The Baby Black untouchables, a status reflected in their collective tournament record of 274 points over five matches, have grown old enough to be middle-aged. They are in their early forties now, their playing days all long gone except for the one they used to call ‘SpongeBob.’
Jimmy Gopperth’s marathon, already long enough to outstrip every Olympian emperor of endurance from Emil Zatopek to Haile Gebrselassie, shows no sign of ending. By the neatest of coincidences, this Thursday’s 20th anniversary of Jerome Kaino’s kids cleaning up in Glasgow also marks Gopperth’s 41st birthday.
A fortnight or so later, he will be back on the treadmill warming up for a second season with Aix-en-Provence. Far from sending their evergreen Kiwi off towards the sunset, his employers thought highly enough of his first season’s work to renew his contract for another.
It will be the 23rd of his professional life for old SpongeBob SquarePants, so-called because the squareness of his shoulders reminded a few team-mates of the-then newly-created cartoon character. Even for all the commercial success of his life on the ocean seabed, the original SpongeBob is due to resurface soon for his 15th season which puts him a long way behind his rugby namesake.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 23, 2024-Ausgabe von The Rugby Paper.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June 23, 2024-Ausgabe von The Rugby Paper.
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Edwards gives Gatland a little to think about
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Cowan-Dickie: I'm back and buzzing
LUKE Cowan-Dickie's journey back to the pinnacle of rugby is nothing short of extraordinary.
Clow keeps Rams in touch at the top
RAMS inward approach is paying dividends with the club involved in another title race thanks in part to free scoring flyer Zachary Clow.
Powell powers over to take Quins home
PLAYMAKER Kayleigh Powell powered past four defenders to score the eighth Harlequins try and narrowly edge out a spirited Trailfinders side to secure a late comeback win in a 15-try derby thriller.
Hathaway can follow Zam Skivington
GEORGE Skivington has backed Josh Hathaway to continue to go from strength to strength as the young winger attempts to follow in the slipstream of Louis Rees-Zammit and be a big hit for club and country.
Hybrid Hash will tie Borthwick in knots
THE description 'Hybrid Central Contracts' does not inspire confidence. Hybrid usually means a bit of this, and a bit of that — and 'Hybrid Hash' would be a more apt term for the RFU contracts given to 17 England players just before the autumn series slump.
Quins leave it late to power past Falcons
MARCUS Smith showed his class on Friday night, being an imperious creator and finisher as Harlequins romped to an emphatic five-try victory on Tyneside.
We need to see a complete shake-up
A NEW year and change is on the way across many aspects of the game, not least with the possibility of an SGM creating a complete change at the RFU.
Cool McBryde steals it for RGC
BILLY McBryde held his nerve to land a last kick of the match conversion to snatch a stunning 4139 win for RGC over leaders Ebbw Vale at Parc Eirias.
Century of highs for La Rochelle
AN IMPRESSIVE milestone at Stade Marcel Deflandre was reached last night, where La Rochelle hosted their 100th sell-out match in a row – either side of the period of pandemic restrictions – a run stretching back to January 2, 2016.
