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, 12:44 pm
#38 WP Till I Die:
Yip, and the scary thing is, a vast portion of the white population in this country are closet racists in some way or form.
So who can blame Luke, at least he is sitting on one particular side of the fence and he sticks to it, unlike most who regularly jump the fence, depending on who is around.
9 Mar 2009, 12:44 pm
And now Keohane is doing it again – labelling a crowd of 50 000 as Christian. Do you think that all Bull suppporters boo others? Then maybe it was a Cape Malay crowd who booed Geo Cronje 6 years ago at Newlands after Keo made a racial issue of the dispute? Or maybe an atheist crowd at newlands who cheered when Morne Du Plessis high tackeld Naas or a Welkom tappert crowd in 1987 when Jannie Els knocked Naas over.
Maybe it is because Pierre Spies is a Christian that he handed the ball over to Luke? I watched the game again, and Luke was good on some occasions and missing in action in others. He did not look like mr superman to me all the time.
Your own argument is just as boring as Mugabe’s speeches of colonialism. It was a north south derby, and the media, christian atheist, Muslim, secular or whatever, also built the whole of the North south Derby around Watson. Watson is not the first player to get booed at Loftus. Their is Mongomery, Skinstadt, Bolla Conradie (oops he is Black), Fleck and Michael Du Plessis. I never saw any word written here on how Morne Steyn was booed in Durban in the Curie Cup Final, or when the cheetahs played their song every time Hougaard kicked for poles in in the 2006 semi final? I never read a word by anyone critisizing ‘an English Outpost” from Natal?
And now Keo is finding in Watson a “project” to get back at people that is a huge challenge to him, personally. Using Watson as a fire fighter and making money out of the whole y issue sounds a bit like prostitution to me. And what better adversary to find in Christian Afrikaners?
Keo, you probably got the bliksem in when that youngster smashed Luke into the stands. It is the same how us Bull supporters feel everytime our players get booed at Newlands. So, kry vir jou!!!
So, my advice is, stop the blaming. stop the name calling. If the Cape Franchise do not win any cups or play at least in a final this year, with Rassie as headcoach (by the way- why don’t you investigate political discrimination in WP for axing Luke as captain?), then they don’t deserve Erasmus at all.
9 Mar 2009, 12:45 pm
Sometimes I can’t help wondering if there is not substance in what Luke said. I mean guys, look at the behaviour of the crowds and newspapers and convince me otherwise. I for one, also slammed his comments, but if I look at the comments on this site and behaviour of the general public, I can’t help but think again. How is he’s comments different to the Markgraaff’s comment’s alla the Bester recordings, and nobody bood him when walking on a rugby pitch. Hell, he became involved in Bok rugby again!
Let’s play the ball and not the man.
9 Mar 2009, 12:45 pm
fcking joke Keo, you WP lackey.
the maajority rules my friendd
FACT: Luke is most hated sports figure in country
9 Mar 2009, 12:47 pm
The whole thing is a joke. As is Luke. As a rugby player he is better than average, but even if he was Tiger Woods’ good I wouldn’t have anywhere near my team.
He poisons the ground he walks on.
9 Mar 2009, 12:47 pm
Keo vs 50,000 NTvl supporters
keo, stop lowrring to your CT paymasters.
9 Mar 2009, 12:48 pm
#35 cane:
lol, yes, but he’s got a turn of phrase and tends to side with the left (at least in his old days), it makes him interesting, and a quantum leap ahead of the compliant rot trotted out in our press.
9 Mar 2009, 12:48 pm
Luke won nothing!!!
I have no respect for him and aparently a lot of others neither.
So there…
9 Mar 2009, 12:49 pm
#44 AP:
Actually, Watson’s been averaging almost fifteen tackles a match. Check out Statscentre on sarugby.com.
But I don’t think you will – you’ll probably claim that stats lie.
9 Mar 2009, 12:49 pm
#38 WP Till I Die: [But hey, rugby is just for the whites]
For the ********, we’re not all morons. I don’t think AP can infer stats, “meeste van die syfers is in engels”
9 Mar 2009, 12:49 pm
This is one of worrst one sided articlees I hav read here..
9 Mar 2009, 12:49 pm
38. WP Till I Die :
“Go and look at the stats, my friend. You’ll see that Luke was one of the leading gainer of turnovers of all SA sides last year” Brussow outclassed him in a ratio of 3:1 for example. Look at the stats amd let somebody help you with the calculations.
‘But hey, rugby is just for the whites, right, judging by your soccer comment?”
No this is not what I meant. The statements made clearly indicate that the person that made the statements does not know a lot about rugby.
No, rugby is not only for the whites – are you blind?
However, it appears that soccer is only for the blacks as the scoreboard clearly reflects the issue!!
9 Mar 2009, 12:50 pm
#53 Isigidi:
Great comment, Isigidi. At least you are able to be open-minded and consider things from other perspectives. Sadly the same can’t be said for others.
9 Mar 2009, 12:51 pm
#59 WP Till I Die:
stats meaan sh*t. ok bru?
9 Mar 2009, 12:52 pm
#62 AP:
“as the scoreboard clearly reflects the issue” – so, by inference, you are claiming that our national soccer team would do better if it was full of whites?
Does the pronunciation of your nickname rhyme with “Japie”?
9 Mar 2009, 12:52 pm
How entertaining was Luke with Gerhard van Heerden. Shame the poor guy had to use momentum and all his body strength to lift Luke over the side while he only had to use his forearm muscle to keep Gerhard looking like someone swimming to come up for air. It also looked like Mark Lawrence enjoyed the show…
Gerhard, welcome to Super 14, your playing with the big boys now…
9 Mar 2009, 12:52 pm
#64 greatest13gerber:
Hahahahaha – the great cop-out. Thanks G13G, was just waiting for that one.
9 Mar 2009, 12:52 pm
#41 WP Till I Die:
yip, exactly. needs to get back to his roots, but now successful, not so hungry.
9 Mar 2009, 12:54 pm
mmmm, Watson plays well and his team lose.
the story of his life really.
What a nob.
I’d bet that the Bulls discussed Watson in a team meeting and made a decision NOT to work him over. Hell, Watson basically was given the key to loftus.The win was just more important to the Bulls than giving some over-opinionated militant so-and-so a pasting, even if it did make him look a lot better than he actually is.
PS: Keo, no comment withregards to Olivier making DeVilliers look like a cart horse or Nell making Bobo look like a crash basher.Or the fact that Watson only look good when the Stormers pack is getting all the set piece possession?
What a one-eyed nothingless topic. business day actually pays for this stuff? Good work if you can get it I suppose.
9 Mar 2009, 12:55 pm
Puke was boo’ed at Newlands as well. To me it is worse to be boo’ed at your own home ground. Nothing was said then, but because it is Loftus and the Bulls it is suddenly this big issue.
But we all know that the Bulls are newsworthy and the Stormers aren’t.
9 Mar 2009, 12:55 pm
#64 greatest13gerber:
Stats can provide some objectivity during times when people think with their emotions instead of their brains.
9 Mar 2009, 12:55 pm
#64 greatest13gerber: Dude, is your keyboard broken or are you as stupid as you come across?
9 Mar 2009, 12:56 pm
#36 yoda:
yoda………………just between you and I……….now keep this to yourself.
If I had to money on it, (i.e. cold hard logic), then my 4 semi-finalists, right now, would be:-
Sharkies,
Tahs,
Bullies,
Bumbies.
With the Sharkies winning the whole thing.
However, we live in world of shifting sands ….so who knows.
As for my Hurricanes. We are 4th at this stage, but we are not exactly setting the world on fire.
And on a personal note………..good to see you back.
9 Mar 2009, 12:57 pm
#69 St.Petersburgbok:
Also no comment about Koster easily running Spies in from behind and perform try saving tackle.
9 Mar 2009, 12:57 pm
#58 Blouste:
That may be true
But a lot of others do respect him and his stance
So dont present a case/statement as if your view is religious DOGMA
#54 greatest13gerber:
Yeah,but Henry Tromp aint that bad amongst the Loftus faithfull..in fact he was cheered and made a Bok
Pffffff
9 Mar 2009, 12:58 pm
#54 greatest13gerber: hey g13g.
how’s those typing lessons going?
9 Mar 2009, 12:59 pm
The Stormers should play Koster instead off Kotser at eightman.
9 Mar 2009, 12:59 pm
Trust the Monarchs to elevate Luke to early Sainthood.
Has he walked on water yet?
9 Mar 2009, 13:00 pm
#64 greatest13gerber:
Hoesit!
Hoe ver in die bottle whiskey al!
9 Mar 2009, 13:00 pm
#72 Windhoek.Lager: yes to the second one.
9 Mar 2009, 13:01 pm
#37 Snoek:
The Highlanders fans are overjoyed.
9 Mar 2009, 13:01 pm
#69 St.Petersburgbok: #74 Robzim:
Do we have a **** measuring competition?
9 Mar 2009, 13:02 pm
#77 It is just a game:
wow, what a real intelligent and insightful post.
9 Mar 2009, 13:02 pm
#78 Dawn:
The only person in the world who can walk on water is Kelly Slater. I have personally witnessed it.
9 Mar 2009, 13:03 pm
KEO weet net hoe om ‘n vuur aan te blaas! You have got to love it!
9 Mar 2009, 13:04 pm
I would crack myself if Watson get booed (again) at newlands this coming Saturday. Wonder what keo will write home about then?
St. Luke Watson wins Cape Argus.
9 Mar 2009, 13:04 pm
#69 St.Petersburgbok:
You tell ‘em.
9 Mar 2009, 13:05 pm
#53 Isigidi:
mcgraaf was given the boot after his initial comments.
9 Mar 2009, 13:05 pm
Luke Watson stops the wind at yesterday’s Cycle Tour.
9 Mar 2009, 13:05 pm
Afraid the thread is loosing substance.
Soon will develop into passage ***.
Fu&* you
No fu%& you
Fu$% Luke
Fu&* everybody
See a few morons also entered site, eish.
Later……………
9 Mar 2009, 13:05 pm
St Luke slays Cape ****
9 Mar 2009, 13:06 pm
“Fictional heroes in the Bible” – boy Keo, you should shoot your CV through to Heat Magazine. This sensationalist nonsense does not belong in this site.
By the way – what about Fourie du Preez ripping the ball of Luke? By your definition, that makes Fourie du Preez the better player on the day.
9 Mar 2009, 13:06 pm
#43 Robzim: Robzim I cannot agree with you. Any article , no matter how factual, that preys on the emotional immaturity of its readers is not great. Keo is baiting the Loftus Versveld fraternity because of its own immature treatment of one of the players he supports. As Luke would know the right response would have been to turn the other cheek. No-one benefits from the kind of discussions that this thread throws up.
I admire Luke for his Christian stance and the kind of life he strives to live. I also admire him for his ability on the rugby field, his passion and his dedication but what I don’t admire with is his response on Saturday. You give your opposition the upperhand when you respond in the same manner. Let me say I am in no position to judge Luke as I may have responded the same way only to realise as no doubt Luke has since,that there is a more appropriate response.
Lets hope he shows it on the rugby field.
9 Mar 2009, 13:07 pm
Here is another sites team of the week… I thought some players should have been selected ahead of some of these guys…
Team of the Week – Round Four:
15 – Isaia Toeava (Blues):
Playing in a losing team doesn’t mean you had a bad game. Also, go have a look at his role in that late comeback. He is a class act.
14 – Lelia Masaga (Chiefs):
We have known about his qualities for some time and maybe he has not always been consistent, but boy oh boy, was he good last Friday.
13 – Adi Jacobs (Sharks):
He showed again at the weekend why Springbok coach Peter de Villiers preferred him ahead of Jaque Fourie even when the Lions’ No.13 returned from injury last year. He is now, without doubt, South Africa’s premier outside centre.
12 – Wynand Olivier (Bulls):
He had faced a barrage of criticism after he lost some form, post 2007 World Cup. However, Olivier has looked every bit the player that first burst onto the scene and he certainly had the better of exchanges with his more illustrious Springbok teammate Jean de Villiers.
11 – Hosea Gear (Hurricanes);
His blistering pace and great skills had the Cheetahs defence as sixes and sevens on Saturday. Another player that has done his reputation no harm and put his hand up for All Black selection, yet again.
10 – Stephen Donald (Chiefs):
It is the way in which he controlled the game that eventually won our vote – although there was strong competition from Matt Giteau and Morne Steyn.
9 – Fourie du Preez (Bulls):
Simply the best, no doubt about that!
8 – Pierre Spies (Bulls):
Yes, there was some debate, but in the end it was a unanimous decision.
7 – Phil Waugh (Waratahs):
So strong, so skillful and a good leader to boot.
6 – Duane Vermeulen (Stormers):
This was Rassie Erasmus’ best buy in the off season and what a gem he is proving to be – big, strong and skillful. He matches the beefy Bulls ‘punch-for-punch’.
5 – Jason Eaton (Hurricanes):
Just letting the All Black selectors know that he is still around.
4 – Bakkies Botha (Bulls):
His style may not be everybody’s cup of tea and he may be as disliked in Cape Town as Luke Watson is in Pretoria, but Botha is one of the form locks in the Super 14.
3 – Jannie du Plessis (Sharks):
Who said South Africa lacked quality tighthead props? This man is playing out of his skin at the moment.
2 – Aled de Malmanche (Chiefs):
Although he can cover all three positions in the front row, he looks at his best at hooker – a brute of a man.
1 – Tendai Mtawarira (Sharks):
Forget the yellow card, that was just a culmination of his teammates’ transgressions. He remains a beast … in fact YThe Beast!
9 Mar 2009, 13:08 pm
#69 St.Petersburgbok:
Bobo had a good game as well,even the commentators said so.Put on a little review package of his performance during the game.Got over the advantage line evrytime he got the ball.
JP Nel did nothing
JdV vs Olivier
Wasnt an exciting match,none of them made any reputable linebreaks in the game/Scrappy game.Olivier scored a great try on the back of great scrambling play from Fourie du Preez.Average tackle form Koster.
But nothing direct to JdV.
Bulls tight 5 did just enough to win the game,kept possession well.
but the game was hardly a backline spectacle.
best backline player was the ultra committed Akona Ndungane IMO
9 Mar 2009, 13:08 pm
isigid the moron labeling machine
9 Mar 2009, 13:09 pm
#74 Robzim:
ja, brilliant. spies accelerates from a standing start and almost get;s away….Koster is already at full tilt and just get’s hold of Spies boot laces.
….amazing that?
9 Mar 2009, 13:10 pm
#94 THE MAULER: Quite agree with their choice of Vermeulen. He looked poor in the first game against the Sharks, but had a great game this weekend
9 Mar 2009, 13:11 pm
cane
thanks for the welcome, i dont come on keo that often excactly because of these “watson” type articles, where everyone that sits in an office want to take their frustrasions out on the next guy.
but its still fun sometimes…
as for the bulls being in the semis, i really hope so, but we still have to tour. i think your canes will still find form, they will definitily challenge for a spot in the semis come the business end ot the S14
the sharks look like the team to beat, they had a bit of luck in NZ, but i still think they look good. the tahs aint looking bad either…
9 Mar 2009, 13:11 pm
Ha ha ha, come on Keo.
The way Puke reacted showed that the crowd got to him eventually.
And what would you like the crowd to do? Maybe they should have emulated Piet from 2002….would that have been better?
He had a good game but his little rant cost him victory against the crowd (not to mention that the fact the Bulls won).
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