| Volume 3, Week 40 | |
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Editors Note |
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Brilliant! And then there were four. The World Cup narrowed down to the best teams of both hemispheres and in case you are in complete denial, affirmative - the Springboks are not one of them. Australia, New Zealand, France and England will be contending for the big bone and right to shove the fact down everyone else’s throat for the next 4 years! This special edition is written in one of the remotest regions on earth, the Okavango Delta in beautiful Botswana… yes, this humble writer had to get far away from it all after watching yet another Springbok defeat against the mighty All Blacks. Accessible only by light aircraft, the area is rich in African wildlife and apart from the carefully camouflaged camps things are pretty much as they were from the beginning of time. The same cannot be said of the Springboks in fact a petition from yours tr uly to the World Wildlife Fund to place it on the extinction list is being met with massive confusion and alarm! The once mighty Springboks appeared as meek as an Impala under attack from a young and hungry female cheetah on the floodplain of the Delta. Having witnessed both, I can honestly admit the Impala put up a better fight to eventually evade its stronger, sleeker and speedier opponent. How? Instinct for life and the ability to make the right decisions under enormous threat and pressure. After the previous week’s heroics the young Springbok team struggled with the most elementary of errors and the All B lacks exploited each and every one of them. King Carlos reigned supreme and his forwards provided the bedrock of his foundation as the most exciting playmaker of the tournament. If he had appeared a little, dare I write it ‘bland’ in previous matches he certainly made up for it this time with an extravagant display of skills. The under-the-legs pop pass to Rokocoko was poetry in motion and displayed the kind of vision associated with true footballing genius. His opposite number was overshadowed on the day, and many will say he had a poor per formance however, young Derick Hougaard, given opportunity will be the kind of match-winner Jonny Wilkinson is for England. The coming weekend the four best teams in the world, and they have been consistently this century, will do battle for the honour of meeting in a final which will be salivating to say the least. The semi’s are coincidentally matched up between the giants of their respective hemispheres, France against England pit two of the game’s oldest enemies and on World Cup form, the French should give Woodward’s men a bollocking. However, if there is one team England understands and know how to conquer then it is the Tricolors. Prediction: France, as this Kalahari critique’s favourite team, to win a pulsating match of the tournament – in exactly the way we have come to expect from France in World Cup semi-finals! New Zealand will be favourites to beat their biggest rivals of the last ten years and frankly, should do as Australia have not really performed up to the standards set by their illustrious ’91 and ’99 winning teams. The match will yet again be fast and furious and with the correct appointment as referee can turn into a festival of tactical, running rugby where the breakdown battle will prove decisive. Hopefully this mini-edition will find its way to your PC, e-mail here in the Delta is something done via a radio and a repeater so apologies for omitting Des and Vinesh and any of your letters. All will be in next week's issue. Lucas Little Mombo Camp Okavango Delta Botswana lucas@rugbyforum.co.za |
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