โSine qua non,โ is one of those Latin phrases I like to confidently toss about as if I studied the language and know their meaning backwards. In extremis, I do it ad infinitum, ad hoc, on and on into the ever et cetera.
But what I think it means is the โessential prerequisiteโ for something to occur. And how funny I should say that. For my reckoning is that โ consults Google to find the plural of the Latin phrase in question โ the sine quibus non for beating the All Blacks are things like winning your own lineouts and scrums, not missing tackles and … not allowing the ball to bounce when your opposition does endless box kicks.
There has been endless analysis of what went wrong last Saturday night at Eden Park in Australiaโs 50-19 loss to the All Blacks โ and personally, I had to put another man on โ all of them on the money. But THE sine qua non to beat them all was that the Wallabies constantly allowed the ball to bounce. There appeared to be confusion just about every time the ball went up, when nobody shouted โMINE!โ
True, nobody actually shouted โYOURSโ, but that was the vibe of the thing. This afternoon at Homebush weโll know in the first 10 minutes if we are any chance of winning Bledisloe II. Theyโll put up box kicks until our noses bleed as their new and devastating tactic is to boot it high but not long, so they can flood the landing zone with rampaging rushers.
Look to the potential receivers on our side. Are they red-hot keen to give it their all to take it, or are they hanging back? If the latter, we are wasting our time.
The Wallabies have come on in leaps and bounds in recent times, and for years have had a struggling lineout and struggling scrum, making it all but impossible to win consistently. Manifestly, those things have been fixed. Our scrum is solid. Our lineout is regularly capable of stealing the ball off the opposition.
On a good day, our backs are creative and skilled enough to slice through even the best international defences. Weโve seen it. But if they donโt counter the high ball and put their bodies on the line to secure it, the whole thing is beside the point.
Time to give kicking the boot
Beyond all that? Well, beyond all that the actual quality of the Test match was on a par with the NRL grand final. There were simply way too many kicks to properly engage with it. The best football matches turn on what happens with the ball in hand, not on the toss-up of who drops it most. It may be time for both codes to look at tweaking the rules so that the whole thing is not just a kick fest?
Shark attack on Flying Kangaroo bang on
You bloody Qantas people! Donโt you know who Greg and I are?
Itโs fine for there to be normal airline delays for other folk, by reason of mechanical issues and luggage problems, but NOT when we are on board, do you hear? And not when we are trying to fly from Sydney to Dallas last Saturday.
Greg and I like to swan about on private jets, and itโs already embarrassing enough even to be seen taking a normal commercial flight, even when we are right up the far pointy end.
But then, you delay us?
US, I repeat. Bloody well US. Donโt you know who we are? Tell โem again what you wrote on Instagram, Greg.
โI have always tried to support my national airline @Qantas. Sadly their reputation of the โnever on-timeโ airline โฆ now has me looking elsewhere.โ
Got that, Qantas?
Go on, Greg.
โProfit before customer caring, reputation and service!?โ
Exactly!
Has Greg ever been the type of bloke to go after profits before caring for people, and looking after his own reputation?
Huh! Huh? HUH?
Well, yes, but apart from taking squillions from the Saudiโs LIV Golf to sportswash the reputation of their bloody regime, I mean. Who can say that one time in their life, ONE TIME in their life, they havenโt taken millions of dollars from a regime notorious for brutal murders before lecturing airlines on how they should not look to make profits by taking safety matters seriously?
Remember this post.
You may beg, bow or scrape, but Greg and I donโt care. We will give our custom to Saudi Bonesaw Airways and the like until such times as we give you another chance. And the next time there is a refuelling issue like the one that caused Greg and I to land 2 hours 35 minutes late at the other end, just take off anyway! We donโt care. Greg is of the view that he already walks on water, so can no doubt fly without fuel.
Thank you for your attention to this matter.
Rugby at its very best
Thank you, thank you all! Yesterdayโs Cauliflower Club โRugby Lunch Of the Decadeโ was a huge success, with all of Richie McCaw, Senator David Pocock, Fraser McReight, Tony Abbott and Jacinda Ardern speaking wonderfully, while Nathan Charles was most moving in the courage he displayed taking on motor neurone disease. We reckon weโll clear about $140,000 to give to those badly injured by sport.
We also tendered a report on last weekend when no fewer than 150 TCC players and partners travelled across to New Zealand to take on Kiwis of similar vintage at TEC Rugby Club in Aucklandโs burbs. The crowd favourite was Joe Monteleone, who is blind and deaf, but turned out for one of the TCC teams and was well looked after by both sides. We hosted 300 in the GTEC clubrooms afterwards and all funds raised went to help with the rehabilitation of spinal injuries. Rugby at its very best, in my admittedly biased view!
Government on right track closing Wenty Park
So they closed down the Wentworth Park greyhound track last night, after nearly a century in operation, just as they closed down Dapto dogs last year. Excellent.
Ideally, the state government will eventually find its ways to banning the whole greyhound racing industry, just as they have in nearly every other part of the world. Apart from the animal cruelty aspect, using land like that for such a thing was completely ludicrous.
Next thing to look at is the absurdity of the Sydney basin having five horse racing tracks at a time when there is such a need for housing and green space. There will be protests and petitions, no doubt, but in the end, having five of them makes less sense with every passing year. Giving Rosehill Racecourse to housing and green space would be a good start.
What they said
@HughCavill on X: โToday as a Wallaby fan is like expecting your deadbeat dad to show up to watch your under 12s grand final. Heโs flaked out dozens of times before and you know itโs certainly happening again today. And yet you still catch yourself looking at the sidelines every few minutes โฆโ
Perth Bears coach Mal Meninga on October 7 responding to rumours that chief executive Anthony De Ceglie was to be sacked: โI donโt know what it is. Itโs been an ongoing battle, itโs him and I around whoโs going to get sacked next. I know Iโve got great support and Anthony has got great support internally, so we just get on with our business.โ De Ceglie, an accomplished media operator with no background in football, quit two days later.
Anthony De Ceglie on the way out: โI have no doubt that the Perth Bears will continue to grow and grow, and become a behemoth of the national sporting stage.โ
St Kilda AFLW coach Nick Dal Santo after they beat Collingwood a day after he announced his resignation following an 0-8 start to the season: โI shouldโve quit earlier.โ
Matt Renshaw after scoring 190 against South Africa, nearly 10 years after his first Test century:โI always wanted that second one [century]. I had the monkey off my back early with that first one but, for me, this one was about all the โstuff โ that has come in the last 10 years. All the hard work, all the failures, all the success.โ
Wallabies skipper Harry Wilson after his team lost 50-19 to the All Blacks: โItโs disappointing. We came here tonight with real belief that weโd get the result, but we didnโt. This group was on a good trajectory, but tonight was a step back because we didnโt win the big moments. At the start of the second half we had an opportunity to get some results and we missed out there.โ
Eliud Kipchoge, 41, after winning the Melbourne Marathon: โI believe that my body is still peaking โ still able to compete with the next generation. The oldest athlete is still competing, but I am happy to run with the gen Zs.โ
Arsenalโs Bruno Guimaraes after helping them beat Leeds: โThe most important thing for Bruno is to go to the pitch and play the best football. I am very happy with that today.โ Great. While I have you, Bruno, can you tell Bruno that TFF says Bruno sounds seriously up himself to be talking about Bruno in the third person?
Twenty-year-old Kimi Antonelli is closing in on becoming the youngest Formula 1 champion in history: โI know itโs very close, I know itโs there, but I just need to make sure that I keep doing the best I can. The mindset is always the same, to go out there and win and perform the best way I can.โ
Nathan Lyon on there being small crowds for the first Test against South Africa in Durban: โI was expecting more of a crowd, if Iโm being honest with you. Like when you got the Australian cricket team competing against South Africa in South Africa, the No.1 and No.2 teams going at it, I was expecting a bigger crowd. But, no, theyโve been pretty quiet, to be honest. [There has just been] a lot of kids asking for signatures without manners.โ
Three-time Olympic gold medallist Stephanie Rice on Instagram from where she lives in Dubai: โMany people have seen that God asked me to resign from my job earlier this year, and God so clearly told me to resign. There are a lot of people who have been commenting on my post like, โThatโs stupid!โ And Iโm like, โYou donโt get itโ … Let me declare, this is the best promotion for God. Because what He is about to do, there is no denying that it is Him and Him alone.โ
Team of the week
Wallabies. Lost to the All Blacks at Eden Park. Take them on at Homebush on Saturday at 4pm.
Kangaroos. Started their โWorld Cupโ campaign on Thursday with victory over New Zealand.
Ollie Davies. Hit the fastest Sheffield Shield double ton in history (186 balls). Finished with 253 off 225 balls for NSW against Tassie.
Matt Renshaw. The Queenslander had quite the Test match against South Africa, scoring a total of 272 runs, with 190 in his first dig.
South Melbourne. First non-A-League club to win the Australia Cup.
RIP Mike Ditka. Died on October 9, aged 86. He won NFL titles as a player and coach with the Chicago Bears and a Super Bowl as a player with the Dallas Cowboys.
Peter FitzSimons is a journalist and columnist with The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X.From our partners
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