We made a mad dash last night to one of Rugby Union’s hallowed grounds in Scotland, Netherdale. Netherdale is the home of Gala RFC (that’s Galashiels to the uninitiated) but was also the home of the Border Reivers pro team until 2007 when the SRU closed them down to save money.

Never having been to Gala before – that’s right,  never – I had to get Jane my Sat Nav friend to help with the journey. 1h 32m she said for 72 miles.

Quite apart from the apparent sheer madness to anyone who is not rugby daft of travelling 72 miles each way on a cold, and  potentially dangerous night in November to see a game, there was the environmental stuff to consider; the fact that today I’m going to see Australia (or the wallabies as they are more affectionately known) play at Murrayfield; and the domestic issues that arise out of Rugby. Anyhow we set off at 5.45 and landed straight into M8 rush hour traffic on the way to Edinburgh. I kept my cool but as the indicator on the SatNav turned red and stayed red, I began to wonder if we would be on time; get parked and even have time to see the game!.

We got to the end of the City Bypass and jumped onto the A7. Now I could see why it was going to take us so long. Although an A road, the A7 is a one lane of traffic in each direction kind of road, passing through some small towns with 30 and 40 limits and threats of cameras but actually none. We motored on quite well until about 16 miles from Gala and then we ended up behind some pure slowcoach who insisted at slowing down at every bend no matter how “not-sharp” it was, who managed to do a poor attempt at 35mph just about all the way on the straight roads and managed to build up a queue, as far as I could see in my mirrors,  of  about a mile behind us. No doubt all going to the match. Why else would so many people be going to Gala at 7pm on a Friday night?

Anyhow we got there with Sat Nav Jane showing -16 minutes which meant we arrived at 7.15. We got a space in the college car park nearby to the ground and walked a short distance to the match. The ground was almost at capacity – maybe apart from the ends, and with hot drink and burger in hand joined in the National Anthem and watched the haka. This was Tonga’s European tour year

The match was a pleasure to watch from our vantage point just at the point where the teams go onto the field and we were a mere 3 metres from the coaching teams and the pitch edge. A totally different experience and one which reminded me of my trip to Greenock Wanderers a year or two ago.

We played a fast game and although we allowed Tonga to get a try in the final minute, we pulled off a just victory.

Our journey home was at a more respectable speed and without any sloth drivers in front and we maintained an average of 50 on the A7 which is its correct speed and arrived back home tired but happy as all the books say, to a plate of homemade lasagne and Corrie on catchup TV.

What a fantastic night!

JohnF

I just got home from the game.  Congratulations, Hornets, on a great season.  Thank you to all those people who filled up the Mini-Dome, the dancers, cheerleaders, and band, and especially our boys and their coaches.  You gave us something to believe in and look forward to throughout this entire record-breaking season.  I am so very, very proud of you. 

Declo Football has always been like an older brother to me; the team has definitely been chosen over me in the past, and after this unforgettable season, that is okay with me.  It makes me very happy to know that I have been a part of this legacy.  Hold your heads up, boys, this little sister thinks you are pretty fantastic.   The final score tonight doesn’t really matter–what really matters is beating Aberdeen on their home field for the first time in three years, scoring 42 points in the first quarter against Kimberly, and winning a Homecoming game for the first time in at least three years.  You should be proud for taking the Canyon Conference championship and playing a perfect game against Gooding.  Remember playing a double overtime against Malad and coming out on top.  You made it to the State Championship two years in a row.  I think and I am sure most of Declo thinks that you are something special, something amazing. 

Seniors, thanks for the ride over the past thirteen years, I could not be prouder to be a member of the class of 2010, but our ride is not over.  We have six more months to finish out an amazing year.  No one will ever forget us.  Our class motto this year is “When your life flashes before your eyes, make sure you have plenty to watch.”  When my life flashes before my eyes, which I hope is in a really long time, I will watch the 2009 Hornet Football run.  I will remember following fifty young men all over Idaho, watching them win eleven games in a row.  I will watch the “Valley Band” which with six people is still better than Parma’s marching band, and I will see a crowd three times the size of Parma’s stand behind our boys.  I will see the backs of fans reaching from end zone to end zone as they stood in front of me in New Plymouth.  I will watch a crowd of 800 people climb onto our plane for a state championship game.

We have been doing the Haka all year now, and the elementary school joined us today at the Pep Rally.  We do the Haka to call upon the souls of those who have come before us and the strength of those who are yet to come. Hornets, we  need to remember those who came before us.  Think of last year’s team who also took us to a state championship game.  Think of the parents that stood in our Pep Rally today.  Think of the hundreds of former Hornets that cheered with us tonight.  This community was called on to support our boys over the past four months, and I think they pulled through.  To all of you future Hornets and the underclassmen, remember this team.  We listened as the captains told us about their adversity they had faced before they became this amazing team.  Remember their trials, their strengths, and their weaknesses.  Call upon them when you need it. 

Thanksgiving is next week, and I know what I am most thankful for.    I am thankful to be a part of something this unforgettable, this amazing.  I am thankful for friends, neighbors, and family who follow us through thick and thin, win or loss.  I am thankful for a group of boys that defied the odds and took us to a second state championship game. I am thankful to be a Hornet.

Lezers van dit weblog weten dat ik iets heb met de haka. Vooral de haka die door de All Blacks wordt opgevoerd voor hun rugbywedstrijden kan mij bekoren. Dit is meestal de Ka Mate-haka. Vaak wordt gedacht dat de haka een oorlogsdans is. Niets is minder waar. Haka is een verzamelnaam voor een hele groep ceremoniële dansen van de Maori uit Nieuw-Zeeland.

Elke haka imponeert. (c) www.allblacks.com.

Contact met goden en voorvaderen
Met de haka proberen de Maori in contact te komen met de goden en voorvaderen. Ze voeren de haka regelmatig op bij een veelvoud aan gelegenheden. Zo zijn er haka’s om gasten te verwelkomen, ook bestaan er huwelijks-, geboorte- en begrafenishaka’s. Maar de meest bekende blijft toch wel de Haka van de All Blacks. De rugbyspelers uit Kiwiland gebruiken twee haka’s: de Ka Mate (= ik sterf) en de Kapa o Pango (= het team met de zwarte kleding aan).

De gitzwarte kiwi's gebruiken twee haka's. (c) www.allblacks.com.

Te Rauparaha op de vlucht
De Ka Mate is bedacht door Maorileider Te Rauparaha rond 1820. Hij sloeg toen op de vlucht voor een vijandige Maoristam. Tijdens het rennen riep hij regelmatig dat hij bijna dood ging: “Ka mate! Ka mate!” Toen Te Rauparaha weer in veilig gebied was, schreeuwde hij uit dat hij leefde: “Ka ora! Ka ora!”. Uiteindelijk bedacht hij de complete tekst van de haka en de daarbij behorende bewegingen. Elke haka bestaat uit een reeks gebaren.

Elke tegenstander is onder de indruk van de haka. (c) www.allblacks.com.

De zilveren varen
De Kapa o Pangohaka is van veel recenter datum dan de Ka Mate. De belangrijkste teksten en bewegingen van deze haka dateren uit de jaren twintig van de twintigste eeuw. In 2005 is deze haka echter afgestoft en gemoderniseerd. De tekst slaat veel meer op de rugbyspelers dan de tekst van de Ka Mate. Er wordt specifiek gesproken over de strijders in het zwart met de zilveren varen op de borst. De Kapa o Pango heeft wel gezorgd voor wat rumoer. Eén van de laatste bewegingen van de dans is een gebaar van de hand met gestrekte duim. Deze duim wordt over de keel gehaald. Tegenstanders van de Kapa o Pango verklaren dat de All Blacks hun opponenten de keel willen afsnijden. De All Blacks houden vol dat de duimbeweging moet zorgen voor goddelijke energie in de longen en moed in het hart. Het is bijzonder te constateren dat een rituele dans dus nog steeds kan leiden tot controverses!

De Ka Mate:

De Kapa o Pango (let op het duimgebaar!):

De knieën gebogen
Bij vrijwel elke haka staan de hakabeoefenaars (leuk woord voor Scrabble!) met hun knieën gebogen in een soort van spreidstand. Ze spannen al hun spieren en slaan op de gespannen spieren van de borst, de armen en de bovenbenen. Door middel van neertrekkende bewegingen proberen de Maori er voor te zorgen dat de kracht van de goden vanuit de hemel in hun lichaam trekt. Om extra imponerend over te komen, trekken ze allerlei expressieve gezichten. Het laten zien van het oogwit en een lange tong horen er vrijwel standaard bij.

Traditionele dansen
Overigens is het zo dat de haka niet alleen door de rugbyspelers van Nieuw-Zeeland wordt opgevoerd voor hun wedstrijden. Ook andere kiwisportteams gebruiken de haka. Ook de voetballers en de ijshockeyers zijn er erg bedreven in. Omdat er zo’n energie en uitstraling van de haka van Nieuw-Zeeland uitgaat, zijn ook andere landen in de regio hun traditionele dansen weer gaan gebruiken: Fiji (de ‘cibi’), Tonga (de ‘kailao’) en Samoa (de ‘siva tau’). De kippenvelmomenten die je van de haka krijgt, worden vermenigvuldigd als de All Blacks spelen tegen één van deze drie landen. Dan is het niet alleen een rugbywedstrijd, maar ook een dansstrijd!

Ook andere landen gaan hun traditionele dansen gebruiken:

Fiji – de cibi:

Tonga – de kailao:

Samoa – de siva tau:

Even struinen op het web levert trouwens leuk en imponerend beeldmateriaal op:

Tonga tegen Nieuw-Zeeland:

De konijnenhaka:

De peperkoekmannenhaka:

Peperkoekmannen tegen biscuitboys:

De spinnenhaka:

De koningin en de haka:

Nach langer Prozedur, und nicht aufgeben, habe ich es geschafft gestern meinen nächsten Trip vom „Nakedpassport“ vom „Nakedbus“ zu buchen.. letztendlich stellte sich heraus, dass sie die Internetseite neu geupdated haben und ich deshalb keinen Zugriff darauf hatte, erfuhr ich dann per Telefon, vom I-Site aus. Es ließ sich dann aber doch alles klären.
Man hat hier doch mit einigen organisatorischen Dingen und Unstimmigkeiten zu kämpfen. Die Busse fahren leider auch nicht so regelmäßig oder zu den Zeiten zu denen ich es gern hätte, damit mir nicht zu viel Zeit verloren geht.
Deshalb habe ich beschlossen erstmal gen Rotorua zu reisen.
Ich hoffe ja, dass ich alles schaffe, denn ich habe langsam den Eindruck, dass es so viel zu sehen gibt, dass ich langsam Zeitdruck bekomme, wenn ich auch noch die größere Südinsel sehen möchte und dennoch rechtzeitig wieder in Auckland für den Rückflug da sein möchte. Anfang Februar geht’s schon zurück.
Aber ich habe heute Abend festgestellt, dass ich wohl nochmal nach Hamilton zurückkehren möchte, weil es so zentral liegt und weil ich Reglan von hier aus erreiche mit einem Tagestrip. Der Hostelbesitzer schwärmte davon. Er erzhählte mir eine lange Geschichte von den Gehstöcken und dem Schmuck, den er selbst dort in Reglan anfertigte als er dort wohnte.. es gibt dort anscheinend viele Hobbykünstler und es ist direkt an der Westküste an der Tasman Sea.

Nun aber zu Rotorua:
Ich bin hier 4 Tage gewesen. Es riecht nach faulen Eiern, weil es sehr geothermisch aktiv ist. Ich bin in einer aktiven Vulkangegend.
Überall in diesem Ort brodelt, kocht, dampft, blubert es aus der Erde heraus. Heißes Wasser Sprüht etc. aus kleinen bis mittelgroßen Erdlöchern im Park in Rotorua. Es ist wirklich interessant hier.

Der Ort selbst ist recht schön, die Häuser sind aus Holz und klein wie überall in Neuseeland. Mit dem Hostel habe ich es auch gut getroffen. Meine Zimmermitbewohner schnarchen nicht und die Leute sind nett. Es ist erstaunlich wie viele Leute man wieder in so kurzer Zeit kennenlernt. Mehrere Deutsche, einen Schotten, einen Chinesen, 2 Französinnen, uvm.
Abends ist kaum etwas los hier. Selbst am Wochenende nicht. Am Samstag angekommen, habe ich mich gleich mit ein paar Deutschen angefreundet und wir sind abends zusammen weggegangen. Montag war ich dann in „Te Puia“, einem Maoridorf mit Geysier und weiteren geothermischen Aktivitäten. Ich hatte es ausgewählt um die Maorikultur besser kennen zu lernen und um zu sehen wie und woraus die Maoribekleidung hergestellt wird/ wurde. Es sind verschiedene Gräserarten, vor allem aus Flax (= eine Flachsart?), die aus großen länglichen Blättern bestehen und die dann auf eine bestimmte Art aufgerollt werden, sodass sie aussehen wie getrocknetes Stroh. Dieses „Stroh“ wird dann nebeneinander verbunden, sodass es einen „Rock“ ergibt.
Außerdem wurden verschiedene Webarten von Gräsern zu Taschen usw. sowie die Bedeutung der verscheidenen Muster erklärt.
Dann habe ich mit einem, den ich im Hostel kennen gelelernt habe, mir eine Maori-Performance angesehen, die den Haka und ein paar Maorilieder enthielt.
Auf dem Weg zum Geysier kam ich an einem Ort vorbei, an dem ich dann einen Kiwi gesehen habe (der aber leider nicht in seiner freien Wildbahn zu sehen ist).

Heute, am 17.09., war ich mit einer weiteren Bekanntschaft in „Wai-O-Tapu Thermal Wonderland“, was „Heilige Wasser“ bedeutet. Dort konnte ich sehr schöne bunte Seen bzw. Teiche, verschiedene kochende Schlammlöcher, einen Wasserfall und einen sehr schönen Geysier sehen, der etwa 20 m hoch war.
Es gibt unmengen Dinge hier in Rotorua zu tun, aber es ist auch teuer.

Morgen reise ich nach Taupo weiter, wo ich aber nur kurz bleiben möchte. Ich habe beschlossen erst gen Süden zu ziehen und nicht nach Norden, denn dafür bin ich jetzt schon zu südlich. Ich werde, wenn es klappt, mit einem Brasilianer, den ich heute in Wai-o-Tapu kennen gelernt habe, nahe Turangi das „Tongariro Alpine Crossing“ machen.

Întinsă-i lumea în care mergem la piaţă după de-ale gurii. Numai când mă gândesc la o paralelă Vierşani – Wellington, mă ia cu ameţeală. Două aşezări umane, două stări de spirit. Probabil diferite. Dacă luăm sportul rege ca motiv, cu certitudine. Urmaşii maorilor exultă, chiar dacă nu e vorba de rugby, pe când oltenaşii de pe malul stâng al Gilortului suspină a neputinţă. A lor, a echipei naţionale, a conducătorilor celor trei mari puteri în stat, a istoriei nenăscute încă. A României lui Cioran.

Avem neşansa, după cum am mai afirmat-o pe acest blog, de a exista pe un continent prea puternic pentru noi. Din toate punctele de vedere. Închipuiţi-vă un stat “carpatin” în Oceania, disputându-şi calificarea la mondialele de fotbal cu reprezentantele din Kiribati, Insulele Solomon, Noua Caledonie sau Papua Noua Guinee. Cu tot pesimismul caracteristic mie, ne-aş vedea întrecând chiar suprema naţională “cariocas” la număr de participări. Fie şi în urma unor baraje cu Bahrain şi Oman, tot ne-am califica.

Poneke exultă. Haka “all black” va lua o formă sferică în vara viitoare, pe un tărâm atât de familiar neozeelandezilor. Africa de Sud reprezintă eternul rival rugbystic aşa că această calificare le vine ca o mănuşă. Poate aşa a vrut destinul, ca marile forţe “ovale” ale emisferei sudice să dea piept şi-n “rotunjime”. Cu toate că diferenţa este evidentă în favoarea africanilor, nu se ştie niciodată. Depinde şi de noroc. Indiferent că-i unul chior sau şchiop. 

Suntem în 2010. Revelionul s-a uitat de mult. Tinerii celebrează vara cu scalde şi miuţe. Gilortul pare un aliat de nădejde în lupta cu arşita verii. Golgheterii satului privesc la televizor, cu o halbă aburită în mâna stângă şi ceva seminţe de bostan în dreapta. Rory Fallon ratează incredibil în hohotele asistenţei record în timp ce Chivu îşi bronzează trupul la piscina unui club de fiţe bucureştean. Oceania asta!

Ieri ho visto 10 minuti di Italia – Nuova Zelanda, la sfida di rugby che si è giocata nella spettacolare cornice di San Siro.
In realtà non si può dire che io abbia visto la partita, anzi… Il gioco del rugby proprio non lo capisco e probabilmente, dato l’interesse che genera in me, credo che non lo capirò mai. Quello su cui mi vorrei soffermare è il clima che si respirava (immagino) allo stadio. Rispetto al pubblico presente durante una partita di calcio, gli 80 mila presenti ieri sembravano alieni! Ma cosa avranno mai avuto di strano quegli 80 mila??? Mah, chissà. Forse, semplicemente, non erano presenti i soliti idioti che vanno allo stadio solo per fare danni e casino, e che usano il pretesto di assistere ad una partita di calcio per scatenare guerriglie urbane e tutto quanto il resto. Allora forse viene fuori che la tessera del tifoso che dovrebbe essere introdotta, poi tanto male non farebbe. Ma ora non voglio parlare di questo. Durante l’inno italiano ho sentito dei brividi, cosa che non mi capitava forse dal mondiale di calcio del 2006, e comunque non così intensi. Durante la Haka degli All Blacks ho sentito del rispetto e dell’ammirazione. Come ho fatto a sentire queste cose? Nel silenzio di tutti gli spettatori presenti, perchè si sa, spesso il silenzio fa più rumore delle parole. Credo che la sportività e l’etica di uno sport di nicchia (in Italia) come il rugby, debbano fare scuola. La speranza c’è, la realtà per ora è ben diversa.

…pur non essendo appassionato di rugby, ne apprezzo la lealtà sportiva ed oggi ho guardato le prime fasi della partita fra la Nazionale italiana e gli All Blacks neozelandesi.

Non seguo più il calcio come una volta, resto tifoso della mia squadra, come è ovvio che sia, ma sono stanco di vedere a Striscia campioni di peso immortalati nella rubrica Tutti giù per terra, che fingono qualsiasi fallo di gioco, pur di guadagnare una punizione o per peredere del tempo. Tutti pronti a parlare di fair play, ma devono essere sempre gli altri a doverlo dimostrare.

Oggi ho visto 80.000 persone applaudire l’ingresso in campo degli avversari, striscioni che li salutavano, silenzio durante l’inno ed applausi dopo, ho sentito lo stadio cantare l’Inno di Mameli e l’entusiasmo per lo spettacolo sportivo che sarebbe seguito.

L’arbitraggio, basandomi sui pareri, peraltro pacati, di chi commentava la partita, ha avuto delle lacune, a nostra svantaggio, ma niente scenate in campo, se non un colloquio tra il nostro capitano Parisse e l’arbitro.

Questo è sport. Qui si vede il rispetto dell’avversario.

I miei complimenti a La7 che una volta di più offre agli telespettatori quelli che altri ignorano. Grazie

Omaggiamo i vincitori….

A curious form to make the All Blacks annual poster..

It was a great initiative of Adidas and TBWA NZ

Bonus Track:

Domani i due tenutari, con un altro po’ di gente, staranno lontani dal pc, per cui potrebbe cadere il governo, ma non ci sarà nessun post. Insomma, abbiamo un certo appuntamento alle 15, a Milano, zona San Siro. Un appuntamento con la storia del rugby e dello sport: Italia – Nuova Zelanda. D’accordo, non è la prima volta che la Nuova Zelanda gioca in Italia, e anzi questa volta, la Nuova Zelanda ha una formazione parecchio rimaneggiata. Però sono sempre loro, quelli che vestono di nero perchè sono in lutto per te, perchè sanno già che ti massacreranno. Ma soprattutto ci sarà un piccolo particolare: ci saranno 80.00o persone. 80.000 persone sono tante per il calcio, figuriamoci per il rugby, e non solo in Italia. L’evento è attesissimo, i biglietti sono finiti da settimane, noi li abbiamo comprati così tanto tempo fa che nel frattempo avrebbe potuto scoppiare la guerra atomica.

La giornata di domani sarà divisa in due, una prima parte, di cui si conosce già la storia, e una seconda ad oggi incognita. E non è epica, questo, è quello che sarà. La prima parte sarà quella del prepartita, dove felici si va verso lo stadio bevendo birra. Poi quando lo stadio sarà pieno si inizerà con gli inni: prima quello neozelandese e confido che la nobiltà del rugby farà ascoltare in silenzio l’inno avversario a uno stadio abituato a standard calcistici. Sarà poi la volta di Fratelli d’Italia. Gli azzurri saranno abbracciati e lo canteranno come gladiatori. Poi dovranno dimettersi di fronte ai tutti neri a guardare la Haka. Quando nel 2007, ai mondiali, diedero la schiena alla danza maori, quelli si arrabbiarono. E tanto. Dovranno essere carichi per la haka. Il pubblico lo sa e canterà l’inno italiano con una forza mai sentita. Poi le due squadre si metteranno una di fronte all’altra e gli All Blacks sceglieranno una delle due haka, o quella storica, o quella nuova, più cattiva, con il gesto del taglio alla gola finale.

E da qui non si saprà più cosa succedera. Se il pubblico di San Siro non verrà travolto da questa danza, dovrà mettersi a urlare. E forte, tanto forte. Per spingere la mischia tuttanera anche le onde sonore possono dare una mano ai nostri.

PS Le mete del video son tutte sensazionli. Però ho visto della genialità in quella al minuto 3:35

Attorno al 1820 un capo Maori chiamato Te Rauparaha compose “Ka Mate”.
“Ka mate! Ka mate!” furono le parole dette da Te Rauparaha mentre si nascondeva in un pozzo di patate dolci per sfuggire ai suoi inseguitori, i Ngati Tuwharetoa. Nella sua fuga egli giunse da Te Wharerangi e gli chiese protezione. Sebbene piuttosto recalcitrante, Te Wharerangi alla fine acconsentì e gli ordinò di nascondersi in un pozzo kumara. La moglie di Te Wharerangi, Te Rangikoaea, poi, si mise a sedere su di esso. ( si credeva che gli organi femminili avessero il potere di “schermare” le persone dai sortilegi ).
All’arrivo degli inseguitori, Te Rauparaha mormorò “Ka Mate! Ka mate!” (Io muoio! Io muoio!), ma quando Te Wharerangi disse che l’uomo che stavano cercando era scappato verso Rangipo, egli gioì “Ka Ora! Ka ora!” (Io vivo! Io vivo!). Ma Tauteka (il capo degli inseguitori Ngati Tuwharetoa) dubitò delle parole di Te Wharerangi, così il fuggitivo ripetè sconsolato “Ka mate! Ka mate!” un’altra volta. Fortunatamente gli inseguitori si fecero convincere del fatto che egli non si trovava nel villaggio di Te Wharerangi e quindi Te Rauparaha esclamò “Ka ora, ka ora! Tenei te tangata puhuruhuru nana nei i tiki mai whakawhiti te ra!” (Io vivo! Io vivo! Questo è l’uomo peloso che ha persuaso il Sole e l’ha convinto a splendere di nuovo!). L’uomo peloso a cui si fa riferimento nella haka è Te Wharerangi, il capo che diede rifugio a Te Raparaha nonostante il suo desiderio di non essere coinvolto.
Una volta fuori dal pozzo, nel cortile di Te Wharerangi e di fronte a sua moglie, Te Rauparaha eseguì allora la haka che aveva composto mentre giaceva nel buio.

Oggi tutto il mondo conosce la danza Maori Haka Ka Mate per l’esecuzione che la squadra degli All Blacks omaggia ad ogni inizio partita per intimorire gli avversari e scaldare il pubblico.

Continuando a saga sobre Rugby! Não podemos esquecer do All Blacks!!

Esse esporte proporciona fortes emoções para seus conhecedores, e também nos traz uma seleção que tornou-se uma lenda, com suas marcas registradas e façanhas.

Me refiro ao rugby e à Seleção da Nova Zelândia, conhecida como All-Blacks, alusão ao uniforme todo preto que usam nos jogos.

Mas de onde surgiu tanto fascínio em torno desse nome?

O rugby, apesar de pouco conhecido no Brasil (para quem não sabe, nós temos sim uma seleção nacional, mas é saco de pancada dos chilenos, paraguaios, uruguaios e argentinos), é bastante difundido no mundo.

É o principal esporte da Oceania, onde países pequenos como Tonga e Fiji possuem fortes times nacionais; tem ampla difusão na Grã-Bretanha e França, e também a seleção da África do Sul é fortíssima.

Mas os All-Blacks sempre se destacam, por seu estilo feroz e agressivo, e durante anos dominaram – e ainda dominam – mundialmente o esporte. Seus jogadores encaram o desafio como uma guerra, e parte disso pode ser explicado numa única palavra: Haka.

Haka é uma expressão da paixão, vigor e identidade da raça, de certa forma, a boa performance ajuda a manter a reputação tribal.
Os All Blacks realizam, antes de cada disputa, a perfomance da haka, uma dança maori de intimidação.

E os jogadores dos All-Blacks não fogem à regra, pois antes de qualquer jogo, desde o início do século, fazem a dança do Haka em frente aos adversários. Os estádios silenciam para ouvir. Os jogadores adversários se perfilam, em pose desafiadora, para fazer frente.

Pode-se observar nos rostos e gestos dos neozelandeses a expressão da paixão invocada, do espírito de guerreiro que o Haka incorpora em quem o pratica.

E assim os All-Blacks se tornaram notórios ao longo dos anos, tornando-se uma equipe pra lá de temida e vitoriosa no mundo do rugby.

Fonte: Papo de Homem
Abs, Jéssica.

I’ve been hooked to Māori spin doctor Tiki Taane since I first caught a glimpse of his mindblowing video clip “Tangaroa”, off his debut album album Past, Present, Future. For those unfamiliar with Polynesian mythology, Tangaroa is the Māori god of the sea, corresponding to the Hawaiian akua Kanaloa. The track is a shock to the system, combing traditional Māori chant with a raging dancehall-style beat.

Tiki composed “Tangaroa” in response to the 2004 tsunami and humanity’s lack respect for Tangaroa and his ocean realm. In their first collaboration as father son, Uekaha Taane Tinorau, Tiki’s father, composed the following haka, or chant, for Tangaroa, channeling the spirit of Tangaroa as a force for change. (You can read Tiki and Uekaha’s full commentary on “Tangaroa” here on the Tikidub Productions website.)

Ko Papatuanuku me Ranginui nga matua o te ao
I puta mai nga tamariki nga Atua o te ao
He Atua o te moana
Ko Tangaroa he Atua o te moana
Tu mai te ihi
Tu mai te wehiwehi
Tu mai te wanawana e
Hi ha aue

From the divine heartbeat of Mother Earth and the ever-elusive constant of Sky Father
all descend and all ascend the natural world
The timeless current of tranquil stillness
the harmonic music of ones infinite ocean
Resilient are the vital influences of the universe
Stand liberated by the inner radiance
Be still be silent and all shall be revealed

Na Uekaha nga kupu Maori, na Tamiaho te whakapakehatia

Te Moananui aa Kiwa (The Great Ocean of Kiwa), Kanaloa Series by Māori artist Rua Pick

As someone who’s felt a close kinship to the moana, or the ocean, and to Kanaloa, I felt something deep and familiar when I saw “Tangaroa” for the first time. When it seemed so few remembered to honor our god of the sea, here was an homage to the God of the Sea appropriate for our time but based on the past, modern yet grounded in antiquity. In the video, Tiki looks out in the ocean only to see an ancestor appear to him on the shore. How times have I sat facing the sea or going into waves and felt something great, vast, and powerful, beyond the limits of my rational, Western education, knowing that generations past were with me in the waters.

I know that Kanaloa, our manifestation of the ocean deity in Hawai‘i, is alive. I’m always reminded of him when I see the expanse of blue ocean, hear the roar of the surf, or see his kinolau, or body form, such as the mai‘a (banana), the he‘e (squid or octopus), the koholā (whale) and other forms of ocean life.

FOR MORE INORMATION ON KANALOA/TANGAROA

Learn more about Kanaloa/Tangaroa on Blue Coast’s Kanaloa page or in Martha Beckwiths’s Hawaiian Mythology. For more on Tangaroa, Te Ara Encylopedia of New Zealand has developed a beautiful web page, Tangaroa – The Sea.

FOR MORE ON TIKI TAANE

“Tangaroa” was the first single off of Tiki’s debut Past, Present, Future, which you can purchase at the Tikidub shop as a digital download or CD, shipped directly from Aotearoa/New Zealand to you.

There’s a few things I want to get off my chest this week and I thought I’d try to do so in an orderly fashion, so here goes…

1. The weak link
Wales coach Warren Gatland has been criticised in the media for calling this season’s Guinness Premiership the weakest in a long time, and although he is renowned for his mind games in the media – they’ve irked the All Blacks this week – I have to say I think he has a point. Some of the games this season have been turgid affairs liable to cause the crowd to nod off. Saracens are top of the table thanks to their kicking game and defence – but where’s the flair and the excitement? London Irish have done well in the try stakes but even they have been opting to grind out wins in some games. Yes, the Premiership is in a fine state in terms of crowds and finances and so on, but if we want to keep people coming back please provide a little more in terms of excitement.

2. Goode: Bad and Ugly
While I’m on the subject of boring games, it only seems fair to mention Andy Goode. How he is in the England 22 to face Australia tomorrow is beyond me – what does Martin Johnson expect him to do if he’s called to action from the bench? He’s certainly not going to be scything through the Wallaby defence to score a try. I’m sure he’s a nice guy but he’s more of a standard player than a standout one. Yes, he can kick and kick well, but surely we want to see more than that in our international players. And when you’ve got two players in the starting XV who can play ten and kick goals – Jonny Wilkinson and Shane Geraghty – why not put Ben Foden or Mathew Tait on the bench, a player who can bring that – and I hate to use the term – X factor to the game if a spot of magic is needed in the last 20 minutes. Goode definitely wouldn’t get Simon Cowell’s vote.

3. To Peel or not to Peel
The saga surrounding Dwayne Peel’s selection for the Wales team to play New Zealand confuses me. If Peel wants to play and Sale are happy for him why can’t he? I don’t know the ins and outs, and perhaps Sale are just using Premier Rugby’s ruling as an excuse to make them look like the good guys, but if the player, the club and the country are all happy for him to play it makes sense to me that he should be allowed to. Red tape is getting in the way of his international career – and I for one would definitely rather have Peel wearing the No 9 shirt against the All Blacks than Gareth Cooper. 

Now I’ve had my rant, probably best to look at my predictions for this weekend. I’m just going to do the Test matches and I’ll go for England to beat Australia and New Zealand to beat Wales – although both are going to be close. I’d love Wales to end their All Blacks hoodoo but just don’t know if their weakened front row can cope with the Kiwis while I hope England actually play some running rugby to see off the Wallabies but it’ll be tight.

I’m off to the Millennium Stadium tomorrow and can’t wait to see what Wales do after the haka. Here’s a reminder of what happened last year…

A haka with a tambourine? Now I’ve seen everything…

Wer hätte gedacht das dieses Geschlecht fast die gesamte HAKA-Branche zum Ende bringen würde? Kaum einer, sonst hätte es wohl auch nie Firmen gegeben, die versuchen wollten, Herren einzukleiden. Ihnen Stil und Geschmack zu verpassen. Denn Kleider machen Leute.

Seien wir doch mal ehrlich. Das Bild auf der Strasse zeigt nicht unbedingt ein Paradebeispiel Menschen mit Geschmack. Auch mal die, die in andere Stilrichtungen gehen, die haben es ja, für ihren eigenen Bereich (Punk, Goth etc.). Aber dann setzen wir doch mal den Fokus auf die normalos. Den Nachbarn, den Papa, den Bruder, den Sohn, den Cousin, den fremden auf der Strasse. Wie laufen die rum?

In ausgelutschen Jogginghosen mit Schlappen an den Füßen. Mit 80er-Jahren-Jacken die selbst in den 80ern out waren. Kaputte Shirts usw. lauter schrecklich Dinge, bestes Futter für Alpträume…

Natürlich, Ausnahmen gibts immer, Ausnahmen bestätigen die Regel meine lieben. Aber der Großteil, ja der, der sollte auch neben dem neuen Outfit seinen Frisör mal einfach machen lassen. Es gibt nen modernen Vokuhila und nen, den halt, der meist getragen wird. Wozu bewegen wir uns denn in der Zeit nach vorne? Wieso geht die Zeit nicht rückwärts? Na? Eine Idee?

Richtig!

Es soll sich was tun. Aus alt mach neu. Aus alt mach besser. Aus alt werd klug.

Stillstand und Rückschritt, wo kommen wir denn da hin.

Es gibt einen Spruch

Ich mache keinen Schritt zurück, ich nehme  Anlauf!

Ja schön wärs! Aber aus dem Rückschritt hier wird Stillstand. Das kann ja wohl nicht sein meine lieben Herren.

Ich fordere hier und jetzt:

Geht zum Frisör

Geht zum Herrenausstatter

und lasst euch verdammt nochmal was gutes tun.

Oh, der Herr ist obendrein noch Single?

Ja woran wird das denn dann wohl liegen?

Na? – Kapiert? ;P

Wo kommen wir denn da hin?

Sind sich die Herren der Schöpfung eigentlich bewusst das die wenigen Klamotten die ihr am Leib tragst meist von den Müttern und Partnerinnen und Frauen und dann später von den Töchtern besorgt wird?

Ist euch bewusst das WIR, ja WIR die Hauptantriebskraft für den Aufschwung in der Wirtschaft darstellen? Und jetzt nicht dieses blabla

Ja und wer bringt das nötige Geld nach Hause?

1. Verdienen die meisten Damen ihr Geld selbst und arbeiten sehr hart dafür, härter natürlich als die männleins ;O)

2. Ist das keine Entschuldigung dafür, andere durchs eigene Auftreten halb blind zu machen

3. Ich habe eh recht, also Ruhe da! ;O)

Ich freue mich in Zukunft über stilvolle Männer.

Über Vorzeigeobjekte.

Über einen neuen Aufschwung.

Und bitte – seht euch zu allererst in der eigenen Stadt um. Ihr macht niemandem zum Millionär nur weil ihr euch endllich mal 1 Teil kauft, oder 2 oder 3 oder viele viele mehr. Die ganze Zeit die ihr da nix geholt habt, muss erst einmal nachgeholt werden. Wenn es denn noch welche gibt. Denn diese Durststrecke zu überstehen, DAS ist hartes Brot.

Vielen Dank für die Aufmerksamkeit!

So long

I’m dunn

I have really struggled this week with the topics for the Writing Workshop. I started writing one and just got stuck. I didn’t want to write it, what I was writing was crap & I was ready for deleting this whole thing because it was so annoying. Josie told me to find something else, it wasn’t supposed to be stressful. She’s so right! I’ve had fun with this blog and fun with writing. So, back to the drawing board. I picked ‘What did you want to be when you grew up’ and thoroughly enjoyed writing it. I did this in about 10 minutes because it was fun! Apologies for any missed words/bad grammar/bad punctuation.

And thanks again Josie. x

____________________________________________________________

When I was little the most important thing in the world to me was reading. I adored books. I had a big cupboard above my bed, a cupboard above my dressing table, a bookcase, and two large cupboards under my bed all filled with books. There were hundreds. Many of them I still have, in the vain hope Sam may also like the Mallory Towers and the Wishing Chair series. Yes, the vast majority of them were Enid Blyton. I consumed her books with a passion. Although I enjoyed learning I hated to go to school as it meant time away from my books. If I went shopping with my mum she used to leave me by the door of the shop with a book and get me on the way out. This wasn’t cruelty but what I had demanded after repeatedly walking into shoppers with my nose in a book. If she didn’t leave me somewhere she’d end up losing me. She always knew where to find me though, in the shoe department reading my book, combining two of my biggest loves! I thought back then that I wanted to be an author. I’ve still got notebooks with childish scribbles in them, shamelessly plagiarising Enid Blyton’s work, and later on Judy Blume. The truth was, I just wasn’t very good at writing. Especially creative writing. I do have one piece of creative writing that I did when I was about 9. We had read the book ‘Flat Stanley’ Iin school and had to write our own version. ‘Flat Em’ was a hit with a straight ‘A’. Then I realised the only was I could write was by being prompted, or writing about me. Thinking that a bit narcissistic I gave up that dream. Years on and here I am now being narcissistic, talking about myself and being prompted! Who’d have thought it!

I changed my future career to teaching. A fine, solid job that could earn me respect and money. As I grew up though I realised that it wasn’t a 9-3.30pm job with 6 weeks off in the summer. You actually had to do work, lesson plans, marking, reports. This put me off quickly, along with another realisation – I really didn’t like school children.

I chose my degree in a rather whimsical fashion – what hadn’t I done that I wanted to do. Randomly I did get a conditional offer from Oxford to read Archaeology & Anthropology. I wasn’t quite sure what it was though (just sounded good on the UCAS form) so I turned it down. I scraped through my A levels and took my place at Keele University doing Ancient History & Philosophy. I did a foundation year first (a little bit of everything) to see if something else piqued my interest. And it did! Geology. I love the module we did on Palaeontology and decided to go for that instead of Philosophy. I couldn’t not get my head around that. All the ‘if a tree fell in the woods would it make a sound’ and ‘Fate predetermines everything’ just messed with my head. I couldn’t leave it in the lecture theatre but would still be up thinking about it at stupid o’clock in the morning. I’d have had a nervous breakdown if I’d done Philosophy as my degree. I also changed Ancient History to Classical Studies as it seemed a really, really good idea to learn Ancient Greek. It wasn’t. My enthusiasm for the subject never quite made up for my lack of skill.

During my 2nd year of uni I had an epiphany. I would be a tornado chaser!! Now don’t laugh, this was entirely reasonable at the point. I had always been fascinated by natural disasters, especially by tornados. A boyfriend had proposed to me whist watching Twister at the cinema as it was my favourite film (this was 1996). I had thoroughly enjoyed my Natural Disaster module for Geology & got my highest ever mark at uni – 89% for my presentation on Tornados. So, the plan of action was simple. Get degree, get masters degree, get PhD, and get a job. I found the most fantastic masters degree, right in the middle of Tornado Alley in America. In Meteorology it would have let me specialise in tornados in the final year. That would have led me nicely into a PhD and tornado chasing heaven. One little problem. It was £11,000 per semester. For 4 semesters. Not including accommodation and money to live on. Unsurprisingly, given my parents had funded my private education since I was 11 they refused. Gutted. Back to the career drawing board….

And that’s where I was 2 years later when I graduated. No idea what to do next. That’s when I went to China. Full of bravado and convinced that teaching English as a foreign language would be my great career. Ah no, I didn’t like it much. I wasn’t very good at lesson planning. In fact, one day when I’d run out of material for a 2 hour lecture on sports in the Western world and their impact on culture (I taught university students) I ended up doing The Haka. That’s how desperate I was to fill the time. The Haka. Maybe that was my most embarrassing moment actually? The looks of sheer amazement and horror on 30 students faces as I stamped my feet, screamed unintelligibly at them and them stuck my tongue out and growled.

Back home aged 24 I still didn’t know what I wanted to be, what I did know what that I needed money and now. My lucky break came just a fortnight after returning to the UK when I was offered a temporary job in Finance at The Company Who Cannot be Named. Almost 6 years later I’m still there. I was given the opportunity after a year to work part time in HR as they needed an assistant. One manager left, another one started. She asked if I fancied moving into HR full time? Hell yes! Did I want to undertake some professional qualifications? Hell yes!

Finally aged 29 I finally know what I want to do when I grow up. I want to work in HR. And I do! So that’s ok.

While you may think that New Zealand is the only country to perform a “Haka”,  Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga, all sport their own versions.

Watching the New Zealand team perform the “Haka” is a real hoendervleis experience, and you wouldn’t be alone in having thought how awesome it would be to have our own kind of “Haka” to scream back at our opponents – especially given our history of Zulu warfare. But somehow it’s just never happened. Until now.

Que the “Shaka” – South Africa’s very own “Haka” – derived from a mixture of traditional war dances originating  from King Shaka himself, and choreographed into a “Haka-type” intimidation stance, that features Shaka’s “Bull Horn” formation.

Captain of the Boks, John Smit, in a press interview relating to the “Shaka”, said he had seen the footage of the “Shaka” demo, and was eager to embrace the new war dance, hoping that it will one day become synonymous with South African rugby.

Drew out.

Before every game NAU players perform the Haka, a warrior dance from New Zealand. It has become very popular with both the fans and players. Check out this week’s Haka dance before the Homecoming game against Idaho State. Go Jacks!

Not much of a footy fan but this video is interesting because for some years now, the All Blacks of New Zealand do the Maori “haka” properly.

It is great to watch if you ever get the chance to see an actual group of Maori people perform it. There are different kinds of hakas for different occasions but the one that most see is the war-like tribal challenge.

In a face-off against another tribe you do a haka to show your opponent how tough you are. It may also be an opportunity for diplomacy at the most basic level; “do you really want to fight us?”

It is performed with overly animated facial expressions. That is normal. Like the footy player said in the video, there is an aura about it. One of the things I read were that there are words in one haka that generally mean, “After I kill you, I will eat you.” Well, the Maori roots are that of a warrior culture, as the British of long ago found out to their disadvantage.

None of the videos I could find do this kind of haka justice. You have to see one in person.

.

Leur nom était à la base une erreur. C’est un journaliste qui a voulu parler de leur puissance au niveau des arrières mais qui a tapé “they’re all blacks” au lieu de “They’re all backs”. 

La fougère argentée est leur symbole (en effet le soleil sur les feuilles les rendent argentées).

Le haka est effectué par les maoris en Nouvelle-Zélande pour témoigner leur respect (et non comme on le pense pour terroriser). A la base il s’agissait d’un chant guerrier. Cependant cette démonstration s’effectue aujourd’hui avant chaque match officiel de l’équipe des All Blacks afin de montrer la force et le courage de l’équipe. Cela galvanise les troupes (aussi bien l’adversaire que les All Blacks eux mêmes comme lors de la dernière coupe du monde contre la France).

Il faut noter que la Nouvelle-Zélande n’est pas la seule à effectuer le haka : les îles Fidgi et Samoa ont elles aussi un haka qui leur est propre.

At 10:00 am this morning the New Zealand rugby team(The All Blacks) to tour the Northern hemisphere was named. It is with much disappointment that I must announce that I have not been selected. Just about every boy in New Zealand has dreamt of this day, the day their name is called… and they are chosen to present their country.

For the international readers of this blog, check out this All Black video.

I used to dream of being an unknown, unheralded rugby player and having my name surprisingly called out on the radio. Rugby is visceral, violent gladiatorial game that requires great courage, and I always loved the idea of being chosen to represent my country.

Currently I am in the process of possibly being commissioned to write a rugby film… so I guess that will have to be the next best thing.

Liigakentiltä poistuu lauantaina kaksi kaikkien aikojen ulkomaalaisvahvistusta: HJK:n Valeri Popovitsh ja Rovaniemen Palloseuran Zeddy Saileti. Se on yhden aikakauden loppu.

Katselin keskiviikkona Saksa-Suomi-ottelua Jyväskylässä opiskelukaverini kanssa. Kumpikin meistä oli menossa viikonlopuksi Veikkausliiga-matsiin, mutta aivan eri puolille Suomea. Minä Turkuun ja pohjoisesta kotoisin oleva kaverini Rovaniemelle.

Pitkän linjan RoPS-fanina kaverini oli kokenut seuransa kanssa nousuja ja laskuja. Nyt edessä on luultavasti jälkimmäinen. Siitä huolimatta kannattajan ei tarvinnut edes miettiä lähteäkö pohjoiseen vai ei.

Sitä paitsi lauantain ottelu on erityinen tapahtuma. Se on RoPSin sambialaispelaajan Zeddy Sailetin viimeinen peli sinipaidassa. 40-vuotias Grand Old Man on edustanut pohjoista seuraansa yhtäjaksoisesti 16 kauden ajan, ja nyt on tullut aika ripustaa pelikengät naulaan.

Tulin verranneeksi kaverilleni Sailetia HJK:n Valeri Popovitshiin, jonka peliura päättyy niin ikään lauantaina. “Ihan hyvä vertaus”, kaverini sanoi, “Zeddy on vähän sellainen seurauskollisempi versio Vallusta.”

Viittaus oli selvä. Kukaan ei voi väittää, etteikö Popovitshin uran kuuluisi päättyä lauantaina Tehtaan kentällä Finnair Stadiumin (vaihtopenkin?) sijaan. Mutta gloryhuntteriksi Popovitshia on silti turha syyttää. Hän edusti Hakaa 15 kauden ajan ja oli Sailetin tavoin pysynyt joukkueessaan silloinkin, kun se putosi Ykköseen ja nostanut sen sitten seuraavana vuonna takaisin liigaan. Saileti oli RoPSin ja Popovitsh Hakan mies niin myötä- kuin vastoinkäymisissä.

Popovitsh ja Saileti olivat aikoinaan suomalaisjoukkueilta kovia kaappauksia. Popovitsh voitti Neuvostoliiton paidassa junioreiden EM-kultaa (ja pelasi eurocup-otteluita Moskovan Spartakin paidassa), Saileti taas Sambian joukkueessa Afrikan mestaruusturnauksen hopeaa. Sen jälkeen Popovitsh on pelannut 378 liigaottelua ja tehnyt niissä käsittämättömät 163 maalia – ja voittanut mestaruuksia, cupeja ja maalikuninkuuksia. Saileti taas on vetänyt RoPS-nutun ylleen lähes 450 kertaa ja ollut joukkueensa paras maalintekijä peräti kahdeksalla kaudella. Molemmat olivat vahvistuksia isolla veellä.

(Jalkapallo)maailma on muuttunut paljon sen jälkeen, kun Popovitsh ja Saileti saapuivat Suomeen. Globalisaatio, EU ja Bosman-sääntö ovat omalta osaltaan pitäneet huolen siitä, että tällaisia pelaajia ei enää tule Suomeen – tai jos tulee, niin he eivät tule Sailetin ja Popovitshin tavoin jäädäkseen. Näiden legendojen tasoiset kaverit eksyvät Veikkausliigaan kaudeksi tai kahdeksi, saavat uransa taas raiteilleen ja jatkavat sitten vehreämmille ja rahakkaammille pelikentille.

Sailetin ja Popovitshin mukana Suomen pelikentiltä poistuu paljon taitoa, kokemusta ja arvokkuutta. Heidän peliuransa loppumisensa tuntuu yhden aikakauden päätökseltä.

RICHIE MC CAW’S headgear looks like a bathing cap – that was the first thought that crossed my mind when I watched Rugby for the first time. I found the game incredibly funny and terribly confusing as it didn’t make any sense to me at all.

ALL BLACK HAKA: Getting ready for 2011 (pic: ABC)

Rugby is not a big thing in my homecountry (although we actually have a  national team, I recently found out), but after having lived in New Zealand for roughly a year now, I have watched a lot of rugby. It’s still a mystery to me – but I love watching it.

Like many Kiwis, I am all excited about New Zealand hosting the Rugby Worldcup in 2011.

This major sports event is also a great opportunity for the country to draw the world’s attention on it’s positive aspects and to attract tourists from all over the globe.

Tourism NZ’s motto in their marketing campaign is: GIVE IT 100% and they want rugby fans from all parts of the world to experience Rugby as its best when coming to New Zealand in two years time.

One major aspect of their marketing campaign is the giant white rugby ball that has already accompanied the All Blacks in 2008 when touring the UK and Ireland.

Next station on the iconic ball’s journey will be the Tokyo Tower in central Tokyo, where it will open between 28 Ocotber and 3 November 2009 and over 7000 visitors are expected to enter the ball.

This marketing strategy coincidences with the All Blacks vs. Wallabies testmatch, the Japan-NZ Business Council and the Japan-NZ Partnership Forum.

Sounds good so far – New Zealand is represented, the country gets attention, which -hopefully- will result in a boost for the tourism industry and subsequently also for the economy…

BUT – as the Dominion Post reports today - there is also a downside of the story: money.

STANDING TALL: The Eiffel Tower and the giant rugby ball (pic: STUFF)

When the giant ball promoted New Zealand during the Rugby Worldcup 2007 right next to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France, it cost $907,000.

Eight days next to the Tower Bridge in London in 2008: $1.7 million.

Seven days in Tokyo… well, accoridng to the Dominion Post who use figures given to them by Tourism NZ, it would result in a daily sum which would be six times higher than the cost per day in Paris: $2.7 million – to taxpayers’ expenses.

The huge difference in costs in Paris and Tokyo partly comes from the rent for the venue of the ball: while Paris provided rent-free ground to erect the ball, Tokyo charges a rent of $95,000 as it was difficult to find a space big enough for the ball in downtown Tokyo.

- visit the website of the Rugby World Cup 2011

- have a look at NZS’s Rugby Basics

- read the NZ Herald’s latest story on the All Blacks

- visit the website of the NZ Embassy in Tokyo (press release about the giant ball)