The mixture of guys who are at the top of their game (Rene Ranger) and young guys on the rise (Dean Budd) and older guys who are trying to restake their claim (Chris Jack, Luke McCallister) and other characters add lots of stories to be thinking about. The whole competition also seems simple and sincere. I know it is easy to romanticize things from far away, but these guys on the bench giggle when the camera is on them, for Pete's sake. One of the ways to know whether a player with which you are unfamiliar has played at a higher level is to just look at his hair cut. One look at Jack McPhee tells you that no stardom has changed who he is. Corey Jane used to be similarly goofy looking, but now he is an All Black regular and he looks pretty like a back should. McPhee, by the way, says that if he were not a rugby player he'd be "lazy." And his advice to younger players is to "work hard." Nice.
The idea that a guy can go about his club rugby business and then work up to the ITM and then Super Rugby just seems like a system that rewards guys who love the sport and keep grinding away. Some of the prejudices of the announcers add to the sense that there is still a part of the competition that is rooted in old local grievances.
Since I have mentioned the announcers, I will add another point. I don't know who is who with announcers. There are voices I recognize and like more or less correspondingly, but no one is that good or that bad. Except for Melodie Robinson. I had never heard of her until three weeks ago. She was a sideline reporter for a couple of games in week 1. She needs to cover games every week. Her comments were often funny, insightful, and charming. One commentator about a player: "He has two cats, names Razor and Blade. I don't know what that says about a bloke." Robinson: "It says he must be single." She might have meant that no woman would allow a man to name cats like that. I think, however, with a cutting chuckle, she meant that a man who named his kitties in such a manner is repellent. I laughed out loud. At something a sports commentator said. And I wasn't laughing at her.
For anyone who doesn't know, the sideline reporters for NZ rugby get no camera time; they are seen but not heard. Can any American imagine Erin Andrews having a job if her voice and wit were all we were exposed to? I looked Ms. Robinson up and she played at the highest levels of women's rugby and is apparently a tv presenter. Both facts come through in her commentary--knowledge and the ease during broadcast.
More Melodie Robinson!
And, of course, sometimes the rugby is good. I will be watching and rooting for Tana Umaga, whenever he plays, and for all the guys with goofy hair.
