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September 03, 2006 Edition 1
Hairy McCaw
At Friday's final pre-Test presser at the Palace of the Lost City, Richie McCaw was sporting a somewhat silly-looking moustache. When it was pointed out to him, he looked a little sheepish: "I was wondering if I was going to get asked about that. Yeah, it's a bit of a laugh. I've been growing it for about three weeks. I don't think it's going to stay for the match, though."
Show us your vote
Think there is a lot of vote-selling in South African rugby by the minor unions? Well, how about this. When John Connolly missed out on the job as Wallaby coach back in 1995, there were fingers pointed at the South Australia administration for "selling" their vote.
John O'Neill, the ARU CEO recalled proof of the vote being sold. "I was at a (ARU) finance committee meeting, and I found the budget had allocated $50 000 to the South Australian Rugby Union for their international sevens tournament. I asked, 'what's that 50 grand for?' I was told, 'Don't ask'."
Ah, poor widdle Witchie
Graham Henry is taking something of a pasting for saying that he is going to whisper in the ear of someone at the IRB about how his star players are being targeted. Jake White had a few words to say, but he was mild compared to John Connolly and David Campese.
"I don't remember hearing a peep out of Mr Henry when Tana Umaga picked up the British and Irish Lions captain Brian O'Driscoll and drove him into the ground in the opening Test of last year's series," wrote Campese.
"Please spare us, the bleeding heart stuff Graham. But being No 1 does not give you the right to treat the rest with contempt." John Connolly was in the mood to give Henry a rev: "Take out a video of the Hurricanes-Crusaders Super 14 match, and watch Jerry Collins and Richie McCaw go hammer and tongs at each other.
And I didn't see any criticism of Collins after those games. Referees do have to watch all this closely because teams get frustrated because he (McCaw) is so often offside. He takes off from the scrum early, and continually rolls over the ball. So there's a huge onus on the referees."
George the horrible
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that George Ayoub was named as the best referee at a function in Sydney recently. Thankfully the Waratahs Morgan Turinui and Adam Freier got up on stage and said Ayoub was the worst referee. It's a pity that they did it tongue in cheek, though.
Lotta Black fellas round here
More from the Sydney Morning Herald, who recall an Australian Rugby Union official called George Pippos, who, now deceased, "was a loud, often uncouth character"
He paid this fair a visit when it was still unfair during apartheid and had this conversation with President de Klerk: " 'How many white fellas?'
Told the republic's white population was around four million, he asked, 'How many black fellas?' Told it was around 28 million, Pippos responded: 'Jeez, you're fucked.' John Connolly, who was there, confirmed that the story is 100 percent correct."
Praise for Woody
Gareth Southgate, now manager at Middlesbrough, has a funny way of bigging up the new players he signs for his team. He signed Jonathan Woodgate from Real Madrid this week and then said: "He even got in the England side ahead of me on a couple of occasions, which was an absolute joke."
John's got the willies
Things not to do. Take pictures of your John Thomas if you are famous. Matthew Bates, just 19, who also plays for the Boro, took pictures of his tackle, which, reported The Sun, somehow ended up on the internet.
The pics have been a hit on the numerous gay websites they ended up on. He's not gay and apparently the pics were put up by a girl he had a barney with. "One snap shows him posing in a skimpy pair of underpants in a bathroom. The other shows him completely naked in a bedroom," said The Sun.
Cyling sticks
Is garlic a performance-enhancing substance? Well the Gerolsteiner team used it as such for Friday's stage of the Vuelta a Espaņa. The team got into a garlic-eating frenzy on Thursday night.
"There was sort of a paste, said we put it on everything, on noodles, on meat, absolutely everything," said Robert Forster, of Gerolsteiner.
"The theory was, if we all ate it, we wouldn't smell it ourselves..." Pity the other riders.
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