Notes from a sporting week – 03/12/07

Baa-Baas still trying to find place the world:

The rugby union international calendar was brought to a close at the weekend with South Africa suffering their first loss as world champions with a 22-5 defeat to the Barbarians at Twickenham. It won’t be a defeat that unduly troubles the Springboks as they head back to sunnier climes. They can look back on a tremendous year both at international and provincial level and be glad to have bloodied some new faces in awful weather conditions in front of a 52,000 crowd at Twickenham. Having used the week in London as something of a jolly, with Christmas shopping high on the priorities, they will enjoy their well-earned time off to let the tag of world champions sink in.

It was the other team on the day that can look back with greater satisfaction, not just for the result, but the way in which they did it and the timing of it. Great credit must therefore go to the players, especially those from the southern hemisphere, who rose from their beach lounges to put the boots on one more time. No doubt the likes of New Zealand’s Joe Rokocoko, Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu and Australia’s Matt Giteau all felt they had unfinished business after their world cup quarterfinal exits. Credit too to the Welsh regional teams, the Cardiff Blues and Ospreys who allowed Tom Shanklin, Martyn Williams and Justin Marshall to play, despite having Anglo-Welsh commitments over the weekend. How much new Wales coach Warren Gatland must wish he could persuade Williams against international retirement following his man of the match performance in southwest London?

However, greatest praise must go to the Baa-Baas captain on the day, Mark Regan, who defied his club to lead the team out. His club, Bristol, had been one of the Premier Rugby teams to vote overwhelmingly against releasing their players for the fixture, but having been excused duty to stay fresh for next weekend’s European Cup match, Regan put a few west country noses out of joint when he headed down the M4. His rallying call to the Barbarians’ cause during the week was refreshing to hear in these times of rest periods and peak performance targets. Having been on the end of four defeats to South Africa this year, the England hooker will no doubt be feeling that there was an element of score settling with the result, even though he would surely swap it for a win the previous time he took them on.

Of course this match came at the end of a week in which the great and the good of world rugby; the unions, domestic leagues, competition committees and various others were hosted by the International Rugby Board in Woking to thrash out a coherent structure to the game. One team that failed to raise a mention was that of the Barbarians and the fear was that the Springboks would see them off before further calls to remove this anachronism from the modern game once and for all. They did get a mention in the English club v country talks in which the decision was made not to release premier league players for this fixture. Such treatment contrasts greatly to another team from the amateur era whose place in the grand scheme of things many were fearing when the sport turned professional, The British and Irish Lions.

When rugby union went open in 1995 many wondered where the Lions would fit in. Now though any call to abolish the four-year cycle of Lions’ tours would meet with fierce resistance, not only from the Home Unions Committee, but from Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, all four of whom benefit financially from the tours. They have been cherished and nurtured like the favourite child, despite there having been more losing than winning tours, whilst the Barbarians have taken on the Cinderella role. What then should become of the men in black and white hoops?

It was good to hear that in future there would be some system in which clubs would nominate a player for a match, something they are infinitely able to do in these days of mega squads. There should be one match in the autumn against one of the touring teams and two in the summer, using different stadiums around the UK. There has also been talk of using them as a development tool in the developing rugby nations. Imagine how much good a Barbarians tour would do to raise the profile of the sport in Georgia, Portugal or Romania, who struggle to secure test matches against the tier one nations, let alone at home. Already the Barbarians do a massive amount for charity and this would be a far more direct route to help out the less affluent rugby nations. It would also do young uncapped players the world of good touring to such places and learning from their more experienced colleagues, serve as a shop window for those without a club, as Ben Cohen did this weekend, and provide one last hurrah for those retiring from the sport, as Jason Robinson did at Twickenham.

Backing the Barbarians these days is not the done thing if a lot of rugby opinion is to be listened to. But something that has provided that many moments of glorious rugby down the years should not be so hastily thrown away. There have been highlights galore down the years. Don’t believe me? Go to Youtube and type in the word Barbarians. Top of these is of course Gareth Edwards’ try against New Zealand in 1973, but others matches that will live long in the memory include the 1994 match at Lansdowne Road and the 2000 match at Twickenham, both against the Springboks. Furthermore they are a far more preferable invitational side to watch than those in the shoddy ‘North v South’ and ‘Jonah v Johnno’ matches that have been foisted upon us in recent years.

This weekend provided a boon at just the right time for the Baa-Baas and it was a throwback to past years with the performances on and off the pitch. Regan led the way of course, but probably the greatest personification of the Barbarian way was by New Zealand flanker Jerry Collins who wore Barnstaple second XV socks. He played for the Devon side whilst catching up with some Kiwi friends after leaving France. Giteau’s early break out try set the tone and whilst the rain dampened the action as the match wore on, it was definitely a match that put a smile on the face. That said there will be need to be many more of these performances to put the Barbarians back to where they were in the 1960’s, 70’s and 80’s. During the world cup in France my cousin wore a Baa-Baas jersey throughout his visit to Marseille for the quarterfinals and was shocked that very few of the visiting fans knew which jersey it was. The first step has been taken in putting the name and club back in people’s minds; they must now ensure that every future step they take is equally as significant to get back to where they once were.

Muralitharan makes it to record books:

It was a celebratory weekend for Sri Lanka bowler Muttiah Muralitharan this weekend, as he drew level with Australia’s Shane Warne in the all-time test wicket takers list. The spinner equalled Warne’s haul of 508 wickets in the first test with England and will no doubt pass him, if not in this match, then in the current test series.

However, I cannot help but feel that it is a hollow record and that despite being one of the nicest blokes on the cricket circuit he should not even be allowed to bowl. You see the very thing that makes him so formidable an opponent to face at the end of the crease, is the very thing that should mean that each and every one of his balls should be void.

I’m talking, of course, about his arm and the fact that he cannot fully extend it. Now I know that the International Cricket Council have bent over backwards to work out whether his bowling action is legal or not, but just look at it. The arm is not straight, so how can it be ruled legal? Sure I know he is not able to fully extend his arm, but so what? Just because he is able to bowl well, albeit in an illegal manner, should not have meant that he was given special dispensation, which he has. It is a shame there is no parallel in any other sport that comes to mind, because yes the record has fallen, but in these circumstances, where is the worth in it?
JI 03/12/07