Good Rugby Reads

red terror

+ 5
-39
 
Combined +/- is -34.

SammyC

I quite enjoyed this article
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/10/14/the-rugby-world-cup-stats-they-dont-show-you-on-tv'>http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/10/14/the-rugby-world-cup-stats-they-dont-show-you-on-tv</a>

taniwharugby

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="528342" data-time="1444941312">
<div>
I quite enjoyed this article
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/10/14/the-rugby-world-cup-stats-they-dont-show-you-on-tv'>http://www.theroar.com.au/2015/10/14/the-rugby-world-cup-stats-they-dont-show-you-on-tv</a>
</div>
</blockquote>
 
The best TOW/T team is New Zealand. In an amazing nine per cent of tackles, the All Blacks have won turnovers. This is one reason it is so difficult to build momentum against them if it takes more than a couple of phases. Wales, 8.4 per cent, and Ireland, 7.6 per cent, are also high on the TOW/T chart. The least productive in TOW/T? Scotland (3.9 per cent).

SammyC

it's interesting to see that stat, because watching the games I always thought the other teams go for the turnover a lot more.
 
We seem to stand back and fan out, and pick our moments to contest. 
 
How wrong I was

KiwiMurph

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="528367" data-time="1444946560">
<div>
it's interesting to see that stat, because watching the games I always thought the other teams go for the turnover a lot more.
 
We seem to stand back and fan out, and pick our moments to contest. 
 
How wrong I was
</div>
</blockquote>
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
 
Sam Cane, McCaw's understudy in the seven jersey, explained the reason for the skipper's absence on the turnover list was the All Blacks not trying for turnovers in the first place.
 
Coach Steve Hansen has said throughout the tournament the All Blacks were using the first four matches to rehearse scenarios they will likely face when the tournament is into the knockout phase.
Hansen has put a curb on kicking for territory as one way of putting pressure on themselves and Cane revealed they were also testing new defensive strategies.
"We can vary how we want to defend," he said.
"You will see in a lot of pool play we're not contesting rucks a lot but we're putting teams under pressure through our line speed and physicality that way forcing teams into errors and trying to cut down their time and space.
"We can change that because obviously we've got guys who are good (at the breakdown) as well so it's just depending on the opposition that we're playing as to how often we try and contest the breakdown."
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://tenplay.com.au/news/2015/10/13/all-blacks-say-lack-of-turnovers-part-of-their-plan '>http://tenplay.com.au/news/2015/10/13/all-blacks-say-lack-of-turnovers-part-of-their-plan </a>
</blockquote>

taniwharugby

so they are still going for (and getting) turnovers, just not the more traditional way that is visible and easier to quantify (as a fan just watching)

Immenso Rapido

Depends what the data source they used for their stats analysis - on how they define what is a turnover. It isn't always consistent. 
That was the most glaring stat that doesn't equate to eyeball evidence. 
Therefore did turnovers also include knock-ons coughing up possession etc? Held up mauls resulting in opposition scrum feeds. Etc. Or is it reduced simply and only to Pocock style jackaling?

MiketheSnow

Barnes must have had a memory wipe to erase the two very different WC warm up matches against England
 
<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote">
 
<div>
<div>
If Dan Carterâ€™s game is as inaccurate as his observations on France, Philippe Saint-Andreâ€™s team could just have the ghost of a chance once again in a Cardiff World Cup quarter-final. According to Carter, France â€œcan be poor one week and awesome the nextâ€. No they canâ€™t, Daniel.
 
This is the worst France team of the professional era. The results leading into the World Cup showed Saint-Andreâ€™s winning record at a pathetic 42.5 per cent, it showed France up as a bottom-half Six Nations side in the past four years. Three fourth places and one ignominious sixth place two years ago. France are a clichÃ©, not a force.
 
I can remember France being good against Australia a few years ago but â€œawesomeâ€? Forget it. Of Saint-Andreâ€™s 17 wins in the lead-up to this tournament, eight of them had been against the combined might of Italy and Scotland, their Six Nations lower-tier colleagues, with another one each against the three Pacific nations.
 
As for Carterâ€™s claim that â€œthe French can beat anyone on their dayâ€, well, they havenâ€™t beaten New Zealand on any of the four occasions since the last World Cup final. The All Blacks have won their past eight consecutive clashes. It is true that, even so, France have a good record against the All Blacks compared with the rest of Europe, but that is more to do with Kiwi dominance than a secret French recipe for beating them.
 
New Zealand were fortunate in the final in 2011, but nerves and a crisis at fly half were as much the reason for the narrow margin as Gallic genius. Carter is right to have dismissed 2007 memories, these are â€œfor the public and the press . . . itâ€™s [New Zealand] a new teamâ€. Heâ€™s not the only player to have noted the fact. Thierry Dusautoir, magnificent in the 2007 and 2011 games, admitted this week: â€œIt was a different context in 2007 and a different team.â€
 
And a different coach; Saint-Andreâ€™s appalling tenure in terms of results and performance will come to an end tomorrow night, an end that should have come earlier had France been realistic about winning the World Cup. Instead, Serge Blanco, the man who appointed him while busy sinking Biarritz, his club, was recalled to assist the former France wing. Only the French could be quite this obtuse.
 
Is it any wonder that the rugby journalists from the land that gave us liberty, equality and fraternity are screaming for revolution on the part of the players? The head coachâ€™s analysis of the hammering at the hands of Ireland is indicative of the delusional thinking that has scarred his regime. This France team have bulk. They are picked to bash. Yet in the aftermath of last Sundayâ€™s defeat by Ireland, Saint-Andre said: â€œThe only thing that worried me is that in the last 20 minutes we were no longer able to make the right decisions.â€
 
The last 20 minutes are the ones when the lungs of half the team not replaced start to burn and when the fresh additions have to settle quickly into the system. If there is not an adequate system for the players to adopt, chaos will reign. Whereas Ireland were attuned to the nth degree, the France players were a rabble, unaware of any particular system except a tenuous demand for â€œpatienceâ€ from their head coach.
 
After four years of failure and a series of selections that have made France ever more ponderous, Saint-Andreâ€™s only demand is for â€œpatienceâ€. It is one of those words adopted by people who have run out of any new ideas. You will hear former players talking of the need for patience, to recycle the ball, to â€œgo through the phasesâ€. â€œGoing through the phrasesâ€ more like; teams cannot keep the ball forever. This is a Utopian dream, one beloved of coaches who believe that union can be made into rugby league without the sixth-tackle rule.
 
Size is one of the not so secret or subtle assets for the â€œpatienceâ€ devotees. None has been more trusting than Saint-Andre. Blessed with big men and a solid scrum, he has built his sandcastle around it and pretended that the 42.5 per cent winning ratio is down to any number of other factors other than his not so much flawed as non-philosophy.
 
France get heavier, turgid and less ambitious while New Zealand have focused on speed, dynamism and penetration instead of patience. Teams who are patient cannot afford many mistakes because it takes them so long to create an opening. Penetrative sides can throw the odd speculative pass to no one, knowing that the chance will come again.
 
Whereas Saint-Andre has seen his side slump, Steve Hansen, the New Zealand head coach, has been on the rise since 2011. The All Blacks have lost three times in 51 games. On average they lose one in every 17 games. At the moment they are on a five-match winning run. Defeat would be a statistical anomaly.
 
France folded in the most important final 20 minutes of their tournament against Ireland last Sunday. New Zealand found their best form against Argentina in the gameâ€™s last quarter. Saint-Andreâ€™s side hunt ploddingly for patience, Hansenâ€™s men a repeat of the pace and penetration that blew away an impressive-looking Argentina side. Carter will need the worst game of his life if France are to have the remotest chance of a 2007 repeat.
</div>
</div>
</blockquote>
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/rugbyunion/article4586993.ece'>http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/sport/rugbyunion/article4586993.ece</a>

Crucial

An analysis of where it went wrong for Ireland
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.the42.ie/ireland-defence-argentina-analysis-rwc-15-2398472-Oct2015/'>http://www.the42.ie/ireland-defence-argentina-analysis-rwc-15-2398472-Oct2015/</a>
 
and BODs take
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.the42.ie/brian-odriscoll-argentina-ireland-2398687-Oct2015/'>http://www.the42.ie/brian-odriscoll-argentina-ireland-2398687-Oct2015/</a>

SammyC

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/24104/brendan-gallagher-this-golden-generation-of-pumas-will-top-the-world/'>http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/24104/brendan-gallagher-this-golden-generation-of-pumas-will-top-the-world/</a>
 
good article on the Argentina setup

NTA

Reading Michael Lynagh's "Blindsided" at the moment in fits and starts. Starts off dealing with his stroke, then talks about rugby a lot.
 
The man was fucking paranoid about goal kicking it would seem, and pretty self-effacing besides. Some good quotes in there from Grant Fox and others, and the mental side of kicking goal in rugby.

reprobate

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="SammyC" data-cid="531476" data-time="1445308388">
<div>
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/24104/brendan-gallagher-this-golden-generation-of-pumas-will-top-the-world/'>http://www.therugbypaper.co.uk/features/columnists/brendan-gallagher/24104/brendan-gallagher-this-golden-generation-of-pumas-will-top-the-world/</a>
 
good article on the Argentina setup
</div>
</blockquote>
shit i knew they were young, didn't realise quite how young.

KiwiPie

On the South Africa - New Zealand rivalry
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/23/new-zealand-south-africa-rugby-greatest-rivalry'>http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/23/new-zealand-south-africa-rugby-greatest-rivalry</a>

Nepia

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="reprobate" data-cid="531702" data-time="1445342738">
<div>
shit i knew they were young, didn't realise quite how young.
</div>
</blockquote>
I had no idea that Cordero was younger than Montero - that's two bloody good wings they have there.
 
I'm looking forward to getting over the Argentina for a RC game in the next few years.
 
Interesting to note that Gallagher has the ability to write when he chooses not to troll or be a whiny bitch.

dejo

<blockquote class="ipsBlockquote" data-author="KiwiPie" data-cid="532870" data-time="1445624837">
<div>
On the South Africa - New Zealand rivalry
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/23/new-zealand-south-africa-rugby-greatest-rivalry'>http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/23/new-zealand-south-africa-rugby-greatest-rivalry</a>
</div>
</blockquote>
great read

Laney

A nice piece about Argentina's coach Hourcade and their development in the past couple of years. 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/23/argentina-daniel-hourcade-rugby-world-cup-australia'>http://www.theguardian.com/sport/blog/2015/oct/23/argentina-daniel-hourcade-rugby-world-cup-australia</a>

JC

Will Greenwood on the ABs diamond formation.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/newzealand/11950814/South-Africa-vs-New-Zealand-Diamonds-make-All-Blacks-better-than-the-rest-and-why-theyre-World-Cup-favourites.html'>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/newzealand/11950814/South-Africa-vs-New-Zealand-Diamonds-make-All-Blacks-better-than-the-rest-and-why-theyre-World-Cup-favourites.html</a>

SammyC

<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/rugby-world-cup/11953484/South-Africa-18-New-Zealand-20-Five-aspects-that-underpinned-epic-All-Blacks-win.html'>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/rugby-world-cup/11953484/South-Africa-18-New-Zealand-20-Five-aspects-that-underpinned-epic-All-Blacks-win.html</a>

taniwharugby

not sure it quite qualifies as a good read, but I LOL'd in a couple of bits.
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/29-10-2015/sports-a-patriotic-heros-quest-to-survive-a-day-on-only-official-all-blacks-products/'>http://thespinoff.co.nz/29-10-2015/sports-a-patriotic-heros-quest-to-survive-a-day-on-only-official-all-blacks-products/</a>

Sports

A Patriotic Heroâ€™s Quest to Survive a Day on Only Official All Blacksâ„¢ Products

<div>

29 October 2015<span>/ </span><span>By <a  class="" href="http://thespinoff.co.nz/author/calum-henderson/" title="View all posts by Calum Henderson">Calum Henderson</a></span> </div>

<div>
In an attempt to bring good luck to our rugby team at this critical stage of the tournament, Calum Henderson spent an entire day in full brand immersion: surviving on and consuming only officially licensed All Blacksâ€™ products.
There once was a time when I cared deeply about the All Blacks. I was 10, and every time my parents filled the car up with petrol they would bring back a sturdy plastic figurine of Olo Brown or Frank Bunce or â€“ this was possibly the happiest moment of my childhood â€“ Jeff Wilson. I fell asleep during extra time of the 1995 World Cup final. When I awoke to news that we had lost, something in me died forever.
Over time, a cold indifference towards our national team took hold and embedded itself deep in my psyche. During subsequent World Cups I have even allowed myself to entertain the perverse idea that it would be good or funny if the All Blacks lost.
It never was.
I wanted to regain that pure and essential passion for the fern. The fast track solution seemed obvious â€“ I had to fully immerse myself in the brand. There seemed to be All Blacks everything these days. If you were to believe the naysayers, they had sold out from their rockâ€™nâ€™roll roots; commercialism had gone mad.
I pictured myself living lavishly, diving like Scrooge McDuck into a bottomless pile of food and beverages all proudly emblazoned with the trademarked silver fern logo. I went to the supermarket on my way home from work on Friday and bought every All Blacks branded product I could find. The following day I set out on a courageous journey, to find out what it was like to live as an All Black, and consume only Officially Licensed All Blacksâ„¢ products.
8am
Saturday dawned as grey as the All Blacksâ€™ cursed jersey from 2007. It was raining outside, and cold inside. No birds were singing on the trees and power lines of Mt Eden. The first thing I thought when I opened my eyes was: what if we lose the rugby? Restless, I got up and brewed a plunger of ASB Bankâ€™s free â€˜ABS Blendâ€™ coffee.
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Screen-shot-2015-10-28-at-12.15.31-PM.jpg'><img height="505" src="http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Screen-shot-2015-10-28-at-12.15.31-PM.jpg" width="750" alt="Screen-shot-2015-10-28-at-12.15.31-PM.jp"></a>
I hadnâ€™t told my girlfriend about my plan. Mostly, I was embarrassed, but part of me also wondered if she would even notice. For all she knew this was just an ordinary Saturday, and I was bringing her coffee in bed out of the kindness of my own heart.
A few minutes later I returned and leaned casually against the door frame. I asked, â€œwhat do you think of the coffee?â€ Good normal conversation starter. A totally innocuous question I probably ask all the time. She thought for a second.
â€œIt smells quite bad but it tastes quite nice. What kind is it?â€
â€œAll Blacks,â€ I beamed.
â€œAre you serious.â€
â€œIt was free, the bank just gave it to me.â€
â€œOK.â€
I thought Iâ€˜d gotten away with it, but it didnâ€™t last long. A few minutes later I received a breakfast enquiry:
â€œDo we have any toast?â€
â€œNoâ€¦â€ (how is there no All Blacks bread?!)
â€œWhat do we have then?â€
â€œWeetbix.â€
â€œWhy do we have Weetbix?â€
â€œItâ€™s what the All Blacks eat.â€
â€œDid you actually buy Weetbix.â€
â€œYes?â€
â€œâ€¦Did you only buy All Blacks things?â€
Ah shit.
â€œYesâ€¦â€
â€œDid you buy the milk?â€
â€œYes.â€
A long, disapproving silence followed.
â€œAre you writing a story about this?â€
â€œMaybe?â€
â€œHow much did all this shit cost?â€
I hadnâ€™t kept the receipt, but the sum of my All Blacks supermarket shopping spree was around $50. Less than I expected. This is every single All Blacks branded product available at Eden Quarter Countdown on the eve of our national rugby teamâ€™s most important game in four years:
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151023_191806-1.jpg'><img height="491" src="http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151023_191806-1.jpg" width="750" alt="20151023_191806-1.jpg"></a>
â€“ Whittakerâ€™s Peanut Slab (3-pack)
â€“ Anchor Blue Milk (1.5L)
â€“ Weetbix (750g box)
â€“ New Zealand Kettle Korn (1 bag)
â€“ All Blacks Micro-Figures (3)
â€“ Powerade Black Storm (750ml)
â€“ Steinlager All Blacks 2015 Edition Beer (12-pack, cans)
â€“ Treasures All Blacks Rugby Nappy Prints
I didnâ€™t buy the nappies, and I drunk the Powerade in an uncontrollable thirst as soon as I got home from the supermarket. But I had everything else.
9am
I felt deeply and rightfully ashamed of my bad shopping. I decided to cheer myself up by opening my All Blacks micro-figures, â€œrecommended for children 4 years and older.â€ Secretly, this was a huge thrill. Who would I get? I prayed for Wyatt Crockett.
My first one was Ben Smith. I could tell this only from the â€˜B. SMITHâ€™ on the back of his unnumbered All Blacks shirt. The micro-figureâ€™s squashed, cartoonish face and plastic hair could never hope to capture the gentle features of the willowy Otago fullback. It looked more like Beauden Barrett.
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151028_073916-2.jpg'><img height="501" src="http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151028_073916-2.jpg" width="750" alt="20151028_073916-2.jpg"></a>
My other two were â€˜MEALAMUâ€™ and â€˜COLESâ€™. Their likenesses were much more accurate, let down only by the white boots they had been given by the manufacturer. Still, it felt good knowing I had so much hooking power to complement my dynamic fullback. It felt I could be holding the keys to the game.
10am
Opening my box of Weetbix, I was heartened to find Sanitarium are still challenging its consumers with the slogan â€˜How many can you do?â€™ As a youngster I always found it massively empowering to know that I could â€˜doâ€™ at least as many Weetbix as an All Black, if not more.
I ate as many Weetbix as the bowl could hold. 5 whole biscuits. In sporting terms this would be considered â€˜playing within myselfâ€™ â€“ I could have eaten many more.
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151024_104649.jpg'><img height="451" src="http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151024_104649.jpg" width="750" alt="20151024_104649.jpg"></a>
I doused the Weetbix in a thick, paint-like coat of fresh Anchor blue milk. I had chosen a bottle with the number 9 on it in honour of Aaron Smith. I love the way he celebrates a turnover as passionately as a try, that he squats like a weightlifter and screams in a teammateâ€™s face to express his sheer joy at either one of these outcomes. The bottleâ€™s muscular black design seemed, in some abstract way, to embody Aaron Smithâ€™s unique spirit.
Eating my Weetbix â€“ trying to maximise that sweet spot once the milk has absorbed into the biscuits but before they turn to slop â€“ I began to feel dangerously excited for The Big Game.
12pm
By lunchtime I had eaten everything except for one Peanut Slab and the bag of New Zealand Kettle Korn. What I thought would prove a feast was fast beginning to feel like the 40 Hour Famine. I grabbed the Kettle Korn and made it my lunch.
â€œWe are incredibly honoured to begin our relationship with NZ Rugby!â€ gushed the copy on the back of the bag. â€œThis limited edition bag is only the beginning,â€ it threatened, before wondering: â€œWhat does NZ Kettle Korn have in common with the All Blacks?â€ Very good question. â€œOne wordâ€¦ passion. We are very passionate about all things popcorn.â€
I shovelled the whole bag into my mouth while watching highlights of the previous weekendâ€™s quarter final demolition of France, pausing only to rewind and rewatch the most beautiful moment of the All Blacksâ€™ World Cup campaign so far â€“ the moment where Ben Smith leaps to gather a midfield bomb, and causes Justin Marshall to blurt out in a state of pure childlike astonishment: â€œWow he got it!â€
2pm
Warming to â€“ or at least taking pity on â€“ my patriotic quest, my girlfriend suggested going to something called â€˜Olafâ€™s,â€™ where they had apparently made â€œspecial black bread.â€ This sounded like unofficial, unlicensed, rogue piggybacking on the sacred All Blacks brand. I didnâ€™t want to go to Olafâ€™s.
I wanted to keep watching All Blacks highlights, to fully immerse myself in New Zealandâ€™s rich and proud rugby culture until I could burst with anticipation for the morningâ€™s game. I also wanted to drink an ice cold Steinlager from a beautiful white can.
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151024_190114-1.jpg'><img height="373" src="http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151024_190114-1.jpg" width="750" alt="20151024_190114-1.jpg"></a>
I took my box of beers around to my friend Josephâ€™s house and he plugged his laptop into the TV. We were overwhelmed by choice â€“ hours of highlights and fan videos and rugby ephemera lay before us. Where to start?
 
<div></div>
 
A search for â€œjohn kirwanâ€ instantly conjured a supercut of the flying wingerâ€™s greatest tries, set to Heroes by David Bowie. Incredibly powerful stuff. We watched highlights of the All Blacksâ€™ undefeated 2013 season set to the soundtrack to The Matrix. A black and white Dan Carter video set to Coldplayâ€™s The Scientist, which felt like it was made to be played at his funeral. Incredibly, there was even a video tribute to Richard Loe, set to Bad to the Bone by George Thorogood.
 
<div></div>
 
It went on like this for hours. We went provincial: <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='

'>Jeff Wilsonâ€™s 11 best tries for Otago</a>, <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='

'>Andrew Mehrtens doing the fingers</a>, <a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='

'>Eric Rush flattening Zinzan Brooke off the ball straight from the kickoff</a>. Time dissolved away in the sugary bubbles of Steinlager from a white can. It was a great afternoon.
At one point I requested we watch the video for Can You Hear Us, Neil Finnâ€™s plaintive and ultimately doomed anthem for the All Blacksâ€™ 1999 World Cup campaign. The video shows a family getting up in the middle of the night to cheer on the team, joined by friends â€“ some of them quite famous (April Ieremia!) â€“ who all gather around the CRT television. Right before kick-off, thereâ€™s a knock at the door, and the young boy goes to answer it. Standing there are Fitzy, Joe Stanley and John Kirwan. The boy is stunned. Itâ€™s some of the best acting youâ€™ll ever see.
 
<div></div>
 
Something about this incredibly corny scene caught me off guard. There was a lump in my throat. I was feeling a reemergence of a passion for the All Blacks that had been lying dormant in me since around the 1995 World Cup final. For the first time in decades I desperately wanted us to win. It was becoming all I could think about.
8pm
I was getting too rarked up. I needed some fresh air, and after six beers, probably some food. My girlfriend, by this point possibly more enthusiastic about my dumb quest than I was, suggested we go to Wendyâ€™s so I could intrepidly eat their black burger, the â€˜Kiwi Classicâ€™. I was reluctant, for the same reasons I had flatly refused to go to Olafâ€™s earlier in the day. But what other options did I have? A bowl of Weetbix, a litre of milk and a Peanut Slab. We went to Wendyâ€™s.
To put it simply, the Kiwi Classic was a disgrace. It was obvious that it wasnâ€™t an officially licensed product. The black brioche bun was more of a granite grey. The egg was revolting. The lettuce, a joke.
No All Black would ever eat this:
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151024_202828-1.jpg'><img height="561" src="http://thespinoff.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/20151024_202828-1.jpg" width="750" alt="20151024_202828-1.jpg"></a>
By consuming an unlicensed product I had failed in my attempt to live a day of All Blacks branded purity. Back at home, trying to suppress hideous Kiwi Classic burps, I began to worry â€“ had I cursed Richie and the boys?
4am
My alarm went off at 3:45am. By 3:50am I was boiling the jug and lumping two heaped tablespoons of ABS Blend coffee into the plunger. I had to make amends, to repent, to seek forgiveness from the official sponsors.
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I chain-drank a full plunger of ABs Blend coffee during the first half. It was strong and bracing and as black as the abyss the nation would fall into if the All Blacks lost. I remembered 1995 and 1999 and 2003 and 2007. All over New Zealand people were doing the exact same thing. We belonged.
Men who are faced with little immediate inequality or oppression in their lives have been known to fill that void with referees. When JÃ©rÃ´me GarcÃ¨s sent Jerome Kaino to the sin bin just before halftime for accidentally kicking the ball away or whatever bullshit reason, I hit the roof. We were going to lose.
As halftime was whistled I was still shaking with fury. It was starting to feel just like all those other times we had lost at the World Cup. I got up and brewed a fresh batch of coffee. The front of the milk bottle bore some timely, if not necessarily true advice: â€œPossession is Everythingâ€. On the back, an ambitious 100-word essay entitled â€˜Farming All Blacksâ€™.
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Nothing makes a sporting victory sweeter than overcoming the perceived treachery of a crooked ref. When Maâ€™a Nonu put Beauden Barrett over in the corner, giving the All Blacks a lead they would never surrender, I instinctively leapt from the couch and all my anger and nervous energy was released in the form of a violent, primal dance.
I clutched my Ben Smith micro-figure like a tiny plastic talisman as the All Blacks desperately defended their fragile lead. Was it mere coincidence that he would later be voted the MasterCard Man of the Match?
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As the final whistle rang out around Twickenham, most of the All Blacks fell into each otherâ€™s arms in joy and relief. Aaron Smith stomped and roared like a Tyrannosaurus Rex. I took one final sip of now-cold coffee, clenched my shaking fist and quietly whispered: â€œyes.â€
One more week. One more game.
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KiwiPie

This article could spark a whole thread by itself
 
<a data-ipb='nomediaparse' href='http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/oct/29/new-zealand-best-all-blacks-history'>http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2015/oct/29/new-zealand-best-all-blacks-history</a>

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