Sam Cane reacts from the bench after having his yellow card upgraded to a red. Photo / Getty Images
Dear Sam,
Normally when I wake up the morning after a great victory over the All Blacks by my team, the Springboks, I have a hangover and an utter sense of joy. This morning when I woke up, I only had the hangover.
In case you’re wondering why, it’s because I just cannot get over the look on your face when the final whistle blew. You tried to mask it, but for those of us who have been around the block a few times, we recognised that look. Pain. And pain of the worst kind. The pain experienced by people with principle.
I have watched you play rugby for many years, Sam. Watched as you did the dirty work in the loose, taking one for the team. Watched you cop criticism and still keep your head high. Watched as you shunned the limelight and gave others credit. But never, not once have I seen you be malicious or anything but a good sport. So until I’m proved to the contrary, I believe the incident in the 32nd minute was just a case of you being in the wrong place at the wrong time. There was nothing you could have done to prevent it. And neither could any other loose forward.
Not that I don’t think the red card was unjustified - it was. Sometimes bad things happen to good people.
I heard you say at the press conference you were going to have to live with this “forever”. Please don’t go there, Sam. Living with something forever is what drunk drivers who run over a child do - not over what happens in a rugby game.
So Sam, please do me this favour. Please don’t allow yourself to be burdened by what happened on Saturday. Only then will I be able to experience that utter joy I’m craving - which will finally allow me to believe that yes, we actually did win the game.
Ingo Rencken, Salt Rock, KZN, South Africa
Rugby writers appear reluctant to criticise the rules of the game. This forces them to conclude Sam Cane was rightly red-carded for a “high tackle” in the World Cup final. It wasn’t a tackle, it was a split-second collision Cane could not possibly avoid.
If rugby writers feel obliged to accept inflexible rules and support rulings that are strictly in line with them, could they at least spare us the fiction that players’ “discipline” is at fault. No amount of “discipline” can save you when a guy clatters into you at full pace.
As Cane said: “At the time I wasn’t even aware, it caught me off guard that he stepped back.”
However, like all players caught by these rules, he felt obliged to admit guilt. It brings to mind victims of Soviet show trials who sacrificed themselves rather than discredit the system they served.
Rugby writers are under no such obligation, they should call out rules and refereeing that are ruining the game.
John Roughan, Campbells Bay
On Sunday, I walked/jogged the half marathon. I do it most years. Today the experience was the same as ever, despite the wind and cooler-than-seasonal temperatures. Last year it was despite the rain. Aucklanders come out of their homes to stand on the road and cheer. Volunteers line the route offering fist bumps or hand tags, yelling encouragement. Musical ensembles entertain, drums roll and energise flagging spirits. Sometimes the words of encouragement are just for me. I am over 60, there is nothing glamourous about my attempt at this annual event.
I want to say a big thank you, Auckland. Thank you for all the enthusiasm and support. Thank you for caring and giving up a Sunday morning to stand on the side of the road and to yell for people you have never met and will never meet again. What generosity of spirit! Thank you for challenging me to ask of myself whether I also do all I can in all life’s opportunities to encourage and be there for others.
Rosemary Erlam, Devonport
Shane Te Pou’s opinion piece (Herald, October 29) should be taken with a grain of salt. Comments that the election was underfunded and unfair and the voting process “one hell of a cock-up and chaotic in many electorates” are delusional.
Without question, there will be areas that the Electoral Commission needs to improve on, such as the earlier dispatch of the Easyvote packs and final counting of special votes, which will be subject to review and scrutiny by a parliamentary select committee.
The Electoral Commission publication in September referenced 2600 places where you could vote during the 2023 general election, which included malls and retail areas, transport hubs, mosques, universities, schools and community halls. One of Te Pou’s many criticisms was that there were only 38 election-day polling places in the Māngere electorate, which for an area that is hardly the size of Texas seems more than adequate.
Bruce Eliott, St Heliers
I am the mother of a daughter with multiple physical and mental special needs. The report of the review into Idea Services and the IHC as outlined in the Herald (October 28) is disturbing and distressing. Clearly significant changes have to be made in both organisations. The purpose of my letter is to outline to parents who may have lost all faith as a result of the findings in the review that there is indeed help in our community for those with disabilities. The main concern for all parents is that there is a wraparound organisation around our loved ones for when we are not around.
I have had no contact with the IHC or Idea Services, preferring to deal directly with a number of individuals and institutions.
Our daughter, after a meticulous and diligent assessment by the Taikura Trust, was fortunate enough to receive their support.
Her day-to-day care is provided by Creative Abilities on the North Shore. Their staff are amazing: kind, compassionate, caring and highly-trained. The accommodation is immaculate, clean and homely. Creative Abilities has a day centre offering stimulating and fun activities such as gym, arts and crafts, cooking and music, and daily excursions to 10 pin bowling and swimming.
Over the years I have been in control and been able to get the best available help for my daughter. Although this has been time-consuming, it has been rewarding to see my daughter get the best possible advice and treatment from the family GP, hearing specialists, cancer surgeons, shoulder and hand specialists, an eye clinic, eye surgeons and diabetes specialists.
Sharon Deaker, Takapuna
I believe the call for the IHC boss to quit is fully justified because the quality of care provided by the IHC and Idea Services has steadily declined over the 20 years the current CEO has held his position.
In 2010, the IHC closed all its workshops and in 2020 closed all its day activity centres.
Both actions caused severe hurt to many people, none of whom were involved in making the decisions.
This is happening because the voice of those with intellectual disabilities has been silenced. Since its creation, this voice was heard through the IHC branches that were an integral part of the organisation. Almost all of their members were parents or close relatives of those with intellectual disabilities.
In 2008 the branches were downgraded to associations and were no longer an integral part of the IHC. Decisions are now all made in IHC head office in Wellington without consulting associations, IHC members, or those directly affected.
Laurie Wesley, Birkenhead
We have just returned from a holiday on Queensland’s Gold Coast. At Woolworths supermarkets there we saw:
Nesquik cereal, 650g on special at A$4.40. Auckland price $9.80;
The Natural Confectionery Co. 220g bags on special at A$2.00. Auckland price on special $3.50;
Blueberry 125g punnets A$2.00 (and cheaper elsewhere). Auckland price $5.50.
There are plenty of other examples of Woolworths’ prices being way cheaper there than here. Now you’ve changed your name, bring it on, Woolies!
Hugh Anderson, Rothesay Bay
Israel has launched a ground offensive and increased its bombing assault, despite a UN resolution calling for a truce. Gaza has been devastated. Over 7000 Palestinians are now dead - five times the number of Israelis - and over a million have had to flee with no safe evacuation place. In the first week the IDF dropped 6000 bombs on 3500 targets and there has been no respite since. The indiscriminate bombing of civilians, collective punishment of innocent civilians, strangling of supply lines and bombing of hospitals are against the Geneva Convention regulating conflict. The ground offensive will be catastrophic for innocent civilians.
The New Zealand Government should demand that Hamas and Israel abide by the truce and give a reasonable deadline for the hostages to be released. Further, that Israel specifies a safe place for innocent civilians to gather and to allow humanitarian aid to reach these refugees; to use targeted bombing (and possible targeted ground operations) of rocket launch sites only if there would be further attacks; to stop illegal settlements and confiscation of Palestinian land; and that both sides obey the Geneva Convention.
Steve Lincoln, Botany Downs
Your correspondent Emma Mackintosh (October 30) ignores the damage the policies of the previous Labour Government caused to all - rich and poor.
Education can be one of the most significant factors in increasing the gap between the “haves” and the “have-nots”. Yet Labour allowed truancy to rise while literacy and numeracy skills declined. How long will it take for those children who most needed education to catch up?
Our health service is in a dire state as waiting lists and waiting times for emergency services have increased. Failure to change immigration laws hindered the arrival of overseas medical staff to relieve the pressure on hospital services. Money assigned to mental health was not spent where it was needed, leading to a rise in the numbers of young people needing psychiatric care.
Ram raids increased and too often went unpunished, causing many retailers loss of income and to live in fear of such attacks.
These matters explain why voters chose a change of government which would address the many problems faced by all New Zealanders.
Janie Weir, Newmarket
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