Sushi Ninja's scoffing Springbok biltong

By now it's common knowledge that the mighty two-time Rugby World Cup winners - the Springboks - were defeated in their opening 2015 RWC game by Japan, a team commonly perceived to be one of the minnows in world rugby. Well this underestimated little team of unknown ninjas caused the biggest upset in World Cup history and one of the biggest embarrassments in the history of the sport; particularly since the Springboks have been bragging about being the most experienced team in the tournament. This boast has also backfired since the iconic loss is now being partly attributed to the poor team selection of a bunch of geriatrics, great legends of their time who have
apparently reached the end of their shelf life and should be allowing the fantastic fresh young talent available in this country the opportunity to prove their worth and show how they've learned from the invaluable experience of the old boys!



The SA team selection for not only this game, but for the 2015 RWC Bok squad as a whole has become a contentious issue which has upset SA's rugby fans and without a doubt caused unnecessary stress for the team. Yes there's the issue of too many of the older chaps being drafted in because of sentimentality (under the guise of "experience") instead of the younger fired-up talent around, and the wrong guys being put in the wrong positions. But also, being in South Africa, the most racially unbalanced nation on the planet where race is used to destroy the fabric of society or is blamed for everything that's wrong with said society; the demographic percentages of the team have become a horrible issue in the weeks preceding the world cup. The whole issue of quota's, ensuring a certain percentage of the team are "players of colour" or non-white players, has put an enormous amount of pressure on the team, it's
management and the selectors, along with placing a sour-smelling dampener on what should be a proud and exciting time for South Africans as a nation. The team should be selected based on whoever are the best individual players for the job in every respect, regardless of racial or cultural background. This BEE / BBBEE / Affirmitave Action / etc bullshit that continuously ruins this country keeping us all in the dark ages does not work. People should be allowed to earn their way through life on merit without having political advantages. I don't give a crap if the entire Bok team is black, if they were the best guys on offer to represent us as a nation they'd have my full support!

My two boks worth - the coach is not up to the task. He's not getting this one right and he needs help or he needs to move over and let somebody like Jake White (or even old P-Divvy) get the Boks back to their former glory! Maybe getting a taste of what they guys at Pearl Harbour experienced will have the same effect as that surprise attack had on the Yanks in 1941 and our wounded Springboks will bounce back with explosive effect, win this war, and make us proud! I mean, if Japan can play like they did then anything's possible!

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In other personal news: yesterday I reluctantly dragged my lazy fat-ass out of bed at 4.45am on a Sunday morning to participate in the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon 10km race, despite a mild hangover after Saturday night's mourning and anger shared with friends after the Boks defeat. The event was fantastic with 6000 runners doing the 10km, the vibe and camaraderie made for an entertaining run through some of the many awesome spots around Cape Town. I finished in a time of 1:03:43 which is a personal best in about 3 years. Though the "official" time on the race website is 1:05:34 because it took 2 minutes just to get to the start after the gun went off, I started my stopwatch when I passed the start for a realistic running time for the distance. Is that cheating? Either way, I feel like I'm getting my old form back and for the first time in 3 years really enjoyed the run. The next race in 2 weeks I will push to do a sub-one-hour finish, thereafter working to better each one!

Excuse the cheesy grin on my face, I don't know what the hell that was! Dumbest looking selfie ever!