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“Rugby fans are being asked to pray for the E.P. Kings ahead of their make or break Currie Cup promotion match against the Cheetahs on Friday.
The appeal was made by E.P. Kings rugby boss Anela Pamba as his team bid to pull off rugby’s “fight back of the century” at the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.” (report here)
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I was thinking of something along these lines…
Dear Lord, we are playing a very important game shortly, could I ask that you please encourage our props to bind correctly, push straight and not give away silly penalties and possession at scrummage time. Would you also please arrange for our hooker to throw the ball in accurately and straight at the lineouts and that our locks catch the ball cleanly.
Still on the subject of forwards Lord, please help our loosies get to the loose mauls and rucks quickly, keep them on their feet and allow them to channel the ball to our backs.
A couple of other things Lord, please get our scrumhalf to distribute the ball timeously or, if he is off on a darting run to arrive at his destination quickly and unharmed and of course Lord, keep our centres onside and ensure that they catch the ball cleanly. Please allow our wings to progress speedily and unhindered on the occasions that they receive the ball.
Oh, and one last thing Lord please make sure that our No. 10 has his kicking boots on.
Thank you Lord
Amen
If cherished colleague think that I’ve omitted anything (the referee for example) please feel free to let me know, we still have time to add any suggestions 😉
Boadicea's Chariot 
“Dear God! Give us a break!”
I shouldn’t really be here. Nonetheless, a quick scan of the post gives off the impression that the No. 10 is an important position in the queer-shaped ball game. Has this number been taken as a badge of honour from the more superior game of football, where the number 10 signifies perfection? I can’t rhyme off the top of my head a pantheon of No. 10 greats in the odd-shaped ball game. I mean, come on, it’s 30 similar type guys wrestling over a prolate spheroid when all’s said and done. The list of world class 10’s in football includes such illustrious greats as Maradona, Pele, Messi, Platini, Novo and em, er, Wilson. (By God, you should see me at fives on a Friday night)
Smiley thing.
Soutie, good evening.
I wish the EP Kings good luck tomorrow night but I fear that it will require a miracle so maybe prayer is worth a go. I hope that you win convincingly enough to get the bonus point, stop the Cheetahs getting a losing bonus point and overcome the deficit.but it’s a very long shot.
Whatever, you’ll have the Southern Kings in Super Rugby next year. Enjoy that.
We’re not getting the Port Elizabeth game but I will be able to watch the Sharks live on Saturday afternoon. Wheeee!
Môre Janus, yes, perhaps short and sweet would have been better, to be honest, we haven’t a prayer and Pamba knows it 😦
Yes the number 10, pivotal.
Green bottles
Commandments
Downing street
and of course
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😉
Morning JM
Ja well, all good things must come to an end, I’ve tickets for tonight but will probably give it a miss.
It’s a cold blustery morning with predictions of rain later, the weather gods are certainly not playing along, the match will be televised so perhaps I’ll stay at home.
I don’t have a horse in the Sharks / Stormers clash, that’s not to say that I’m a neutral, I decidedly dislike both! I’ll be watching at a local pub, with a group of mates, it’ll still be fun.
TR, I think you were not given the response you deserved to your #2.
Greats include: Barry John, Phil Bennett, Naas Botha, Dan Carter, Johnny Wilkinson, Andrew Mehrtens, Mark Ella, Jonathan Davies.
Hah ha Sipu 🙂
Plus of course our very own World Cup winners Joel Stransky (95) and Butch James (07)
My prayer sort of worked!
The Kings took an early 3 point lead via a penalty, then scored another and kept the Cheetahs scoreless during the first half, so at 6-0 up we had a chance of salvaging a bit of pride by perhaps overcoming all the odds and maybe landing a win.
Just before halftime it all went pear shaped 😦
I had of course considered including the Ref in my prayer but thought that unfair, I’d also considered requesting discipline from our players (i.e no red or yellow cards) but thought that too obvious to bother with, surely our EP Kings would make every effort to keep 15 on the field in such an important game without the need for divine intervention, I was wrong 😦
Our scrumhalf (no. 9) threw a punch just before halftime and got himself sent off! He wasn’t provoked, he wasn’t retaliating, he simply arrived at a loose ruck dived in and threw a punch! After a good 5 or 6 minutes of video review, the TMO finally spotted it and recommended red and that my cherished colleagues was the end of that. I said at the time and I’ll repeat it here, “He should never be allowed to pull on a Kings shirt again” (my actual words were a bit more flowery, but you get the idea, I was angry, very angry, in fact I still am!)
The Cheetahs improved against our 14 and in the second half scored a couple of tries running out eventual winners 16-6.
The weather gods didn’t play along, it was a cold, blustery, rainy night, any chance of overhauling the massive first leg deficit were non-existant from the first whistle but a moral boosting consolation win was on the cards until that one stupid act from an even stupider (ex?) Kings player ruined it.
And there endeth the season, a good one by our standards, one which has brought more and more supporters back into the Eastern Province fold, here’s hoping for more happy times in 2013 🙂