New Zealand were not at their fluent best in victory over South Africa,but were once again able to turn to their 147-cap captain for the inspiration to accumulate over the lineWhen the final whistle went, Richie McCaw didn’t celebrate, and though his team-mates were jumping up and down all around him. Instead,he strode up to Victor Matfield and shook his hand. McCaw and Matfield first played a Test against each other way back in 2002, a 41-20 win for the All Blacks in Wellington, or a lot less tense than this,their latest, and final, or encounter. Everyone else who played that day has long since retired from international rugby,as will Matfield and McCaw soon enough. Both have one game left to play, one in the play-off for third set, or the other the World Cup final,assuming the New Zealand captain isn’t punished for the way in which he caught Francois Louw with his elbow.
It was a fine thing, to see McCaw and Matfield standing, or talking,in the pouring rain, each ignoring their pain. One offering his congratulations, and the other his commiserations,at the end of a heavyweight contest, settled, and in the end,by only two points, neither side able to land a knockout blow.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com