When Stephen Donald's end of season fishing trip was rudely interrupted by headmaster Henry, he could have been forgiven for throwing his phone out into the sea and continuing to enjoy the tranquility of his time away from the Rugby field... for it was Henry, the ex-science teaching rugby master maestro of Auckland Boy's Grammar, who had given Donald his final expulsion from the All Blacks school of hard knocks... a life time of detention following an uninspiring tenure as the back-up fly half to his A class pupil... that man Dan Carter....
... but Donald finally accepted his call to arms... with one answer of a painfully persistent phone... a desperate and forgiving headmaster Henry begged his pupil return to the class-room... to front up in the old uniform and present to the whole Country all he had learned from his time in exile...
Coolness under pressure... confidence in the line of duty... the ability to make the moments count.... all these words must have been amongst the many lines that Henry dished out to Stephen Donald as punishment for his failures in the All Blacks jersey in Hong Kong in 2010...to his pupils credit... he had taken note!
Following fatal injuries to Henry's top 3 students in the number 10 jersey... it was up to an old boy to return to the fold and to prove to the new kids on the block that while you can't often teach an old dog new tricks... sometimes all they know is all they need... and all they have is good enough...
Donalds confidence to bounce from the bench and enter the pressure cooker of Eden Park to produce the kick that would ultimately bring the 2011 World cup to its rightful owners was inspiring if not somewhat inevitable... in a country of around 4 million, many of whom live and breathe the beautiful game of Rugby Union into their lungs at every chance, I'm sure there would have been many more who would have raced out onto the pitch and raised their hand for the chance to slot the kick that raised the hearts of the country... beyond the disasters of the 2011... and into the heights of heaven... a messiah to the masses!
There was however only one... one who would have otherwise been netting white bait out on the bay... but one who got the chance to repay his 30 mates (and their desperate fans) for their "4 more years" of pain and sacrifice.... and there was only he who produced the goods when it counted most...
To Stephen Donald your All Black days have been forgiven... with thanks... your headmaster and friend... Graham Henry...!
No comments:
Post a Comment