Secret RWC diary

this is shamelessly stolen from Dan's World at iafrica, lets just say it's been a rough week. This is too good not to share, and not everyone follows hyperlinks.

 

Wednesday 12 September:

Schalk's got a four game ban! Unbelievable. He was sitting at breakfast looking wretched, solitary tear running down his cheek, and no one really knew what to do. Bismark eventually just went up and gave him a hug, and Schalk burst into tears; can't remember a worse morning in a Springbok camp. But these things work out, and there's hope for Schalk. Practice this morning was interrupted by a helicopter landing on the training field, which turned out to be Johann Rupert's. He's determined to get Schalk off at his appeal tomorrow, and has brought out quite a team: also on board were Johnny Cochrane, George Bizos, Corbin Bernsen from LA Law, and the guy who got Jacob Zuma off. Maybe there's hope for Schalk yet…

Thursday 12 September:

Down to two games! Not perfect, but Schalk's a lot happier, and so is Jake (although Bob looked strangely subdued when the news came through). He'll miss the England game tomorrow, but we'll have him back for the quarters. And we've got loads of support, with Springbok supporters all over Paris, which is great. The Minister of Sport also sent through an email to John, urging us to make the most of the 20 overs, and congratulating us on the win over the West Indies. Oh well, I suppose it's the thought that counts.

Friday 12 September:

36-0! What a game! We were pretty confident, but to win by 36 points, and keep them from scoring — unbelievable. We were all floating in the change room afterwards. Frans had swapped jerseys with one of the England guys, and snuck off from our debrief; ten minutes later, there was a shriek as he dashed back into the change room, pursued by half the England team. Turned out he'd crossed out the '2' on their jersey (part of their O2 sponsorship), and changed it to '36', before solemnly presenting it to Martin Corry. Furious Englishmen, and Jake and John had to apologise; even they had to admit afterwards it was bloody funny.

Saturday 12 September:

Day off today, and most of us went to the cinema. Gurthro and Bakkies went off to see a French film in black and white about a manic depressive painter dealing with existential angst in the immediate aftermath of post-war Europe, a searing portrait of human frailty set against a bleak landscape of monochromatic hopelessness; the rest of us went to see Rush Hour 3. Butch reckons Jackie Chan should have got at least three Oscars so far, and it's hard to disagree. Even if Bakkies and Gurthro think we're all philistines.

Sunday 12 September:

Had a quiet training session this morning (after watching Sky News over breakfast, and listening to the England reaction to the game — brilliant!); all of us were still on quite a high after Friday. Well, all of us except Jake — Wynand kept him up snoring most of last night, so the coach was a bit grumpy. Jake gets to choose his own room-mate, though, so he's only got himself to blame. Went to watch Bryan this afternoon doing a promo for one of the World Cup sponsors, doing a 100 metre race against a Formula 1 car. Was pretty cool, and surprisingly close — for the first 60 metres, the car just about kept up. Bet it can't sidestep though.

Monday 12 September:

Bit of a blow ahead of Tonga — Johann and Albert were doing pilates, and Johann managed to tear his calf muscle. Always thought those pilates balls were bad news. And finally found out why Eddie's been in such low spirits — apparently every single one of the Wallaby players has removed him as a friend on Facebook. That's really harsh — I mean, even Jake has Luke Watson as a friend (admittedly on limited profile). We all promised to make Eddie a friend as soon as possible, and he cheered up quite a bit. For an Australian, he's not too bad really.

Tuesday 12 September:

Jake confirmed the team today — Bob's captain for Tonga, although John will be on the bench just in case, as will Bryan and Monty. We all remember the Connacht game only too well, so this is a big one, especially after Tonga beat Samoa. They're pretty big guys, and also do one of those cute war dances, but we should be ready. Then Schalk's back, and away we go — I don't want to get overconfident, but so far, so good…