The Japanese
have arrived
in world rugby
A PLEASING feature of the Rugby World Cup in Japan is the enthusiasm – taiko drumming, the Japanese spectators wearing the painted face badges of the competing nations. The loud gong signalling half-time and full-time is a lovely touch.
But how long have the Japanese played rugby? How did the game get there? It got to most of the world's rugby-playing nations by way of the British army in the days of empire. (An exception was France. The game first got to France by way of English wine merchants at Calais. Then when Louis Napoleon took over as emperor, having been educated in England in exile, he brought with him the ethos of rugby and made it de rigeur for the French army.)
The connection with Japan? Actually it goes back more than a century. The gunboat diplomacy of the 19th century brought rugby-playing Brits to Japan and the game caught on with local university students as well. The Yokohama Rugby Club was founded in 1866 by British army and naval officers. University teams were established in 1899 and Japan's first recorded international match was against a Canadian team in 1932.
They participate in Pacific region rugby and have been in the World Cup playoffs ever since the competition began. They gave the Boks a big skrik four years ago and they gave Wales a big skrik this time.
They made the semi-finals and gave us some heavy weather with their magical handling and directional switches before the Boks wore them out and prevailed.
It's been a great World Cup for Japan.
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Kisses
AN ITEM comes this way headed "Iconic on-screen kisses". Three shots show Hollywood at its best as the couples smooch, violins sounding in the background.
Then a fourth shows little Faf de Klerk in his face-to-face with huge, bearded Welsh lock forward Jake Ball in Sunday's World Cup semi-final.
No smooches, no smacks – fortunately.
No crisis
INVESTMENT analyst Dr James Greener voices despair in his latest grumpy newsletter at the government's failure to grasp arithmetic.
"Is there anyone in government who can do even simple arithmetic, let alone interpret what the numbers mean? Their own National Treasury dutifully publishes the data, but no one seems to notice or care."
"Just the simplest of spreadsheets will reveal that the R1.3 trillion of tax collected in the past 12 months is a mere 3.8% more than the equivalent total a year ago. Revenue is growing slower than almost anything except the Eskom chairman's understanding of the business of generating electricity.
"Crucially though, the rate at which the cabinet is spending money is 6.8%p a. Which is the fact that should be ringing loud alarm bells in the corridors of power
"We have been warned to expect to be burdened with further tax increases that could be announced in the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement.
"However, the place to tackle the budget deficit in our already egregiously overtaxed nation is on the spending side. But that's utter anathema to politicians particularly those imbued with the mantra that 'it's our (and our buddies') time to eat".
"But most of them probably subscribe to the view, offered by the Minister of Transport in the midst of nationwide flight cancellations, that 'there is no crisis.'
Tailpiece
THEY'VE started a self-help group for compulsive talkers. It's called On and On Anon.
Last word
If the English language made any sense, a catastrophe would be an apostrophe with fur. - Doug Larson
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