When the Prey becomes the Predator

In the wild a predator stalks and seeks out his prey by singling out the weakest, oldest or slowest in a herd.  Often times the predator is thoroughly successful in his hunt and claims his trophy with a meal for his whole family.  Sometimes the prey gets away and the hunt is unsuccessful. Sometimes the herd turns on the predator in an effort to save a member of their group. On the odd occasion, the prey miraculously recovers from the shock of the attack and turns on the predator with all the weapons in his arsenal to prevent himself from becoming a mouth-watering dinner, then beats off his attacker tenaciously.

One such occasion was the wholesale humiliation by Japan over the Springboks on Saturday evening. This was a game that was assumed to be a forgone conclusion by every South African and his dog. Some predicted a margin in excess of 30 or 40 points in favour of the Bokke. Some suggested that South Africa should make a statement of this game and thrash the Japanese, to send a signal to our most favoured adversaries, that we mean business!  How disrespectful!

But it was not to be…..well, not by a long shot if Eddie Jones had anything to do with the game…..! As the game progressed it became evident that the Japanese were growing in confidence and they could sense a weakness in the Bokke they knew was exploitable. As their confidence grew, they became bolder, and they were not going to allow themselves to be thrashed by one of the giants of world rugby. They fought like the tenacious prey, beating off their predator with all that they could muster.

The slick ball passing and the consistent possession through phase after phase, was the trademark of an Eddie Jones influence. The Japanese lived up to the expectation of playing at a relentless pace and seemingly outplayed the Boks in almost every facet of the game. The final ten minutes was the deciding factor where the Japanese could have settled for a penalty and take the three points to draw the game.  Instead, they decided to go all the way and claim five points from a try, knowing they had overcome the Bokke.

The reality of the Springbok situation was there for all to see, yet in our blind patriotic support for our men in green and gold, we deliberately cover our eyes with green and gold blinkers to temporarily disengage from that reality. A squad that consists of injured players who are still trying to recover, veterans of the game that should have hung up their boots a while ago, and players who haven’t played in top flight rugby in over a year, would almost certainly trip up at the first hurdle when faced with any formidable challenge. This is not to say the Bokke are doomed to return after the next game against Samoa. But should Heineke Meyer fail to see the light before the next game, he may have to book return flights earlier than he anticipated!

US Scare mongering – another blow to our fragile economy

When the US State Department refuses to divulge further details regarding an alleged terror attack being planned against US interests in South Africa, one has to take it with a pinch of salt yet be very wary of the sinister allegations. Although there were one or two incidents in the past of South African individuals alleged to be affiliated with terror groups from the Middle East and elsewhere, there was little credible information to substantiate such claims.

The latest statements by US officials of a possible terror plot inside the country may be the cause of a multitude of motives. The most famous assumption, is the US being wary on the eve of the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, and therefore link the date as commemoration of its success by fundamentalists to celebrate with further terrorist attacks.  Which I think is a load of crock! If this is so, why not target any other country around the world? Another reason could be our Government’s alignment with the BRICS countries and thus turning to the East for alternative investment and trading partners. In my opinion, all is not what is seems on the surface, and I believe there are other underlying manoeuvres in the making. The US State Department is well aware that sounding an alarm of this nature in any country can cause huge economic and political damage to that country’s image. Therefore careful thought and possible repercussions must have been evaluated before the announcements were made. Exacerbating the situation is the fact that no credible information of proof for such allegations is forthcoming. Which leads one to believe the act was deliberately done to harm South Africa’s image abroad.

In trying to understand why the US would harm South Africa’s image, one has to look beyond the actual deed. The US and Israeli Governments are joined at the hip and the Israeli PM has substantial influence over the US government.  When Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu opens his mouth the US Senate trembles with fear. The announcement by our Department of Home Affairs to  review the legislation governing dual citizenship, with the explicit aim of preventing South African Jews from supporting and serving in the Israeli army could possibly be a cause of the sudden terror plot. Bibi opened his mouth with South Africa as the context, and the rest is self-explanatory.

The decision by the South African government to publicly support and act on their sympathetic affiliation to the Palestinian cause, was a move made with little after thought as to the consequences of their actions. Then again, what more could we expect from our officials.  Someone should have told them to keep their support for the Palestinian cause strictly on a diplomatic basis and only in an International forum, speak out in support of other nations with a similar view. Acting on their beliefs was a huge faux pas and the repercussions, as we can see may be devastating to our economy.

The recent fiasco regarding the new Visa regulations has already affected our tourism industry, which is a substantial contributor to GDP. The US terror warning, would naturally scare off foreign investors, and label South Africa as a no-go destination for investment, hence affecting the economy. With negative GDP growth over the last quarter, and rising unemployment, the economy can ill-afford government officials exacerbating the situation by stirring up shit that they cannot control, in the long term! Just saying…..

                                              

The Quadrennial debate on the transformation in Rugby

We can say one thing for sure; the debate on this topic has at least progressed over the last four years. Some inconspicuous political party calling themselves the Agency for a New Agenda (ANA(L)) party, has taken the extraordinary step to challenge the justification of the current World Cup squad representing South Africa at this year’s instalment of the tournament, and thus to stop them from participating. Surprisingly, they did get a hear-in from the sitting judge in the matter, who agreed that transformation in sport and other sectors of South African Society has taken on a snail’s pace over the 21 years of democracy. Well done to the ANA(L) party; pity they decided to leave it at that and not pursue it further. It may have turned out to be a box office hit comedy, or someone may have taken them seriously. But that’s where the current situation will stay for the next four years.

Over the years, this debate has become more farcical than pretentious. The Rugby Fraternity at SARU are probably laughing their arses off at the latest miserable attempts at the protests of the makeup of the squad for this year’s tournament. They are well aware that once the tournament is over, everything returns to normal again, and the Minister of Sport, Fikile (Razmataz) Mbalula, carries on his day job by tweeting away about everything except the progression and transformation of sport (in this case rugby) for all South Africans of different persuasions. The fact that he looks at the situation through a pair of racehorse blinkers, does not give South Africans any warm feeling that much will be done, specifically at the highest level of the sport, in the next four years, or beyond.

To make this quadrennial debate a fun experience, maybe a public debate should be formulated every four years, with this topic as the agenda.  All political parties or other organs of society of sound and reasonable mind are barred from the debate. Only groups like the ANA, FF+, the ANC Youth League and the EFF(ing) party stooges will be eligible to participate. The group that comes up with the most (in their little minds) thoughtful analysis and suggestions for transformation in rugby, will be crowned the winners and their leader should be made the Minister of Sport for four years until the next Rugby World Cup, or specifically the next transformation debate. The current Minister has lost his lustre and therefore we need a new clown to light up our lives in situations like these!