He Tangata
Old Maori proverb: He aha te mea nui? He tangata, he tangata, he tangata.
(What is the most important thing? It is people, it is people, it is people.)
Liam was furious.
It was almost full time in the title mat
CH,
ANd his team had been
POOR.
Excuses would be offered for every question their coach might a
SK -
AND A LISt of queries was no doubt forthcoming.
The wind had been blowing a
GALE And the sudden downpour of rain served as dissi
PATERS ON the s
MOGGy air.
Liam stood to the right of the scrum's
REAR,
DONning his headgear for one last play. With ti
ME LImited, and his clu
B AIling from a two point deficit, the
CHAMPIONship ultimately came down to this one c
LIMActic moment.
But with the ball
SENT ERrantly close to the
CHALKed boundary, Liam found himself s
TOOPIng after an impromp
TU POUnce to collect the bad pass. He attempted to break
CLEAR,
Yelling for support as the defense app
ROACHed. The defender didnt hold b
ACK,
LANDing a solid tackle. The lo
W HIT Easily threw Liam off balance, toppling him
HEADfirst into the mud and forcing him to s
KID WELL over the sideline.
Collap
SING in a heap, Liam looked down at his mud st
AINS,
COUGHing as he attempted to regain his breath. A nearby team
MATE Observed the hit and, with arms akim
BO,
SCowled at the outcome with a
DEATHly stare.
They had shown the
HALLmarks of a side waiting to lose to the
MEN IN GAlvanised form opposite. At best, they had barely been medio
CRE.
AGHast that his team's forwards had failed to gain vital metre
S IN FIELD, the dim
INUtive
YOUNGster threw down insults like verbal s
PEARS ONto the nearest p
ROP.
A TImekeeper signalled an end to the match and, instead of sha
KING hands, Liam simply left the
FIELD,
ENraged with his teammates.
+++
A few day
S LATER, Liam sat at the end of a small
PIER,
CErtain that the simple act of putting b
AIT ON a hook would hel
P RID DISconsolate thoughts from his mind.
Watching the gentle movement of the dirty
WATER,
HOUSEs murkily reflecting off the
MARSH,
ALLeviated h
IS Anger ever so slowly as evening neared.
Temporarily distracted by the chirping of c
RICKETS ON the nearby reeds, Liam didn't hear the arriving footsteps.
SAw your game on the weekend, spoke a familiar voice, the wisdom of a
GE Emanating from within its gra
VEL-
LAden essence.
Liam turned when he felt something touch his
ARM.
IT was the tip of a walking stick, held by his a
GED,
DESpairing grandfather.
Hi Grand
PA EArl, he spoke quietly.
The elder man
LOWEred himself and sat next to his grandson, the jetty barely wide enough to fit them both abr
EAST,
WOODen planks serving as an uncomfortable seat.
Didnt like what I saw,
BOY.
Didnt like it at all.
Liam was silently wait
ING;
LIStening.
Youre a talented kid, but youve got a frightfu
L ANGER problem, especial
LY ON the field, Earl continued. You need to
CO-
OPERate with your team and remember that our code is all about the people those who have been before and those w
HO ARE still
COMINg through. Bad sportsman
SHIP WAYwardly s
MEARS leagues reputation.
Liams head drop
PED,
ENcumbered by guilt as he
LAMented his game attitude.
A
WIN Gets our game only so
FAR AHead dont be
FIENdish and then try to eq
UATE that with success. Ours is the sport for the common
MAN.
Until you recognise that the people are the game, your attitude wont be up to
PAR,
SON.
Silence befell them and, amidst the noisy env
IROnment, Liam was able to forget the title hed lo
ST,
AGGression gradually fading from his mind.
When he looked up, he saw his grandfathers arms extended for a
HUG.
HESitantly accepting, the youngster fel
T A TEar running down his cheek
+++
Liam let out a cat
HARTic
ROAR.
TYpically, he would have
LAMBasted anyone within earshot. His team had been leading un
TIL SEconds
EARLier, when an opposition player had made a s
PURT,
ELLipse-s
HAPEd ball in hand, to break through two tackles and c
ROSS the line.
This time,
HOWEver, Liam served as his own re
BUTTER,
FIELDing the
BALL IN one arm and standing
TALL,
ISolated from his usua
L ANGry thoughts.
He was
TOO KEYed up with reminding hims
ELF -
ORDinary result notwithstanding - that the peop
LE WIShing for victory were precisely that: people.
+++
To stress the importance of people to our game, there are more than 80 surnames of league players contained in this story. They represent numerous clubs and countries from various time periods. Can you find them?