Kiwis plan victory parade
18 Oct 2011
Reports in New Zealand indicate that plans are already underway to stage a ticker-tape parade for the All Blacks in Auckland next week.
The All Blacks lifted a nation when they beat the Wallabies in last Sunday’s semi-final. While their coaches and players are talking up their final opponents and shunning those that would suggest that they have one collective hand on the Webb Ellis Cup, preparations for the post-match victory lap have already begun.
According to The New Zealand Herald, Auckland Council chiefs and the New Zealand Rugby Union have been in talks to organise a ticker-tape parade up Queen Street on Wednesday or Thursday next week. Some of the locals feel this is presumptuous, while others are worried that it is simply tempting fate.
The newspaper reports that those involved in the staging of such a parade have been reluctant to comment, with NZRU spokeswoman Julie Clausen stressing that the focus is on winning the competition and that all talk of victory parades is premature.
It has been confirmed that a celebratory event will be staged regardless of Sunday’s result. Organisers of the Labour Day festival, Kiwi Day Out, say this is not a pre-emptive party for All Black success, but rather a celebration of all teams in the World Cup.
675 Comments
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18 Oct 2011, 16:36 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-500:
Quade Cooper might have something to say about that…
…oh, and according to Rice the Springboks are “faggots”.
18 Oct 2011, 16:37 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-487:
for what?
wasn’t he the guy that fukkedup over the supplements?
18 Oct 2011, 16:39 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-500: ****** attempt. And that’s being kind.
No, I’m serious. That was rubbish.
No really.
18 Oct 2011, 16:42 pm
Wales coach Warren Gatland has admitted that he was so stunned as losing his inspirational captain Sam Warburton to a red card that he considered faking an injury to create uncontested scrums.
Warburton went off in the 18th minute of Saturday’s 9-8 semifinal loss to France for a dangerous tip tackle on winger Vincent Clerc and Gatland admits that he considered cheating by depowering his scrum in the World Cup semifinal against France.
Wales had already lost prop Adam Jones to a calf injury when Warburton trudged off after referee Alain Rolland made a snap decision to expel him on the spot.
“We’d already lost Adam Jones, and we discussed in the box, could we fake an injury to one of our props to go to uncontested scrums?”
Gatland admitted Tuesday after naming his team to face Australia in Friday’s third-place match. “But morally, I made the decision that that wasn’t the right thing to do.”
18 Oct 2011, 16:44 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-503:
go easy on the big guy
creative talent needs to be nurtured.
18 Oct 2011, 16:46 pm
@Nils(Nils)-483:
yes, but its a kiwi problem cos p o’b is the boss and bryce’s dad was the nz head…you know the saying ‘a fish rots from the head down’…
@poppa69(poppa69)-484:
come on pops…you know it takes a while for things to set in here in the republic before we spring into action…i mean, just look at our rugby…
18 Oct 2011, 16:46 pm
@WP Till I Die(WP-Forever)-501: forgotten that fraid was her man…
@>^..^< katman(katman)-503: your applause is appreciated and acknowledged
18 Oct 2011, 16:47 pm
@Helen(Helen)-479:
you want Grant and skop to have a heart attack dont you lolololol
18 Oct 2011, 16:50 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-499:
you’re coming sieways like a crab transie
18 Oct 2011, 16:53 pm
@Gunther(gunther)-505: Or taken out back with a bucket of water. The world may be a cruel. ugly place, but it doesn’t deserve that.
18 Oct 2011, 16:54 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-506: erm… POB was the IRB chief of officials last time 4 years ago, too, you obviously did not see any problems with him then.
And were Boks in the final here, you would not see any problems with him now, guaranteed.
As long as Boks progress, of course.
18 Oct 2011, 16:56 pm
Anyway, cheers, have a nice evening/morning all.
18 Oct 2011, 16:56 pm
@>^..^< katman(katman)-510:
wtf are you gonna do with the water?
bath him?
18 Oct 2011, 16:56 pm
@Gunther(gunther)-502: could be, but i definitely know he is the guy who with a straight face said that the GPS was SMIT was as fit last year as he was in 2007!
so to me he is a blatant liar like BP and if he gets fined, screw him!
“John is as ready as ever and in good physical condition,” Liebel told a media gathering on Monday.
Same shape as in 2007
Liebel said data collected on the Bok captain, who has played in all three front row positions in the past two years, showed that he was in the same shape that he was three years ago – when he captained his country to Rugby World Cup glory.
“If you look at the data, in terms of the metres he’s run and the pace he’s run at, it’s really up there – in terms of what we have expected of him.”
Liebel added: “Yes, there has been a big concern over his weight. “However, his weight is what it has been for the past two/three years and his fat percentage.”
Asked if there were any concerns – at all – about Smit’s fitness, Liebel replied: “No, not at all!”
He also said that every Springbok player – measured with the new GPS monitoring system introduced this year – had maintained their body-fat percentage since the last measurements.
There will be those who will question this, considering the obvious bulk being carried by out-of-form scrumhalf Ricky Januarie.
“Each Monday guys get weighed and their fat percentages taken,” said Liebel. “We have a data pile going back to 2006. Bar the occasional kilogram up-or-down, nobody has gained.
“Their fat percentages have all come down since they have been with us on May 30 [this year].”
18 Oct 2011, 16:59 pm
@JL1(JL1)-504: what a silly thing to admit
18 Oct 2011, 17:03 pm
@fantasticbarnsmell(fantasticbarnsmell)-515: Its been done before
But in a RWC?, he is also apparently now in a spot of bother
18 Oct 2011, 17:07 pm
@au revoir mon tout noirs, au revoir…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-506: One more thing – you clearly are ungrateful regarding to Bryce.
He handed Boks BIL series on a plate. 1st Test as a ref so many calls in favour of the hosts, 2nd Test as an assistant as Boks should have been reduced to 14 men fro the whole game. And I remember him helping at least Sharkies many times.
You may call him very bad ref, but biased against SA – that’s rich to say the least.
Cheers!
18 Oct 2011, 17:15 pm
@JL1(JL1)-516: ya i would imagine… just so silly and pointless if you know what i mean? not sure what he hoped to get out of saying that.
18 Oct 2011, 17:19 pm
@JL1(JL1)-516: amazingly this is EXACTLY what john mitchell said on masterplan.
18 Oct 2011, 17:25 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-519: what did he say? I could not watch the show in the UK, some silly IP thing blocks me
@fantasticbarnsmell(fantasticbarnsmell)-518: Very stupid or naive to admit to discussing the option
18 Oct 2011, 17:27 pm
@Nils(Nils)-517: ..and for that we are grateful, but scrum was blown correct, Paddy said so
18 Oct 2011, 17:28 pm
@Transformation(Transformation)-485: Doll !!!
rossie explains it very nicely in post no 493.
18 Oct 2011, 17:32 pm
By Peter Bills
The manner of New Zealand’s demolition of Australia in the Rugby World Cup semifinal was an object lesson to all sides around the world.
The good news for the rest is that countries like South Africa can retain for all time their intensity, their enormous commitment in the set pieces and at the breakdown.
After all, that was, in essence, where the semifinal was won and lost. The Wallabies just couldn’t handle all that power which kept coming at them and never stopped.
But here’s the less good news for the South Africans and other teams in world rugby. You just have to have a game outside your No 10.
You can’t play the modern game with only 10 players, the rest used really only to tackle, defend and catch the high kicks downfield. England and Ireland, too, take note.
It is New Zealand’s firepower up front and outside the forwards which is winning them this 2011 World Cup.
They will take the trophy in Sunday’s final for this very good reason: they are a complete side. Theirs is a game predicated on power, but also on touch and finesse when required. They possess all options.
That is the difference. Under Peter de Villiers, the Springboks were an incomplete side. Still powerful up front, to be sure, but largely deficient outside the scrum because there was never the same intensity or attention to detail on the backs’ play as there was on the forwards’.
This glaring failing came home to roost in the quarter-final of this tournament when the South Africans had the Australians there for the taking but couldn’t finish them off because they lacked the accuracy of execution, a quality earned only through much hard work and practice, required to finish.
That has been the difference between New Zealand and South Africa at this World Cup. On Sunday night, New Zealand spent the first five minutes camped in Australian territory and finally broke them through a dynamic, angled run from fullback Israel Dagg, a searing outside break and brilliant offload that put Ma’a Nonu over.
South Africa haven’t played with that sort of conviction behind the scrum for years because neither Jake White nor Peter de Villiers bothered very much about the backs. How many passes did Bryan Habana get in the 2007 World Cup? One, wasn’t it? And the moment he got it, he was smashed into touch by the drift defence. What scandalous misuse of a glorious talent.
Just imagine how Habana would be playing in this New Zealand outfit.
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The New Zealanders utilise every opportunity to attack out wide, ball in hand. It is one of the key reasons why they will win this World Cup on Sunday. What is more, they thoroughly deserve to win it for they have stayed true to their belief in the creed.
Part of the reason for that is that they have embraced the whole canvas offered on a rugby field, not concentrated merely on a small portion of it. They have given huge commitment up front but freed the ball to allow their threequarters time and space to attack.
There’s the word, attack.
So hard for the French to do in their semifinal but so natural to the New Zealanders …
Under this coaching regime, New Zealand have played some superb 15-a-side rugby since 2007. I count it a privilege to have seen a lot of it in many corners of the world, such as Christchurch, Cardiff, London, Cape Town and Johannesburg.
They have never sacrificed their dedication to immense power and technical excellence up front in every phase. Like the watchmaker, precision is their raison d’etre. But nor have they deserted the other half of their game, that of the backs.
But playing in this way is a philosophy, a mentality. The Springboks haven’t had that mentality for too long now.
New Zealand have been for the better part of four years the best side in world rugby because they are the most complete side.
Other countries may, on occasions, have a part of their game but never the whole.
That is why they will win this World Cup on Sunday night and why they will richly deserve to do so.
The All Blacks are also the cleverest, smartest team around. For most of the past four years and certainly at this World Cup, they have had the referees singing their tune like canaries.
18 Oct 2011, 17:39 pm
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-523: he’s right
18 Oct 2011, 17:44 pm
ouens PLEASE watch this if you want to know the real reason the Bokke lost. You will be shocked. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGhWzI_6xK0
18 Oct 2011, 18:02 pm
@mpundulu(mpundulu)-523: The All Blacks are undoubtedly the best team in the world at the moment. I know that you have said you’ll never support the Springboks, but as for me, I do hope they’ll be able to challenge the ABs soon. Depends entirely on the new coaching team.
18 Oct 2011, 18:08 pm
Oscar!
Wheryoubeen!
18 Oct 2011, 18:09 pm
Who gives a damn about this little crappy mud island in the pacific, their rugby grounds are substandard, their referees are pathetic, I love the fact they have already organized a ticker tape parade, I for one will be backing the French.
Sentimental reasons gave NZ the world cup to host, nothing else, they just don’t have the capability to create successful sporting events, this world cup has been a failure as a spectacle, the only reason NZ rugby union survives is because of South Africa that subsidizes them,
To all the Sheep shagging All Black supporters on this blog who constantly slate the Boks, you are pathetic, this is the last time any world cup will be held on your soil.
South Africa will continue again and again to host major sporting events and continue to subsidize your rugby team.
As for the referee, at least you have a proper referee from South Africa, how many kiwi refs have been involved in the world cup final recently, none, they are all to useless, Stuart Dickinson, Paddy O’ Brien, Bryce Lawrence.
Viva la France
18 Oct 2011, 18:12 pm
Maximus you looking for kuk with mpundulu
18 Oct 2011, 18:14 pm
@maximus1(maximus1)-528: thats a maximus cry that one…. fell off my chair laughing at your rant..
do hope you enjoy watching the final, like your bokke team, at home on the couch,,
bwahahahahahaha
18 Oct 2011, 18:16 pm
@maximus1(maximus1)-528: our refs are wonderful, why Bryce “got the jarpies” perfectly…
do you need more tissues?
18 Oct 2011, 18:16 pm
At least at home on the couch there’s no stress
18 Oct 2011, 18:18 pm
@maximus1(maximus1)-528:
As for the referee, at least you have a proper referee from South Africa, how many kiwi refs have been involved in the world cup final recently, none, they are all to useless, Stuart Dickinson, Paddy O’ Brien, Bryce Lawrence.
Stu Dickinson is a kiwi is he????? LMFAO
18 Oct 2011, 18:21 pm
@JL1(JL1)-520: he said gatland should’ve faked an injury and called for uncontested scrums. stransky and them looked at him incredulously & said “what?” and AC said jokingly…”is that what you’re going to do on saturday”
18 Oct 2011, 18:24 pm
@poppa69(poppa69)-533: further to that point, there is no kiwi ref involved in the final, because NZ are IN the final, so we had to get a ref from one of the countries whose teams are already at home with their tails between their legs…
18 Oct 2011, 18:26 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-527: Hey Dawn… been very busy working, so didn’t have much time for keo. Also, to be honest, the amount of trolling on this site is a bit off-putting. Every time I check it out some bitter and twisted git either hates South Africans or Kiwis or English people or French people or Ozzies or Tongans or whoever. Which causes a slight existential crisis for me. Negativity is contagious, and I don’t want it in my life. It makes me despair a bit about the state of the world.
But I often read the site. Still the best reality novel in the world.
Hope you’re well and fighting the good fight.
18 Oct 2011, 18:26 pm
Pops you can laugh but we not ashamed.
Still hope you guys win it.
18 Oct 2011, 18:28 pm
Well said oscar. Hope you looking after my dog!
18 Oct 2011, 18:32 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-537: Im laughing at Maximus Dawnie, not at your team…..and in days previous I would have responded rather differently…
18 Oct 2011, 18:49 pm
@Nils(Nils)-517: Re Bryce:
“And I remember him helping at least Sharkies many times.”
I think you are confused.
Brycie Boy has reffed the Sharks to 6 defeats in 9 games… in a period when the Sharks on average have won close to 6 out of every 9 games… what’s the word for a statistical anaomaly?…
You must be thinking of some other team, Bryce has screwed the Sharks over enough times for us to be pretty well accustomed to his level of incompetence already.
18 Oct 2011, 19:00 pm
Ban this Porra prick please.
18 Oct 2011, 19:12 pm
For the sake of World Rugby, for the sake of
-honesty
-truth
-humility
-brotherhood
Miracles can happen…
France can win…
Revolution…
coup d’etat…les humilier s’il vous plait.
18 Oct 2011, 19:27 pm
The crooks can keep things under wraps for only so long…
SARU in hot water after Bok outburst?
Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:54
Springbok conditioning coach Neels Liebel has launched an outburst against Paddy O’Brien that may land him and SARU in hot water with the International Rugby Board.
According to the SuperSport website, Liebel allegedly claimed on Facebook that IRB manager of referees, O’Brien, had already won the World Cup for New Zealand.
Liebel, who – like the rest of the Bok management team – has been back in SA since last week, after South Africa’s quarterfinal loss to the Wallabies, posted on Facebook: “Thank you Paddy O’Brain (sic), you won the World Cup for New Zealand. Give the Boks a Kiwi ref and the Aussies v NZ a SA ref. A set up for Kiwi success…”
Liebel’s angry vent is an ill-advised one, as the IRB don’t take lightly to such remarks by people involved in the tournament – as Samoa centre Eliota Fuimaono Sapolu found out after his various tirades on Twitter during, and after, the World Cup.
All teams – including management and players – signed up to terms of participation for the World Cup, which has a section on dealing with the media and includes social media. These terms run for the course of the tournament rather than merely the length of time a team is involved.
While the IRB are yet to release any official statement regarding their reaction to Liebel’s comments, but there could be trouble for both him and SARU.
Last year Springbok coach Peter de Villiers spoke out about supposed conspiracy theories, suggesting that the Boks had been victims of a plan to assist the All Blacks ahead of the World Cup the following year.
Following South Africa’s first two Tri-Nations defeats to New Zealand in 2010, De Villiers insinuated that the All Blacks were aided by referees to help swell Kiwi World Cup excitement.
In 2009 an IRB disciplinary hearing imposed a fine of £10,000 (ZAR113,000) on SARU, after the Springboks wore white armbands during the third Test against the British & Irish Lions as a protest for Bakkies Botha’s suspension.
Botha had received a two-week suspension for a dangerous charge on Lions prop Adam Jones at the side of a ruck, which had not gone down well in the Bok camp.
At the time the IRB made it clear that had it not been for the “legal technicalities”, SARU, the Springbok players and their management would have faced much more serious sanctions for their protest.
The sanctions could have gone as far as to impose a suspension of the Springboks’ participation in the World Cup in New Zealand.
The most recent rant from Liebel may well open up some of these old wounds and could spell trouble for SARU and, of course, the Bok conditioning coach.
18 Oct 2011, 19:39 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-538: The dawg is in splendid health Dawny. Bit whiny, because i twisted my ankle and so can’t do the long walks at the moment. But like everything, that will also change.
In the meantime, do hope the Kiwis win the thing because they deserve it. And then I truly hope we get a coaching team with brains so we can give them hell next time..
Look after yourself.
18 Oct 2011, 19:46 pm
I’m gonna get a dog.
18 Oct 2011, 19:48 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-545: best thing you’ll ever do.
18 Oct 2011, 19:56 pm
Alsatian!
18 Oct 2011, 19:57 pm
Talk about tempting fate – and with the froggies nogal!!
18 Oct 2011, 19:59 pm
@Heavens Game(Heavens Game)-543:
Fuckem.
It is about time we expose the old bloody goats at the IRB the same way we should expose them within SA Rugby.
Message to IRB and SA Rugby administration: “We are tired of your broederbond bullshit whenever someone dares to criticize you for obvious fuckups, you are custodians of this beautiful game, not the owners!”
18 Oct 2011, 20:01 pm
@Dawn(Dawn)-547: Or a border collie, if you have lots of energy and time to walk.
Alsations are good though, just beware of ones from backyard breeders, they tend to have bad hips.
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