McCaw blimey: Richie vein of form has revitalised Kiwis

McCaw blimey: Richie vein of form has revitalised Kiwis
GREG GROWDEN
22/08/2008 12:28:41 AM

This year's Tri Nations has rubber-stamped Richie McCaw as one of the great All Blacks. If, as expected, New Zealand win the tournament, they will have to thank their skipper, as he has completely reversed their fortunes since returning from injury. It has been easy to assess his impact. When he was on the sideline for the first two matches, the All Blacks looked all at sea against the Springboks and Wallabies, lacking direction and purpose and relying too heavily on Daniel Carter to keep their balance. But as soon as McCaw returned, the All Blacks were immediately on song. It is not surprising that New Zealand's convincing wins in both Auckland and Cape Town featured man-of-the-match performances by McCaw. No one has come near him in dominating the breakdown, pressuring the referee or work rate. No wonder opposing coaches - in particular the out-there Springboks mentor Peter de Villiers - regularly throw out the line that what McCaw does at the breakdown must be illegal. It may be at times, but his domination has more to do with the simple fact that he is just too good.


Funniest clips
Beware Wallabies with hair clippers. Drew Mitchell arrived at Wallabies training last week with his locks shorn - courtesy of Matt Giteau, who had attacked his skull on the bus ride to the ground. Mitchell retaliated by hiding a cordless set of clippers in his training bag and taking a chunk out of Giteau's hair as they travelled to training in Cape Town. Explaining his new extreme look, Mitchell said: "I've had the same sort of a look for a while, and my new beard is probably more of an attempt to look tougher. I'm not sure how the beard's going ... It looks more like a helmet strap." It does. It looks like an old leather motorcycle helmet strap. It wouldn't be surprising if it is shaved off by the time Saturday's Test comes around. And the secret to Berrick Barnes's effective, low-to-the-ground tackling style? His time at the Brisbane Broncos trying to knock down Shane Webcke. "Every Friday I'd try to knock him over. He would just stand there, block me, and I'd fall on my arse," Barnes said.


Give that man a prize
One of the more revealing club lunches will be held on August 29, when, at the Rugby Club, Warringah will stage "an informal rugby judicial hearing for all Rats supporters to finally investigate 'Who broke Sir Clive's jaw?"' The luncheon will focus on the infamous incident in 1985, when Clive Woodward arrived from England to play for Manly. In his second club match, against Warringah, he had his jaw broken by a well-known enforcer. The culprit, in the words of Sir Clive, was, "Well, let's say he's a well-known Australian rugby union and rugby league player." Up for auction will be the answer to the question, placed in a sealed envelope.


Cox pair set standard
The most dedicated Sydney club fans must be former Wallaby Brian Cox and his wife Judy, who have been watching Manly matches from fourth grade to firsts for well over 50 years. The parents of renowned footballers Mitchell and Phillip are not just Manly Oval regulars, but also head to the backblocks to see all of the club's away games. That's dedication. And what's with former ARU chairmen and wine? First David Clarke and now Dilip Kumar have become wine-makers. Kumar has begun developing some cheeky numbers at Dimbulla Estate in Pokolbin.


Man and Roy
With Australian rugby mourning the loss of colourful former Wallaby Roy Prosser, it is timely to recall that an important person in his development was his father - a showman and professional boxer who was involved in bare-knuckle bouts in tents around the NSW country areas. The money his father earned from these bouts was used to send Roy to Newington College, where he developed as a footballer. And before heading to Queensland, the gregarious Prosser became a magnet for other players joining Northern Suburbs. So many illustrious Norths players, including numerous Test representatives, stated that they joined the club because, "If Roy's there, then we know we're in for a good time."


Rumour of the week
Who was the tired and emotional official who carefully avoided certain people at a club match last Saturday because he had again clearly been "out to lunch"?


Source: http://www.rugbyheaven.com.au/articl...8/08/21/121926 ...


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