Or was it the prospect of having to front NZ Rugby this week and explain what the heck went wrong?Īs a mildly interested bystander, but technically a complete layman when it comes to sport, especially rugby, I defer to those who know what they're talking about.īut I draw some hope from the post-match interviews with the players.ĭownhearted, broken even, after putting their bodies on the line for 80 minutes in a brutal, bruising encounter they were dejected and disappointed.Īnd the message I took from them was that they didn't need telling it wasn't good enough, they already felt it.Īnd whoever it was that talked about pride in the jersey and the need to get that back, that gave me hope. 24 However, the humiliation of the Suez Crisis of 1956 badly hurt the morale of Britain and of the Commonwealth as a whole. Was it perhaps the swirling of the media sharks, asking impertinent, no actually, just plain rude questions about his future in the job? Hoped-for success was reinforced by such achievements as climbing Mount Everest in 1953, breaking the four-minute mile in 1954, and a solo circumnavigation of the globe in 1966. Question is, was he grumpier at the performance of the team, or the failure of his game plan? I'm not going to pretend I made any special effort to see the game on Saturday night, but I do feel good when the All Blacks win, especially when they win well.Īnd I share in that pall of national gloom when they lose, especially when they lose badly, worst of all, badly at home.

As the kid who was always picked last for everything, especially rough games like rugby, I've developed a healthy respect for sports people over the years.Īnd a passing interest in their achievements.

Minute of islands achievements