Signing off...young fans with 'Once Was Kiwi' Marty Taupau. Photo / Photosport
Signing off...young fans with 'Once Was Kiwi' Marty Taupau. Photo / Photosport
COMMENT:
This is why most people regard international rugby league as a joke.
Just when you thought it was safe to go and watch a league test, it falls in the gutter again.
Following the announcement of the Kiwi team on Thursday night, big bad Marty Taupau rang coach MichaelMaguire to let him know he had switched to Samoa.
And test league lets this sort of rubbish go on and on and on.
No he didn't. The Manly Monster dumped on the Kiwis, by pulling out AFTER the squad was named.
How can you take an international sport seriously when blokes are switching sides a mere eight days out from the game? It's actually a form of sabotage.
On a personal level, a player who was one of my favourite Kiwis can go take a running jump. I'm disgusted in Taupau's actions.
"I had to make a tough call," bleated Taupau, with Maguire left to find a replacement against Tonga on Saturday night.
No. Tough calls are made by people who live in slums and don't have enough food to eat.
Having the courtesy to tell the fans you have represented that you will play for another country well BEFORE the team is named is very easy to do, if you have to do it at all.
In all the ups and downs of the Kiwis, I thought Taupau was one of the people we could rely on. Stupid me.
Who the heck are we supposed to trust anymore? Probably no one. So who's next?
We're not talking about a fringe selection. Taupau has played 24 tests for the Kiwis, TWENTY FOUR TESTS. He was born in Auckland, and was a Junior Kiwis captain for goodness sake.
We all understand the divided loyalties some Polynesian players feel. We all know that Tonga, Samoa etc. etc. have not always been treated with respect.
But the Kiwis have always treated Taupau with respect.
Similar nonsense has gone on with the likes of James Tamou, Jason Taumalolo, Agnatius Paasi and others in recent times.
Representative football only works if you have some sort of dividing line, a respect for borders. Otherwise it's just a playground shambles.
Fans deserve better than continually anticipating test matches under false pretences. Selectors should know who is available in advance so they can get the team composition right. It's not a lot to ask.
Test league has its moments. But it's a silly bouncy castle compared to the majesty of real international sport.
Only the European players appear united in respecting team identities, the cornerstone of representative sport.
In this part of the world, league almost celebrates these embarrassing 11th hour switcharoos while wondering why it is stuck in the backyard.
What's wrong with him?
Adam Blair...celebrate his 300th game with yet another cheap shot. Photo / Photosport
As for Warriors coach Steve Kearney defending Adam Blair after yet another cheap shot from the veteran…
A ridiculously late, blindside hit from Blair could have caused Titans playmaker Tyrone Robert serious injury.
League needs one voice in condemning those cowardly hits.
What the heck is wrong with Adam Blair? Someone at the Warriors should read him the riot act, not make excuses.
His latest indiscretion almost needlessly cost the Warriors victory.
"He lives on the edge," Kearney reckoned, which simply doesn't cover the situation.
There comes a time when a coach needs to drop the "boost my player" routine for the greater good.
I am sick to death of watching Blair carry on with this nonsense while people who should know better do nothing.
Rugby needs more expression
Leon MacDonald...baffled, like the rest of us. Photo / Photosport
Watching the Blues blow a huge lead against the Hurricanes Development Team on Saturday night was just sad.
Leon MacDonald, as he has done for a lot of the season, looked like a frustrated man in the coaching box.
He often looks bewildered, like the rest of us with the misfortune to be parked in Blues territory. In comparison, his burly offside Tom Coventry is never moved.
Just a personal view... but Macdonald should show a bit more composure and command, exude more control and confidence. It might flow to his team.
But I've done a quick office poll and it has come out overwhelmingly in favour of rugby people showing emotion. Respondents (well, the two people I spoke to) gave the expressive MacDonald a big tick.
Fun and games in Invercargill
As for the Waratahs…turning up for a do-or-die last round match against the Highlanders with five test players (with more than 400 caps) missing tells you everything about the shonky Super Rugby competition.
What was even more telling is that nobody seemed to give two hoots and accepted this test-rest nonsense as legitimate.
In a nutshell, a team which could still have made the playoffs in the world's best provincial competition chucked in the towel. Yawn.
In defence of Andreas Heraf
A black day for Rosie White and the Football Ferns in Grenoble. Photo / Photosport
And a very unsatisfactory few days of sport concluded with a hopeless performance by the Football Ferns in their World Cup match against Canada, who were superb except in front of goal.
Former Ferns coach Andreas Heraf may have had a few unfortunate traits. But the departed Austrian, a much-lambasted figure, was dead right when he intimated that our players simply aren't good enough, that it's pointless designing game plans pretending that they are.
For all of the huffing and puffing about the overly defensive Heraf, the post-Heraf Ferns have yet to score a goal in two World Cup games.
On second thoughts...
One final thought: If Beauden Barrett really is considering a switch to the Blues, he may have had second thoughts after watching his potential new team capitulate in Wellington on Saturday night.
There is something very wrong with the culture at the Blues. I'm guessing that their first season coaches Leon MacDonald and Tom Coventry are shocked at how extensive the rot is.
