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I have been on the move a bit over the past ten days or so. Consequently I have had to rely on TV to keep me informed about what was going on in the world of sport.
I couldn't watch the Rugby live from Pretoria but did catch the highlights of the Lions second test and I have to say that it was a bruising encounter. Nonetheless, I was still taken aback somewhat by the criticism dished out by some of the touring party afterwards because, while there were a few suspect challenges, to be fair, I felt both teams were guilty as charged in this respect.
This present Lions team while one of the best of all time has not altered the past in any real way as this is the third tour in a row that has been lost, the first two being in Australia and New Zealand.
Brutal
Test Rugby is, by its very nature, hard and sometimes even brutal. The participants know this and while perhaps a little too much depends on the Referee and his interpretations of the rules, which may sometimes influence the result in a disproportionate manner in a one off game, it is the players who ultimately decide the outcome of a three Test series.
Of course there should be however, no place whatsoever for eye gouging. It is akin to the use of the elbow in Soccer in that it can cause serious injury and the authorities should really hammer any player found guilty of this completely unacceptable type of behaviour.
Inflammatory
I am quite intrigued by the South African head coach Peter De Villiers. He appears a man who cares little for the opinions of the media and his often inflammatory style in press conferences creates many a headline and provokes much discussion. In a place like South Africa I believe this is far more beneficial than a coach who simply toes the line as the game of Rugby is extremely important to the psyche of the country.
I could only watch the highlights of Brazil's victory over the USA in the Confederations Cup, also held in South Africa, because I attended The Drifters concert in the O2 Arena, formerly The Millennium Dome, in London on Sunday evening.
I have always enjoyed the musical style of The Drifters and I was not disappointed by the latest line-up of a band that has been in operation since 1953. I was also amused when overhearing a woman expressing her displeasure at this present group not "being the real Drifters".
It was a bit like berating the present day Manchester United team because George Best and Denis Law were missing from the starting eleven. The Drifters have been a succession of very talented singers down the intervening years all holding true to the wonderful harmonies and dance routines of the original band.
With good management a band can be just like a football club, or indeed the Lions Rugby team, losing and signing players but managing to carry the spirit of its previous members into the next era.
Wimbledon
The tennis at Wimbledon has always managed to capture my imagination ever since I watched John McEnroe in action many years ago on the centre court, courtesy of a black-market ticket, the only time I ever had to resort to such a method, but it was worth it.
He was absolutely majestic and of such strong personality that he appeared capable of contriving every situation to his advantage whether or not the ball was in play. Some of his antics were astonishing and he did get away with murder but he was able to exert a breathtaking control over the ball and could extract himself from seemingly impossible situations with one flick of the wrists.
This time round I can only watch on television but with Andy Murray suggesting a British victory is at long last a feasible rather than a miraculous possibility, the atmosphere has been most enjoyable. Interestingly there have been two peripheral talking points that I have enjoyed.
Firstly was the thought that the Lawn Tennis Association should take tennis into the council estates and thereby increase the player base but the LTA states that it are doing as much as they can by using the school system. I personally do not believe tennis would ever become popular in housing estates because good as the game is it is troublesome to manage equipment and it fails by comparison to football or cricket in this respect.
Pressure
There is also a difficulty in the behavioural patterns of young people playing the game. The desire to unearth a great British champion has placed enormous pressure on the LTA. This pressure has filtered itself down into the grassroots level of the sport and there have seemingly been many examples of unacceptable conduct at junior tennis tournaments across the country.
Television shows pictures of some stars throwing tantrums and asks if this is the basic cause of the misconduct of the young performers. I accept that there is some substance to this idea but not enough to explain the depth of frustration that lies at the heart of this particular problem that afflicts all sports and in every country.
The truth is that we must not overlook the poorer discipline now pertinent to modern home life and also the unrealistic and selfish ambitions of many parents and coaches who all too often harbour an illusion of greatness concerning their offspring.
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