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2012 FOUR NATIONS Round 1: New Zealand vs Great Britain

Messages
17,427
Forum 7s - 4 Nations - 2012
NEW ZEALAND KIWIS -V- GREAT BRITAIN & IRELAND LIONS
logo_kiwi_NZ.jpg
-V-
british-map-100x100.jpg


Game Thread:
* This is a game thread only. Only game posts can be made here - team lists, substitutions, and articles.
* Any other posts may result in loss of points and is at the discretion of the referee.
* Only original articles, not used in previous games, will be marked by referees.​

Naming Teams:
* 3 -V- 3 (+ 2 reserves for both teams)
* No 'TBA' or changing players named
* Captains must stick with original teams named​


Kick Off: Wednesday 7th November 2012 (2100AEST)
Full Time: Wednesday 14th November 2012 (2100AEST)
Referee: Non Terminator
Venue: Mt Smart Stadium​

main.jpg
 

Monk

Referee
Messages
21,347
In an exhilarating press conference, Captain Monk names the team, who for the tournament will be led out onto the field by the new Mascot, Leon the Lion!

image.axd


Great Britain
Drew-Sta
Hutty1986
Lambretta

Bench
Monk


Go the Poms!
 

byrne_rovelli_fan82

First Grade
Messages
7,477
In her first foray as captain in a long time GO THE KIWIS!

Team is:

~~~
byrne_rovelli_fan82 (C)
Hallatia
Robster

---
Benchies

LeagueNut
WarriorDefence

~~

Ringa pakia
Uma tiraha
Turi whatia
Hope whai ake
Waewae takahia kia kino

Ka mate, ka mate
Ka ora' Ka ora'
Ka mate, ka mate
Ka ora Ka ora

Tēnei te tangata pūhuruhuru
Nāna i tiki mai whakawhiti te rā
Upane... Upane
Upane Kaupane
Whiti te rā

Hī!
 
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byrne_rovelli_fan82

First Grade
Messages
7,477
byrne_rovelli_fan82 posting for Kiwis

~~~

It’s a Sonny Day

Bethells Beach – is famous for one thing. The sand dunes. Steep, deep and it takes all of the energy out of an individual. I’ve never personally climbed the sand dunes at Bethells however I have encountered sand dunes of similar stature.

While watching recent video clips of the Warriors return to Bethells and seeing the agonizing pain on the faces of all the players; I couldn’t help but share in their anguish.
But this wasn’t about training hard and slogging it out of the black sand dunes. Sure the club wanted to ‘throw themselves into it’ and get back to focusing on what they needed to do to reverse 2012’s fortunes; but their return to the place had more significance then that.

You know the saying ‘time heals all wounds’ well this couldn’t be truer for the Warriors. Four years ago at this very place a devastating tragedy occurred, they lost a rising young star whom, was doing the right thing for family members. Unfortunately nature wasn’t so kind and took his beautiful soul away. Some players from the current squad didn’t feel like returning perhaps four years is still a bit too soon, perhaps the rawness of the event still clung to the back of their minds. It’s never easy, to lose someone so dear no matter their age. My step grandmother died very recently herself, and for a while it didn’t seem real just as it didn’t when her husband, my step grandfather also died two years ago. My real father’s mother died many years ago and while I do not know about my grandfather I’m aware he would have also passed away, he’d be way past 100years old now anyway.

Life though must push on and instead of being sad and dwelling on the past the coaching staff opted for more, happier memories of the beach. Celebrate the life that did belong to Sonny, because while he’s not with us today he’ll always be with us. Just like my grandparents I know they’re around in some shape, butterflies to be exact.

It was a great decision, by the Warriors to return to the place; clips showed despite the emotions of such a return but there was no love lost for pulling their weight and as they scaled the dunes continuously throughout the day, the players took it upon themselves to make a stand. Players’ known to be generally quiet and less talkative stood up and become aggressive leaders. They screamed and shouted gesturing with their arms to their teammates, encouraging them with their own will and strength. Then at the end of one run the players making their way back down the slope a voice rang out:

‘If you’re happy and you know it clap your hands’

I, was awestruck by this, here they were in agonizing pain from endless drills, and out of nowhere they started singing, a children’s’ song too. It was amazing I’d be lying if I said I didn’t shed a little tear from that moment. It seemed fitting that despite all the things they were feeling out there they found a little piece of joy. It showed they were willing to make the sacrifices, for the first time in a long time they finally could let go of the past and move on. Perhaps this ‘holding onto the memories of the past’ has been what has kept the team from making the next big step. They obviously don’t want to lose the great memories of a fellow friend, and are afraid to let him be released, afraid to feel the pain of loss.

Sonny was there though, heaving and scaling those dunes with them, they knew it and I had no doubt about it. He’d be there with that huge cheeky grin on his face and urging them on, letting them know it was; ‘ok to let me go, I’m not alone.’

A visually beautifully and yet haunting moment from that day that stuck out in my mind is when all the players linked arms together and shouted out in one voice as they climbed. I couldn’t hear exactly the words they said because it didn’t matter. Their linked arms and show of unity said it all.
~~

709 words between '~' according to the official word counter.
 
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Lambretta

First Grade
Messages
8,679
Lambretta makes his international debut - joining Sam Tomkins as a proud product of Milton Keynes Rugby League!

722 words from this point


I was a (frustrated) teenage armchair Widnes fan

My first experience of Rugby League was when my sports teachers told me that there was another version of Rugby played “up North”; a version which didn’t seem to involve being sat on by fat kids or having your face repeatedly stamped-on by aggressive morons from the local housing scheme. The basics of the game were explained to us and I immediately found the concept of the dummy-half position suited me. I was small, low to the ground and averse to getting smashed. Suddenly I had found a game where the opposition had to retreat every time they tackled one of my team mates. To avoid a belting, all I had to do was run to the line and pass the ball before I got there. I loved it! Unfortunately, the following week it was back to Union and being sat on by fat kids.

Then a few years later, seemingly out of nowhere, Rugby League re-entered my life when Jonathan Davies - arguably one of the most famous Rugby players of his generation - crossed codes and signed for League team Widnes. This was such a major event that it was covered by the London and national media, which normally completely ignored the thirteen man code. Of course, the motivation for the media hype was to spark discussion about Rugby Union’s amateur status in the face of a Rugby League organisation which “stole” fine Union players by shamelessly offering them money.

This only reinforced the superiority of Rugby League in my young mind. Not only did it offer players broader scope than “someone’s sitting on my head again”; but it paid men a living wage to participate. I immediately decided to not only experience this game for myself, but to adopt Widnes as my team. It mattered not that Widnes was an industrial wasteland at the other end of the country - after all, I was a fan of all things “Northern” thanks to the Smiths and the “Madchester” music scene – I just wanted to be involved.

However, my desire to follow the fortunes of the “Chemics” was an unfruitful one as my life in Rugby Union country meant that Rugby League was rarely broadcast on television and the live matches were so far away they may as well have been played on Mars.

And therein lies the rub: today, English Rugby League is, for all intents and purposes, played in one geographical area. Both London and Birmingham, England’s two most populous cities, rarely gain access to Rugby League. So while “Great Britain” boasts quite a proud international tradition, imagine the talent pool if it were played right across the country! What it could achieve!

London has a team in the national competition, the Super League, but from a city of 9 million people only about 3,000 turn up to watch “their” team play. The Rugby Football League, the national body, runs a respectable juniors program which is now paying dividends, with local London boys playing for the Broncos in the Super League. But I often wonder: would the game be more widespread, more popular, had it been broadcast nationally on free-to-air television in the 1980’s? After all, American Football has no history in the UK, but it was shown on TV for a number of years in the mid ‘80s, and today 80,000 people will turn up once a year to watch a game at Wembley!



For Rugby League, free-to-air television exposure never materialised; it was gazumped by pay TV in the early ‘90s. While the marriage to Murdoch’s Sky TV promised much, the reality is that pay TV panders to existing markets rather than building new ones. This is especially true in England where the basic pay TV packages exclude sports. The addition of sports channels costs subscribers dearly so they are unlikely to fork-out for a relatively unknown sport like Rugby League.

In 1980s England, football was in a hooligan-infested slump, and Rugby Union was truly amateur. If Rugby League had been given national exposure and promotion during that time, would the rest of my kinsmen in the South of England have discovered what I did when I moved to Australia? Namely that Rugby League truly is the greatest game of all. Well, maybe not, but we can always dream!
 

Monk

Referee
Messages
21,347
The Brits make a sub! We're out of Jam for our Scones, so Drew has gone to the Corner Store to pick some up.

In: Monk
Out: Drew-Sta
 

Hutty1986

Immortal
Messages
34,034
Hutty dons the GB jersey and charges into the action..




I’m back, bro!



So the deed has been done. Sonny Bill Williams will be back playing Rugby League in 2013.
Fresh off eating little Japanese blokes overseas and carving up the Super Rugby competition for the Chiefs, Sinny Bull’s back in the NRL. Now let’s cut straight to the chase. $BW’s return really grinds my gears. I’ll tell you why.

Way back in 2008, I was sitting back on campus at university on a Saturday night with a few mates watching some footy. Someone’s phone rings and an excited conversation follows. My brother-from-another-mother puts his mobile down and blurts out, “Sonny Bill Williams has walked out on the Bulldogs and is on a plane to France!”

We’d all had a few sparkling ales by this point so our reaction was even more emotive than usual, despite none of us supporting the Dogs’. The comments came faster than Jason Biggs in American Pie.

“What a gutless act, screwing the club over like that!”
“You’d think the b*stard would at least call someone and tell them, I might go put a few bucks on the Doggies getting the spoon this season!”
“Money Bill strikes again, what a knob.”

Granted, our comments weren’t all exactly measured or mature, but I think the sentiments rang especially true for the majority of Canterbury fans across the nation. In a tough season in the toughest RL competition on the planet, their best player had packed his bags and fled overseas without so much as an ‘au revoir!’

A few people (mainly Chooks fans I know) have commented that my outrage at SBW’s return to the game I love is a bit hypocritical. They point to Mark Gasnier’s stint in French Rugby Union and label the Prince Of Chins a ‘deserter.’ Rubbish, rot, codswallop, bulldust. Whatever you want to call it, they are clutching at straws (Phrase trademark: DoggiesBro). Gaz didn’t sneak off in the middle of the night, he didn’t leave his team-mates in the lurch; his last game in the Red V was a week one finals loss to eventual premiers Manly. Wayne Bennett was coming to town the next year and things were definitely on the improve for the Saints. Not the case for the blue-and-whites.

All that is done and dusted, however. Sonny’s back and one of the most destructive second-rowers going around is sure to have an impact for the tri-colours. Roosters fans might even put their skim chai-lattes down momentarily to politely clap one of his trademark big hits. First things first; when is he even going to get on the field? Just a few short weeks ago, SBW damaged a pectoral muscle in the act of throwing several wingers into the grandstands. Or making a tackle, or something like that.

Doctors reckon it could be anywhere up to four months before he’s back to full fitness and ready to roll. Maybe it’s just me and I’m overly fussy, but I generally prefer it when my players have a pre-season slightly more involved than media interviews and posed ‘handshake’ photos with club officials!

Leading the game’s epic 'welcome back' party will most likely be the South Sydney Rabbitohs in round one of season 2013. Initiations don’t get too much harder than that-a rampaging opposition forward pack to contend with and a crowd buoyed by the spoils of their recent Centrelink cheque.

One of the most ironic things to come out of this whole sordid affair is the frequent mention of SBW and Roosters’ head-honcho Nick Politis’ handshake deal made three years ago.
“When I made that (handshake) agreement with him I knew it would always be the case...glass half full (attitude),” Williams said in a recent article published in The Australian.

Politis said before the signing become official, "If it happens it will be a massive boost for the NRL financially, for the game, and of course for us." Nick must be thanking his lucky stars that Williams came through on the deal, even if it is only for a single season.

Despite all my misgivings, the media circus has well and truly begun and therein lies SBW’s undoubted appeal. A player of seemingly limitless potential, he is a richly-gifted athlete and would walk into the starting side of most clubs in the NRL.

Sonny Bill Williams can play footy, no doubt. But he let his mates down in a massive way and that is a real insight into his character.

That’s why $BW’s return really grinds my gears.


750 words using Official Word Counter




References:


· http://www.theaustralian.com.au/sport/sonny-bill-williams-honours-three-year-olf-deal-with-sydney-roosters-chairman-nick-politis/story-e6frg7mf-1226515869263
· http://www.foxsports.com.au/league/nrl-premiership/sydney-roosters-chairman-nick-politis-reveals-truth-about-expected-signing-of-sonny-bill-williams/story-fn2mcuj6-1226499012889#ixzz2C9mHHSOQ
 

Monk

Referee
Messages
21,347
Monk manages to squeeze through the gates for Great Britain as they're closing. That was a close one. May the force be with you all :D

679 Words and a poorly edited picture.

+++++++++++++++++

A New Hope

issy.jpg


Israel Fieldwalker is a name not often heard around these parts. As a young man, he was once thought to be the saviour of the Rebel Alliance. He had always wanted to be a Jedi, ever since he was a young child. However there was much darkness in his heart. Though he achieved the highest accolades imaginable to a Jedi in training, he thrived in practicing the Dark Arts, he always desired more power. One dark miserable day he betrayed the force, as well as his master Craig Juan Kenobi and joined the Dark Side. The leftovers from the betrayal forced Mace Gallop to end his own tenure as the head of the Jedi Council.

When all hope was seemingly lost, the Jedi Council made a shock announcement that it had settled on its new leader. Instead of replacing Mace Gallop directly, they would work together as a Jedi Commission; it was clear the future of the rebels cause was in good hands.

A long time ago in a galaxy not too far away...

It is a period of a seemingly endless code war. After years of hope and uncertainty the Rebels have (hopefully) secured their financial future with a new and impressive planetary Starship rights deal, their first victory in an ongoing battle against the evil Galactic Empire. This Galactic Empire is now run by the same man who once fought against them. Though now he is known as Darth Israel.

During the battle, Rebel forces managed to replicate secret plans to one of the Empire’s ultimate weapons, the Pod Racer Finale System. It was a key victory for the Rebels, as this information would surely improve their standings as the empire continues to send ambassadors into the Rebel heartland in an effort to woo junior Rebels towards the Dark Side. If enough Rebels succumb, the Dark Side may just be able to destroy the entire code.

After continued pursuit by the Empire’s sinister agents, the Rebels set up a National Youth Starship, to encourage young Rebels to stay with the program, and protect the gifted juniors from the Emperors evil grasp. These Rebels are the key to the war; they have the potential to save their people and restore freedom to the galaxy.

As the Rebel Forces and Jedi’s attempt to create a new Council to lead them into battle, the Galactic Empire continues to invade their bases in an attempt to expand their forces. Base GWS and Base GC have already been overrun with the empires minions but the force is strong in those who are left. They continue to withstand the Empires attempts at breaking them.

During what appeared to be a losing battle, the Rebels sent over their Ambassador to attempt to rekindle past emotions in the Darth Vader, though it seemed to be to no avail. The ambassador was one Princess Ricky who was suspiciously close with the Dark Emperor. The Ambassador attempted to appeal to the Emperors better judgement, batting eyelashes and proposing treaties but again the Emperor refused all offers.

Though despite the Empires best efforts, Darth Israel got bored of what was a tiresome and messy job. Though it paid exceptionally well, the Dark Arts did not invigorate his soul as much as they used to. Darth Israel threw the Dark Giant who had been holding him down over his shoulder and down into the dark depths of space. It was a massive loss for the Galactic Empire. The Rebel community was overwhelmed that the darkness had been overcome. Though the question had to be asked, were they more overwhelmed with the return of the prodigal son in young Fieldwalker, or the massive blow the Empire had taken, perhaps one from which it may never recover? Is Fieldwalker even returning to the Rebel Alliance, or will he set his sights on an even greater challenge? The answer is unclear however the return a Jedi as experienced as him would be a great benefit to the Rebel Alliance in its never ending battle against the evil Galactic Empire.

+++++++++++++++++
 
Messages
17,427
New Zealand

byrne_rovelli_fan82 - 87

A lovely article written about a man loved by many. Your writing style for this was great, but there were some unneccesary commas.

Great Britain

Lambretta - 87

Finely written, a great account of London there, would love to hear more in-depth sometime!

Hutty1986 - 87
A humourous look into the return of Canterbury's favourite son, E. Bill. Some of it was a bit over the place, but it was a great read with plenty of memorable moments.

Monk - 89

A great mash-up of Star Eels and Parramatta Wars. Well written, got the dialogue nailed in one. Will be sending this to Disney...

New Zealand 87
Great Britain 263
POTM Monk


Congratulations all round.
 

Hutty1986

Immortal
Messages
34,034
Champion, thanks for marking NT! Top effort to byrne_rovelli for flying your team's flag too. Really enjoyed your article Monk!
 

Lambretta

First Grade
Messages
8,679
Well played chaps, rah rah jolly hockey sticks and chocks away

Fine effort by the plucky New Zealander too what?

I enjoyed that and a win for my International debut - very happy with the outcome. Maybe I'll look for a Great Britain Rugby League jersey when I'm back in the UK over New Years. But I get the feeling I'll have more luck finding one in Sydney than in London or Milton Keynes.
 

byrne_rovelli_fan82

First Grade
Messages
7,477
New Zealand

byrne_rovelli_fan82 - 87

A lovely article written about a man loved by many. Your writing style for this was great, but there were some unneccesary commas.

Great Britain

Lambretta - 87

Finely written, a great account of London there, would love to hear more in-depth sometime!

Hutty1986 - 87
A humourous look into the return of Canterbury's favourite son, E. Bill. Some of it was a bit over the place, but it was a great read with plenty of memorable moments.

Monk - 89

A great mash-up of Star Eels and Parramatta Wars. Well written, got the dialogue nailed in one. Will be sending this to Disney...

New Zealand 87
Great Britain 263
POTM Monk


Congratulations all round.

haha thanks NT. I love commas, have a weird obsession of putting them where I can :p LOL. Ta for noticing! Grats GB too.
 

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