I have often wondered whether I would live to see Ireland beat the All Blacks. The famous team from New Zealand are the best in the world(despite only winning one World Cup). Something unreal happened……. Although Munster, a province of Ireland, beat them way back in 1978, Ireland never managed to beat the Kiwis in … Read more
So here’s the question I put to the 2005 twin spear tackling duo, Tana Umaga and Kevin Mealamu, and to the infamous 1978 diver, former World Rugby Cup ambassador, Andy Haden (he dived out of a line-out to win a penalty which beat Wales 13-12 and still has ‘no regrets’), – would you want your child … Read more
England captain, Steve Borthwick, and his band of defeated Saracens walked dejectedly around Wembley Stadium applauding their 45,000 fans last Saturday. When they came to Leinster’s 1500 fans, Borthwick looked up and applauded them too. A nice moment, from a nice club. Their fans wear those funny Fez hats and their mascot rode a chariot … Read more
Continuing from part 1 where I revealed Arnold Palmer’s vision of getting war lords to play golf & a non Ryder Cup, yet golf supremo’s, approach to making the world a better place, here is that Ryder Cup moment that still mesmerises us all…(plus a few more)…………. Ryder Cup 1969: Then came that magical moment … Read more
Golf is a unique sport. You play against yourself. The ball is static and no one is tackling, pushing or kicking you. Its core values are honesty and honour. It has given a great gift to the world – that of heightened sports etiquette. Witness the recent case of 31 year old Londoner playing on … Read more
Here is a truly beautiful sportsmanship story. When sport transcends the problems which people, and even whole nations, sometimes have. Yesterday India and Pakistan came together and played together in the Men’s Doubles Final in the US Open. They played to win, and even more importantly, in their own words, they played for peace. India’s … Read more
The oldest international rugby venue in the world, Lansdowne Road, and its brand new 51,700 all-seater Aviva Stadium opened its doors to the world on Saturday 31 July 2010. Here is my virtual tour as I sat in awe of this wonderful new stadium. One wonders what historic moments in rugby and football (soccer) will … Read more
He missed 3 penalties playing for Argentina against Colombia. He scored a goal in the next game. He broke his leg while celebrating a goal for Villa Real. He scored a goal from inside his own half. His injuries kept him out of football twice for 6 month periods. His 200th goal for Boca Juniors … Read more
(Continued from Part 1 where a wonderful BBC World Cup short documentary revealed why football is so important in South Africa). As the Robben Island prisoners’ football league, the Makana Football Association, blossomed, the imprisoned players realised how important football was to them (for reasons that will surprise you). The MFA is said to have … Read more
The World Cup is up and running. Teams are swapping shirts, shaking hands and some nice celebrations (so far the South African’s opening goal celebration is top of the ‘joyous goal scoring celebrations chart’). So far so good. Just a few divers who were publicly shamed in front of worldwide tv audiences as the referees … Read more