A day of
weirdness
In our rugby
THIS was a day of Super Rugby weirdness. First the sickening in-the-air tip tackle on Louis Schreuder in the opening seconds of the Sharks-Stormers match – possibly unintentional but no less sickening.
Then disagreement between the ref and the TMO over whether the incident merited a red or a yellow card. The TMO said red, the ref decided yellow. (Schreuder was stretchered off in a neck brace).
Then a grinding 80 minutes of play, ferocious tackling by both sides, the Sharks inching ahead but never out of reach. The Stormers getting one point ahead. Then the Sharks ahead again through penalties. This was trench warfare.
And then a superb burst down the left wing by Makazole Mapimpi for a try in the corner. At last a glimpse of the way these young Sharks have been playing this season. Game over!
Then a realisation that the Sharks are now top of the overall standings.
And then the announcement by Sanzaar that Super Rugby is suspended due to the Covid-19 virus.
What does this mean? Will play resume at a later stage? Is this possible given time constraints? If the virus is controlled, will quarter-finals, semis and a final be staged from current standings?
Or will the Sharks be simply declared the winners? (Not at all satisfactory). And what are the implications for the Southern Hemisphere Championship of national sides?
Hoo boy! That meat and fish market in Wuhan, China, has a lot to answer for.
Hip hop Spyker
BUT let's rather keep our minds for the moment on that dazzling Mapimpi try in the closing moments. This guy has pace, instinct and razzle-dazzle, plus legs that make him as inviting a tackle target as a threshing machine.
He earns an accolade from raconteur Spyker Koekemoer (aka Pat Smythe), who seems to have switched his genre to hip hop.
Mapimpi – he has a motor,
He don't need no bloomin' quota,
Go, you very good thing!!!!
Vulnerable
THIS corona virus pandemic shows just how vulnerable is our sophisticated 21st century world. Inter-connectedness by air has its price. Can controls be as sophisticated and effective?
Sports events around the world are cancelled. Stock exchanges are in turmoil. All kinds of businesses, especially anything connected with air travel and tourism, are on the skids. People are dying.
Are the authorities over-reacting to the threat? History suggests not. In 1918, troops returning by sea from the front after World War I were exposed in West Africa to the "Spanish flu" that was raging.
When they reached Cape Town they were put on trains that took them home to places all over the country. The result was devastating. Many thousands died, it was worse than casualties in the war.
Yep, this is serious. Do what the medics tell you.
Shower thoughts
The shower isn't just a place to sing. Separated from our cellphones, standing under running water often allows people's minds to run free. Shower thoughts from Huffington Post.
· Every word in every language started out as gibberish until one person convinced enough people that what was said was a real word.
· While we sleep our brain makes up stories and then gets scared of them.
· Maybe urinals were invented when a tall guy walked by a sink and thought: "Why not?"
Tailpiece
WHAT'S furry, has whiskers and catches outlaws?
A posse cat.
Last word
Every man is a damn fool for at least five minutes every day; wisdom consists of not exceeding the limit. - Elbert Hubbard
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