Following on from US TV talk show star Barbara Walters and last week's look at the "10 Most Fascinating People of 2011" we thought, (before it all gets too quickly forgotten among the hullabaloo of festive tidings), it was high time we compiled a similar list of the most memorable names to emerge from this year's Rugby World Cup...
So here's our, err, top 11 (or 13, depending how you count it):
- Mike Tindall (England captain). Whatever he did or didn't do off the field in Queenstown, it certainly made for a lot more headlines than any of his or his team-mates' failed on-field exploits. Mike may've been a clown alright, but that still doesn't explain how Crunchie got to be their coach.
- Marc Lievremont (French coach). He spent the whole time telling anyone who'd listen that his players were nothing but a bunch of spoilt little brats who refused to listen and loathed him only slightly less than than the mutual hate he felt for them. In terms of motivating a fickle French side, you've gotta say the man just about got it exactly right.
- Graham Henry (All Blacks coach). Was that a smile we just saw there, Ted? Just a wee one?
- Sonny Bill Williams (Poster Boy). His shirt got ripped which meant he got to take it off and we all got to see how ripped he was. Then there was that performance against Japan - equalled only by the utter dominance he displayed against the sickness beneficiary with the injured arm. Thank goodness he decided to box on with rugby for another whole year I say.
- Sam Warburton (Welsh skipper). The potential hero turned ultimate zero, who wore red then saw red. His first-half dismissal for a reckless spear tackle proved the turning point in Wales' semi-final vs France. That one moment of madness harpooning his country's hopes of making what would've been their first ever final.
- Quade Cooper (Public Enemy #1). "Wretched" would be the only way to describe Quade's tournament. The Wallaby pivot arrived in NZ on the back of a Tri Nations triumph, Robbie's men confident they could carry that form all the way through to an Eden Park final. The weight of expectation too much in the end though, the Aussies out-muscled by Ireland before succumbing to a rampant All Blacks semi-final effort. Quade, nervous and error-prone from the start, ended his World Cup with a badly injured knee, his reputation (sadly) suffering similar ignominy.
- Jock Hobbs (Patron Saint of NZ rugby). It really was one of those "you could hear a pin drop" moments, the man so hugely responsible for securing the 2011 hosting rights for NZ presenting captain Richie McCaw with his 100th All Black cap. A milestone for New Zealand rugby and a moment now forever etched into everything worth remembering about this tremendous tournament.
- Stephen Donald (zero-to-hero). You couldn't write this script. A player so unfairly pilloried following the All Blacks loss last year in Hong Kong, a man told mid-year by Graham Henry that he wouldn't be needed for World Cup duty, five weeks without any practice, somewhere up the Waikato river whitebaiting with friends when the call came through, whatever else he ever does, SD kicked the winning goal to end our World Cup drought.
- Wayne Barnes (Head Prefect). Suddenly the man many of us blamed for our 2007 quarter-final loss in Cardiff seems so much less important to everything about our rugby. Yes he still stuffed up in as many games this time as he was granted governance of, yet for us, our Eden Park victory seems to have finally anulled any past pain he may've personally inflicted.
- Carter/Slade/Cruden (Injured first-five). Think about it for a terrifying second. We're about to play a World Cup at home, desperate to win a trophy we haven't held for 24 long and painful years. Now just as we're about to hit the knockout stage we lose our top three number one choice 10s to injury. If ever there was a nightmare scenario, this was it. Something that didn't bear thinking about, in the end, wasn't something we actually did!
- Nicholas Jillett (Crazed fan). Nothing at all funny about threatening to kill anyone, ever is there? But maybe, just maybe, the courts will show NJ a little leniency when he is eventually sentenced. The poor bloke's SKY TV went bunk (apparently), "rainfade" blocking his viewing pleasure during the All Blacks quarter-final v Argentina. Rage turned to wrath, Nicholas leaving a series of increasingly angry phone messages as he attempted to exhort a technician around to fix the problem. Just another reason to thank the Lord for the excellent, uninterrupted free-to-air coverage LIVE on TV ONE!
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Add a Comment:
Post new commentdtibwitta said on 2012-01-16 @ 04:27 NZDT: Report abusive post
Heyyyyy! What about Bryce Lawrence. Bok's Wayne Barnes!
dtibwitta said on 2012-01-16 @ 03:02 NZDT: Report abusive post
What about Bryce Lawrence?? Now the boks know what it felt like to be a victim of Wayne's world type refereeing
lakota said on 2011-12-07 @ 10:39 NZDT: Report abusive post
hey martin ,what about irl v aus , sam v st africa , wales v st africa ,usa v russia ,see it from outside aussie new zea eyes .
blindside said on 2011-12-06 @ 16:40 NZDT: Report abusive post
NZ Public - for hypocritically jumping onboard the "Beaver Hero Parade" after spending two plus years abusing him. Will they learn anything from this? Donald was always a better player than Slade and Cruden.