rugby365s Xmas presents list...
It's that time of the year and we've gone and done it again...rugby365's intrepid spies managed to intercept a few letters bound for good ol' Santa at the north pole. Yes, ladies and gents; it's our Xmas presents list.
Amazingly, we intercepted exactly fifteen letters - incredible, really, that a whole rugby team of players/people wrote into Santa asking for some gifts?!
Here they are then, the Christmas presents that - we think - should have been:
(1) The IRB Player of the Year Award: Remind us again why Richie McCaw was handed the 2009 award ahead of Fourie du Preez - the outstanding Bulls and Bok No.9 who helped the Bulls to the Super 14 title and the Currie Cup... the Boks to a series win over the B&I Lions and the 2009 Tri-Nations title? Anyone?! Can anyone help?
(2) An extra trophy cabinet: For SARU. It might have been boring - according to some... and they might have lost more than they won at the end of the year, but which country currently holds the World Cup, Tri-Nations, the Super 14 and the IRB Sevens World Series trophies - not to mention the Freedom Cup and Mandela Plate too? (Answers on a postcard please!)
(3) One-way tickets (back) to South Africa: For CJ van der Linde, Jean de Villiers and Frans Steyn - come on chaps, all those Euros can't you warm during these cold winter months? Can they?
(4) A time machine - (like the one in Back to the Future): Maybe then B&I Lions flyhalf Ronan O'Gara can travel back in time to the afternoon of June 27, 2009 (to Loftus Verself in Pretoria). Maybe then he would kick the ball OUT instead of launching a directionless up-'n-under and then taking out Fourie du Preez in the air - and, thereby, concede the series-clinching penalty to the Boks.
(5) A victory: For the 2009 Springbok midweek team... How about a fixture against a National League Division Three in June next year, guys? Surely that's a done deal? Keen chaps? (Heck, we'll even pay for the travel and accommodation costs!)
(6) Tiger Woods's phone number: For our big chum Joost van der Westhuizen - Joost, if you think you've had a tough year, give Tiger a shout... it's been a bit tougher (and way more scandal-fuelled) for America's former Sweetheart.
(7) The Story of the Rugby World Cup 1995 (available on Amazon - click here): For Clint Eastwood and his Invictus mob. Maybe then they will realise just how much of the '95 World Cup story they actually missed - a case in point, where was any mention of the 'Battle of Boet Erasmus'? Did James Small really make a daring run, handing off all and sundry during extra-time? And was Balie Swart actually an overweight Aussie?
(8) A measuring tape: Right then, with Jerry Collins and Chris Masoe off the international scene - just who owns the biggest set of biceps in Test rugby at present? Young 'Bam-Bam' (Australia's David Pocock) challenges strongly. Then there is Springbok powerhouse Pierre Spies, Wales back row Andy Powell, Samoan No.8 Henry Tuilagi - take your pick!
(9) An English-Afrikaans dictionary: For the Ireland backline. Of course, the forwards are already fluent in Afrikaans - thanks Gert - so now the backs need to catch up, too. Baie dankie.
(10) An uninjured First XV for the 2010 Six Nations: To England coach (or manager - whatever they are called these days!) Martin Johnson who missed basically an entire first-choice team during the autumn internationals. Just off the top of our heads, the following players were unavailable for all three England Tests in November: Sheridan, Mears, Vickery, White, Rees, Easter, Ellis, Cipriani, Flood, Flutey, Tindall and Armitage (D).
(11) Consistency: Famous 9-8 victors over the Wallabies the week before (thanks, it must be said to Matt Giteau's missed conversion), Scotland were expected (or that should that be, 'It was hoped!') to put their Argentina bogey behind them the following week - only for them to be on the wrong end of a '9' themselves as crashed to a 6-9 defeat to the Pumas. Let's not be too harsh, now, the Scots are on an upward curve under Andy Robinson, but they need consistency if they are to challenge the top rugby nations on a more consistent basis. Whilst on the topic of consistency - if someone in Dublin (to be exact, in Huguenot House) reads this; how about some consistency when it comes to citings for foul play?!
(12) A copy of the Ten Commandments: You know the Ten Commandments, right? Though shall not steal, or harm thy neighbour, etc? Well, the Australian Rugby Union could do well to drop a copy of 'what's right and what's wrong' in all their players' Christmas stockings for 2010. Food fights, alleged break-ins, assault charges, drinking and gambling - just another year in... Australian rugby.
(13) A copy of Simon Shaw's book, 'The Hard Yards': For any aspiring international rugby player. This guy, incredibly, has been playing Test rugby since, wait for it - 1996. He had to wait over 10 years for his 50th Test appearance and first Lions cap, yet, he just kept on, well, doing the hard yards! A true rugby servant and a brave one, too - after all, not many have given it to Sir Clive Woodward and survived! Then again, unlike Richard Cockerill, he did his write his book well after Sir Clive stepped down as England coach.
(14) A refund: Signing Dan Carter was probably Perpignan's shrewdest move yet as they went about chasing that elusive Top 14 title. Well, they signed him and promptly won the 2008/09 Top 14 title... except they did it all without Carter who played just five matches for the Catalan club before rupturing his Achilles Tendon against Stade Français. It was all very unlucky - but it proves one thing; whilst the All Blacks cannot do without Dan Carter, Perpignan certainly can!
(15) This last one is a personal one - from Team Rugby365: We want more Twitter followers! Simple as that! At last count we were on 496 followers; not bad, hey?! Erm - not quite, compare that to some of the rugby folks on this social networking phenomenan: Os du Randt - 1641 (osdurandt), James Haskell - 4814 (jameshaskell), John Smit - 2059 (JohnSmit123), Victor Matfield - 3576 (VictorMatfield), Morné Steyn - 1198 (mornesteyn), Lote Tuqiri - 3437 (LoteTuqiri) and Will Carling - 23952 (willcarling) - need we carry on? (By the way, you can follow us here: http://twitter.com/rugby365com - thanks!)
Who or what have we forgotten?! Send your Christmas presents list to rugby365@365digital.co.za or leave a comment BELOW!
By rugby365.com