St Luke slays Loftus louts
9 Mar 2009
Keo, in his Business Day newspaper weekly column, writes of a player’s triumph and defeat at Loftus.
The Stormers lost in Pretoria but Luke Watson definitely won against a Loftus crowd whose game plan lacked imagination and was devoid of all invention.
The crowd behaviour was as abysmal as the quality of rugby and indeed it was Watson who seemed to intimidate the near 50 000 voices by simply accepting their challenge of continued booing by asking if that was all they had to offer.
It reminded me of former All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson toying with the Newlands crowd a decade ago. Wilson, playing for the Highlanders in the Super 12, was jeered the first time he touched the ball, but midway through the match he was begging the crowd for a reaction as he scored his third try.
With both hands reaching for both ears he gestured for increased noise levels, as he could hear nothing coming from the crowd. It was hilarious and the vocal bullies had nowhere to turn but to further embarrassment. What did these morons do 10 years ago in response to Wilson’s third try? Predictably they booed.
It was the same in Pretoria. What else did the louts of Loftus have to give? Nothing, and when Watson calmly robbed Pierre Spies of the ball in contact and fashioned another clever turnover all the crowd could respond with was another boo as effective as South Africa’s cricket challenge in recent weeks against Australia.
The humiliation belonged to those attempting to ridicule.
Watson, like many of his fictional heroes in the Bible, thrives on confrontation and conflict. Adversity is another must in his working day, as is being condemned by those non-believers of freedom of speech.
In going to Loftus, all the above elements were script guarantees for the stereotype of the persecuted and defiant Christian and naturally, armed with self-belief and backed by God, Watson prospered.
The Loftus crowd, many of them believers of Christianity, misread the contest because effectively they were doing battle with one of their own, but whereas they lacked conviction in their application of resentment, Watson was committed to his stand of defiance.
Watson, disgusted at wearing a jersey with a Springbok emblem on it, is not popular for saying so. He is even less popular for calling South African rugby a game run by Afrikaners, even though there has never been a disciplinary to confirm if he ever did utter the supposedly wicked word ‘dutchmen’.
Watson, the public relations man, is a boring project because his rants and contradictions are as predictable as the Loftus crowd booing. His rugby, though, has more enterprise and is powerful.
He has never produced a Test performance of authority, but his international career has been brief and conditions and playing circumstances cannot compare to the environment of Super Rugby, which is a world made for the skills of Watson.
His Super Rugby pedigree cannot be disputed. Whether you despise his personality or revere him, he can play Super rugby and in Pretoria he did a damn better job of it than local hero Pierre Spies, who for all his athleticism still goes into mute mode when the Bulls tight five engine can’t get out of neutral.
Watson in the one-on-one match-up outplayed Spies, which does not mean I’d pick him ahead of Spies for the Springboks. I wouldn’t, but to dispute Watson’s superiority over Spies at the weekend would be a betrayal for anyone gifted a healthy set of eyes.
Watson is a clever player, whose athleticism is matched by an ability to read the game and by good skills. He may physically struggle in contact but his mind never battles to go forward.
These factors helped him beat the Loftus louts, but because of his persecution complex about being a privileged white Watson in a black South Africa these factors are meaningless in Watson’s fight to beat out of himself the need to be a South African rugby martyr; liable for the actions of those who lived in an era he has only ever read about.
Watson, the rugby player, won in Pretoria, but it is Watson the rugby player who never wins in Watson’s world – and that will always be the tragedy of a player whose world does not allow him to simply be a rugby player.
1,045 Comments
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9 Mar 2009, 17:38 pm
#541 hater: I dispute that he was called that. Richie alledged that it was by the majority of the crowd, which is not true. I cannot comment on the possibility that a few of the 50 000-odd people there may have been so low.
9 Mar 2009, 17:39 pm
#540 WP Till I Die:
Thats how I see it as well, and I like to think thats how our military leaders at the time saw it. The Angolan escapades
were not about the ANC and more internationally focused.
9 Mar 2009, 17:40 pm
#550 hjk:
yessus my man, i would not watch such obviously biased garbage, there are many in this country who still feel very proud of their military history, not me, hell we had a whole generation of okes with magnum mustaches and facial hair, which we still cant shake, its a disgrace. not only could the money have been better spent, but think of all the blankets that could have been knitted from that hair.
9 Mar 2009, 17:41 pm
#549 hater:
everyone can see what I am….but my name isn’t “Hater” and I’m not the one supporting the All blacks when situation dictates?
funny stuff.
9 Mar 2009, 17:43 pm
Help me out – biased in which direction? I called it balanced because of the fact that they spoke to people from all sides.
9 Mar 2009, 17:43 pm
#553 cab: (see my comment 555)
9 Mar 2009, 17:43 pm
#550 hjk:
Six, yes. Quite a technological feat, really. Done through South African/Israeli colloboration. The Americans were quite surprised that we managed to get it done.
The mother was a nuclear physicist working at Phalaborwa, but she didn’t work on the actual weapons program itself.
9 Mar 2009, 17:43 pm
#545 cab:
hahahah
I think you are wrong in that assessment.
As hard as it is to believe, the SA military leaders of that time had bigger fish to fry than local politics a lot of the time.
Russia and its intentions were the focal point.
The USA was keenly interested in us as well for obvious reasons.
Think BIG picture.
9 Mar 2009, 17:43 pm
#557 WP Till I Die:
Sorry, I mean Pelindaba. Phalaborwa is where my father served.
9 Mar 2009, 17:44 pm
#543 XhosaKid: Yes I did, and if you read post #533 you would have seen I took it back.
#547 WP Till I Die: But why?
9 Mar 2009, 17:45 pm
#554 St.Petersburgbok: That was the point Gary was making. Some SA supporters are trash. You are the trash. You = trash.
9 Mar 2009, 17:45 pm
#553 cab:
“yessus my man, i would not watch such obviously biased garbage,”
A case of judging before even knowing what you are judging.
9 Mar 2009, 17:45 pm
#557 WP Till I Die:
Aarrghhh. Let me rephrase “My mother”, not “The mother”.
9 Mar 2009, 17:45 pm
#557 WP Till I Die: Phalaborwa or Pelindaba ?
Yeah, from a technological point of view it’s absolutely fascinating.
9 Mar 2009, 17:46 pm
#553 cab:
Cab, I’ve seen it as well, it is one of the most balanced accounts of the Border War I’ve seen in a long time.
9 Mar 2009, 17:46 pm
#559 WP Till I Die: Our comments crisscrossed.
9 Mar 2009, 17:46 pm
#564 hjk:
See my post 559
9 Mar 2009, 17:47 pm
#551 hjk: I was not there, but why would Richie fabricate, and I think we have all had ample examples from television, the blogs and from bloggers who were there, not to mention Keo’s take on this thread about what the Loftus crowd are capable of. It really is that bad dude, and until that stops. Luke has a point.
9 Mar 2009, 17:48 pm
#565 WP Till I Die:
Nonsense, its biased garbage because its in afrikaans mainly.
9 Mar 2009, 17:48 pm
#566 hjk:
The cyber equivalent of crossed lines, yes.
I must say that the broader geopolitical strategy behind South Africa’s involvement in South West Africa, Angola, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, even Zambia has always fascinated me.
To a large extent the liberation forces and the South African security forces were merely pawns to be used on a much larger chessboard, victims of realpolitik as it was played out between the United States of America and the Soviet Union.
9 Mar 2009, 17:49 pm
#555 hjk:
anything called the ‘grensoorlog’ is bound to be total and utter shite imo, unless its done by proper historians, not by a brainwashed generation of macho young bucks. i mean after leaving school the only thing i knew about history was about Piet Retief, no-one else has even heard of piet retief. Its a disgrace. I want my money back.
#558 Stawm:
big picture my gat, think the ruling NP trying to curry favour with werstern powers with their propaganda of the supposed dangers of black rule…what dangers, the blacks that did come to power dismantled all these nukes that the white man created. someone needs to change this picture.
9 Mar 2009, 17:49 pm
#547 WP Till I Die: Apologies mate, I just lose it with this dude, the last time he came with drivel, I tried my utmost best to school him about African Civilization, dating back to the Egyptian Book of the Dead, African Iron Age,Timbuktu Ancient Manuscript, Greater Zimbabwe etc etc.
He’s tosser, I’ll let him be
9 Mar 2009, 17:50 pm
#490 GARY H: Loftus. It’s a disgrace.
9 Mar 2009, 17:50 pm
#561 hater: don’t insult the trash.
9 Mar 2009, 17:51 pm
#570 WP Till I Die:
What people also tend to forget is that a large part of the Pretoria government’s foreign policy was at times forced upon them by the United States.
Another fascinating area of research for me is how Rhodesia managed to keep its economy going after UDI despite massive international sanctions – specifically looking at sanctions-breaking.
The methods, techniques, human emotion involved in sanctions-busting is quite something; and once again just proved that foreign governments might say one thing in public but were perfectly happy to deal under the table if the price was right
9 Mar 2009, 17:51 pm
I so wish the politico’s would ALL fark off here, lefties, righties, Commies, Socialists, Capitalists………. just fark the hell off…
Do any of you DOOSSSSSSSSSS DELUXES think for one minute that a single comment here is going to change someone else’s mindset of hate.. from whichever way that hate blows ?
You’re wasting my time here, I wish you all DEAD !!
Piss off !
Hamba !
Voertsek !
Bloody Mamparras !
9 Mar 2009, 17:52 pm
#560 SpringbokSarah: cool, saw it late…
9 Mar 2009, 17:52 pm
#571 cab:
I think you should definitely get your schooling money back.
Theres a lot you are not understanding here.
“anything called the ‘grensoorlog’ is bound to be total and utter shite imo”
I dont even know what to think of this comment.
9 Mar 2009, 17:53 pm
#576 grootblousmile:
You wish I was dead?
Thats heavy!
9 Mar 2009, 17:53 pm
#571 cab:
Actually, the six tactical nuclear warheads were dismantled by the NP government before the handover of power. There were supposedly two reasons for this:
1) They did not want to risk them in the hands of a newly-elected revolutionary black government
2) The United States did not want proof of their involvement in the South African nuclear arms program to surface
9 Mar 2009, 17:54 pm
#572 XhosaKid:
I actually have a copy of The Egyptian Book of The Dead on my shelf
It has a place of honour along with my copies of The Epic of Gilgamesh and the Ramayana, amongst other things.
9 Mar 2009, 17:55 pm
#579 Stawm: Are you a Politico ?
If the answer is yes…. then I wish you DEAD, DEAD, DEAD !
9 Mar 2009, 17:57 pm
#574 SpringbokSarah: Quite right. I don’t make a habit of speaking to my garbage bin. I should not attempt to now.
9 Mar 2009, 17:57 pm
Anyway, I’m off. Let’s hope the Proteas can pull it through tomorrow!
9 Mar 2009, 17:58 pm
#576 grootblousmile: so why the hell do you still come here?
You come on here swearing left right and centre, dissing people who you know nothing about.
Stop acting like you’re the best damn thing that’s ever happened to the blog.
9 Mar 2009, 17:58 pm
#580 WP Till I Die:
yes cos mandela told them too. i think your reasons are very technical, the fact of the matter is they were the danger, not the swart of rooi or any other gevaars.
as a more general point, this article is about Watson and the utter hatred and contempt that has been shown to a 24 year-old whose sole crime appears to be a speech that he made, which was true, and that he appears to come from a family against apartheid.
so you know what this is a political article, and if you are not interested, dont get upset, simply fark off.
9 Mar 2009, 17:59 pm
#582 grootblousmile:
Thank goodness I’m sitting!!
Those are very heavy thoughts you have there, I suggest you let them go.
I’m no politico 4 sure, but I am for the truth.
And for people to decide on their own whats true and whats not without any facts to base it on really irks me.
9 Mar 2009, 18:00 pm
#577 XhosaKid: its fine.
#583 hater: rofl, no you shouldn’t hey, it might draw some stares.
#584 WP Till I Die: Yes, will keep my fingers crossed.
9 Mar 2009, 18:00 pm
What a fcuktup thread!!!!!!!!
9 Mar 2009, 18:01 pm
#553 cab:
well,I find that disgraceful.
The SADF fought a Soviet backed enemy. It’s why the Yanks where so stumm withregards to the apartheid situation and it was softly-softly sanctions. They backed the Israeli’s who they know backed us.
“Enemy”….or freedom fighters as some would see it, is a pointless debate. They where Soviet/Communist supported.
Don’t you ever even think that apartheid came close to the seriousness of Communism. I’ve been to the communist museum’s,Lubyanka and Lefortovo.
Robben Island….that’s a Maldives frikken holiday resort when compared with Lefortovo. Biko getting beaten to death….I’ve seen the ovens in Lubyanka.Where children where encouraged to turn their parents in to the KGB if they ever heard any derogatory communism chirps.
what was it Mandela said….something along the lines of “Apartheid was intellectual genoicide”..?
Not quite the same as actual genoicide now is it?
From 1918-1952…when Stalin died. Approximetely, because nobody is able to correctly calculate such huge numbers, 30-40 million murdered in Russia alone in the name of communism.
Not quite the Rwandan or Serbian idea of genoicide now was it?
The SADF where fighting the good fight, even if for all the wrong reasons.
9 Mar 2009, 18:01 pm
#585 SpringbokSarah: Ag jinne dogtertjie…. gaan doen liewer huiswerk….
9 Mar 2009, 18:05 pm
#589 K9 Pavement-special: Janee K9, what a crock of smelly ****….
9 Mar 2009, 18:05 pm
#553 cab: LMAO!!!! Hahahahahahahahahahahaha. Oh my goodness that was funny. I totally agree.
9 Mar 2009, 18:07 pm
#589 K9 Pavement-special: Not you too
9 Mar 2009, 18:07 pm
#590 St.Petersburgbok: Hahahahahahahahahahaha – hey guys. One of you wanna tell Mandela that 27 years at Robben Island was a holiday resort?
9 Mar 2009, 18:08 pm
#590 St.Petersburgbok:
well StP, i found having to learn about Piet Retief disgraceful. we cant always get what we want.
as for apartheid being less worse than communism. i’d say thats runnish, the one is based on racial superiority, whereas the other is based on equality. now if you want to argue which regimes abused their policies more effectively, the dictator stalin went against its very tenets, whereas the NP stuck to their policy fundamentally. were the NP as bad as the nazis or stalinist russia, probably not in terms of numbers killed, but tell that to the victims of the TRC and wonderful individuals like that oke in charge of another famous military project invovling biological weapons.
monsters.
9 Mar 2009, 18:09 pm
#594 SpringbokSarah: Me too?
9 Mar 2009, 18:11 pm
#591 grootblousmile: I’m done
#597 K9 Pavement-special: All the swearing, sheesh
9 Mar 2009, 18:12 pm
#596 cab: AMEN.
9 Mar 2009, 18:14 pm
#598 SpringbokSarah: Well it fits in well with the trend here.
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