Rugby’s Hardest Men

Ever see a soccer football player writhing on the ground after faking an injury?  It’s one of the most shameful and blatant ways to earn a penalty in favor of your team.  You won’t see those sorts of shenanigans in rugby — a true contact sport!  Here’s a list of just some of the remarkable All Blacks that soldiered on through the battle.

Colin Meads – broken arm

The legendary Colin Meads played lock for New Zealand between 1957-1971.  He was known as “pinetree” and became the quintessential All Black and longest serving of his day.  He dominated the field and protected his team mates, becoming one of the great enforcers of the team.  During the 1970 All Blacks tour of South Africa, only 6 minutes into playing Eastern Transvaal, Meads emerged from a ruck with a broken arm.  He taped the arm up and played on for the rest of the match!  “Though he recovered and appeared in the final two tests he was not quite the force of old.”

 Dick Conway – amputated finger


 

 Dick Conway played Number 8 for the All Blacks between 1959 and 1965.  “A softball catcher (he represented Rotorua at that sport in 1956) Dick Conway broke his finger during a game. The finger set very badly and was obviously going to suffer further damage at work, Dick Conway was a carpenter, or play, either softball or rugby. So, to avoid a problem whilst with the All Blacks in South Africa Conway had the finger amputated. “ He went on play an important role in the All Blacks 3-1 series victory during the 1965 tour of South Africa.

 

Buck Shelford – torn scrotum

Playing at Number 8 from 1985-1990, Buck Shelford went on to be one of the most successful All Black captains.  He is also known for redefining the pre-game haka and giving it bite.  Buck was controversially dropped after his 1990 Test series against Scotland.  The public movement to “Bring Back Buck” which began in 1990 survives, albeit jokingly, to this day.  
During the 1986 All Blacks vs France test, Shelford was kicked by a French boot.  Not only did he lose four teeth, but his scrotum was famously ripped open.  He had his manhood sewn back up on the sidelines and returned to the field to see out the match!

Richie McCaw – broken foot

Playing for the All Blacks since late 2001, Richie McCaw has remained the incumbent Number 7 since 2003, and captain since 2006.  One of New Zealand’s greatest rugby players, McCaw has been a talisman for victory during his tenure with the team.  The chart below lists the mounting injuries McCaw had acquired prior to his six month sabbatical in 2012/2013.  The chart does not include the knee to the face and headbutt from Scott Higginbotham in the subsequent test!
What makes McCaw’s longevity so amazing is the fact he plays Openside Flanker.  “As scavengers for possession in and around the rucks and mauls, they are often faced with 50-50 balls and therefore need to put their bodies on the line with little thought for the consequences.”  He played through the later stages of the 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament with a broken foot, refusing to allow it to be X-rayed.  The nation was already in panic after vice captain Dan Carter’s tournament ending injury and McCaw was determined not to pull out.  He contented himself with painkillers and kept the extent of the injury from his coaches.  In the presence of the team and the media he grit his teeth and tried to walk normally.  The seriousness of the injury was made all the more amazing after the final whistle blew and Richie’s All Blacks were once again world champions!

Sam Cane – blood loss

Debuting for the All Blacks in 2012, Sam Cane has had to wait his turn to get game time as Richie McCaw still owns the Number 7 jersey.  However, with Richie’s well deserved six month sabbatical, Cane got three starts against France in 2013 as well as covering when McCaw has been injured.  His bloodiest battle so far has been at Eden Park against the Springboks where his forehead was cut open and he was sent to the blood bin by the referee.  After getting stitched up at half time, Cane returned to the fray in the second half and finished out the game!  McCaw acknowledged his understudy’s efforts with a handshake at the end of the match.  His efforts against the Springboks in South Africa and against Australia in Dunedin the following week have given him good claim to be the heir to Number 7.

Thanks to Rugby Frontier for permission to run this article.

My prediction New Zealand vs Australia tonight in Sydney Rugby test.

An exciting game will start in a few hours between Australia and New Zealand. If the All Blacks win, it will be the 100th win against Australia.  Some high profile All Blacks are picking Australia to win, but I am picking the All Blacks to win by at least seven points. It will be a day for the play makers at No. 10 with Aaron Cruden exuding confidence..Quade Cooper was overlooked in favour of Matt Toomua, who will pit his raw skills against Cruden.  Toomua has formed a formidable midfield combination with Christian Lealiifano that is built on solid defence which will be badly needed tonight.

New coach Ewen McKenzie will be whipping the boys to believe they can win and I think he will prove a better coach than Robbier Deans.

 

The All Black team is an experienced one and  it is pleasing to see Steven Luatua getting his second cap tonight and . playing alongside Richie McCaw and Kieran Read could be a catalyst in his international career and a chance to show his full range of rugged skills.Richie McCaw is being written off by some, but the sly old farmer will give his flock another notch up in the leadership rachet. 

 I feel we will see  Ryan Crotty on early from the bench and a chance to show that he has been unlucky in the past. Ben Smith at full back for the All Blacks adds an element of surprise and elusiveness that few teams can pigeon-hole, and is likely to score at least one try.

Referee Craig Joubert should let the game flow on what promises to be a fine night with temperatures expected to be around 14 oC.

What a week! A world cup and a trip with two engineers.

What a week it has been for me. On Sunday I watched the Rugby World Cup final and was so proud our All Blacks won. Within 30 miniutes of the game finishing I headed off with my boss Azmat Ulla and Wardell (Woody) Eastwood, both Chartered British Engineers. We have many  risks, liabilities and defects remaining after constructing over US$ 800 million of construction and community programmes s itwas good to have two highly trained engineers with me to advise.. So as I travelled four four days monitoring many of our projects, these pictures were constantly floating around in my head.

Tony Woodcock scores the only try.

Brad Thorne down on his kneews as it sinks in they have won the RWC.

Estacy, the All Blacks the moment after the full time whistle was glown

The injured Daniel Carter is overjoyed with the win.

Two cheeky monkeys gloat over the win, and why not?

Mils Muliaina giving Graham Henry a kiss.

New Zealand win Rugby World Cup but let's not forget our racist rugby past !

I am so proud of the All Blacks win but full marks to France who played out of their skins and made it a real Rugby World Cup final of old style rugby.

I watched the 1956 Springboks play New Zealand at Carisbrook and the British Lions play New Zealand in 1959 on the same ground when Don Clarke kicked 6 penalties to give NZ an 18-17 win. But it was the All Blacks tour of South Africa that left the greatest impression on me. Why? Because there were no Maoris in the team.

It was a cold, crisp winter's morning at Montecillo Ground, Dunedin, in mid-July 1960. A heavy frost covered the ground. I was playing for Zingari Richmond under 7 stone schoolboys and as I pushed my way through the opposition, I hit a wall of players and fell to the ground, landing arkwardly. The pain was excruciating as I writhed on the ground. I broke my collarbone.

Waka Nathan the greates New Zealand loose forward? Barred from playing in South Africa in 1960.


I was in considerable pain for three months as I walked and bused between the Dunedin hospital, physiotherapy department and doctors. It had just been announced that an all white All Black rugby team would tour South Africa. It was a bombshell to a young rugby player who had watched Waka Nathan, Mac Heriwini, Phillip Tautarangi, Ron Rangi and other Maori All Black hopefuls play Otago at Carisbrook a few weeks earlier. These guys ran like quicksilver, and cut through teams like swords. Legends such as Manga Emery, Alby Pryor, Muru Walters, the Maniapoto brothers and other were also not going to be given;the chance to wear the All Black jersey either in 1960. I was grestfallen and confused.

I pleaded to my Father and shopkeepers I knew in central Dunedin whose shops I walked past on my way to the hospital. Their shop windows had posters of the touring All Black team, but without Maori. I asked respected shop owners who had played rugby and cricket such as Charlie Saxton, Vin Cusack, Walter Findlay and even Bert Sutcliffe, why there were no Maoris in the All Black team. They had similar answers, " That is what the South Africans want,"

As a 12 year old I felt there was no justice in this world, yet on ANZAC day, we were told the Maori and Pakeha had fought side by side.

Well they weren't going to be playing side by side in the 1960 tour of South Africa.

So as we celebrate today's victory of the All Blacks where over 50% are Polynesian, let's remeber thoses NZer of Polynesian descent who were barred from touring South Africa in 1960 - Waka Nathan, Mac Heriwini, Phillip Tautarangi, Ron Rangi, Manga Emery, Alby Pryor, Muru Walters, the Maniapoto brothers and many more who should have been in that 1960 team.

Tribute to Graham Henry

The best tribute to coach Graham Henry is from the 1987 RWC captain David Kirk. , I moved to Auckland from Otago in 1985. My first coach at the Auckland University Rugby Club was Graham Henry.

Ted, as he was then, and is now to all his players, was a well-established and successful club coach. A month or two into the season I had a problem. I needed to travel out of Auckland at the weekend to resolve some personal (ie girlfriend) issues.

I broke the news to Ted at training that I would not be available for selection that weekend. His response to me was blunt: "Well you're no bloody good to me then, are you? Bugger off and muck around over there."

I didn't really mind, I was getting my weekend off after all, but I did think the response was a bit uncaring.

That was Ted then and so it remained for many years after. Through most of his coaching career he has been driven, blunt, not quite surly, but not far off. He is now nothing like that and, at least in part, a great All Black team is his and our reward.

Ted tells the story against himself that earlier in his All Black coaching career he gave one of his typically detailed and definitive team talks before a match. He made it clear to players what was expected of them, what was required and what they would be judged on.

After the team talk, it is not clear exactly when, but let us assume not on the way to the bus and the ground, but at some later time, his captain, Tana Umaga, came up to Ted and asked him a question. He said,

"Why do you give all those team talks?"
Ted replied something to the effect,

"To prepare the team. To make sure everyone is focused on what we have to do."

Tana burst his bubble with his reply, "No one listens to them you know. They are a waste of time. I reckon you should just stop."

Ted doesn't say if he did stop completely but I am sure he took the advice on board and adjusted his style and approach. It is fashionable to say that Generation Y or Generation Z, or whatever letter-label we use today, are different, that they can't be treated the same as earlier generations, that motivating them is more difficult.

Of course this is true, every generation is different from the last, but in truth All Blacks as people with a mission are not that different from decade to decade. They all have the same job to do, they all have the same tools with which to do it, they all have the same legacy to uphold and the same fear of failure and the same need to be remembered as a great All Black.

It is not the essential nature of the players that has changed, but the essential nature of Ted.

I edited the World magazine's recent rugby edition and ran a feature on the showdown between Robbie Deans and Graham Henry.

Sybille Hetet, the wonderful photo editor at Fairfax magazines, dug out a whole lot of photos of the two coaches. As we were poring through them, selecting the ones we would use in the magazine, Sybille said to me: "You know what I really notice in these photos of Graham Henry? How close he is to his players. Here's one with a player with his arm around him, here's another in which he is ruffling a player's hair and another where the players are picking him up."

It was true. Through the photos it was obvious that the players had great affection for their coach and he for them. This was something much more than the stand-offish respect and good-natured camaraderie of team and coach, this was a deeper connection.

Graham Henry, and it has to be said his assistant coaches, have built a truly great All Black team and they have developed courageous, thoughtful and caring men. This could not have been done by the Ted I knew in 1985. But it has been done by the Ted of the last few years and of 2011.

I salute Ted, the man who has prepared his team to be the best in the world and set them free to do it. I bet that somewhere in the motivation of every All Black that runs out tonight will be a part reserved for their coach.

This team wants to win the World Cup for themselves and for the country, but they also desperately want to do it for Ted. And that is a testament to the man, not the coach, and the greatest gift his players can give him.

Tries are there to be scored if you've got the balls to have a go...and the skills to pull it off.

New Zealand will finish 2009 as the world's number-one ranked team thanks to an impressive 39-12 win over France at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille on Saturday.

A lot has been said about the state of the game over the past few days, but I challenge anyone calling for a change in the laws to go back and watch this game and then tell me that running rugby is dead.
Tries are there to be scored if you've got the balls to have a go...and the skills to pull it off.

\This is what Test rugby should be all about. A ding-dong battle in the scrums, creativity amongst the backs and, most of all, a high-paced game that tested the skills of both attackers and defenders rather than just the kicking capabilities of the fly-halves and full-backs.

The All Blacks answered their critics with a wonderful display of positive rugby, and were rewarded with five tries.

While Tri-Nations champions South Africa have looked tired and uninspired on tour in November, New Zealand were full of zip and zest.
Unlike against the Springboks, the French were unable to grab a stranglehold on the game with their powerful forwards as the visitors were eager to take the ball out wide at pace.

In fact both sides should be commended for the positive spirit with which they approached the game - the All Blacks however made the difference with their near flawless execution.

Perhaps most the impressive aspect of New Zealand's tour is the fact that - just like last year - they have yet to concede a try.




Power package: Sitiveni Sivivatu (left)



The French front row looked a like a pack of hungry wolves after winning there side a penalty at the first scrum and Julien Dupuy obliged by slotting the three points to give France the early lead. New Zealand however replied with a brilliant try from Sitiveni Sivivatu who simply blitz Vincent Clerc and Damien Traille, slicing between the two Frenchmen, who could little but watch him sailed by.

Les Bleus kept coming as Dupuy added two more penalties, including a second against the kiwi scrum to take the lead back at 9-7. But not for long.

The All Blacks second try was even better than the first as Sivivatu turned on the gas from his own 22 before finding Mils Muliaina up in support. (photo below)Dan Carter added the conversion and then a penalty to give the visitors some breathing space before the All Black scrum took their revenge by pushing the Tricolor pack backwards on the French line. Under the pressure Julien Bonnaire fumbled his pick up, allowing Jerome Kaino to dot down the loose ball.

Francois Trinh-Duc landed a long distance drop goal shortly before the half-time whistle to make the scores 22-12.
The second half however belonged solely to New Zealand.

When Dupuy missed two early attempts at goal it became clear it wasn't to be France's day.

Cory Jane was next to get on the scoreboard with a classic individual try, collecting his own kick ahead from the touchline to score under the posts.

With France running out of ideas and leaving gaps all over the park, Conrad Smith snuck away down an unattended blindside to rub salt into the wounds.

Man of the match: He's had a tough year and was distinctly out of form during the Tri-Nations but Sitiveni Sivivatu was back to his very best - scoring one try, setting up another and putting in some big hits.
Moment of the match: For half an hour it was anyone's game, but when the All Blacks scrum stepped up and earned Jerome Kaino's try, New Zealand moved out of France's reach. It wasn't the prettiest of tries, but it had a telling effect.

Villain of the match:Planty of handbags were flung about, but there was no clear bad guy.

The Scorers

For France:
Pens: Dupuy 3
Drop: Trinh-Duc


For New Zealand:
Tries:Sivivatu, Muliaina, Kaino, Jane, Smith
Cons: Carter 4
Pens: Carter2


Yellow cards: Franks (NZ - 77th - foul play)

France: 15 Damien Traille, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 David Marty, 12 Yannick Jauzion, 11 Maxime Médard, 10 Francois Trinh-Duc, 9 Julien Dupuy, 8 Julien Bonnaire, 7 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Romain Millo-Chluski, 4 Sébastien Chabal, 3 Sylvain Marconnet, 2 William Servat, 1 Fabien Barcella.
Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Nicolas Mas, 18 Lionel Nallet, 19 Julien Puricelli, 20 Morgan Parra, 21 Yann David, 22 Cédric Heymans.


New Zealand:15 Mils Muliaina, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Jimmy Cowan, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw, 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Tom Donnelly, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Neemia Tialata, 2 Andrew Hore, 1 Tony Woodcock.
Replacements: 16 Corey Flynn, 17 Owen Franks, 18 Anthony Boric, 19 Tanerau Latimer, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Luke McAlister.


Venue: Stade Vélodrome
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
Assistant referees: George Clancy (Ireland), Simon McDowell (Ireland)
Television match officials: Nigel Whitehouse(Wales)
Assessor: Paul Bridgman (England)
By Ross Hastie, Planet rugby, with permission.