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Friday, October 02, 2009
Quarantine the rot, before it's too late...
It's been ages since my last rugby update, but travel and work deadlines have meant rugby viewing has been tight, and mostly too tight to blog. In the past month the Pumas of Argentina received a preliminary green light into the Tri-Nations, and the Springboks kept their claws on all the major prizes by claiming that same tournaments' 2009 championship. Congrats to them. I'd say more, but thankfully, Peter Bills at The Independent (U.K.) said so much of what's on the minds of many rugby fans two weeks ago that his commentary is worth tip-toeing around copyright infringement and re-printing in full. Bold emphasis mine:
Rugby retreats into tedium
By Peter Bills The Independent Tuesday, 22 September 2009
Abe Lincoln, that well known sporting coach and occasional US President, knew a thing or two about how to draw a crowd and keep 'em coming back for more.
How else to explain Lincoln's immortal line, "It is true that you may fool all of the people some of the time, you can even fool some of the people all of the time; but you can't fool all of the people all of the time."
How rugby football needs to digest carefully those words at a time when the supporter's currency is in so much demand from a variety of sports. For inexorably, before our weary eyes at the very time when supreme entertainment ought to be of paramount importance the world over especially for television, rugby union is retreating, drawing back to the type of kicking fest that persuaded a whole cluster of international coaches, players and officials to ask the IRB to re-examine the laws back in 2002.
That was seven years ago and, apart from the odd tinkering such as allowing players to take quick throw-ins and using touch judges as assistant referees, nothing much has changed. The ELVs have come and gone, killed off by the votes of the northern hemisphere countries who refused even to trial the most relevant of them. There's democracy at work for you, but already, some who rubbished the ELVs are now complaining at the nonsense being served up. Sorry boys, you should have thought of that before you closed your eyes and minds to a different approach.
But if ever a weekend exemplified rugby's growing problem of boring, penalty ridden matches and mindless kicking dictating and deciding games, it was this last one.
Much of the 2009 Tri-Nations, which concluded this last weekend, has been one long boring boot-in. The South Africans, undeniably the No 1 team in the world, used their formidable power chiefly to bludgeon the opposition into submission. Only in Perth, where they used the ball to attack a makeshift Australian back line, did they deign to expand their play. Otherwise, Morne Steyn, their fly half, kicked the bejaysus out of the ball and used their heavyweight pack to set up victories.
In England this last weekend, they opened a sparkling new stand at Leicester and drew the corporates in by the thousands. Alas, those who are new to rugby tend to lose interest at incessant goal kicking. 15-6 to Leicester over Newcastle, five penalties to two, which meant the English champions have now not scored a single try in over four hours of serious play.
This is not an exact science but in France, it was equally grim. Brive 12 Biarritz 15 (four penalties to four penalties and a drop goal), Castres 9 Racing Metro 6 (three penalties to two). In the modern game, defences reign, kicking decides.
In Marseilles on Sunday, in perfect conditions of warm sunshine and inviting surface, Toulouse chose a back line potentially without peer in contemporary world rugby for its speed and innovation: M Medard; V Clerc, F Fritz, Y Jauzion, C Heymans; F Michalak, J-P Elissalde.
Yet the biggest thrill for an alarming number of the 48,000 present was apparently to participate in the mindless Mexican wave. In one of the hospitality boxes, I noticed people's concentration steadily dissipating as Jonny Wilkinson lined up eight attempts at goal. He succeeded with six, three penalties and three drop goals, to win the game for his team, 18-13.
The match was virtually one long, grim act of trench warfare up front, most of it understood by only the specialists. What is this offering the so-called new audience the game is targetting?
The only decent rugby I saw the whole weekend was New Zealand's 15-man style which overwhelmed Australia in the last Tri-Nations game of the year. Forward power was used not as a means to an end but to expose physically overwhelmed opponents and service a back line freed up to attack hard, run straight and offer genuine entertainment.
Conversely, two examples from soccer are rather more than coincidental. At Marseilles on Saturday night, Olympique Marseille beat Montpellier 4-2 in a pulsating French League match. And in Manchester 24 hours later, United and City played out an English Premiership game that had entertainment dripping like rain from the rooftops.
Rugby union is approaching a crossroads here. It can either retreat into its specialist shell, as it appears to be doing, and say in effect to the floating punter, "If you don’t like our product, go elsewhere". Or it can continue to believe that those who currently fill so many of its grounds will always do so, no matter the fact that in reality, what they are being offered apart from the experience of the actual occasion, is a game of mind-numbing boredom. Either option is madness because a third factor will decide rugby's fate: television.
In France, TV executives are said to be dismayed by most of the rugby offered up. Canal Plus cameras have visited Brive three times thus far this season without seeing the home team score a single try. Expect viewing figures to start reflecting this poor fare sooner rather than later.
And when, not if, the great TV master begins to reduce his financial largesse, then predictably the professional game will hit most unpleasant turbulence.
Right now, with grounds full of people, rugby is in vogue and getting away with it. But the game is living a lie. There are, of course, occasional exceptions but too often, it is offering poor value entertainment. Yet when played at its best, with an attacking creed, pace and dynamism, it remains one of the best sports to watch.
You sense someone, somewhere in authority, had pretty soon better begin to start concerning themselves with this. Because the truth of Lincoln's words still hold good all these years later.
John Peel died five years ago, much too young. He would have been 70 years old on August 30th. I've been away a couple weeks hiking in the wilderness of Nova Scotia, so missed the anniversary. Earlier me and my pal Sean cobbled together a short film tribute, inspired by a JFK conspiracy hobbyist who was tracking down a lead about Peel attending Lee Harvey Oswald's midnight press conference on that fateful day in 1963. I interviewed Peel back in 1996 and got him talking about the experience, and that audio narrative informs the film and the clips we co-opted, borrowed, stole. So in the spirit of guerilla-style pirate radio from Peel's early days, here 'tis, enjoy!
I've been ridiculously busy with assignments & deadlines the past few months, far too many commitments and not enough time to sleep, so the blog has been sadly neglected of late. Things won't get better soon, 'cos I am now going bush for the next couple weeks to get some well-earned R&R. Normal blogging should (hopefully) resume when I return. Luckily for me, the quality of the rugby I've been watching hasn't been worth spending time writing about. It's been mostly rubbish.
. . . What you may not know, however, inside the cocoon that teams go into before big matches, is the rising damp of disillusionment that is eating at our passion for elite rugby.
We have had a gutful of watching marathon kick-fests, of seeing captains toss the ball to goal-kickers when arcane penalties are awarded 53 metres out. Of watching for two excruciating minutes the deadly dull vision of one bloke lining up and kicking the pig-skin while 29 blokes stand around, no doubt as bored as we are. And doing it all game - again and again and again.
In general play we no longer want to see two tactics - the "up" and the "under". We despair when teams take kicking tips from the Swans. This season there has been more wretched kicking than ever. It is getting to the point where even hard-core fans are turning their cauliflower ears and puffy eyes away in disgust.
But, say what? You players are professionals who play as ruthlessly as possible to win - everything else can go to hell?
That would be fine, 'cept we are the paying public who ultimately provide your wages. If the disillusionment continues, that is exactly where the game will go.
Yes, we know the Springboks have made an art form of winning in this way. But that's the point. The Wallabies and All Blacks are better than that! In bursts this year, you've turned on scintillating running rugby that has thrilled us for minutes at a time. You're capable of playing a Match for the Ages, with stories we will tell and retell as the days grow cold and we grow old. Like it used to be …
So here's the plea. In rugby's ancient history, which is to say before it turned professional in 1995, teams could sometimes enter into unofficial compacts, whereby it would be broadly agreed the game was the thing and running rugby was the most joyous way to play and exactly what the crowd wanted. The glory of the whole Barbarians tradition rests upon it.
Can't you, just maybe, revive that compact tonight? For the good of the game?
It can't work if only one team embraces it. But if you both engage to play the game the way it was meant to be played - to run it - you'll be knocked out by the reception. We'll know whether you're up for it the first time a penalty is awarded 50 metres out. I say 80,000 people, and millions at home, will cheer or jeer the decision. So run the ball as if the future of the game depends on it. Because it does.
IRB unveils new Americas tournament; October final in Toronto
[Updated below.]
IRB unveils new Americas tournament
15th July 2009
The ARC is a key component of the IRB's Strategic Investment Programme, which includes significant investment in USA, Canada and Argentina.
The new tournament features six teams, including four provincial sides from Canada joined by the Argentina Jaguars and USA 'A'.
The format unites Rugby in North and South America in a high performance sub-international structure for the first time.
"The Americas Rugby Championship is a huge step forward for elite Rugby in North and South America," said Mark Egan, IRB Head of Development and Performance.
"Canada, USA and Argentina are priority Unions for our High Performance investment programme and their domestic based players and coaches require a tournament format that exposes them to high level cross border competition on a more regular basis."
"The tournament is currently structured to primarily focus on our High Performance Unions in the Region, however, it is hoped that it will expand over time to include other countries such as Uruguay, Chile, Mexico and Brazil."
Canadian Regional teams Atlantic, Ontario, Prairies and British Columbia will re-ignite traditional rivalries in a round robin pool taking place in September. The top four will qualify for the semi-finals held on October 10, with the finals taking place on October 17 in Toronto.
"The ARC competition is key to developing the link between our domestic rugby structure and our national team program. The competition will provide our domestic based athletes with high performance structures and competition pathways that will be used to strengthen our domestic player base on a annualized basis," said Graham Brown, Rugby Canada Chief Executive Officer.
Nigel Melville, USA Rugby Chief Executive, said: "The ARC will provide Eagles head coach Eddie O'Sullivan and his coaches with an opportunity to observe and work with domestically based potential Eagles players prior to the important November international window. The introduction of Argentina and possible expansion to include other teams in the future is an exciting expansion of our cross border aspirations for the event."
I'm not sure how this impacts Argentina's long-rumoured foray into Sanzar competitions, but I've been urging the IRB to get North & South America into some sort of regular competition for the past decade.
Kinda weird how it's four teams from Canada and only one from each of the USA and Argentina, however. I would have believed the Argies were well in advance of Canada, and USA at a similar level to Canada. Will have to wait and see how it transpires.
I'm also puzzled about the calendar. A final in Toronto in the latter half of October is a nail biter. Snow typically doesn't come that way until late-November or December, but it's snowed in late October there before, and regardless will have a chill in the air. That's why Canada usually had it's international test program during the summer months of June to August.
It will be cool to see it expand to additional South American nations, as outlined.
Update:
The above report comes directly from the IRB, and it's piss-poor confusion. I've been seeking clarification, but none forthcoming so far. I am guessing that USA 'A" and Argie Jags get automatic berths into the final 4, and the four Canadian teams do a round-robin to determine their two qualifiers. I'm guessing the Americans and Jags contest one semi, to gurantee a Canadian finalist. If that's the case, then the Canadian finalist will have played four matches to qualify, and the other finalist possibly just a single game (?). I dunno, your guess is as good as mine.
This year's Tri-Nations tournament kicks off Saturday (wee hours of the morning up here) at Eden Park, where the upstart Australia Wallabies meet the defending champion hosts New Zealand All Blacks.
Bartman at The Silver Fern examines the history, and looks for portends:
Tri Nations train spotting
Tri Nations time, and it's been around for a while now, since 1996 in fact, so lets have a look at t a few of the fact and figures since its inception last century. AS we all know, the All Blacks have been dominant over the 13 series so far. And we'll dwell on this fact for a while, as this season could be an aberration, and the trophy might get carried off to foreign shores... But we won't dwell on that too long, the foreign shores thing. Lets instead look at the 9 series wins from 13 starts for the All Blacks!!
[...]
So what do all these facts and figures tell us leading into the 2009 series? Basically, Didly squat! It does tell us though that during the reign of King Henry the All Blacks have been pretty hard to beat at Tri Nations time, Australia are always the bridesmaids, the the Boers, it's all or nothing!!
Last Saturday, July 4th Independence Day, Canada fell to USA in World Cup qualifying, played in 100 degree heat in the welter of a humid South Carolina summer, by a score of 12-6.
That test was carried on ESPN until half-time, when the murder of ex-Titans quarterback Steve McNair broke and became their main priority, and the test match got bumped to ESPN2. TSN in Canada, carrying the qualifier for free, televised the whole test, their first rugby broadcast on that network in probably a decade.
The winner of the RWC Americas 1 qualifier would be comprised of a cumulative (or as the soccer folk say, "aggregate") score over a two-test home-and-away series.
The rubber match was yesterday in Edmonton, and Canada not only had to win, they had to win by at least six points to cover their defecit.
(Sadly, the ball got dropped, and neither ESPN or TSN, nor any other networks, picked up the return rubber-match played in Edmonton for broadcast. Some of us tried to view via a live stream of the match, but the audio-video quality was dodgy, to say the least.)
The uptick is that Canada pulled off the comeback, and has now qualified for RWC 2011, and will be slotted into Pool A, along with powerhouse France and the superpower tournament host New Zealand All Blacks.
Canadian coach Kieran Crowley will doubtlessly feel chuffed this morning. The former All Black played a test match for the inaugural RWC in 1987, also hosted in NZ,. and the All Blacks only RWC championship title. Crowley almost certainly wanted to bring his new team back home, and play against the host side. Hopefully it will also provide a Canadian media boost for the tournament.
Canada has become the first nation to qualify for Rugby World Cup 2011 through the qualifying rounds, beating the USA 41-18 on Saturday.
The hosts had gone into the second leg in Edmonton needing to overturn a six-point deficit after losing the first encounter 12-6 in Charleston last weekend.
Canada's emphatic win at Ellerslie Rugby Park gave them an 47-30 aggregate victory and a place in Pool A with New Zealand, France and Tonga as well as the Asia 1 qualifier - likely to be Japan.
The USA are not yet out of thr running; they face Uruguay over two matches to see who will join Australia, Ireland Italy and another European qualifier in Pool C.
The Canadians, who have played at every Rugby World Cup to date, had moved ahead on aggregate by the 25th minute with James Pritchard, who had already kicked a penalty, crossing for the opening try after some good work by the impressive centre DTH van der Merwe.
With Canada leading 10-0 after Pritchard added the conversion, things got worse for USA within a minute when centre Paul Emerick was sent off by referee Alan Lewis. The hosts made the most of their man advantage with Adam Kleeberger and Justin Mensah-Coker crossing for tries to make it 24-0 at half time.
The Eagles needed to score first if they were to have any hopes of salvaging an unlikely victory against a Canadian outfit playing an attacking brand of rugby. Hercus did just that with a 51st minute penalty, but that was cancelled out by a try from the hosts' scrum-half Ed Fairhurst.
Wing Kevin Swiryn crossed for the Eagles' first try just before the hour mark, a score converted by Hercus, and the fly-half then kicked a penalty to cut the deficit to 31-13 on the day - 37-25 on aggregate - but there was to be no comeback with Canada crossing for a fifth try within minutes.
Van der Merwe had been exploiting the space created by Emerick's sending off and creating opportunities for Canada and was finally rewarded for his impressive display when the centre crossed for his side's fifth try of the afternoon in the 69th minute.
Canada increased their advantage when wing Matt Evans touched down, before USA captain Todd Clever scored a consolation try five minutes from time. It was the Canadians and an excitable crowd of around 5,000 who were celebrating come the final whistle.
It defies belief, but the FFR is washing their hands and passing the buck on l'Affaire Bastareud with an obvious cover-up to protect conspirators and blame it on a single man.
I am sure Laurent Bénézech will have more to say about this obvious smoke-screen (see previous posts).
In an interview published by Midi Olympique, the president of the Federation reaffirms its support for the staff of Blue and announced that the Disciplinary Committee should punish the player.
As the father of Mathieu Bastareaud has proclaimed his anger in the press last week - including denying having cancer while the information was issued by the player himself to the doctor of the team of France - Pierre Camou is also emerged from his silence. Questioned about this at the conference of the Federation in Strasbourg last weekend, the president of the FFR, whose silence became heavy, has finally delivered his opinion on this matter in an interview published by Midi Olympique on Monday .
Annoyed by some questions on this lie became an affair of state after the apologies of the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and french, the successor to Bernard Lapasset strongly reaffirmed the continued Jo Maso at his post. Some spoke of a possible dismissal of manager of the French team, but Pierre Camou said he "was never in danger." If it concedes the lack of relevance of a night out between two tests, it vigorously defended his staff: "I say, I repeat and I repeat: everyone has fulfilled its role, ensures there. I want to reiterate that the players are professionals (...) The players are adults. You can not put a guard in front of each room. It is their responsibility. "
"There will obviously a sanction"
Mathieu Bastareaud should be the only one to pay the mess in this case. "The Disciplinary Committee has received, it will be independent in its investigation and then, proposals for possible sanctions", said the president of the FFR, as that "there is obviously a penalty, if only in relation to the injury of a people, an entire nation, had to endure." There are still no date fixed for the consideration of case of player who, moreover, is always placed in a clinic in the Paris area to rest.
"What worries me most is the health of the player," says Pierre Camou. A health condition which returned Max Guazzini in the Sunday issue Stage 2, providing further reassurance. But the president of the french stage once again threw the trouble on this matter very opaque in stating that "if (Bastareaud, NDLR) not telling the truth, perhaps because it protects people ... "The investigation requested by the President of the FFR is supposed to shed light on this matter." ...
Total farce.
Continuing & complete coverage of L'Affaire Bastareaud, click here.
Ex-France international test prop Laurent Bénézech continues his superlative sleuthing, and advises the young Mathieu Basteaud to come clean, tell the whole truth, stop protecting the guilty and co-conspirators, for the good of French rugby and his own mental health.
Excerpt (Google translation):
Mathieu Bastareaud: Why must now tell the truth!
2 July 2009
Mathieu Bastareaud is not only involved in the case Bastareaud!
If one follows the course of the versions of events given to the press and that we proceed by elimination, one can conclude that the attack on the young French center stage took place within the hotel and can not come from a clash on the night table of his room since the New Zealand Police found no trace of blood on the furniture. It appears therefore more and more obvious that the player was struck that, as a former rugby player and without, of course, an expert with the courts, seems the most plausible. Taking into account the player's body, the size of the cuts and bruises on his face, it seems obvious that he was struck by someone stout and strong enough to reach such a result. In any case, anything that does not resemble the passivity of furniture, even solid oak! Indeed, evidence is emerging: Mathieu Bastareaud, its fanciful versions protects her abuser!
And this is where things do not seem consistent. What interest Mathieu Bastareaud lying? He claimed to have done to protect his international career. But why, then, Mathieu Bastareaud not telling the truth as it is not aggressive aggressor? The only person to have committed a mistake at this point is that (or that, but it is unlikely given the result of impact) that hit the player in the face. Panicked because he claims Max Guazzini, uh ..., Mathieu Bastareaud pardon himself. But panic over what?In fact he was injured? But then the story of the night table was, at that time, perfect to avoid any further criticism than the awkwardness and alcoholic especially since the staff of the French team had given permission to players out, so drink, to be clumsy in returning. This is where nothing I want and where more and more difficult to believe that Mathieu Bastareaud was not alone at the time to build a lie to explain his injury!
Mathieu Bastareaud has no choice now!
If the young French center stage to avoid paying for others, he must now speak. It must give the true version of events. He must explain what happened before between 5:22 and 5:47, and secondly and more importantly, what happened from the time it was recousu by Dr. Hager. What risk there more? It is already condemned by the Federation and the Prime Minister of France. And if a few good friends advice him promise that his silence is the best way to avoid too heavy a sentence, Mathieu Bastareaud should know that this is wrong!
The young French center stage is now designated as guilty only by what he is all alone to take the lie of the alleged assault outside the hotel by New Zealand nationals. But now it is proven to have been assaulted inside the hotel and clear as it was by a natural person and not a piece of furniture, Mathieu Bastareaud can no longer be accused of having been the only one lying. There are at least one other person who knows the truth, his assailant. Plus, maybe, if we are going to be assumed that the first version of the facts, which seems many arrange french camp, has been blown by Mathieu Bastareaud others.
Why do I pretend that the first version arrange many french camp? Simply because if the player was attacked inside the hotel, he could not have been, or by someone outside the French delegation, either by someone who is gone. If we accept the first option, why invent a version where the action took place outside the hotel when it happened in there? As against, if we accept the second option, this was a much more logical Mathieu Bastareaud was assaulted by a member of the French delegation, which gives an explanation for the clear starting to lie about the reasons for the injury to the face of the young Parisian.
The supervision of the French team in the secrecy of lies?
Obligatoirement, Mathieu Bastareaud and the assailant knew from the outset the facts! That is obvious. Them only? This is where I am taken to a huge doubt. I find it hard to believe that the aggressor, having placed his right (or left, once again I am not an expert with the courts) on the cheek of the player, has recouche as if nothing had happened . So I think it quickly sober by the consequences of his action, accompanied her partner to the room of Dr. Hager and thus, de facto, the now famous Dr. Jean-Philippe Hager knows the name of the abuser Mathieu Bastareaud And if Dr. Hager knows the name of the abuser from Mathieu Bastareaud, the same goes for the whole of the guidelines of the French team! So, logically, Mathieu Bastareaud could use the version of the attack outside the hotel with the blessing of the overall supervision of the French team. And when I say a blessing, I am compelled to ask whether it, as it would have us believe, Mathieu Bastareaud who is from the version or if, as is now possible, this version it was strongly suggested by promising that it would bury the case was not yet one.
When I say that I believe that the assailant with the victim, I have no certainty of course other than to think that whatever it is, the assailant had the presence of mind to worry the state of health of his partner to bring to the doctor's room. This is the normal behavior of a rugby player for one of our partners even if he is the cause of the injury. And that's what makes me think that Mathieu Bastareaud is only an instrument which has served a version of facts was to stifle what is supposed to be a case. The problem is that we came today to reverse the effect that the young French center stage must defend himself for not being the ideal sentenced to hide the huge gaps that this story reveals! MATHIEU, YOU MUST SAY THE TRUTH IS YOUR INTEREST ...
Continuing & complete coverage of L'Affaire Bastareaud, click here.
A France rugby international who sparked a diplomatic incident when he falsely claimed that he had been assaulted by New Zealand fans has been admitted to psychiatric care after reportedly throwing himself into the Seine.
Mathieu Bastareaud, 20, is said to have attempted suicide after telling friends he could not cope with the scandal that erupted when his lies were uncovered by police in New Zealand. The incident has become an embarrassment to French rugby authorities amid claims that they helped to cover up a hotel room fight between players and left Bastareaud to face the controversy on his own.
Bastareaud is a rare representative of France’s troubled suburban estates in a sport dominated by players from a white provincial background. This, his friends say, has exacerbated his mental fragility. “He sent me a text saying he couldn’t stand this harassment,” said Mathieu Blin, a team-mate at the club Stade Français. “Now he’s completely gone off the rails.”
French media reports said the rugby player told friends that he was suicidal after being sent home from France’s tour to New Zealand and Australia. LÉquipe, the sporting daily, said he jumped into the Seine at the weekend.
Complete coverage of L'Affaire Bastareaud, click here.
Mathieu Bastareaud lie over assault prompts French Prime Minister to apologise
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has written a letter of apology to his New Zealand equivalent, John Key, after France centre Mathieu Bastareaud admitted to lying about an assault in Wellington last month.
[...]
In his letter, Fillon told Key: "By his false statements, as a result of which you had to intervene publicly, he seriously tainted the image of your country and its people."
Fillon said that he "regretted this incident" and added: "Our two countries share the culture of rugby.
"This sport has always allowed us to meet and to share a mutual respect. I hope that these sentiments will continue after this regrettable affair."
Bastareaud meanwhile has been admitted to hospital with what has been reported as serious psychological problems after the worldwide interest into the incident affected his mental state.
The Stade Francais centre, who had been due to go on a family holiday to the Caribbean this week, is expected to stay in hospital for at least a fortnight under observation.
The 20-year-old, who made his debut for France last year, has been backed by the French players' union, Provale, who issued a statement saying: "We solemnly demand that the media storm which nurtures doubts and fantasies ends immediately. We want above all that his privacy be respected and we hope that he makes a return to the pitch as quickly as possible."
But French Rugby Federation (FRF) president Pierre Camou, was less forgiving and condemned Bastareaud's behaviour.
"To be an international carries with it responsibility as a representative of your country and your federation," a FRF statement read.
"The FRF is shocked that one of the French XV has lied. The New Zealand nation and the world of rugby can legitimately feel wounded by the player's initial statements which have also tarnished the image of French rugby."
Full coverage of L'Affaire Bastareaud, click here.
I haven't seen any confirmed news reports, and most of the English-language wire reports are not mentioning the words "attempted suicide."
Nevertheless, there is a distressing rumour at a French-language rugby blog at Le Monde. I don't know the accuracy of the post, and it seems unwise to speculate. Nevertheless, the worrisome rumours are coming out of France, and hard to dismiss.
Babelfish translation:
The spirit of the previous article dictated by the succession of true-false information about Mathieu Bastareaud and consequences of his third half-time after the Wellington test requires me to clarify that it was mailed to 12 pm today. At 17 hours, the announcement of the attempted suicide of the young man and casts a cold hospital on the case so far to say the least, bizarre. [...]
Original text:
L’esprit du précédent article dicté par la succession de vraies-fausses informations concernant Mathieu Bastareaud et les conséquences de sa troisième mi-temps après le test de Wellington m’oblige a préciser qu’il a été posté vers 12 heures ce jour. A 17 heures, l’annonce de la tentative de suicide du jeune homme et son hospitalisation jette un froid sur cette affaire jusque-là pour le moins rocambolesque. Il n’est plus question de mensonges, de défendre ou d’accabler un homme qui en arrive cette extrémité ni même d’ironiser sur ceux qui l’entourent en bien ou en mal. [...]
The saga has gone from criminal travesty, to laughable farce, to pitiable sympathy for the player in a matter of a week. It's not over, we still don't know the whole truth, and we don't know who to believe.
More French-language reports about an attempted suicide.
Bastareaud hospitalized after new allegations he was punched by team-mate
29 June 2009
Shamed France international Mathieu Bastareaud has been admitted to hospital with "severe psychological problems" in the latest twist of a tawdry affair that shows no signs of abating.
His hospitalization follows earlier media reports that the 20-year-old Stade Francais player had sustained his now infamous facial injuries after being punched by a teammate.
Max Guazzini, president of Bastareaud’s club Stade Francais, said the player had returned early from a Caribbean holiday and was now under medical supervision in a "specialized institution" in Paris. Guazzini said he was likely to remain in hospital for a fortnight and refused to give its exact location.
Guazzani blamed what appears to be some sort of mental breakdown on the "relentlessness of the press against a boy of twenty years. Journalists have gone to his home and that of his parents. It is completely destroyed, we must leave him alone," he told AFP.
The latest development is a further blow to both the player and to French rugby generally as a web of lies and half-truths slowly unravels.
Le Parisien says Mathieu Bastareaud 'punched by teammate'
L'affair Bastareaud keeps getting better - the gift that keeps on giving.
See earlier background post "Inglourious Bastareaud, Pulp Fiction" click here.
Paper claims Bastareaud 'punched by teammate'
French rugby international Mathieu Bastareaud was reportedly punched by one of his teammates, according to a Paris newspaper. ...
The French press are now airing another scenario.
How he sustained a cut cheek and facial bruising is the big question.
Two fellow players - named as Louis Picamoles and Fulgence Ouedraogo - may have played a part in the bizarre episode, newspapers suggest.
According to an internal investigation by the team, Picamoles and Ouedraogo came back to the Holiday Inn at 5.22am on June 21 in a taxi with two women, while Bastareaud arrived at the same time in a second taxi, news agency Agence France Presse reported.
"Drunk and aggressive, Bastareaud was reportedly calmed down by a fist from one of his teammates," according to an account sketched by the daily Le Parisien. It also quoted Picamoles and Ouedraogo as denying this.
Picamoles, Bastareaud, Yannick Jauzion and Thomas Domingo, on the injury list, flew back from the tour last Monday, while Ouedraogo stayed on to play against the Wallabies. ...
Team bosses face tough questions about their handling of the scandal.
One is why Pierre Camou, president of the French Rugby Federation, and Jo Maso, the Bleus' manager, leapt to defend Bastareaud.
They insist they were duped by the player. Le Parisien said acidly: "Taking a bit of distance in handling this affair would have helped to avoid a diplomatic incident and prevented French rugby from looking ridiculous." Le Monde described the incident as a "torment" for les Bleus.
And sports daily L'Equipe said: "The Bastareaud affair is far from over."
Stephen Jones, ignorant weasel / timorous chickenshit
Apologies to the British & Irish Lions namesake playing test match rugby against the Springboks today. That guy is perfectly o-kay.
Rather, I am referring here, of course, to The Times' (UK)'s resident assclown rugby columnist, who could use both of Schalk Burger's thumbs to his eyes to improve his blatant myopia and blind-pig disinformation.
See "Update II" at the Mathieu Bastareaud thread below.
[Updated below - Update II - Update III - Update IV - Update V - Update VI - Update VII - Update VIII - Update IX - Update X - Update XI.]
Following close on the heels of the revelations yesterday in the Mark Sanford l'affair, we've got our own little rugby potboiler - the fabricated tale of a fractured eye-socket.
On Saturday night, following France's 14-10 loss to the All Blacks in Wellington, a scandal broke in New Zealand when it was alleged that:
A French rugby player was punched and knocked to the ground in an early morning attack by five rugby fans.
Mathieu Bastareaud, dubbed the "French Nonu" by the All Blacks, was attacked at a taxi rank in central Wellington early yesterday.
According to the French team, Bastareaud was knocked to the ground by five men, who recognised the rising rugby star as he returned to his Featherston St hotel.
"He is a bit shocked," French coach Marc Lievremont said last night. "And on top of that, he broke his nose last week in the [first test against the All Blacks]. It is a lot. He is only 20 years old. He is very strong, but at the same time ..."
The centre, who is 1.83 metres tall and weighs 111 kilograms, was returning to the Holiday Inn after his team's 14-10 loss to the All Blacks at Westpac Stadium. French team manager Jo Maso said Bastareaud had to have four stitches in his left cheek. He also suffered bruising in the attack. He was treated by the French team doctor.
Maso said that just before they struck, the attackers yelled "something about `F...ing French'.
"It was five on one," Maso said.
Lievremont said that Bastareaud was with the French squad when they went out for a drink but wanted to return to the hotel early.
"As he came out for a taxi he was attacked by some people ... hit on the face."
The French team did not pursue charges with police, but told the New Zealand Rugby Union.
"We know we won't find them [the attackers]. We just informed the New Zealand federation of an incident. They are not to blame though, it was misfortune," he said.
"[The injury] wasn't too serious. All the same Mathieu was afraid and needed help."
The rugby union said it was deeply disappointed by the attack, which struck at its reputation as a host ahead of the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
The NZ police were on an all-points-bulletin hunt for the attackers, and there was the curious piece of missing evidence when a video-camera showed Bastareaud arriving back to his hotel in the early morning hours with women on his arm and looking no worse for wear.
Red flags really started flapping when Bastareaud returned home to France while he teammates continued their tour to Australia.
The French rugby player assaulted in Wellington at the weekend says he is amazed at the level of interest surrounding the Sunday morning incident.
Mathieu Bastareaud was attacked by four or five men when he returned to his team’s hotel after having been out drinking in the central city.
"I have just returned from New Zealand and I am really surprised at the amount of media interest surrounding it," the blockbusting centre said in a statement released by his club Stade Francais.
"I was astonished by the amount of journalists at the airport when I touched down.
"All that happened was an everyday occurrence which could happen to anybody. Unhappily for me it was my turn this time."
As Geraldo Rivera used to say, "Now it can be told!"
Bastareaud comes clean
25th June 2009
France and Stade Français centre Mathieu Bastareaud has admitted to lying about being assaulted in New Zealand in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Bastareaud returned to France earlier this week with stitches in his face after saying he had been assaulted by "four or five" men in the streets of Wellington.
In a statement published on his club's website on Thursday, Bastareaud has confessed to making the entire story up after doubts were cast over his original version of events when it was revealed that CCTV footage from the night showed Bastareaud walking into his hotel uninjured with two other players and two women.
"I have to clear up the incidents that happened in New Zealand. I have to tell the truth," read Bastareaud's statement.
"On Saturday night, I came back to the hotel after having too much to drink. I fell in my room and hit the bedside table and opened up my cheek.
"I was ashamed, I panicked and I thought I was going to be thrown out of the French national team. I told this story thinking it would all blow over, but seeing the magnitude it's taken I prefer to tell the truth.
"I didn't want to shock my family. I panicked and dug myself deeper into a hole."
"I would like to apologise to the New Zealand Rugby Union, the city of Wellington, the players and staff of the French national team, my club, my friends and most of all those who were affected by this incident."
The previously reported incident of assault on Bastareaud had cast a negative light on New Zealand - the hosts of the 2011 Rugby World Cup - but their reputation now appears to be restored. ...
The New Zealand rugby federation received a full apology from Bastareaud, whose 'assault' had prompted New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key to step in to calm matters.
France manager Jo Maso on Thursday issued sincere apologies to the New Zealand authorities and admitted centre Mathieu Bastareaud had concocted his story about being beaten up by thugs in Wellington.
"We defended our player but unfortunately he lied to everybody," Maso said, expressing official regrets to New Zealand and others involved in the incident.
"They, like us, were duped... We are shattered by what has happened and we will see what decisions are needed on the part of the (French Rugby) federation and national selectors," he told reporters in Sydney where the France XV is preparing for Saturday's Test against the Wallabies.
"This is a great shame because the prime minister (New Zealand premier John Key) had issued a letter of apology. It is regrettable and I am profoundly hurt."
Funnily enough, from the photo at the top of the post, it appears the only thing Maori or Polynesian in this farce are the motifs tattooed onto Bastareaud's forearm. Bad mana.
Update:
Did Bastareaud come clean after a guilty conscience? Or might he have been squeezed...?
Police had sprung lying Bastareaud
Mathieu Bastareaud admitted lying about being assaulted in Wellington only after police suggested he "reconsider" his position, the head of the police inquiry says. ...
Inspector Pete Cowan told Radio New Zealand there had been no evidence to support Bastareaud's version of events, including CCTV footage from the Holiday Inn which showed him entering the hotel without injuries.
He said Wellington police on Thursday asked the New Zealand Rugby Football Union to contact their French counterparts to discuss the incident further.
"We outlined clearly our findings which showed Mr Bastareaud's allegations were a pure fabrication and suggested that Mr Bastareaud reconsider his position."
It was because of this police action that Bastareaud admitted he had lied, Mr Cowan said.
"Mr Bastareaud hasn't come out overnight and apologised out of the goodness of his heart. This has been a strategy from us and the New Zealand Rugby Football Union have been strong supporters and assisted us in this."
Cowan said Bastareaud had arrived back at the hotel at 5.22am on Sunday but didn't enter his room until 25 minutes later, and "what happened in that 25 minutes is obviously open to a lot of speculation".
Bastareaud had not laid an official complaint, but his fabricated story had wasted "an enormous amount of resources", Mr Cowan said.
Wellington's mayor Kerry Prendergast earlier said she believed the French rugby team and its management had colluded over Bastareaud's story.
"There was clearly collusion, there were other players involved, the team doctor's involved, the coach because Bastareaud got sent back to France so quickly. This is wider than just one player." ...
Bastareaud now faces disciplinary sanctions from the French Rugby Federation (FFR).
In a statement, its president Pierre Camou apologised to the people of New Zealand and the New Zealand Rugby Union, and said he had asked the FFR disciplinary committee to open an inquiry into the incident.
The Times resident rugby "expert" Stephen Jones misses the boat - again! - in his latest column:
Awards for pomposity
...
And the pomposity of the statement by Steve Tew, chief executive of the (NZRU), grates horribly. He droned on about the savage injury to the reputation of "rugby, Wellington and New Zealand", demanded some kind of action by the French Federation, who were absolutely blameless, and generally reacted as if Bastareaud had actually burned down the New Zealand Parliament.
That "absolutely blameless" presumption is also a show of pomposity, right back at the precious 'Tash, whose condescending pretense continues...
The statement also appears to indicate that there has never been any crime in Wellington of an evening, and also that no New Zealand rugby players have ever got themselves into trouble. The truth is, of course, that an incredibly large number of leading New Zealand rugby players have been convicted of a whole variety of offences over the past five or six years, causing one New Zealand professional observer to wonder in print if there was not an alcohol problem in rugby which needed to be addressed.
Bastareaud was way out of order, but his offence was neither particularly better or worse than many of those committed in New Zealand and elsewhere by players who have downed a few. I also have sympathy for Bastareaud and for all players and referees struggling with a drink problem - and none whatsoever for the papal, mock-anguished tones of official reprimands.
"The truth is," Mr. Jones? You're telling us the truth?
All-righty, then. Kindly answer for us - how many of those kiwi pissheads over the past five or six years fabricated LIES making the fictitious claims that they were:
1. Swarmed by a gang?
2. Claimed they were deliberately targetted by nationality?
3. Identified the accused fictitious attackers by race?
4. And then extracted an official public apology from the nations' highest head of state?
Yeah, for sure, happens all the time, "neither particularly better or worse than many of those committed in New Zealand."
How many times, Stevie-boy?
Edify us with your wisdom and knowledge. Don't restrict yourself to just New Zealanders and the "past five or six years."
Try hard to present even so much as ONE single example that supports your fallacy, and you get to choose from ANY PLAYER from ANY NATION in the ENTIRE HISTORY OF RUGBY UNION.
It's stupefying how ignorant, full of shit and illogical this man is.
He's also incredibly thin-skinned.
He loves posting every log-rolling comment that elevates him onto a pedestal and strokes his moustache. But try writing him a polite message of dissent at his blog, and rest assured that 9 times out of 10 this pompous bully-coward will "moderate" your comment with a delete button.
Update III:
The fibs and revelations just keep on a-comin'.
I always reckoned Mathieu Bastareaud's "confession" sounded suspicious.
After giving us the Once Were Warriors version, where Bastareaud claimed he was attacked by a gang of savage Maoris, who targetted him and swore at him, calling him a "filthyfucking Frenchman" before laying their boots in, he then "came clean" with Version No. 2, the "Battered Wife Excuse," blaming drunkeness and a coffee table.
He could have just as easily told us it was a door knob.
Now it appears the Maoris and Polynesians were the real victims, and the actual culprits were more than likely Bastareaud's "filthyfucking French" teammates.
Paper claims Bastareaud 'punched by teammate'
French rugby international Mathieu Bastareaud was reportedly punched by one of his teammates, according to a Paris newspaper. ...
The French press are now airing another scenario.
How he sustained a cut cheek and facial bruising is the big question.
Two fellow players - named as Louis Picamoles and Fulgence Ouedraogo - may have played a part in the bizarre episode, newspapers suggest.
According to an internal investigation by the team, Picamoles and Ouedraogo came back to the Holiday Inn at 5.22am on June 21 in a taxi with two women, while Bastareaud arrived at the same time in a second taxi, news agency Agence France Presse reported.
"Drunk and aggressive, Bastareaud was reportedly calmed down by a fist from one of his teammates," according to an account sketched by the daily Le Parisien. It also quoted Picamoles and Ouedraogo as denying this.
Picamoles, Bastareaud, Yannick Jauzion and Thomas Domingo, on the injury list, flew back from the tour last Monday, while Ouedraogo stayed on to play against the Wallabies. ...
Team bosses face tough questions about their handling of the scandal.
One is why Pierre Camou, president of the French Rugby Federation, and Jo Maso, the Bleus' manager, leapt to defend Bastareaud.
They insist they were duped by the player. Le Parisien said acidly: "Taking a bit of distance in handling this affair would have helped to avoid a diplomatic incident and prevented French rugby from looking ridiculous." Le Monde described the incident as a "torment" for les Bleus.
And sports daily L'Equipe said: "The Bastareaud affair is far from over."
Somewhere in this sordid saga, there is a human being:
Bastareaud hospitalized after new allegations he was punched by team-mate
29 June 2009
Shamed France international Mathieu Bastareaud has been admitted to hospital with "severe psychological problems" in the latest twist of a tawdry affair that shows no signs of abating.
His hospitalization follows earlier media reports that the 20-year-old Stade Francais player had sustained his now infamous facial injuries after being punched by a teammate.
Max Guazzini, president of Bastareaud’s club Stade Francais, said the player had returned early from a Caribbean holiday and was now under medical supervision in a "specialized institution" in Paris. Guazzini said he was likely to remain in hospital for a fortnight and refused to give its exact location.
Guazzani blamed what appears to be some sort of mental breakdown on the "relentlessness of the press against a boy of twenty years. Journalists have gone to his home and that of his parents. It is completely destroyed, we must leave him alone," he told AFP.
The latest development is a further blow to both the player and to French rugby generally as a web of lies and half-truths slowly unravels.
Bastareaud initially said he had been mugged outside his team hotel in Wellington, New Zealand, but was forced into a public apology after police proved that he had entered the hotel uninjured at 5.22am on June 21.
The Stade Francais player then claimed he had slipped and hit his cheek on a table in his hotel room after a drunken evening out, but now a third version of events is beginning to formulate.
French newspaper Le Parisien now claims the player was hit by one of his own colleagues after returning to the hotel. Team-mates Louis Picamoles and Fulgence Ouedraogo have been named as the two players who returned to the hotel – in company with two females – at the same time as Bastareaud, although both are denying their involvement.
"Drunk and aggressive, Bastareaud was reportedly calmed down by a fist from one of his team-mates," said Le Parisien.
Inspector Peter Cowan, who led the New Zealand police investigation into the alleged mugging, had already confirmed that there was a 25 minute window between Bastareaud entering the hotel and returning to his own room.
"What happened in that 25 minutes is obviously open to a lot of speculation,” he said last week. "Now I’m now in a position to tell you, all I can tell you is Mr Bastareaud was not assaulted outside the hotel by four or five mugs."
Le Parisien says an internal team investigation has concluded that Picamoles and Ouedraogo returned to the hotel in a taxi accompanied by two un-named women. Bastareaud apparently arrived at the same time in a separate taxi.
Picamoles and Bastareaud were subsequently flown home to France due to injuries, with Ouedraogo staying on to play against Australia last weekend.
The newspaper says Bastareaud now faces a French disciplinary commission which could either fine or suspend him from the national team.
It is another sorry turn in a turgid tale of lies and half-truths, with Bastareaud’s reputation already in tatters. Whether other players, or even the management team, get fingered for their roles in the episode remains to be seen as the full story slowly emerges.
Did Mathieu Bastareaud attempt to commit suicide??
I haven't seen any confirmed news reports, but a distressing rumour appears on a French-language rugby blog posted at daily Le Monde. I don't know the accuracy of the post since there's no source link, but wondering all the same whether it might be true.
Babelfish translation:
The spirit of the previous article dictated by the succession of true-false information about Mathieu Bastareaud and consequences of his third half-time after the Wellington test requires me to clarify that it was mailed to 12 pm today. At 17 hours, the announcement of the attempted suicide of the young man and casts a cold hospital on the case so far to say the least, bizarre. [...]
Original text:
L’esprit du précédent article dicté par la succession de vraies-fausses informations concernant Mathieu Bastareaud et les conséquences de sa troisième mi-temps après le test de Wellington m’oblige a préciser qu’il a été posté vers 12 heures ce jour. A 17 heures, l’annonce de la tentative de suicide du jeune homme et son hospitalisation jette un froid sur cette affaire jusque-là pour le moins rocambolesque. Il n’est plus question de mensonges, de défendre ou d’accabler un homme qui en arrive cette extrémité ni même d’ironiser sur ceux qui l’entourent en bien ou en mal. [...]
Let's hope the guy pulls himself together and has a full recovery.
The saga has gone from criminal travesty, to laughable farce, to pitiable sympathy for the player in a matter of a week. It's not over, we still don't know the whole truth, and we don't know who to believe.
Mathieu Bastareaud lie over assault prompts French Prime Minister to apologise
French Prime Minister Francois Fillon has written a letter of apology to his New Zealand equivalent, John Key, after France centre Mathieu Bastareaud admitted to lying about an assault in Wellington last month.
[...]
In his letter, Fillon told Key: "By his false statements, as a result of which you had to intervene publicly, he seriously tainted the image of your country and its people."
Fillon said that he "regretted this incident" and added: "Our two countries share the culture of rugby.
"This sport has always allowed us to meet and to share a mutual respect. I hope that these sentiments will continue after this regrettable affair."
Bastareaud meanwhile has been admitted to hospital with what has been reported as serious psychological problems after the worldwide interest into the incident affected his mental state.
The Stade Francais centre, who had been due to go on a family holiday to the Caribbean this week, is expected to stay in hospital for at least a fortnight under observation.
The 20-year-old, who made his debut for France last year, has been backed by the French players' union, Provale, who issued a statement saying: "We solemnly demand that the media storm which nurtures doubts and fantasies ends immediately. We want above all that his privacy be respected and we hope that he makes a return to the pitch as quickly as possible."
But French Rugby Federation (FRF) president Pierre Camou, was less forgiving and condemned Bastareaud's behaviour.
"To be an international carries with it responsibility as a representative of your country and your federation," a FRF statement read.
"The FRF is shocked that one of the French XV has lied. The New Zealand nation and the world of rugby can legitimately feel wounded by the player's initial statements which have also tarnished the image of French rugby."
A France rugby international who sparked a diplomatic incident when he falsely claimed that he had been assaulted by New Zealand fans has been admitted to psychiatric care after reportedly throwing himself into the Seine.
Mathieu Bastareaud, 20, is said to have attempted suicide after telling friends he could not cope with the scandal that erupted when his lies were uncovered by police in New Zealand. The incident has become an embarrassment to French rugby authorities amid claims that they helped to cover up a hotel room fight between players and left Bastareaud to face the controversy on his own.
Bastareaud is a rare representative of France’s troubled suburban estates in a sport dominated by players from a white provincial background. This, his friends say, has exacerbated his mental fragility. “He sent me a text saying he couldn’t stand this harassment,” said Mathieu Blin, a team-mate at the club Stade Français. “Now he’s completely gone off the rails.”
French media reports said the rugby player told friends that he was suicidal after being sent home from France’s tour to New Zealand and Australia. LÉquipe, the sporting daily, said he jumped into the Seine at the weekend.
Update IX.
Ex-France international & current media consultant Laurent Bénézech. blogs and raises some suspicious contradictions and straightforward questions.
In recent days, I asked whether I had to shed some light on what everyone calls the case Bastareaud that first, is a tempest in a teapot. I say, at first, because the problem is not that Mathieu Bastareaud had detonated the cheekbone by a combination of circumstances that certainly has the name of a partner, but more by the fact that this kid has found in nature released by management of the French team. Back on the facts and attempt to explain.
What has really happened on Sunday morning? .
I am more interested in what happened after the injury of Mathieu Bastareaud as what happened before. But as it should from the outset, let the facts. What do we know with certainty? The youth center arrived at the hotel at the same time with 2 other players with 2 girls, certainly good families and finally came to discuss the tectonic plates and other philosophical topics. 2 girls, 3 boys, a little alcohol to liven it all, it makes a lot of possibilities when these boys have the spirit sharer. What do we know yet? That one of 2 players is Louis Picamoles and we tried to make us believe that the other was Fulgence Ouedraogoexcept that the police has shown that this was not the case.First question: Why have lied about the identity of the second player? To protect it? Second question then: Why protect him if he has done nothing? I see 2 possible answers: either because the 3rd line Montpellier fiancé has no base or because it allows you to more easily conceal the famous player, even 2 at a time. Third question: How important is it to conceal the identity of a player who would eventually, in a gesture of annoyance, put a right (or left or a whim elsewhere ...) Mathieu Bastareaud? This is not the first time that such an incident occurs and until then, apart from the direct punishment that was the end of the tour to Mathieu Bastareaud, there was no death? Here are several possible answers depending on whether you want to protect the privacy of the offending player or his status in the team and, having no proof, I will certainly not venture to give a name. By against, what interests me is the result which is far more catastrophic than the 3 stitches on the cheek of the young French center stage.
...
There is no need to be in the small papers for the name since the team gave today. Moreover it is easy to imagine that if the geniuses of the FFR has tried to hide a player by another player, simply take the physical characteristics of the player in question, Fulgence Ouedraogo, seeking what is the other major player of the team that looks the most. Now if you do not, it only remains for you to buy the team ...
Update X. Bloodhound Bénézech tracks the conspirators
Ex-France international test prop Laurent Bénézech continues his superlative sleuthing, and advises the young Mathieu Basteaud to come clean, tell the whole truth, stop protecting the guilty and co-conspirators, for the good of French rugby and his own mental health.
Excerpt (Google translation):
Mathieu Bastareaud: Why must now tell the truth!
2 July 2009
Mathieu Bastareaud is not only involved in the case Bastareaud!
If one follows the course of the versions of events given to the press and that we proceed by elimination, one can conclude that the attack on the young French center stage took place within the hotel and can not come from a clash on the night table of his room since the New Zealand Police found no trace of blood on the furniture. It appears therefore more and more obvious that the player was struck that, as a former rugby player and without, of course, an expert with the courts, seems the most plausible. Taking into account the player's body, the size of the cuts and bruises on his face, it seems obvious that he was struck by someone stout and strong enough to reach such a result. In any case, anything that does not resemble the passivity of furniture, even solid oak! Indeed, evidence is emerging: Mathieu Bastareaud, its fanciful versions protects her abuser!
And this is where things do not seem consistent. What interest Mathieu Bastareaud lying? He claimed to have done to protect his international career. But why, then, Mathieu Bastareaud not telling the truth as it is not aggressive aggressor? The only person to have committed a mistake at this point is that (or that, but it is unlikely given the result of impact) that hit the player in the face. Panicked because he claims Max Guazzini, uh ..., Mathieu Bastareaud pardon himself. But panic over what?In fact he was injured? But then the story of the night table was, at that time, perfect to avoid any further criticism than the awkwardness and alcoholic especially since the staff of the French team had given permission to players out, so drink, to be clumsy in returning. This is where nothing I want and where more and more difficult to believe that Mathieu Bastareaud was not alone at the time to build a lie to explain his injury!
Mathieu Bastareaud has no choice now!
If the young French center stage to avoid paying for others, he must now speak. It must give the true version of events. He must explain what happened before between 5:22 and 5:47, and secondly and more importantly, what happened from the time it was recousu by Dr. Hager. What risk there more? It is already condemned by the Federation and the Prime Minister of France. And if a few good friends advice him promise that his silence is the best way to avoid too heavy a sentence, Mathieu Bastareaud should know that this is wrong!
The young French center stage is now designated as guilty only by what he is all alone to take the lie of the alleged assault outside the hotel by New Zealand nationals. But now it is proven to have been assaulted inside the hotel and clear as it was by a natural person and not a piece of furniture, Mathieu Bastareaud can no longer be accused of having been the only one lying. There are at least one other person who knows the truth, his assailant. Plus, maybe, if we are going to be assumed that the first version of the facts, which seems many arrange french camp, has been blown by Mathieu Bastareaud others.
Why do I pretend that the first version arrange many french camp? Simply because if the player was attacked inside the hotel, he could not have been, or by someone outside the French delegation, either by someone who is gone. If we accept the first option, why invent a version where the action took place outside the hotel when it happened in there? As against, if we accept the second option, this was a much more logical Mathieu Bastareaud was assaulted by a member of the French delegation, which gives an explanation for the clear starting to lie about the reasons for the injury to the face of the young Parisian.
The supervision of the French team in the secrecy of lies?
Obligatoirement, Mathieu Bastareaud and the assailant knew from the outset the facts! That is obvious. Them only? This is where I am taken to a huge doubt. I find it hard to believe that the aggressor, having placed his right (or left, once again I am not an expert with the courts) on the cheek of the player, has recouche as if nothing had happened . So I think it quickly sober by the consequences of his action, accompanied her partner to the room of Dr. Hager and thus, de facto, the now famous Dr. Jean-Philippe Hager knows the name of the abuser Mathieu Bastareaud And if Dr. Hager knows the name of the abuser from Mathieu Bastareaud, the same goes for the whole of the guidelines of the French team! So, logically, Mathieu Bastareaud could use the version of the attack outside the hotel with the blessing of the overall supervision of the French team. And when I say a blessing, I am compelled to ask whether it, as it would have us believe, Mathieu Bastareaud who is from the version or if, as is now possible, this version it was strongly suggested by promising that it would bury the case was not yet one.
When I say that I believe that the assailant with the victim, I have no certainty of course other than to think that whatever it is, the assailant had the presence of mind to worry the state of health of his partner to bring to the doctor's room. This is the normal behavior of a rugby player for one of our partners even if he is the cause of the injury. And that's what makes me think that Mathieu Bastareaud is only an instrument which has served a version of facts was to stifle what is supposed to be a case. The problem is that we came today to reverse the effect that the young French center stage must defend himself for not being the ideal sentenced to hide the huge gaps that this story reveals! MATHIEU, YOU MUST SAY THE TRUTH IS YOUR INTEREST ...
Update XI. The Lone Gunman
It defies belief, but the FFR is washing their hands and passing the buck on l'Affaire Bastareud with an obvious cover-up to protect conspirators and blame it on a single man.
I am sure Laurent Bénézech will have more to say about this obvious smoke-screen (see previous posts).
In an interview published by Midi Olympique, the president of the Federation reaffirms its support for the staff of Blue and announced that the Disciplinary Committee should punish the player.
As the father of Mathieu Bastareaud has proclaimed his anger in the press last week - including denying having cancer while the information was issued by the player himself to the doctor of the team of France - Pierre Camou is also emerged from his silence. Questioned about this at the conference of the Federation in Strasbourg last weekend, the president of the FFR, whose silence became heavy, has finally delivered his opinion on this matter in an interview published by Midi Olympique on Monday .
Annoyed by some questions on this lie became an affair of state after the apologies of the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and french, the successor to Bernard Lapasset strongly reaffirmed the continued Jo Maso at his post. Some spoke of a possible dismissal of manager of the French team, but Pierre Camou said he "was never in danger." If it concedes the lack of relevance of a night out between two tests, it vigorously defended his staff: "I say, I repeat and I repeat: everyone has fulfilled its role, ensures there. I want to reiterate that the players are professionals (...) The players are adults. You can not put a guard in front of each room. It is their responsibility. "
"There will obviously a sanction"
Mathieu Bastareaud should be the only one to pay the mess in this case. "The Disciplinary Committee has received, it will be independent in its investigation and then, proposals for possible sanctions", said the president of the FFR, as that "there is obviously a penalty, if only in relation to the injury of a people, an entire nation, had to endure." There are still no date fixed for the consideration of case of player who, moreover, is always placed in a clinic in the Paris area to rest.
"What worries me most is the health of the player," says Pierre Camou. A health condition which returned Max Guazzini in the Sunday issue Stage 2, providing further reassurance. But the president of the french stage once again threw the trouble on this matter very opaque in stating that "if (Bastareaud, NDLR) not telling the truth, perhaps because it protects people ... "The investigation requested by the President of the FFR is supposed to shed light on this matter." ...
Two years in the making. Manny Castillo archive below. Will update as warrants. Honestly, after going through the ringer on this two years ago, I don't know how much more I can say, aside from the fact that we still really don't know the whole truth.
Teen guilty in rugby death
May 28, 2009 Bob Mitchell Toronto Star
A Mississauga high school student was found guilty of manslaughter today in the death of a rival player during a rugby game.
The teen, now 18, was visibly upset – as were family members – after Justice Bruce Duncan rendered his decision in a Brampton courtroom.
His mother hugged him as he sat forlorn, his head down, at a table at the front of the packed Brampton courtroom.
Justice Bruce Duncan decided his actions that day caused the death of Manny Castillo.
The accused pleaded not guilty to manslaughter. He will be sentenced at a later date.
In rendering his decision, Justice Duncan rejected the defendant's self-defence claim that he only pushed Castillo to the ground to get out of a choking headlock during the game on May 9, 2007.
"The defendant intentionally applied force that was outside the rules of the game or any standard by which the game is played," Duncan said. "Manny did not explicitly consent to that force.
"I'm satisfied beyond any doubt no consent can be implied.
"There was no justification in self defence. Accordingly, the defendant committed an assault, an unlawful act. That unlawful act caused death. The defendant is therefore guilty of manslaughter."
Defence lawyers Lisa White and Calvin Barry had suggested Castillo knew he was playing in a physical game and that he accepted the dangers of the contact sport when he entered the field to play for his Lorne Park team that tragic day.
But Duncan rejected her assertion.
He described what the defendant did as being a "sucker tackle" and said at its "highest" it was done out of retaliation, not self defence.
Castillo died from a serious head injury a few days after the incident.
Crown prosecutor John Raftery said during the two-week trial that the accused, a major junior player with an Ontario Hockey League team, committed manslaughter when he lifted Castillo into the air, his feet facing upwards, and drove him head first into the ground.
For now, the identity of the accused is protected by Canada's Youth Criminal Justice Act.
The Crown has said it intends to seek an adult sentence, opening the door to his name being published.
Raftery insisted in his closing remarks that the deadly move was separate and away from the normal play on the field and the ball was nowhere near them.
Following the critical play, Castillo lay motionless, and was dying from severe head and spinal cord injuries.
During the trial, various witnesses – including players, coaches, the referee, parents and rugby experts – gave conflicting accounts of what they saw.
Some said they saw Castillo put the defendant into a headlock and others didn't. Some said the play had already stopped at the time and others didn't. Some witnesses saw Castillo driven to the ground, others said they say him fall gently over the shoulder of the accused.
As for the convicted teen, he testified that he fell on top of Castillo when he wrestled his way out of a headlock. He said he had panicked because he couldn't breathe and denied intentionally hurting the opposing player. He said he was unaware Castillo was injured when they both fell to the ground.
The difficulty is that even the actual witnesses are in direct conflict about what they saw. All this is compounded by there not being a videotape of the incident, simply conflicting eyewitness testimony.
It probably didn't help that the offender unloaded swearing at the referee, which is sadly not uncommon in North American sporting culture, with rugby being a polite exception.
I don't want to open a can o' worms, but again, my first reaction sizing up the story two years ago was remembering the inflamed emotions and charges stemming from the Tana/Kev/BOD "He could have died" so-called "spear-tackle" controversy.
What if...?
What if there had never been video evidence of that incident? What if the only witnesses we had were reports in UK newspapers?
There was of course videotape of that "off the ball" cleanout, and yet opinions about "intent" and "assault" and "thuggery" were still starkly divided.
Two different people could watch that tape over-and-over and come to two different conclusions. I can look at the tape and believe, unfortunate, yes, but deliberate assault? I don't buy that. It's rugby, a game that involves hard physical contact and risk.
Whereas this Canadian judge Duncan could have sight-unseen listened to BOD's version of events and reached the same judgment that the "defendants intentionally applied force that was outside the rules of the game or any standard by which the game is played," .... "BOD did not explicitly consent to that force (and he could have died!)."
The fact that a kid actually did die only compounds the emotions.
The Super 14 will be a Super 15 from 2011, with a new-look three conference calendar stretching the Super Rugby season to 24 weeks.
There will be three five-team conferences, one based in each of the SANZAR countries with Australia by far the most likely country to benefit from an extra franchise, something that will delight ARU CEO John O'Neill no end.
The new 24-week Super Rugby competition guarantees each team a minimum of eight home matches and a 16-match regular season. A new six team finals series includes an extra round with two "sudden-death" qualifiers before the semi-finals.
All teams will have a three-week bye while the tournament is suspended during the June International Test window, while the Tri-Nations series has also been given a new time slot in the calendar to run at the conclusion of Super Rugby.
The expanded competition has a 2011 launch date, with the current broadcast agreement to expire at the end of 2010.
"It has been an intense negotiation but we believe the outcome is a very good one for rugby, for the SANZAR alliance, for our players and fans and for broadcasters," said Andy Marinos, the CEO of SANZAR.
"We were all committed to an expanded tournament and have been able to make it work, taking into account the different landscapes of our domestic game. What we have agreed upon is a competition with added domestic interest and a compelling international component that will see Super Rugby retain its status as rugby's toughest provincial competition."
Key features of the proposed new season structure are:
> A 15th team playing in the Australian conference will be added to Super Rugby following a tender process open to all territories, and with SANZAR making the decision on the new side's location. A timetable for tenders will be released shortly to ensure adequate lead-in time is provided to the successful bidder.
> The Tournament will kick off in the last week of February and conclude in the first week of August, except in 2011 when the calendar will be shifted earlier to accommodate Rugby World Cup.
> Teams will be divided into three national Conferences of five teams each. The new team will compete in the Australian Conference.
> Teams play the other four teams in their Conference twice (home and away).
> Teams play four out of the five teams from the other two Conferences (four home, four away).
> All teams will have a three-week bye during the June Test window.
> The three Conference winners and three wildcard teams with the highest number of competition points from any Conference qualify for the play-offs.
> The wildcard teams and the Conference winner with the least competition points will play an elimination round to meet the two Conference winners with the greatest number of competition points in the semi-finals.
> Tri-Nations will always kick-off in South Africa in mid-August and conclude with two of the three trans-Tasman matches in early October to allow for early release of Springboks to Currie Cup. The will allow for Tri Nations tests between particular teams in particular countries to become permanent fixtures on the rugby calendar. [...]
A memorable sporting weekend got off under a very dark cloud with the announcement of the death of Sunline, possibly the greatest and most elegant race horse of my lifetime. The girl died much too early, at the age of 13, succumbing to incurable laminitis, and will be buried at Ellerslie race track, a fitting tribute. More information here.
Sunline was already immortalized as the best Kiwi mare-ever, and in a very exclusive class of the best Kiwi thoroughbreds of all time. Chronologically... Carbine, Gloaming (actually an Aussie-bred), Phar Lap, Kindergarten, Rising Fast, Tulloch and Sunline. Carbine and Phar Lap are on a different stratosphere. For sentimental reasons I'd add Desert Gold, Balmerino and Bonecrusher to the list (Might and Power was pretty special, too), but Sunline is closer to the best than they are.
Three-time Australian Horse of the Year and Four-time New Zealand Horse of the Year, both unprecedented, says it all really. An inaugural inductee into the New Zealand Racing Hall of Fame, and the only horse to ever be inducted into the Australian Hall of Fame while she was still racing.
I thought Canada's Dance Smartly might've been the best darling of the turf I ever saw ... until I saw Sunline. She has too many great memories to mention, but of particular note mention has to go to her 2000 Cox Plate, the second of her infamous back-to-backs in the Australasian weight-for-age championship. Her race was simply breathtaking (see Pt. 2 of youtube video below). The race wasn't as exciting as Bonecrusher's '86 Plate, but her victory was more awe-inspiring, more devastating.
Her speed and endurance and will-to-win were legendary. The girl didn't muck around, she went to the front, applied heavy pressure and basically said "catch me if you can." Thanks for the memories girl, and Rest In Peace.
WTF? Less than two years after scoring a try against the All Blacks (see video below) and representing Canada at the Rugby World Cup, fullback Mike Pyke "breaks the code" and makes a "miraculous" jump to the AFL:
Canadian Pyke to make his 'crazy game' debut
Richard Hinds May 1, 2009 The Age, Melbourne
WHEN Mike Pyke told his mother that he was moving from France to Australia to further his football career, she was not totally surprised. The Canadian rugby international had played in Edinburgh for two years before joining French club side US Montauban, and so the move to Sydney did not seem unusual.
"I knew there were two types of rugby in Australia, league and union," said Christine Peterson who lives in Victoria, British Columbia. "I just thought he was going there to play one or the other. I really didn't think much about this crazy game you have."
The crazy game is Australian football and, at the SCG on Sunday, Mike Pyke will become one of its most exotic debutants. About 10 months after a friend who was working in Melbourne sent an email to an agent saying he knew someone "who might be pretty good", Pyke will pinch-hit in the ruck for Sydney against Richmond.
While AFL fans have become accustomed to Irishmen making the transition from Gaelic to Australian football, a 24-year-old Canadian rugby player rising to the elite level so quickly is unprecedented. "Miraculous," says Michael Quinlan, the manager who recommended Pyke to the Swans. "It's really amazing that it's happened so fast."
Christine Peterson, who had just returned to Canada last week after spending three weeks with her son in Sydney, will board another long-haul flight and be at the SCG on Sunday. It will be, she says, a head-spinning experience watching her son play a game at the elite level that was a strange novelty when he was a child.
"He had certainly heard of it but we don't even get fully-fledged games (on television) here," she said. "You would just see them jumping and running around some times without really knowing what was going on."
But Peterson is not surprised by how quickly her son has adapted. Having raised Pyke and his older brother and sister alone after being divorced from their father Ian when Mike was four (Ian Pyke died last year), she saw him thrive playing ice hockey, soccer and basketball as a junior before he settled on rugby.
"He's just a really good athlete and he's always done very well," she says of Pyke, who made his debut for Canada at full-back aged 19.
Canadian friend Matt Goodwin set in motion his unusual transition from rugby to AFL. Living in Melbourne, Goodwin was inevitably immersed in the local game and decided the athletic Pyke would be a natural. So he tracked down contact details for Quinlan and sent him an email.
"Basically it said he knew this guy who would be worth taking a look at," says Quinlan. "The thing that caught my eye was that he was 200-plus centimetres and 105 kilos. So I got in contact (with Goodwin) to see if he was legitimate athlete, looked at some footage and then I spoke to Mike."
Quinlan contacted the Swans because of their reputation for developing left-field recruits.
The Swans were impressed both by Pyke's physique and that he was already a mature, elite athlete. A program was put in place to fine-tune his skills.
"It's pretty amazing," says Brett Allison, the Swans assistant who has overseen Pyke's development. "When we first saw him (last August) I though he might have been pushing for a game at the back end of the season … but he's picked up the game really fast."
In the first Heineken Cup semi-final of the weekend, played in Dublin on Saturday, Leinster stunned rugby fans the world over conquering arch-nemesis and defending HEC-champs Munster in front of a record crowd at Croke Park.
Five years ago it would have been unthinkable sacrilege that they'd ever allow rugby to be played at Croke Park, but now the Irish are going insane for rugby in a way I've never seen in my lifetime:
Record crowd at Croke
Saturday 02nd May 2009
82,208: World record crowd witness Leinster win
The Heineken Cup has reclaimed the world record for a club crowd after 82,208 fans turned up at Croke Park to see Leinster beat Munster 25-6 and reach their first final.
Rags to riches Hollywood stuff for Mine That Bird.
Bought for $9,500 and comes to the race after a gruelling 2700 km roadtrip in a stall and steals the Kentucky Derby to win going away by seven lengths after uncorking one of the deadliest finishes I have ever seen in a major classic.
Not sure if he's the real deal (he was the Canadian 2yo champion last year) or won simply 'cos he's a superior mudder. Doesn't matter - he's the Derby champion, and the 2nd-longest shot to ever win.
Check out the aerial replay starting at 9:30 where horse and jockey Calvin Borel go from last to first squeezing along the rail in a few incredible hoof beats.
On Saturday night, Filipino national hero Manny PacquiaoobliteratedRicky Hatton in Las Vegas to win IBO and Ring Magazine World Light Welterweight Titles and retain his crown as the world's best "pound-for-pound" boxer.
The look on Hatton's face when he was down-and-out was seriously scary. Just glad he got up and was able to walk out under his own strength. Pretty much the dictionary definition of getting "laid out," Hatton looked like a carpet being unfurled onto that mat.
And yesterday (Sunday) saw for me an epic 2nd semi-final in the Heineken Cup, with Cardiff Blues stealing a pair of tries in tghe last pair of minutes, with spectacular sideline conversions from Ben "Hobbit" Blair to snatch an unlikely draw again Leicester Tigers. Alas, it being a playoff game, two extra-periods were added, without scoring, so the game went to a penalty shootout - the first time I have ever seen a rugby contest decided in such a cruel manner:
Utterly remarkable. Leicester Tigers will face Leinster in the final of the Heineken Cup after resisting one of the greatest comebacks in the history of the game to win on a place-kick penalty shoot-out after grinding out a 26-26 draw in 100 minutes of play at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday.
A game as brilliant as this one should not have been ended by such ludicrous means, but it did add a fittingly dramatic coda to the legend that this contest is sure to become - it was a jaw-dropper from start to sorry end.
Poor Martyn Williams.
The dramatic penalty shoot-out here:
And lastly, for the time-being, the All Blacks have unveiled a new kit. Presumably the shitty silver thing introduced during the RWC 2007 debacle will be discarded to the dustin of really bad ideas.
A new all-white All Blacks jersey was unveiled to be used as a second kit to complement the traditional, famous black apparel. The white jersey includes a white collar and New Zealand’s national symbol, the silver fern, on the left breast in black. As well, for the first time ever, both the black and white strips will feature a fern pattern across the front of the jersey fabric, enhancing the New Zealand look and feel of the most famous rugby jersey in the world. The All Blacks will wear the white jersey with their traditional black shorts and black socks with white stripes.
The white jersey will only be worn, as required, when the All Blacks are playing outside of New Zealand, in line with the IRB’s revised policy of the away team needing to change jerseys in the event of a clash. It will be worn for the first time against France in Marseille this November during the All Blacks’ end of year tour.
They've still got it. I've been waiting ever-so-patiently for somebody to post Sonic Youth's live appearance on BBC TV two nights ago with a new song from their forthcoming album The Eternal. And blessed thanks, somebody has! It's one of Lee's and I am entralled. It has elevated my expectations for this new record to scary heights. I'm watching it over and over. Lee has thrown down a marker. If Kim and Thurston can match this, then this first Matador album will surely be another stunner.
Sonic Youth - What We Know - Later... With Jools Holland 28/04/09
Paul O'Connell promised to lead the British and Irish Lions in the same way he skippered Munster to European Cup glory after being unveiled as their captain for this year's tour of South Africa.
"It's not a day I ever aspired to as such,'' O'Connell, 29, told reporters after coach Ian McGeechan announced his 37-man squad here on Tuesday. ...
The 62-times capped lock will find himself in the unusual position of leading a side which includes his Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll, who earlier this season led the country to their first Grand Slam in 61 years.
But McGeechan was adamant in wanting a "real focus in the forwards" against the world champion Springboks. ...
O'Connell played in all three Tests during the Lions' last and ill-fated tour four years ago when they were thrashed 3-0 by New Zealand.
LIONS SQUAD
Full-backs: Lee Byrne (WAL), Robert Kearney (IRL)
Wings: Shane Williams (WAL), Tommy Bowe (IRL), Luke Fitzgerald (IRL), Leigh Halfpenny (WAL), Ugo Monye (ENG)
Centres: Tom Shanklin (WAL), Jamie Roberts (WAL), Brian O'Driscoll (IRL), Keith Earls (IRL), Riki Flutey (ENG)
Outside-halves: Stephen Jones (WAL), Ronan O'Gara (IRL)
Scrum-halves: Michael Phillips (WAL), Harry Ellis (ENG), Tomas O'Leary (IRL)
Back-row: Jamie Heaslip (IRL), Andy Powell (WAL), Martyn Williams (WAL), Joe Worsley (ENG), Stephen Ferris (IRL), David Wallace (IRL), Alan Quinlan (IRL)
Second-row: Alun-Wyn Jones (WAL), Paul O'Connell (IRL, capt), Donncha O'Callaghan (IRL), Simon Shaw (ENG), Nathan Hines (SCO)
Props: Andrew Sheridan (ENG), Phil Vickery (ENG), Euan Murray (SCO), Gethin Jenkins (WAL), Adam Jones (WAL)
Hookers: Jerry Flannery (IRL), Lee Mears (ENG), Matthew Rees (WAL)
Derek at his Hallowe'en party, circa 1991/92, presumably shot by either Frank S. or Kenton A.
Apologies in advance for the hasty sloppiness, but I write this with a heavy heart, trying to process and make some sort of sense from this past Easter weekend.
I just lost a close friend and mentor.
Derek Weiler was the Editor in Chief at Quill & Quire, a publication considered by many to be the "bible" of the Canadian publishing and literary trade. It was a position he'd held for the past five years. Ordinarily I wouldn't want to share stories. I prefer to keep my grieving personal, dignified and quiet, and I'd bend over backwards to avoid mawkishness, which Derek despised.
Yet I've been reading an assortment of news obituaries and blog commentaries, most expressing shock – he passed away much too young – and underlining his brilliance, sensitivity and talent, and thinking that, true, he was all that. But IMO they're missing something.
See, to me, and I suspect most of Derek's closest friends, it was no secret that as smart and curious as he was, he was also bone-achingly funny, he loved exchanging stories about the absurdities of life and slapping his thigh in uncontrollable fits of laughter.
Derek and I became quick friends about 18 years ago, and continued our friendship ever since, getting together annually for Blue Jay games with Frank S. and Karen M. where we'd shoot the shit about ye olde Imprint Waterloo mafia and whatever else was on our minds.
I first met Derek in 1991. I came to the Imprint office, where he was Arts Editor, and handed off a photograph of George Clinton at the Concert Hall. Derek called me a couple hours later, close to deadline, telling me he loved the photo, and that he'd reserved the top half of the arts section front page for the feature - but that he didn't have a story to accompany it.
"Can you write?" he asked me.
Front of the arts section... seriously?
I'd never written an arts article in my life. I just wanna take pictures, I think I told him, but I'll give it a try. I can't recall if it ever did make the front, but I remember that he published it with very few edits and asked me to contribute more.
From that time forward, Derek and I became fast friends. He respected my opinion and we often partnered-up for rock 'n roll gigs, with me providing photos for his articles, reviews and interviews. Sometimes he'd make me look smarter than I actually was by sharing a byline on several features (top o' my head would be those longish interviews we did with Dean Wareham, Martin Phillipps and Jonathan Donahue, etc. - then again, I was exclusively responsible for asking the really dumb questions), plus a crazy piece we threw together with Chris Waters when the three of us hit an indie-rock burnout weekend in Chapel Hill, NC for the Merge 5th anniversary bash in 1994. (Merge Records turns Twenty this summer, and only last week I'd been wonderin' whether Derek might consider a trip down south for the party, where we might catch some Superchunk and Yo La Tengo side-projects again.)
If you can't stand my writing, blame Derek! He was the person forever encouraging me to write and ginning-up my confidence. For that I will always be thankful and shall never forget.
I never fancied myself as a writer, whereas I thought he could write like a song. So his encouragement had a massive influence on my self-belief. He was forever complimenting and nurturing me. At the point he recommended me to the editor of the local daily newspaper where he was working, I think I actually started believing him. Moreover, if there's anybody to blame for the genesis of my Fillerzine, again, blame him, he was the principle antagonist insisting I had to publish the thing "by any means necessary." Better yet his contributions raised the profile of the rag, and I was always happy to publish anything-and-everything he submitted for free when he could have just as easily turned around and sold them for real currency to real publishers.
Derek at the San Francisco Wave Organ, Feb. 1996, shot by me.
I have so many fond memories of Derek. One I can never forget is a trippy February weekend in 1996 when we visited San Francisco. We hit a hip indie record store in Haight-Ashbury, where Barbara Manning (SF Seals) was working. Now, several obits have mentioned that Derek was shy, but that wasn't always the case. Derek asked Ms. Manning about some of her rare 45s that he couldn't buy back home in Canada.
We were perfect strangers, but Barbara gave us her home address and directions for the bus route. A couple hours later I was astonished to find the three of us sitting in her bedroom, with our legs folded - on her bed! - watching music videos. She was busy giving Derek records – he looked like a kid on Christmas morning – and Ms. Manning tossed me a baggie of Humboldt County's finest, telling me to start rolling. I twisted about a dozen fatties – I rolled a couple, and every time I stopped Barbara challenged me to keep twisting. Derek wore the angel wings in our friendship, so he didn't indulge. After a few hours talking about Red Krayola and baseball, we departed Barbara's place ("Did that really happen?" Derek asked me in a daze) and she took the remaining seven joints and placed them into my shirt pocket and told us to check out the Church of John Coltrane, then the harbourfront Wave Organ the next day, which we did.
Afterward, getting dark, with less than an hour to check out of the hotel and fly back to T.O., it dawned on me that I still had four fatties in my shirt pocket, and not being prone to dispose of free weed or walk stupidly through airport security and customs carrying contraband, I felt obliged to consume her gift (from the Gods, so to speak), so we wandered up to the Coit Tower. Derek had no interest whatsoever participating in what I had in mind, but he didn't object either. Derek waited patiently for me, allowing me time to do what I had to do. He inspected the brilliant art deco murals inside the tower, while I ran below into a hiding place in the bushes to single the remaining four fatties by myself, one after the other. I spun and staggered back up the hill to the tower worse for wear but relieved that the lengthy last-minute inconvenience didn't seem to bother him. I did some dumbass things in his presence, but if he was ever judgmental or pissed at me, he certainly never made me feel it.
So while I knew Derek as an Editor, that's not how I'll remember him. To me, he was a close friend and confidante who never failed to make me laugh, who accepted me for who I was, and who saw something in my abilities that I never even saw in myself.
We need more people like him in our lifetimes.
Gone much too soon, good buddy. You were a blast. It was an honour to call you my friend.
I've been distracted by multiple projects and deadlines of late, and again, very little time for viewing the rugby, let alone blogging about it. Having said that, I watched an enthralling conclusion to this years' Six Nations championship decider between Wales and Ireland at Cardiff, and give a big round of applause to Ireland claiming their first Triple Crown/Grand Slam/Championship in 61 years. Ireland 17 Wales 15. Well done, and well deserved Ireland!
Not that the potato-eaters didn't breathe a sigh of relief at games' end. The lead changed twice in the last ten minutes, and the final play of the game was a 50 metre penalty shot in front of the sticks that would have given Wales the championship. The attempt was, in my opinion, taken much too hastily by Stephen Jones, and landed short. It would have been preferrable that he took his sweet time, as much as his allowance; and perhaps Gavin Henson, who has superior range from long-distance, might have been a better option. A quibble for debate by the Welsh, I suspect.
Thirteen venues across New Zealand have been chosen to host pool matches for Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2011 after the Match Schedule was announced in Auckland on Thursday.
Rugby New Zealand (RNZ) 2011 CEO Martin Snedden confirmed the Tournament will kick off at Eden Park in Auckland on Friday 9 September 2011 when New Zealand will play Tonga.
Auckland (Eden Park), Wellington and Christchurch have been allocated five pool matches each while North Shore, Hamilton, New Plymouth, Rotorua and Dunedin will each host three matches. Whangarei, Nelson, Palmerston North, Napier and Invercargill will host two matches.
I'm personally disappointed to see the South Island get the short end of the stick. I realize it is much less populated than the urban centers of the North Island, but I would much rather see a minnow pool stage test played in Queenstown than anywhere near the North Shore. I suppose Eden Park is a motorway drive too far a drive for suburbanites from Takapuna and the East Coast Bays, but speaking as an outsider, who the heck would choose the apple orchards sterile new development of Albany over the Southern Alps and Lake District? Just askin'.
After a fortnights' break, the Six Nations championship gears back up for Round Three. (The break applies to me as well - gotta get back on top of this stuff... missed this mornings' early Hurricanes vs Crusaders match and already playing catch-up...!).
In a very unusual scheduling move, the first of the three 6N matches goes today -- FRIDAY -- rather than the usual Sat & Sun fixtures. With France hosting Wales, it's a big one and a tough ask for the visiting title-holders that'll go a long way to determining the fate of this years' competition.
Ireland versus England is another huge game, and this is the annual weekend where Italy stands it's best chance of winning a game, though playing on the road, it could be the Wooden Spoon match.
Wales: 15. Lee Byrne, 14. Leigh Halfpenny, 13. Tom Shanklin, 12. Jamie Roberts, 11. Shane Williams, 10. Stephen Jones, 9. Michael Phillips, 8. Andy Powell, 7. Martyn Williams, 6. Ryan Jones (c), 5. Alun-Wyn Jones, 4. Ian Gough, 3. Adam Jones, 2. Matthew Rees, 1. Gethin Jenkins. Reserves: 16. Huw Bennett, 17. John Yapp, 18. Luke Charteris, 19. Dafydd Jones, 20. Dwayne Peel, 21. James Hook, 22. Gavin Henson.
Date: Friday, February 27 Venue: Stade de France, Paris Kick-off: 21.00 local (20.00 GMT) (3:00 pm ET (Toronto, New York)) Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa) Touch judges: Alain Rolland (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland) Television match official: Peter Fitzgibbon (Ireland)
Scotland: 15. Hugo Southwell, 14. Simon Danielli, 13. Max Evans, 12. Graeme Morrison, 11. Thom Evans, 10. Phil Godman, 9. Mike Blair, (c), 8. Simon Taylor, 7. John Barclay, 6. Alasdair Strokosch, 5. Alastair Kellock, 4. Jason White, 3. Euan Murray, 2. Ross Ford, 1. Allan Jacobsen. Reserves: 16. Dougie Hall, 17. Alasdair Dickinson, 18. Kelly Brown, 19. Scott Gray, 20. Chris Cusiter, 21. Chris Paterson, 22. Nick De Luca.
Italy: 15. Andrea Marcato, 14. Mirco Bergamasco, 13. Gonzalo Canale, 12. Gonzalo Garcia, 11. Matteo Pratichetti, 10. Luke McLean, 9. Paul Griffen, 8. Sergio Parisse (c), 7. Mauro Bergamasco, 6. Alessandro Zanni, 5. Marco Bortolami, 4. Santiago Dellape, 3. Martin Castrogiovanni, 2. Leonardo Ghiraldini, 1. Salvatore Perugini. Reserves: 16. Franco Sbaraglini, 17. Carlos Nieto, 18. Carlo Antonio Del Fava, 19. Josh Sole, 20. Pablo Canovosio, 21. Andrea Bacchetti, 22. Giulio Rubini.
Date: Saturday, February 28 Venue: Murrayfield, Edinburgh Kick-off: 15.00 GMT (10:00 am ET (Toronto, New York)) Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) Touch-judges: George Clancy (Ireland) and Romain Poite (France)
Ireland: 15. Rob Kearney, 14. Tommy Bowe, 13. Brian O'Driscoll (c), 12. Paddy Wallace, 11. Luke Fitzgerald, 10. Ronan O'Gara, 9. Tomas O'Leary, 8. Jamie Heaslip, 7. David Wallace, 6. Stephen Ferris, 5. Paul O'Connell, 4. Donncha O'Callaghan, 3. John Hayes, 2. Jerry Flannery, 1. Marcus Horan. Reserves: 16. Rory Best, 17. Tom Court, 18. Mick O'Driscoll, 19. Denis Leamy, 20. Peter Stringer, 21. Gordon D'Arcy, 22. Geordan Murphy.
England: 15. Delon Armitage, 14. Paul Sackey, 13. Mike Tindall, 12. Riki Flutey, 11. Mark Cueto, 10. Toby Flood, 9. Harry Ellis, 8. Nick Easter, 7. Joe Worsley, 6. James Haskell, 5. Nick Kennedy, 4. Steve Borthwick (c), 3. Phil Vickery, 2 Lee Mears, 1. Andrew Sheridan. Reserves: 16. Dylan Hartley, 17. Julian White, 18. Tom Croft, 19. Luke Narraway, 20. Danny Care, 21. Andy Goode, 22. Mathew Tait.
Date: Saturday, February 28 Venue: Croke Park, Dublin Kick-off: 17.30 GMT (12:30 pm ET (Toronto, New York)) Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa) Touch judges: Christophe Berdos (France), Peter Allan (Scotland) Television match official: Giulio De Santis (Italy)
The Super 14 gets underway in the Southern Hemisphere this weekend. I reckon several of these teams could mop up against the Six Nations weaklings, but that's neither here-nor-there, let's get on with it!
Full S14 2009 season schedule and standings table at the Silver Fern, click here.
England are dreary, beating an undermanned and overmatched Italy. Hugely impressive victory for Ireland at Croke Park sets them up nicely. And Wales look ready to defend their title.
Gavin Henson's winning kick for Wales in 2005, drawn by Rebecca Millwater, aged 10
I am struggling for words
I don’t see philosophy don’t agree with their choice of captain or what they say in public
Don’t agree with nine of the starting team don’t think they have the right coaching group don’t know why they’ve de-powered their own pack
(chorus)
It’s become torture I love England and English rugby They have lost me
It’s been so bad, so depressing I wish they would go away play behind closed doors they are failing
Spending money like water For nothing
(repeat chorus x 3)
It’s become torture I love England and English rugby O woes, the once-mighty rose They have lost me
---------------------- "The Wilting Rose Has Lost Me," lyrics by Stephen Jones; musical accompaniment ("Wreck On the Highway") by Bruce Springsteen.
Alrighty then. Six Nations rugby kicks off tomorrow. I hear the faint whisp of clairvoyant sorrow in the 'Stache's weepin' heart, so on to this weekends' preview action !!
ENGLAND vs ITALY
England: 1. Andrew Sheridan, 2. Lee Mears, 3. Phil Vickery, 4. Steve Borthwick (c), 5. Nick Kennedy, 6. James Haskell, 7. Steffon Armitage, 8. Nick Easter, 9. Harry Ellis, 10. Andy Goode, 11. Mark Cueto, 12. Riki Flutey, 13. Mike Tindall, 14. Paul Sackey, 15. Delon Armitage. Reserves: 16. Dylan Hartley, 17. Julian White, 18. Tom Croft, 19. Joe Worsley, 20. Ben Foden, 21. Shane Geraghty, 22. Mathew Tait.
Italy: 1. Salvatore Perugini, 2. Fabio Ongaro, 3. Martin Castrogiovani, 4. Santiago Dellapé, 5. Marco Bortolami, 6. Josh Sole, 7. Alessandro Zanni, 8. Sergio Parisse (c), 9. Mauro Beragamasco, 10. Andrea Marcato, 11. Mirco Bergamasco, 12. Gonzalo Garcia, 13. Gonzalo Canale, 14. Kane Robertson, 15. Andrea Masi. Reserves: 16. Carlo Festuccia, 17. Carlos Nieto, 18. Tommaso Reato, 19. Jean-Francois Montauriol, 20. Giulio Toniolatti, 21. Luke McLean, 22. Matteo Pratichetti.
Date: Saturday 7 February, 2009 Kick-off: 15:00 GMT (10 am ET (Toronto, New York)) Venue: Twickenham Referee: Mark Lawrence (South Africa) Touch judges: Joel Jutge (France), Peter Allan (Scotland) TMO: Nigel Whitehouse (Wales)
Ireland: 1. Marcus Horan, 2. Jerry Flannery, 3. John Hayes, 4. Donncha O'Callaghan, 5. Paul O'Connell, 6. Stephen Ferris, 7. David Wallace, 8. Jamie Heaslip, 9. Tomas O'Leary, 10. Ronan O'Gara, 11. Luke Fitzgerald, 12. Paddy Wallace, 13. Brian O'Driscoll (c), 14. Tommy Bowe, 15. Rob Kearney. Reserves: 16. Rory Best, 17. Tom Court, 18. Mal O'Kelly, 19. Denis Leamy, 20. Peter Stringer, 21. Gordon D'Arcy, 22. Geordan Murphy.
Scotland: 1. Allan Jacobsen, 2. Ross Ford, 3. Geoff Cross, 4. Jason White, 5. Jim Hamilton, 6. Ally Hogg, 7. John Barclay, 8. Simon Taylor, 9. Mike Blair (c), 10. Phil Godman, 11. Sean Lamont, 12. Graeme Morrison, 13. Ben Cairns, 14. Simon Webster, 15. Hugo Southwell. Reserves: 16. Dougie Hall, 17. Alastair Dickinson, 18. Kelly Brown, 19. Scott Gray, 20. Chris Cusiter, 21. Chris Paterson, 22. Max Evans.
Wales: 1. Gethin Jenkins, 2. Matthew Rees, 3. Adam Jones, 4. Ian Gough, 5. Alun-Wyn Jones, 6. Ryan Jones (c), 7. Martyn Williams, 8. Andy Powell, 9. Michael Phillips, 10. Stephen Jones, 11. Shane Williams, 12. Gavin Henson, 13. Jamie Roberts, 14. Leigh Halfpenny, 15. Lee Byrne. Reserves: 16. Huw Bennett, 17. John Yapp, 18. Luke Charteris, 19. Dafydd Jones, 20. Dwayne Peel, 21. James Hook, 22. Tom Shanklin.
Date: Sunday 8 February, 2009 Kick-off: 15:00 GMT (10 am ET (Toronto, New York)) Venue: Murrayfield Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) Touch judges: Chris White (England), Rob Debney (England) TMO: Geoff Warren (England)
Too much rugby news, and too little time to blog about it. I've been watching as much Heineken Cup, Guinness Premiership and Magner's League rugby as Setanta's program schedule will allow, but have either been too busy or too lazy to blog about it.
A few items flying on the radar ...
AB all-world flyhalf Dan Cartertore his Achilles tendon playing for Perpignan and will have surgery momentarily, and be out of action for at least six months. With New Zealand pivots Nick Evans, Glen Jackson, Luke McAlister and (yes!) even Carlos Spencer plying their trade in England, the All Blacks will probably press Stephen Donald into the No. 10 jersey for the Tri-Nations. Donald has yet to impress wearing black.
Another icon of Kiwi rugby (and this blog), the former All Black skipper Tana Umaga has been pushed from his coaching gig at the underperforming Toulon, and come out of retirement to take up a position with the team on the playing field. Will keep an eye on progress on that front.
England front-rower Matt Stevens has been pinged for blowing positive for a "recreational" substance on a blood-test. The drug has been unconfirmed, but the young prop has a history battling cocaine, and the Brit press is saying that's what it was. Stevens would ordinarily face an automatic two-year suspension, but will be a test case under a new RFU draft that will try to differentiate punishments between users of prohibited recreational drugs and cheaters. Here's hoping Stevens is shown some leniency, turns his life around, and receives a judicial punishment that fits the crime.
The Six Nations tournament kicks off this weekend. I'll try to get all the regular previews up tomorrow (Friday).
Sunny days ahead, the Sanzar Super 14 kicks off next week.
Developing...
Australian Rugby Union (ARU) boss John O'Neill says he expects the Super rugby competition to expand to 15 teams in 2011.
O'Neill said talks have recommenced between the SANZAR working party after a breakdown in discussions late last year over a proposed 16-team finals series.
The ARU chief indicated that a Super 15 competition running from the March 1 until early August in 2011 would involve an extra team from either Japan or the Pacific Islands and would incorporate six teams in the finals.
The United States Rugby Football Foundation will be honouring posthumously, Miles "Doc" Hudson and former All Black skipper Pat Vincent at its Annual Dinner --Saturday, February 14, 2009 at the Hotel Solamar in downtown San Diego.
I must concede ignorance about Vincent, when I should really have known better.
The USRFF press release reads:
Pat Vincent was the captain of the New Zealand All Blacks in 1956. He coached the Saint Mary's (California) rugby teams from 1968 until his unfortunate passing in 1983. The foundation that Pat set during his time in charge is credited for the successes that Saint Mary's has enjoyed since then.
Indeed, checking the NZ Rugby Museum database, I see that Vincent (AB #576) only played twice for the All Blacks, but was the captain in two tests, and not just any tests, but the infamous series against the Springboks in 1956.
Hard to believe they handed the captaincy to a test-match debutante against the Boks!!
The two tests were Vincent's first and only matches for New Zealand. In both he captained the side. The All Blacks struggled to a 10-6 victory at Carisbrook in a match with "a fair amount of mutual mayhem". Any victory over the Springboks is considered a good one, but the attrition rate on this occasion was unusually high; at one stage there were only 25 players on the field.
When New Zealand lost 8-3 in Wellington, Vincent was dropped from the team. Vem Wilkinson tells why:
Pat had shown an error of judgment in the second test by persevering with the high kick in a howling gale, which did lead to one score, but after that try the ball always drifted over the dead ball line — wasted possession and a rest for the Springboks. I mentioned this to Pat later and his reply was interesting: a captain was bound to carry out the instructions of the coach; if be disobeyed them it was at his peril. What a decision for a captain to have to make under the extraordinary weather conditions that prevailed, and in the tension of a test against the Springboks!
The captaincy was given to fellow old boy Bob Duff (who had been in the BHS 1st XV with Vincent in 1943), who played for the Christchurch Football Club. Vincent did not complain at his dumping from the team either at the time or later. He wasn't that sort of person. He was so calm and collected that rugby writer Terry McLean believed he would have made a good diplomat.
I learn something new every day. And sheesh, were selectors ever ruthless in the amateur era!
"The Rugby Foundation looks forward to honoring these gentlemen who put so much of themselves into seeing that rugby took hold in the U.S.," said USRFF Chairman, Bob Watkins. "It's important that true rugby men like Doc and Pat are recognized for their efforts."
For more info about the USRFF Annual Dinner, click here.
