Heroics & Heart Break: Twelve Months With the All Blacks by Jamie Wall

Author:Jamie Wall [Wall, Jamie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Sports & Recreation, Rugby
ISBN: 9781988547329
Google: Gfx4yAEACAAJ
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2019-11-15T23:19:08.910953+00:00

34

HELL IS OTHER PEOPLE

Perth, 7 August 2019

(44 days to the Rugby World Cup)

THE GREAT SOUTHERN LAND STRETCHES out below the plane as we break through the clouds a week and a half later. Out in front of us lies Perth, Australia’s western outpost and host for the first Bledisloe Cup test of the year. Michael Cheika is down there somewhere, quietly waiting for his opportunity to strike back at the All Blacks. Well, quietly by his standards anyway.

It’s slowly started to sink in that what everyone would regard as the last complete All Blacks performance was the last time they played the Wallabies, way back in October 2018. Take out the gimme games against Japan and Italy, and they’ve only scored four tries since then as well. While the win against England can be classified as a gutsy performance, the New Zealand public are hungry for a hiding to put their minds at ease. This weekend should provide it, you’d think. The Wallabies haven’t been up to much so far this season, getting thumped by the Boks in Johannesburg and then squeaking out a win over the Pumas in Brisbane. That last result probably says far more about the Argentinians than anything else—it seems like the Jaguares’ success in Super Rugby hasn’t really translated into the test arena just yet. In fact, the Pumas have actually been terrible ever since the Jaguares project was launched. Since 2016, their win record isn’t even 20 per cent.

While the win against England can be classified as a gutsy performance, the New Zealand public are hungry for a hiding to put their minds at ease.

Besides, the Aussies are missing their biggest name player. Israel Folau, the guy who I confidently predicted would look right at home in the All Blacks, hasn’t been seen on a rugby field since May and it’s all his own fault. The devout born-again Christian (who was raised Mormon) couldn’t help himself on social media again, sending out a post on Instagram condemning gay people to hell. The first time he did it, way back at the end of 2017, Folau found plenty of support from people saying that any censure for the offence he caused was an infringement of his free speech.

This time, not so much. Folau also included drunks, adulterers, liars, fornicators, thieves, atheists and idolaters in his list of folks headed on the downstairs escalator when they die, which alienated about 99 per cent of all rugby fans. Rugby Australia went through with its promise to terminate his contract immediately, and within a couple of weeks Folau found himself unemployed. His last game to date was for the Waratahs against the Blues at Eden Park. Since then he’s been perfect headline fodder for the voracious Australian press, who have latched onto him from both sides. On one, he’s getting torched for basically anything he does in the wash-up of the homophobic comments, especially when he asks the public for their financial support in his upcoming legal battle to get his contract paid out.

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