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Badger bowled over as Braidy busted with Blues bridgade |
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Written by The Bay Badger
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Saturday, 31 July 2010 |
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WELCOME back, Badger fans.
It's been a long, soggy offseason but the Bay are finally back in action and so am I.
I thought I'd kick things off with the tale from a month or so back when the Badger had his furry little nose in a trim soy-latte at Tay St cafe. In wandered Steamers loosie legend Lukey Braid with a couple of beefy blokes in Blues uniforms and a respectful, earnest chat ensued.
Imagine their surprise - and his - when Chiefs boss and Tauranga local Gary Dawson breezed in, caught sight of his soon-to-be-former flanker in talks with the enemy, and shuffled quickly for the counter.
What are the odds?
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And speaking of the Chiefs, the Badger has heard a whisper that technical coach and resident hard man Keith Robinson has chucked it in with the Super 14 franchise.
The rumour is he was dismayed at the lack of ticker in some players this season, something you could never accuse Robbo of. Well, Robin Brooke tried in a Taranaki-Auckland match one day but it didn't work that well.
Anyway, it's about time the foggy franchise from over the hill took a look at some of the coaching talent over here, isn't it?
Errol Brain and Herb Schuler spring to mind pretty quickly - plus with their Counties and Thames Valley roots, they'd be politically astute choices too.
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What's with the stupid decision not to play any first-class games in pre-season? Hawke's Bay apparently made that call as hosts in Napier, but why couldn't the Bay put their foot down and insist on Manawatu and Taranaki fielding just 22 players?
If you're going to pull on those blue and gold hoops, you do it for a reason, not just for trial-match hit and giggles.
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The Badger has never hidden his admiration for Ruki 'the Rat' Tipuna - call it small furry mammal love.
And the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union are obviously big fans as well - why else would they have put a photo of the current Wellington Lions halfback on the front page of their website? Brings a tear to the eye to think how proud they are of the ones they let go. A Badger correspondent noted that there's also a cute picture of his daughter on the website front page as well. It was cute seven years ago when the picture was originally taken too.
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Who is the controversial former referee apparently applying to be reinstated? The Badger has heard it's causing a huge schism in the ranks.
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A few cheeky chaps have called up with possible alternatives to the dreaded vuvuzela that are being introduced for home games this year.
Something a bit more relevant to the Bay, they explained, like the gentle burble of a Te Puke Thunder bong, or a loud sulphuric geothermal explosion?
The first one may be tricky legally, they said (only mugs do drugs, kids).
However, the second one could be achieved by packing the food caravans with curried egg sandwiches.
Just a thought. Badger out.
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