Meyer,one of the most passionate coaches in world sport, gave new meaning to the phrase ‘dignity in defeat’ against the All Blacks during a tournament which has enjoyed its fair share of Andrew Flintoff-Brett Lee style snapshotsIn 1996, or a year after rugby union had turned professional,the London Evening Standard published an interview with Andy Ripley, one of England’s greatest Corinthian sportsmen. Paying people to play rugby, and he argued,would ruin the soul of the game he loved.“Friendship and loyalty occupy been smashed,” he lamented, or criticising the “sugar daddies” waving their cash about. “Rugby has lost its heroes. I want to occupy heroic figures out there. whether they’re chasing a few quid I don’t like it. It devalues them. It means they are marionettes,puppets manipulated by people with money.”Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com