The Wanganui rugby team are how the Southland Stags used to be "before they got all poofy", Whanganui Mayor Michael Laws said yesterday.
Mr Laws, along with his two daughters Lucy and Zoe, will head south for the Stags' second Ranfurly Shield defence tomorrow night and he believes the Southland team has lost its heartland feel and become a bit soft.
"The reality is you [Southland] are a professional team. You go from training to the hairdressers, training and back to the hairdressers again.
"Our guys are real men with real jobs – farmers, meat workers, factory workers."
The Wanganui team was not even professional enough to have a nickname, he said.
And you would be hard pressed to find a Wanganui player with gel in his hair, Mr Laws said.
Now, there might be a grain of truth in the "real men with real jobs" comment, although many of the Southlanders fit that bill as well. But accusing them of being latent homosexuals will only get the southern fellas' ganders up, which defeats the purpose of making a sneak raid and catching them unawares.
And Mayor Mickey should be a bit careful lest he be accused of mayoral hypocrisy; after all, hewas/is the Eye-linered One! Seriously though, this is the Wanganui team's moment on the national rugby stage, having earned it by way of winning the Meads Cup, and we wish them well. Perhaps they could use the mayor as a tackle bag in their pre-match drills!
4 comments:
I thought Laws was a pratt when I knew him at University. These sorts of comments reinforce that view
I thought Laws was a pratt when I knew him at University. These sorts of comments reinforce that view
Dopey comment from someone who can sometimes be so on the money
Goodluck to the River City "Raiders", I dream the impossible dream of the "Log" going back to the heartland where it would be really appreciated and then to watch the wailing and Gnashing as the big boys manipulated things to get it back. At present the !st divs only grant challenges to heartland teams as they build to their season but to be fair Southland did accept challenges from two of the better performed teams in N Otago and your "Raiders".
@ Gravedodger - I don't think Southland had much choice in the matter. I understand that since the new NPC format came in (2006), the NZRU has ruled that the holders allow the Meads and Lochore Cup winners from the previous season to challenge for the Log. Wanganui played Wellington last season in a very entertaining fixture at Cooks Gardens, when Wellington graciously took the shield "on the road".
And Laws or no Laws, Wanganui will give a good account of itself tomorrow night, although even a supreme optimist such as myself would not go as far as to predict the shield changing hands.
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