I certainly don't feel at all sorry for the NZ team. They knew the rules as well as we did, and they also knew that the rules would be applied. Like all Southern Hemisphere sports teams they have a huge need and urge to win, something no UK sports team had until very recent decades. Yes, they were disappointed, but so would the England players have been if it had gone the other way. It was a great game and a whole day's top entertainment for me. Play to win!
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No-one down here looking for sympathy. We do have a strong urge to win which is why a small country of 4.5 million people consistently punches above its weight in all fields of endeavour. We only have one game plan and it's real simple: get ahead, stay ahead, win! Watch this space!!
Excellent post! As I said, it's only in recent decades that British sport has adopted the play-to-win ethic - too much of the public-school 'play up and play the game stuff' kept us behind the rest of the planet in nearly all sports. At the moment, we have the cricket World Cup, Thomas is second in La Tour and well-placed, England's girls are all but in the semi-finals of the Netball World Champs, and in a week or so we have the Test Series against Oz and I don't think anyone would dare write us off regarding that. Maybe I've missed one or two other current achievements, but at the moment we're doing OK and we ought as a nation be enjoying it, not feeling sorry for any one or any team we beat! Sadly, in international CL and FF contest flying, we're not at all with it just now...but we can't have everything, I suppose.
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