Today's Art Work - Rugby Composition 2214

Rugby Composition 2214
Roger Smith 2014
Digital collage
Prints available here or here.

Combining my interest in the game of rugby with a passion for art.

Something Rotten In The State Of.......Sport

Amateur Sport the way it used to be

I'm the first to admit it, I think professional sport has ruined sport - full stop! In my playing days (rugby) we were all amateurs what ever grade or representative team we played for.

We didn't get paid for playing but the reward of reaching rep. team status, playing for your province, was reward enough. You might get a free meal if you were visiting another club and of course representative kit was provided by your rugby union. That was the sum total of the 'perks'.

But then rugby went professional and the marketing men and player's agents moved in. Salaries were paid and rapidly spiralled upwards. Now we are in the absurd situation& where the once cherished All Blacks are no longer a team but a 'brand". To compound the idiocy the "brand" has been further diluted so we don't just have an All Blacks team any more, we also have an All Blacks Sevens team.

But this is not the only problem with morphing what were amateur sports into 'entertainment products'. Two very ugly consequences have recently emerged. This past fortnight we have had confirmation of just how corrupt sport betting is.

According to Chris Eaton, ex-FIFA head of security, gambling houses in South East Asia form the foundation for organised crime gangs to generate huge profits from sports match-fixing. Singapore has been fingered as playing a pivotal role the fixing of about 680 overseas football matches says an Interpol and Europol report.

Scarcely had we digested this piece news than the sport-mad Australians revealed that the use of banned drugs in Australian professional sport was rife. The report can be seen here.

" Despite being prohibited substances in professional sport, peptides and hormones are being used by professional athletes in Australia, facilitated by sports scientists, highperformance coaches and sports staff.
Widespread use of these substances has been identified, or is suspected by the ACC, in a number of professional sporting codes in Australia. In addition, the level of use of illicit drugs within some sporting codes is considered to be significantly higher than is recorded in official statistics.
The ACC has also identified that organised crime identities and groups are involved in the domestic distribution of PIEDs, which includes peptides and hormones. ".

So all in all it is a very sad indictment on what sport as we once knew it has become; hardly the motivation to encourage youngsters to take up a physical challenge in a field of their choice.

Related articles

• Wide use of banned drugs in Aust sport
• Drugs in sport rife: probe
• Asian syndicates make millions from fixed football matches
• Live coverage: Doping probe rocks Australian sport

Painful Postures and Royal Appointments

Painful Rugby Postures

Two things captured my attention this morning.  Firstly the announcement of our new Governor General to replace the incumbent later in the year.

With respect to the current GG, the announcement of his appointment at the time was greeted with "who?" by a great number of New Zealanders.  Sir Anand Satyanand was not a household name but he has fulfilled his duties admirably.

As to the role itself, it is a hangover from colonial days and Singapore has replaced this head of state role with that of President.

What ever you call it, the position is largely ceremonial as the real political power lies with the elected government of the day.

Our new Governor General is to be a recently retired Head of Defence Force, Lieutenant General Jerry Matepara, soon to be known as Sir Jerry Matepara, as a gong goes with the appointment.

Having been in the SAS at one stage of his army career the new GG will no doubt be a dab hand with the sword, which may come in handy for investitures.

The second item of interest is the news that the huge rugby stadium in Christchurch has been badly damaged in the recent earthquake.

This is a real blow to a province that is passionate about its sport and equally adamant that they should retain hosting privileges for the forthcoming Rugby World Cup 2011.

Quite apart from the stability of the stadium itself it appears that the playing pitch has been subject to liquefaction, even creating a bulge in one place.

There may a positive about this raised mound of earth.  Perhaps it could replace the plastic kicking tee that the goal kickers use? 

At least it would speed up the game if this was done as I for one get tired of watching English backs spending forever in strange postures as they line up the ball for a goal attempt.  Their first five, Johnny Wilkinson, always looks as if someone has slipped him a suppository when he crouches over the ball.

I was surprised to discover when we lived in the Republic that rugby is a popular game from a number of Singaporeans. Even though I enjoyed playing the game in my younger days I don't think I would have wanted to do so in the tropical heat