KEY POINTS:
Funny how history has a way of repeating itself.
Take the England rugby team. Nine years ago, they came to Australia and New Zealand on the Tour from Hell. Defections and disinterest led to a bucketload of withdrawals.
Some bloke called Jonny Wilkinson was feeling his way at first five-eighths and elsewhere there were names who rapidly subsided from view. They got a couple of beltings, 64-22 and 40-10, from the All Blacks before the nadir - a 76-0 trampling from Australia.
This week, England named their squad to tour South Africa for two tests with all the hallmarks of another couple of duffings in the making.
Wales, Ireland and France are all making tours Downunder in the next couple of months, France heading this way for a couple of tests at Eden Park and Wellington. All will send less than their finest selections as coaches juggle having players available for a proper World Cup preparation versus keeping the clubs happy.
England have lost eight players to injury at the latest count and players from Wasps, Leicester and Bath are ruled out by European club commitments. And here's how stupid things are getting.
England's coach, Brian Ashton, may be forced to leave Wilkinson out of the second test at Pretoria on June 2 if he wants to avoid the player being ruled out of England's World Cup warmups in August against Wales and France.
Sound strange? England's players have an 11-week off-season window. If Wilkinson plays in Pretoria, count forward 11 weeks and you'll find he's off limits until after August 18. That's 21 days before England's opening cup match against the United States.
There was a time when coaches only had to wonder about getting it right on the field. Of course, if history really does repeat, Wilkinson will probably be crocked again by then anyway.
* Two memories of Dick Motz.
One sunny Saturday morning in Christchurch. Mid summer. A father says to his young son: "Would you like to go down to Hagley Park and watch Mr Motz bowling to Mr Dowling?"
Riccarton were hosting Burnside-West in the senior club competition and New Zealand's premier bowler was going full throttle against New Zealand's captain, opener and premier batsman.
Back then, internationals did play club cricket. What chance of that happening today.
Dowling also happened to be the one to discover Motz dead in his inner city flat last Sunday.
Many Cantabs of a certain age will also remember Otago's visit to Lancaster Park in January, 1968.
Canterbury won by an innings and 44 runs. In the course of Canterbury's innings, Motz banged 103 not out in 55 minutes. Seven sixes, eight fours. It was his only first-class hundred.
Oh yes, he also took nine for 98 in the match. His victims included an Otago opening batsman. The 1968 almanac line reads: G.W. Henry b Motz 0; ct Ward b Motz 2.
Motz, 67, was farewelled at Lancaster Park (now Jade Stadium, if you must) yesterday. He took the bulk of his 518 first-class wickets at 22.71 on his home ground.
Opponents reckoned he got a few dodgy lbws there down the years, but batsmen are like that.
Fast-medium, burly and with a giant ticker, Motz was the first New Zealander to reach 100 test wickets. At the time it seemed a herculean feat. Ten have gone past him since he scaled that mountain in 1969.
If Motz was around today, and his rustic but brutal hitting got a spot of refinement in the modern coaching structures, he would have been a five star hero.
To those youngsters whose first bat 40 years ago was a Dick Motz Special - he was that.
