Bits and Pieces

Sponsorship: On one hand I am grateful for the sponsorship of Rebel Sport because they contribute to the Super 14 competition but on the other hand I am personally not a fan. I have been into their stores but have never shopped there. I am actually a Footlocker fan. I am all for experience but Rebel Sport doesn't give you that. I appreciate it's a wharehouse type of store but there is a certain 'soulless' feel about it. I have a feeling it taints the Super 14 also...Footlocker?

Carlos Spencer: Let's hope he hangs up his boots after this season. Well past his prime he is starting to look more like a boxer on his last legs than a high profile rugby player. He is becoming more and more cranky these days and it's a shame that he has to be remembered this way. Carlos, with all due respect, it's time to go...

Travel: I know the teams travel a lot these days and the world seems to be getting smaller but it wasn't that long ago that teams would spend months at sea travelling to foreign shores to play rugby. On some tours they would play up to 30 matches while spending lengthy stints away from loved ones. It wasn't exactly first class travel in those days either...it still makes me laugh that Eddie Jones instructed his players to wear sunglasses to help overcome jetlag while travelling to South Africa a few years ago. Just putting it into perspective.