|
You've
got to get your first tackle in early, even if it's late. -
Ray Gravell |
Week 1 |
|
Following
Scotland's accusations of French foulplay - if you can't take a
punch, you should play table tennis. - Pierre
Berbizier |
Week 1 |
|
In
my time, I've had my knee out, broken my collarbone, had my nose
smashed, a rib
broken, lost a few teeth, and ricked my back; but as soon as I get a
bit of bad luck I'm going to quit the game. - J.W.
Robinson |
Week 1 |
|
Rugby
football is a game I can't claim absolutely to understand in all its
niceties, if you know what I mean. I can follow the broad, general
principles, of course. I mean to say, I know that the main scheme is
to work the ball down the field somehow and deposit it over the line
at the other end and that, in order to squalch this programme, each
side is allowed to put in a certain amount of assault and battery
and do things to its fellow man which, if done elsewhere, would
result in 14 days without the option, coupled with some strong
remarks from the Bench. - P.G. Wodehouse in Very
Good, Jeeves (1930) |
Week 2 |
|
On
Jonah Lomu - I've seen a lot of people like him, but they weren't
playing on the wing - Colin Meads
(welcome back Jonah - God help you Stormers! Ed.) |
Week 2 |
|
Former
Irish forward Fergus Slattery during the New Zealand v Ireland world
cup game. Sean Fitzpatrick was being led from the field injured, the
commentator explained, "I think he's broken his nose."
Slattery corrected him, "No, I think someone broke it for
him." (Submitted by
Jon) |
Week 3 |
|
The
rules of football at Rugby School, in a state of flux ever since
Webb Ellis is said to have caught the ball and then run with it,
have finally been codified in a set of decisions on certain disputed
points. "Hacking" is permitted, but not above the knee.
Holding a player carrying the ball is
permitted, but with one arm only. "running in" - the
Ellis method -
is permitted, but passing with the hands is banned. And if no
decision is reached after five afternoons' play, a match will be
declared drawn. Article
from Rugby School, 1846 |
Week 3 |
|
The
advantage law is the best law in rugby, because it lets you ignore
all the others for the good of the game. Derek
Robinson |
Week 3 |
|
Colin
Meads, quintessential All Black great in the final test at Eden Park
against the Springboks of 1965 typified his attitude towards game
and country in this exchange when his brother lay on the ground in
agony: Colin:
'How are you?'
Stan: 'No bloody good.'
Colin: 'Well, You'd better get yourself right. In one
minute's time you and I have to lock a New Zealand scrum together
and we're not going backward.' |
Week 4 |
|
The
least successful rugby forward of all time? This dubious distinction
belongs to Oliver Jones, who scored only three tries in forty-five
years of regular playing for the old Edwardian Exiles. The silver
haired prop scored his third try aged sixty.
The Book of Heroic Failures by Stephen
Pile |
Week 4 |
|
To
Princess Anne's son Peter Phillips, Gordonstoun School's rugby
captain, for his pre-match coin-toss preference - Grandmother or
tails, sir?
Anon rugby referee |
Week 4 |
|
New
Zealand rugby is a colourful game since you get all black... and
blue. Anon |
Week 5 |
|
There
is far too much talk about good ball and bad ball. In my opinion,
good ball is when you have possession and bad ball is when the
opposition have it. Dick Jeeps |
Week 5 |
|
After
being asked if he has anything to add to an inspiring teamtalk,
"Ja, anyone know where I can get an engine for a Toyota
Corolla?" Frans
"Domkrag" Erasmus, late Springbok prop. |
Week 5 |
|
Front
Row - Without a doubt the manliest men on the pitch. Large, often
hairy, beer swilling carnivores that can and will smash anything in
their path. Revelling in the violence inherent in the scrum,
they are rarely considered "nice" people, and in fact to
some they aren't even considered human's at all. Front rowers
tolerate this attitude far and wide because they recognise their
role at the top of the food chain and are used to suffering the
fools that surround them. Accused by some of simply being
dumb, I prefer to think of this group as "open to
unconventional ways of thinking." Peter
Fitzsimmons |
Week 5 |
|
Rugby
backs can be identified because they generally have clean jerseys
and identifiable partings in their hair ... come the revolution the
backs will be the first to be lined up against the wall and shot for
living parasitically off the work of others. Peter
Fitzsimmons |
Week 6 |
|
I
prefer rugby to soccer. I enjoy the violence in rugby, except when
they start biting each other's ears off. Elizabeth
Taylor |
Week 6 |
|
On
the Munster pack - Mothers keep their photo on the mantlepiece to
stop the kids going too near the fire. Jim
Neilly |
Week 6 |
|
In
1823, William Webb Ellis first picked up the ball in his arms and
ran with it. And for the next 156 years forwards have been trying to
work out why. Sir Tasker
Watkins (1979) |
Week 6 |
|
The
player who is not honest with himself will not get far. This honesty
must, however, not be aimed only at his weakness but also his
strongpoints. He must know where he is good or bad or less than
good, so that he can maintain his strength and develop it and use it
properly, and he can remove his weakness and hide it as long as it
is there. Danie Craven |
Week 7 |
|
On
Jonah Lomu - There's no doubt about it, he's a big bastard.
Gavin Hastings |
Week 7 |
|
The
relationship between the Welsh and the English is based on trust and
understanding. They don't trust us and we don't understand them.
Dudley Wood |
Week 7 |
|
Back
Row - These are fine fit fellows who, like a bunch of
hermaphrodites, are confused as to what their role in life should
be. While they know they are undeniably linked to the forwards,
there are those among them who long for the perfect hair and long
flowing gowns that come with being a back. Some relish the forward
role and will do anything to win the ball and there are others
within this group that will break the prime directive of the forward
and do anything to prance foolishly with the ball. Generally, these
guys are not all bad, but I, personally, have to wonder about any
forward who brings a hairbrush and a change of clothes to a game.
Peter Fitzsimmons |
Week 7 |
|
Locks
- Slightly below the front row on the food chain. As with
front row players it is advisable to put an appendage you wish to
keep near this group's maw when they are in the feeding mode. This
group of large, often foul smelling brutes is also more than willing
to relish the finer points of stomping on a fallen opponent's body
and will gleefully recount the tale ad infinitum. While they
tend to take the tag "Powerhouse of the Scrum" a little
too seriously, they can be useful if injured with the proper hatred
of their fellow man. While members of this proud fraternity like to
think of themselves as "open to unconventional ways of
thinking" - they are usually just dumb. Peter
Fitzsimmons |
Week 8 |
|
The
lads say my bum is the equivalent of one 'Erica'. Bill
Beaumont |
Week 8 |
|
After
JPR Williams was involved in a road traffic accident - Bloody
typical, isn't! The car's a write-off. The tanker's a write-off. But
JPR comes out of it all in one piece. Gareth
Edwards |
Week 8 |
|
Colin
Meads is the kind of player you expect to see emerging from a ruck
with the remains of a jockstrap between his teeth Tony
O'Reilly |
Week 8 |
|
Coaches
are best when people barely know they exist. Not so good when people
obey or acclaim them. Worse when they despise them – fail to know
people – they fail to honour you. But of good coaches who talk
little – when their work is done, their aim fulfilled, their
charges will say – ‘we did this ourselves’.
Adapted from LAO-TZU, Tao Te Ching, sixth
century BC |
Week 9 |
|
On losing
- In Wales the half backs, especially the stand off half, always get
the blame. Neil Jenkins |
Week 9 |
|
On
violence - It's the nature of the game to have aggression. Take on
people physically and then have a beer with your friends.
Gareth Chilcott |
Week 9 |
|
Look
here, I'm afraid being tryless is always totally irrelevant. The
object of rugby is just to score more points than the opposition.
End of story. Geoff Cooke |
Week 9 |
|
On
the sending off of Colin Meads for kicking (and missing) the ball or
a player, both in close proximity - For one with Mead's
world-wide reputation for robust play, this was like sending a
burglar to prison for a parking offence. Michael
Melford |
Week 9 |
|
The
one handed palmer can always reach higher, they say. They may be
right, but the result is that nearly every lineout is like a
tropical island - all waving palms. Vivian
Jenkins |
Week 10 |
|
Rugby
is a game for the mentally deficient... That is why it was invented
by the British. Who else but an Englishman could invent an oval
ball? Peter Pook |
Week 10 |
|
I'm
just off for a quiet pint. Followed by fifteen noisy ones.
Gareth Chilcott after last game for his club |
Week 10 |
|
In
cricket it seperated Bradman and Sobers from the rest; Pele had it
in football, Borg had it in tennis, Ali had it in boxing, Barry John
had it in rugby. Those who try to pin down everything in life like
so many butterflies to a board would call it genius. I prefer it
nameless. George Allan |
Week 10 |
|
The
whole of the world is tribal, but when it comes to rugby, New
Zealand is much more tribal than most. The All Blacks are the
national virility symbol. Their people support them come hail, rain
or shine. Mike Gibson |
Week 10 |
|
I
decided that if I was going to compete with the best I had to be as
aggressive and get the psychological edge on my opponent without
going over the top Wade Dooley |
Week 11 |
|
Rugby
football is a game for gentlemen in all classes, but never for a bad
sportsman in any class Motto
of Barbarians Rugby Football Club |
Week 11 |
|
Foul
play and cheating are the two factors that can make the game
unplayable... the All Blacks are guilty of both... international
rugby players are amongst the most physical yet literate and I
believe they know exactly what they are doing. Clem
Thomas, 1993 |
Week 11 |
|
Of
all the teams in the world you don't want to lose to, England's top
of the list. The English know no humility in victory or defeat... If
you beat them, it's because you cheat. If they beat you, it's
because they've overcome your cheating. Good teams learn how to win
and lose with graciousness and humility. England hasn't learned that
lesson yet. Grant Fox,
1993 |
Week 11 |
|
Sport
and chivalrous competition awakens the best human qualities... it
helps to strengthen the bonds of peace between the nations
Adolf Hitler, 1935 |
Week 11 |
|
Youngsters
need heroes. They need figures like Batman, Tarzan and Naas Botha.
Abe Malan |
Week 12 |
|
Have
a go, you mug. That means, don't die wondering whether you were good
enough to win; don't wait until you've lost to see if you can win.
Bob Dwyer |
Week 12 |
|
Genius
is great when it is on song. It is more of a nuisance when it goes
bad, because it contaminates and destroys what is around it.
Joe Mercer |
Week 12 |
|
Nothing
can unite a country like South Africa more than a rugby Test match -
we become one. Danie Craven |
Week 12 |
|
These
English you're just going out to meet have taken our coal, our
water, our steel; they buy our houses and only live in them a
fortnight a year... Down the centuries these English have
exploited and pillaged us - and we're playing them this afternoon,
boys. Phil Bennett, captain of
Wales in a team talk before a test against England. |
Week 12 |
|
Statistics
are like a bikini. What they reveal is suggestive, but what they
conceal is vital. Aaron
Levenstein |
Week 13 |
|
On
trying to stop Phil Horrocks-Taylor - Every time I went to tackle
him, Horrocks went one way, Taylor went the other, and all I got was
the bloody hyphen. Nick
England |
Week 13 |
|
The
Holy Writ of Gloucester Rugby Club demands: first, that the forwards
shall win the ball; second, that the forwards shall keep the ball;
and third, the backs shall buy the beer. Doug
Ibbotson |
Week 13 |
|
Dean
Richards is nicknamed Warren, as in warren ugly bastard!
Jason Leonard |
Week 13 |
|
We've
lost seven of our last eight matches. Only team that we've beaten
was Western Samoa. Good job we didn't play the whole of Samoa.
Gareth Davies bemoaning Wales' fortunes in 1989 |
Week 13 |
|
I
favour the Gucci outlook, long after you've forgotten the price, you
remember the quality. Allan
Jones, Australian coach |
Week 14 |
|
The
difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.
Anon |
Week 14 |
|
I've
heard of Bread of Heaven, but this was ridiculous.
Gary Knight after being struck by a "flour
bomb" during the third test between the Springboks and All
Blacks in 1981 |
Week 14 |
|
Generally
the theories we believe we call facts, and the facts we disbelieve
we call theories. Felix Cohen |
Week 14 |
|
Playing
rugby at school I once fell on a loose ball and, through ignorance
and fear, held on despite a fierce pummelling. After that it took me
months to convince my team-mates I was a coward. Peter
Cook |
Week 14 |
|
He
had no idea what was going on for half the time. I would not
entertain him refereeing my form three at school. Wales
coach John Bevan on Rene Hourquet's "diabolical"
refereeing. |
Week 15 |
|
The
only time you realise you have a reputation is when you fail to live
up to it. Anon |
Week 15 |
|
Jones
was brilliant. He was so much quicker than the French back row that
he almost had to stop and wait for them. He has the hands of a
centre, he jumps like a decathlete and he tackles like a ton of
bricks. John Reason singing
the praises of RWC 1987's man of the tournament, Michael Jones |
Week 15 |
|
Our
players are selected according to their ability, they always have
been and always will be. Abie
Malan Springbok manager after a French request to include a 'black
Bok' in 1992 |
Week 15 |
|
I
think you enjoy the game more if you don't know the rules. Anyway,
you're on the same wavelength as the referee. Jonathan
Davies |
Week 16 |
|
Condom
is back in French Pack. Independent
newspaper headline |
Week 16 |
|
Playing
the French is like facing 15 Eric Cantonas. They are brilliant but
brutal. Brian Moore |
Week 16 |
|
League
is much, much more physical than Union, and that's before anyone
starts breaking the rules. Adrian
Hadley |
Week 16 |
|
In
sport, in courage, and in the light of Heaven, all men meet on equal
terms. Winston Churchill |
Week 16 |
|
It
doesn't matter how quick you are, you can't play rugby without a
brain. David Campese |
Week 17 |
|
The
greatest professional quality is not money, but attitude.
John Monie, Australian rugby league coach |
Week 17 |
|
They
think we're just a bunch of ignorant paddies from the bog. Let's not
disappoint them. Stewart
McKinney, Irish player before a test against England |
Week 17 |
|
When
he was rugby football correspondent of The Times, the late V.A.
Titley declined to use the first names of players in his reports
since in most cases he had not been introduced to them.
Geoffrey Nicholson |
Week 17 |
|
Success
has made failures of many men. Cindy
Adams |
Week 17 |
|
They
bashed us, basically. And quite frankly, it was embarrassing at
times. Some of my players looked a little gun-shy, and that worries
me, this is meant to be a body contact sport. Greg
Smith, Fidji coach |
Week 18 |
|
There's
nothing that a tight forward likes more than a loosie right up his
backside. Murray Mexted |
Week 18 |
|
In
one match last year eight water-bottle runners ran on the field and
gave drinks to the players when someone was injured in the first
thirty seconds of the game. Thirty seconds - hell they must have
been thirsty. When I played we got a piece of orange at halftime,
and if you were quick you got two. Colin
Meads |
Week 18 |
|
You
would like to think that everyone would be treated equally, but in
this farmyard some pigs are created more equal than others.
Rod Kafer |
Week 18 |
|
If
the game is run properly as a professional game, you do not need 57
old farts running rugby. Will
Carling |
Week 19 |
|
The
French selectors never do anything by halves; for the first
international of the season against Ireland they dropped half the
three-quarter line.
Nigel Starmer-Smith |
Week 19 |
|
If
I had been a winger, I might have been daydreaming and thinking
about how to keep my kit clean for the next week. Bill
Beaumont |
Week 19 |
|
After
biting Sean Fitzpatrick's ear - For an 18-month suspension, I feel I
probably should have torn it off. Then at least I could say, 'Look,
I've returned to South Africa with the guy's ear.'
Johan le Roux |
Week 19 |
|
On
his successors in the Oxford University backs - I've seen better
centres in a box of Black Magic. Joe
McPartlin |
Week 20 |
|
I
may not have been very tall or very athletic, but one thing I did
have was the most effective backside in world rugby.
Jim Glennon |
Week 20 |
|
I
think Brian Moore's gnashers are the kind you get from a DIY shop
and hammer in yourself. He is the only player we have who looks like
a French forward. Paul Rendall |
Week 20 |
|
Forwards
are the gnarled and scarred creatures who have a propensity for
running into and bleeding all over each other. Peter
Fitzsimmons |
Week 20 |
|
After
England had been humbled by the All Blacks in the World Cup
Semi-Final - I don't know about us not having a Plan B when
things went wrong, we looked like we didn't have a Plan A.
Geoff Cooke |
Week 21 |
|
Gareth
Edwards: The sooner that little so-and-so goes to rugby league, the
better it will be for us. Dickie
Jeeps |
Week 21 |
|
After
a succession of career-threatening injuries - I played ten
injury-free years between the ages of 12 and 22. Then, suddenly, it
seemed like I was allergic to the twentieth century.
Nigel Melville |
Week 21 |
|
On
playing for Wales at Lansdowne Road, Dublin - I didn't know
what was going on at the start in the swirling wind. The flags were
all pointing in different directions and I thought the Irish had
starched them just to fool us. Mike
Watkins |
Week 21 |
|
The
job of Welsh coach is like a minor part in a Quentin Tarantino film:
you stagger on, you hallucinate, nobody seems to understand a word
you say, you throw up, you get shot. Poor old Kevin Bowring has come
up through the coaching structure so he knows what it takes... 15
more players than Wales have at present. Mark
Reason, 1996 |
Week 22 |
|
To
play rugby league, you need three things: a good pass, a good tackle
and a good excuse Anon |
Week 22 |
|
We
do not stop playing because we are old; we grow old because we stop
playing Anon |
Week 22 |
|
Before
the first scrum in a club match, "mean man" Piet
Bester chirped, "welcome to HELL" to a very
young Ollie le Roux, Ollie's response? "Yes, and meet the
DEVIL!" |
Week 22 |
|
You're
as old as you need to be. As long as you're fit enough, you're young
enough. Jeff Probyn |
Week 23 |
|
Rugby
can be a very violent game if there is £ 1000 per man riding on the
result. Bob Weighill,
secretary of the RFU, 1983 |
Week 23 |
|
To
be a top sportsman in any field, you need an arrogance; you need to
be driven. It can offend people, but you cannot be bothered about
that too much. You might regret it later, as I do in a way, but not
at the time. Barry Richards |
Week 23 |
|
There
are people who say I have never really done anything wrong in my
life; of course they only say it behind my back. Oscar
Wilde |
Week 23 |
|
A
coach is like a winemaker: he must produce the best wine with the
grapes available. Fabio
Capello, AC Milan coach. |
Week 24 |
|
Serious
sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred
jealousy, boastfulness, disregard of all rules and sadistic pleasure
in witnessing violence; in other words it is war minus the shooting
George Orwell |
Week 24 |
|
No
leadership no ideas. Not even enough imagination to thump someone in
the lineout when the ref wasn't looking J.P.R.
Williams after a Wales defeat against Australia 1984 |
Week 24 |
|
I
have never been in the situation of running a rugby team but I had
been in the situation of controlling 30 players on a rugby field and
trying to get those players to perform to the best of their
abilities, and that's man management. Clive
Norling |
Week 24 |
|
Was
it knocked forward or knocked-on? Murray
Mexted during the NZ/Aus Tri-Nations on
Saturday. |
Week 24 |
|
We
want consistency, but we don't want a consistent referee to
consistently blow the whistle. Murray
Mexted |
Week 25 |
|
I
asked a ref if he could give me a technical foul for thinking bad
things about him. He said, of course not. I said, well, I think you
stink. And he gave me a technical. You can't trust 'em.
Jim Valvano |
Week 25 |
|
In
the end, it’s extra effort that separates a winner from second
place. But winning takes a lot more that that, too. It starts with
complete command of the fundamentals. Then it takes desire,
determination, discipline, and self-sacrifice. And finally, it takes
a great deal of love, fairness and respect for your fellow man. Put
all these together, and even if you don’t win, how can you lose?
Jesse Owens |
Week 25 |
|
Sportsmanship
for me is when a guy walks off the court and you really can't tell
whether he won or lost, when he carries himself with pride either
way. Jim Courier |
Week 25 |
|
I
would rather win than have good sportsmanship. Allen
Iverson |
Week 25 |
|
Coming
together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working
together is success. Henry
Ford |
Week 26 |
|
The
problem with referees is that they just don't care which side wins.
Tom Canterbury |
Week 26 |
|
I
don't like this new law, because your first instinct when you see a
man on the ground is to go down on him. Murray
Mexted |
Week 26 |
|
When
we beat the Springboks or France there's a general feeling of 'so
you bloody well should', rather than 'that's a really good
achievement'. Wayne Smith |
Week 26 |
|
Jonah
Lomu's diffused his own bomb! Chris
Handy after a very untrademark Lomu chip kick. |
Week 27 |
|
The
win was very fortunate, but I will buy Kefs a drink anytime,
anywhere, whenever he asks! John
Eales. |
Week 27 |
|
It
has often occurred to me that sport, like sex, is an activity that
should either be performed or watched - but not written about.
Paul Gardner |
Week 27 |
|
After
calling all sports agents vultures - It was a rash statement
and I'd like to apologise to every vulture in the sky.
Mike Gottfried |
Week 27 |
|
If
size is all that matters, how come the whale is endangered and the
ant continues to do just fine? Unknown |
Week 27 |
|
Opportunities
multiply as they are seized. Sun
Tzu |
Week 28 |
|
I
haven't really read the papers, but if they're going to call you
this superhuman rugby player or whatever and you believe it, then
you should also believe it when they call you a tosser.
Martin Johnson |
Week 28 |
|
You
can't have a prop playing hooker, they're not intelligent enough!
Ross Nesdale |
Week 28 |
|
I've
been watching Sven Goran Eriksson. I realise his pond is far bigger
than mine, but there are similarities. Graham
Henry |
Week 28 |
|
We've
been together three and a half days and we haven't been to the pub
yet. Donal Lenihan on the difference
between the professional 2001 Lions, and his 1989 squad. |
Week 28 |
|
The
way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the
greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don't
play together, the club won't be worth a dime. Babe
Ruth |
Week 29 |
|
I
think the French always niggle, grabbing blokes around the balls and
the eyes and that sort of thing. Tim
Lane |
Week 29 |
|
We
generally make too much of winning. Let's face it, someone always
has to win; that is the nature of competition. But the mere fact of
winning doesn't make you great. Wilt
Chamberlain |
Week 29 |
|
This
is Chris Koch. He's a farmer and our champion biltong eater.
Hennie Muller's introduction of the player to
the Duke of Edinburgh before the Twickenham test in 1952 |
Week 29 |
|
Adversity
causes some men to break; others to break records.
William A. Ward |
Week 30 |
|
To
be honest, the rugby's been that awful I haven't really been excited
enough to get into it. Josh
Kronfeld on the Super 12 |
Week 30 |
|
The
mind is the limit. As long as the mind can envision the fact that
you can do something, you can do it, as long as you really
believe 100 percent. Arnold
Schwarzenegger |
Week 30 |
|
Hell,
it's been hard. I never thought it would be this bad. You have to be
in it to experience it. I get criticised all the time. It's more
difficult than I ever imagined. Harry
Viljoen |
Week 30 |
|
You
know exactly what he's going to do. He's going to come off his right
foot at great speed. You also know that there isn't a blind thing
you can do about it. David
Duckham on Gerald Davies, Welsh great. |
Week 31 |
|
The
only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Vidal Sassoon |
Week 31 |
|
For
any England side to score six tries against France is an
achievement. I can remember getting some real hammerings off them as
a player. Clive Woodward |
Week 31 |
|
Sport
is quite a simple thing. It is play, and in play, people of all ages
find the chance to engage their most profound emotions love, fear,
excitement, disappointment, anger and joy. Timothy
Shriver |
Week 31 |
|
It
shows what a hot seat that number 9 jersey has been .
Nigel Starmer-Smith |
Week 32 |
|
Paul
Allott drying the wet ball which is a disadvantage in Lancashire's
favour. Frank Hayes |
Week 32 |
|
You
have to be fairly one dimensional when the crunch comes down.
Australian Rugby Coach |
Week 32 |
|
I
don't want to sit on the fence, but it could go either way.
Maurice Banford |
Week 32 |
|
The
Wigan defence allowed him two bites at the shot. Radio
Manchester |
Week 32 |
|
A
pressure kick for Andrew with Brown breathing down his throat.
Nigel Starmer-Smith |
Week 32 |
|
That
could have made it 10-3 and there's a subtle difference between that
and 7-3. Bill Maclaren |
Week 32 |
|
He's
like a needle in a haystack, this man 0 he's everywhere.
Ray French |
Week 32 |
|
And
there's Kenney, who at times looks almost like his double.
Nigel Starmer-Smith |
Week 32 |
|
If
you didn't know him, you wouldn't know who he was.
Nigel Starmer-Smith |
Week 32 |
|
Dusty
Hare kicked 19 of the 17 points. David
Coleman |
Week 32 |
|
Of
course they don't play to any sort of pattern and if you're not
careful you will start playing to that pattern. Mike
Davies |
Week 32 |
|
An
easy kick for George Fairburn now but, as everybody knows, no kicks
are easy. David Doyle-Davidson |
Week 32 |
|
Come
on, Sean, I've got four million New Zealanders on my back, and now I
must carry you around the course as well!
John Hart to Sean Fitzpatrick after a three putt from three metres
in a round of golf against the Springboks. |
Week 33 |
|
I
don't like rugby and I work for The Irish Times. It's like being a
day trader and working for Pravda. Tom
Humphries. |
Week 33 |
|
We're
going to tear those boys apart. Message
pinned up on the changing room wall by England captain Will
Carling before the All Blacks in the 1995 World Cup semi-final in
Cape Town. |
Week 33 |
|
If
you think you can win, you can win. Faith is necessary to victory.
Unknown |
Week 33 |
|
Maybe
it's a good thing just to step back and say, 'Right, I got taught a
good rugby lesson this season'. Robbie
Fleck |
Week 35 |
|
Tiredness
and fatigue is a mental thing. The body is capable of much, much
more than most people think. I love rugby. I can't wait to play.
Stay fresh mentally, work hard at something else, and rugby is a
pleasure. Andre Venter |
Week 35 |
|
The
impression I get from the guys is that they are happy to tour
Europe, but certainly not Afghanistan or Pakistan.
Pat Howard |
Week 35 |
|
We
deserved to lose. I can't believe how many errors we made and I just
couldn't believe what I was watching near the end.
Clive Woodward |
Week 35 |
|
In
the collective memory of this country rugby will always hold a place of
pride for the role it played in nation building during those first years
of our new democracy. Nelson
Mandela |
Week 36 |
|
I
have no doubt that we have the players, what we've lacked in the
last 4 years is a strong, capable Coach. A Coach who is definitely
the boss a Coach who MEANS what he says, a Coach who's not
afraid to dump a big name player who isn't performing that's
the sort of Coach NZ rugby needs. We don't need wimps, we need a
MAN!!!!! Patrick Innes in
Patrick on Rugby Vol 2119, 24 Oct |
Week 36 |
|
I
thrived only in lineouts, those strange masonic rituals wherein
everybody uniformly mistimes their jump for some reason I couldn't
initially understand. Clarification wasn't long in coming. After two
clean catches, the person opposing you in the lineout would just
reach across and pull your hair. Beats gravity every time.
Hair-pulling wasn't a very manly thing to do, but neither was
weeping: "Ref! Ref! He's pulling my hair." I learned to
mistime my jump like everyone else. Tom
Humphries (maybe the real reason why lineouts are such a mess?!
Ed) |
Week 36 |
|
Individual
commitment to a group effort, that is what makes a team work.
Vince Lombardi |
Week 37 |
|
I want
to show Harry that I'm still good enough to play for South Africa.
He told me what he wants from me and that he'll pick me if I play
good rugby. Rassie
Erasmus |
Week 37 |
|
You
gotta lose 'em sometimes. When you do, lose 'em right.
Unknown |
Week 37 |
|
The
players accept responsibility for the way they played and each one
is keen to put it right against Italy and against England the
following weekend. Andre Vos |
Week 37 |
|
As
for South Africa, it is impossible to advocate a case for them.
Since the emergence of Harry Viljoen as coach, the Springboks have
promised a great deal and delivered very little.
Stuart Barnes |
Week 38 |
|
The
Australians have been kings of the world, but time does not stand
still. With successive losses, Jones has been handed the latch to
the trapdoor. He must pull it. Greg
Gowden |
Week 38 |
|
It
is an indication of England's powerful run in the past 18 months and
of South Africa's current lack of real assurance - let alone their
historical arrogance - that England are firm favourites to win with
the bookmakers. Stephen Jones |
Week 38 |
|
It
was clear that, once the All Blacks had collected their wits and
secured their bearings, they are the likely winners of the next
World Cup under yet another grim-visaged coach in John Mitchell.
Allan Watkins |
Week 38 |
|
The
only solution was to tell first-choice players that they wouldn't
play for France anymore if they didn't change their ways. Some of
them got the message. They now are among the best players in the
world.
Bernard Laporte |
Week 38 |
|
Harry
Viljoen makes statements about " The PATH ", look Harry,
if we wanted a Star Wars Jedi master we would have gone to George
Lucas. Markus Basson |
Week 39 |
|
"Leave
that for the forwards!" Zinzan
Brooke after Stefan Terblanche's botched drop goal attempt for the
Babaas vs Australia. |
Week 39 |
|
They
(SA rugby administrators) duck below the parapets heroically
avoiding the flak and then Clinton-like emerge anxiously grinning
away, shaking each others hands, hoping the public have forgotten
the mess they have helped to create.
Nick Mallett |
Week 39 |
|
Winning
is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once
in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them
right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing.
Vince Lombardi |
Week 39 |
|
His
sidestep was marvellous - like a shaft of lightning.
Bill Mclaren on Gerald Davies |
Week 40 |
|
The
most complete player in his position I have ever seen; in full
flight he resembled a comic-strip hero on a field of mere mortals.
Colin Harries on Danie Gerber |
Week 40 |
|
This
will be completely different from last year's. We are much more
settled. We will be looking to take our game a step further,
especially on attack and the forward momentum of our pack.
Harry Viljoen before the European tour. |
Week 40 |
|
People
do not lack strength; they lack will. Victor
Hugo |
Week 40 |
