:25 pm
#73 Namblack:
Nice eloquent English Namblack “the snotting have already started”.
So the last time you were in NZ was when?? As you are a AB wannabe your opionion doesn’t count. Sorry you are the weakest link goodbye.
4 Sep 2008, 17:56 pm
Ali it’s real simple
If you can’t take the heat in the kitchen get take-aways.
4 Sep 2008, 18:11 pm
what a sore loser. He should go and see dr. phil, to get over the trauma. Hope he isn`t in the next WC, another choking series and he would go bonkers
4 Sep 2008, 18:43 pm
typical springbok supporters.. and then people ask why some of us dont support the boks? Julle outjies wat so Wellington en coke drink moet bietjie lees.. and try to read into what is being said. All that you bokke can say to the Blacks are that we chokers?? And yet we f@ck you 19-0 at home….Who choked at Newlands? The guys drinking brandy and coke wearing green jerseys..met eish ja..
4 Sep 2008, 20:37 pm
#46 ed zachary: Uh Dah you what? NZ only has rugby as its sport, how many medals do you guys win at the olympic’s tosspot?? You and Van Zyl mates are you?
4 Sep 2008, 20:41 pm
#55 ed zachary: Are you a kiwi, well tosspot some info for you, rugby is nto supported by 100% its only 56% so where did you get your figures from? Playboy mag??
4 Sep 2008, 21:59 pm
what a loud of ****. as if the ab’s game against france in the wc was such an entertaining game.
4 Sep 2008, 22:06 pm
my kiwi co-worker’s reason (one of many) for why they lost against france in the wc: richie was playing for a penalty in those last 10/20 min of the game because they has analysed the rev before and he was the type giving penalties more easily. but nobody from the ab’s bench told richie that the ref on that day didn’t give as much penalties as usual, so he just kept on playing for the penalty – this must be the most ridiculous (and more complex) excuses they have.
4 Sep 2008, 23:16 pm
Well, we may only have won 1 world cup out of 6, but I can guarantee we have never had 50 points put on our team… SA has had that glorious event happen 3 times, once against ENG of all teams (doesnt matter how many times we choke, to have 50 scored against you by England would have to be more humiliating)…
we have scored over 50 points against your team twice, Eng as already mentioned and you have the ignominy of losing to the Aussies by 49-0….. so enjoy your little yellow cup, I will continue to laugh at the half centuries posted against your team !!!!!!
5 Sep 2008, 00:23 am
#20 Sonito:
If you were an AB fan you would have another game to watch in this Tri nations tournament.
Why would i be embarrassed at what Ali has just said,free speech where i come from.He likes a certain type of game and if you ask me plenty more would watch a game with plenty of tries to both teams than a defensive match where bugger all tries have been scored.But then again each to there own which is why rugby is so good,there are different ways to playing the game and winning.
#82 poppa69:
Another thing Poppa,when was the last time we got no points in a game,i cant remember.WE get called chokers,but really we are not the RWC holders that has come once again last in a tournament.When does the choker tag move to another team or is it cos the ABs are so good that they are the only ones that can be called chokers as the others are not good enough
5 Sep 2008, 01:37 am
What’s so boring about scoring at least 4 tries in every game leading up to the final???
5 Sep 2008, 01:40 am
#83 Hurricane: fair call Hurricane… think it stems more from the fact that IT is the only thing they can really throw at us, guess thats what happens when you have a much superior history then every other nation (waiting for the but before professionalism/isolation call, but I have noticed that some SA’s like living in the past, seems the team was this year, hence their performance)…
really , eventually we will have just as many if not more WC victories, and then they will have nothing to throw at us to satisfy their inferiority complexes…
5 Sep 2008, 02:06 am
Ali’s entitled to his own opinion. I don’t agree with him, and that’s because I’m equally entitled to mine.
5 Sep 2008, 06:24 am
Jeez guys – it’s so simple. Before every recent RWC the AB’s have dominated rugby. Their mentality is that all they have to do is pitch up to RWC to win it – in NZ venues are booked for the celebrations. Every other team lifts themselves and lo and behold, the complacent Blacks are bundled out. After RWC the whipped AB’s come out firing on all cylinders and whip the teams who are now basking in the glory of either taking out the AB’s, making the final, or winning the trophy.
And so on in 4 year cycles.
5 Sep 2008, 06:35 am
#63 McSchalkBurger: your a joke just like your nic suggests…. lets look at choking shall we..
“choke”
a. to become or cause to become speechless, as from the effect of emotion or stress: She choked up over the sadness of the tale.
b. to become too tense or nervous to perform well: Our team began to choke up in the last inning.
hmmmm being WC champions, No.1 ranked side (at the time, that lasted long), going into a tournament against an “average” AB side rebuilding, and also an Aussie team that has been struggling, all you SA fans and media thought you guys would romp home this 3Ns…. well looky, they won 2 from 6, the second when they had already been consigned to last place, I think that this PERFECTLY fits description B above…
dont you agree ?? now waiting for the litany of excuses, travel, gameplan, reffing conspiracies, thorns tackle on Smit (which never caused the injury, how could he play on for another 30 minutes with a groin injury, just not possible), the judiciary is against us, selections, quotas etc etc etc ….
5 Sep 2008, 11:18 am
#88 poppa69:
Damn pops you have been on this site way to long.
You have most of their excuses in the bottom paragraph,well done.
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