Big

Rugby players are big.

Of course that’s a vast generalisation - Aaron Smith isn’t about to be asked to provide injury cover for Sam Whitelock. But generally it’s fair to say that players of today bear little resemblance to those of yesteryear. To illustrate this, I could go back through history and provide examples like the one and only Colin Meads. Pinetree was many things in the game of rugby. But at 6 foot 3, one thing he wouldn’t be today is a lock.  

But I don’t need to go back that far. This whole train of thought started with a photo and ended this weekend with a Cheetah and a Chief. Allow me to explain.

There is a picture of the All Blacks around the time of the 1987 World Cup victory. There they were – Drakey, Fitzy, Foxy, Kirky, Buck and all the crew – basking shirtless in the afternoon sun in the grandstand, presumably for a slightly awkward publicity shot.

Don’t get me wrong; players like Murray Pierce and the Whetton twins are large humans. Even in those poses the whole team (perhaps with the exception of the metrosexual David Kirk) looked angry. Mean. Moustachioed. Macho. Tough as old boots, which ironically they also used to great effect to decorate the skin of any poor little back who happened to accidentally venture into the wrong side (and sometimes the right side) of a ruck.  Note to the Gen Y readers out there; this process was called 'rucking' and was perfectly legal. It was encouraged by coaches and was practised enthusiastically every Tuesday and Thursday.

But despite their rugged appearance, in terms of size and physical development this All Black squad also resembled a large under-21 team of 2013. Gym visits were a few years off yet. These were the days of clubs and provinces employing players to do important jobs like delivering water coolers or ‘player development’. This was also known as ‘amateurism’.

Amateurism continued to develop, and so did players’ physiques. Terry Wright (Wikipedia gives his weight as 75 kg) was replaced a few years later by Inga the Winger, who was considered a stupendously big winger at the time at 95+ kilograms. In time, Inga was supplanted by a never-to-be-repeated 6 foot 5 inch, 118-kg Tongan juggernaut in the All Black number 11 jersey.

Around this time something called 1995 happened, and with it came professionalism in the game of rugby union. Suddenly water coolers weren’t being delivered and players weren’t being developed. Players’ physiques began to transform as did their fitness levels. The way the game was played began to change.

Then came the ACT Brumbies from Australia. This previously unheralded bunch of no-namers revolutionised the way rugby was played at that time. Now every team had to have a flanker who had a massive melon and was as big as a lock (Google Owen Finegan) and the game became a series of one-off-the-ruck runs.

Into the 2000’s and by now the IRB had swung into full rule-change mode. Another tweak of the ruck laws saw momentum begin to move towards more mobile players. Now players had to balance increased size and strength with speed and mobility. If you could squeeze two or even three fetchers into your team, all the better. ‘Speed to the breakdown’ became the catch-cry uttered by every coach. I think John Mitchell may have also alluded to this, although nobody but the most educated scholar could really follow his diatribe of journeys and team growth.

But then just a couple of years back the mighty IRB waved its influential wand and everything changed again. Now teams must have ‘ball-runners’ who can be anyone from a prop to a winger – everyone is of a comparable size these days. Even the incomparable Mr McCaw re-invented himself as a great ball-carrier.

And now we have the Cheetahs. Not going to go down as one of the great teams. Not too many stars. Not particularly mobile. But they’re winning more than they’re losing, they’re scoring lots of tries, and they’re entertaining. And they are enormous. They have selected a team that perfectly suits the rules as they are now. Lock Lodewyk De Jager is 2.045m tall and 125kg. They also have two other locks over 120kg. Those are some big, big units. That team sitting in the sun in 1987 would not have envisaged 105+kg wingers and 135+kg props in 25 years’ time. As an example, 1987 prop Steve McDowell played at 102kg; Ben Tameifuna of the Chiefs presents a svelte 139.99 kg-ish frame.

People have become physically bigger in general since 1987 and obviously therefore so have players. Size is back in vogue. And it’s a size that 1987 could not possibly have foreseen.

I’d like to finish with something totally unrelated but that somehow epitomises, to me anyway, the whole point of sport. Yes I love winning. I love it when the teams I coach win. I love it when the All Blacks or the Phoenix or the Hurricanes or the Lions or (the) Liverpool win.

But this story is what it’s all about. Nine year old Cory is a sports nut and a massive All Black fan. He also has cerebral palsy. His best friend is a boy called Tom, who loves triathlons. When Tom entered one of this year’s Weetbix Kids’ Tryathlons, he asked organisers if Cory could also take part. They replied in the affirmative and the plan took shape.

First event was in the pool. Tom swam 100m while Cory, holding onto an inflatable tube and attached to Tom by a rope, ‘kicked like mad to give Tom some boost’. Next came a 4km bike ride, Cory giving it everything he had on his modified bike which was attached to Tom’s. Finally came the 1.5km run. Tom pushed Cory in a modified buggy while Cory cheered him on every step of the way.

You can see the whole TV3 story here … http://bit.ly/10lxGqo

Although I believe that participation in sport is really important, I also believe that winners should always be praised as it is important to acknowledge success. But the story of Cory and Tom would surely melt any but the stoniest of hearts and is, when push comes to shove, what the wonderful world of sport is all about.

 

Till next time,

SG