Ritchie McCaw goes into the All Black changing room to find all his team mates looking a bit down. Whats up guys? he asks. Well Ritchie, to be honest were having all sorts of trouble getting motivated for this game against Australia . We know its important but weve just beaten Argentina and South Africa in consecutive weeks and, lets be honest, its only the Aussies this week. Theyre crap and we simply cant be bothered. Ritchie looks at them and says Okay guys, I hear what youre saying. The way Ive been playing recently, I reckon I can beat these Aussies by myself. Why dont you fellas go down to the pub, have a few jars and maybe catch it on telly. I really think I can do this by myself The rest of the team reckon it’ll work and they agree. So Ritchie goes out to play the Wallabies by himself while the rest of the ABs go off for a few pints. After a couple, they begin to wonder how the game is going, so they get the barman to put the telly on. A huge cheer goes up as the screen reads (after 10 minutes): New Zealand 7, (McCaw, converted try) -- Australia 0” Dammit, hes actually beating Australia all by himself. Surely he cant do it, can he? Anyway, a few more beers later, the telly goes off and the game is temporarily forgotten until someone suddenly remembers, Heck, It must be full time now, lets see how Ritchie got on. They get the telly put back on and look on eagerly. There on the screen is the result: Full-time from Eden Park,: New Zealand 7, (McCaw, 1 converted try); Australia 7, (Sharpe, 1 try, Cooper 1 conversion.) They cant believe it! Its a draw. Ritchie v Australia and he single-handedly managed a draw against the Aussie Wallabies! Delighted, they rush back to Eden Park to congratulate him. They find him in the dressing room, still in his gear, slumped over with his head in his hands. He refuses to look at them. Ive let you down guys, he mumbles disconsolately. Im so sorry, but Ive really let you down. Dont be an idiot skipper; you got a draw against Australia, all alone, all by yourself. And they only scored a single try, right at the death, after 79 minutes!” No, no, I have says Ritchie. Ive let you down. I hope you can forgive me. Twenty minutes from full time, I got sent off!
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 05:21:19 +0000