In 2011 after suffering a great personal loss, I came across the story of Red Sock Friday which you can read elsewhere on the blog. It was in this discovery that I started wearing red socks on every Friday to remember my father, my grandfather and friends that have passed and to make sure I am making the most of my life for them. In making the discovery of Red Socks, I was introduced to one of the most inspirational men I have met, John McInroy, Mr ShoOops. It was through this interaction that I came to be aware of the Unogwaja Challenge, a challenge that coupled two of the most inspirational things in my life, Red Socks and the Comrades Marathon. With this in mind I approached John to be part of the team for the 2013 race and that is where it began.

Now I love sport, but my problems with my knee, ankle and weight have limited anything involvement in endurance sport to spectator. But the Unogwaja Challenge is not just a journey of athletic ability, it is one of heart and that brought an aspect that I could bring to the party. And since late 2012 I have been part of a group of people that are both inspirational and full of heart. I was part of the support crew from a non-travelling point of view but was as much a part of the team as any others.

The Unogwaja Team together head off tomorrow morning at 04:00 from Cape Town on the long journey to Pietermaritzburg before taking on the gruelling Comrades Marathon on Sunday 2 June. I will unfortunately only be joining the team at the Comrades (No, I wont be running) but will be supporting them by wearing my red socks every day until then. I would like to challenge you all to do the same. Its worthwhile when you think the team has raised R236 000 for charity in the build up to this event.

So who are the team taking on the adventure?

Unogwaja 12
AJ Spieringshoek
Andrew King
Bev Davey
Grant Matkovich
David Williamson
Joff Gouveris
John McInroy
Michelle van Zyl
Miranda Symons
Richard Clark
Thamar Clark
Tiago Dionisio

Support Crew
Altesh Baijoo – Social Media
*Bronwyn Freeman – Comrades Charities
Chris McInroy – Head of Support
Cindy Corbett – Nutrition and General Support
*Danielle Mascher – Unogwaja Website
Ilana Steenkamp – Driver / Mr Shoops personal chef
*Feige & Zissy Lewin (Nutreats) – Pinboards
Peter Norton – Film Crew
Robert Goslett – Film Crew Chaffeur
Robert le Brun – Bike support
Sarah Hall – Biokineticist
Taryn Povey – Physio
*Tyron “Jabu” Barnard – Blogging
Viviene Beck – General Support
Zayne Botha – Film Crew
* – non travelling

These 27 people have filled my life over the recent months with entertainment, laughter but most importantly a healthy dose of inspiration. To each one on the team, if you didn’t realise the difference you are making, I speak for thousands of people when I say you inspire me to go with my heart. Good luck for the journey and see you at the finish line on Sunday. ShoOops.

If you would like to track the Unogwaja Challenge progress head on over to http://unogwajachallenge.mapit.co.za you can also follow them on Twitter @TheUnogwaja and on Facebook and of course right here on All Things Jabu.

If you are still struggling for motivation and inspiration, have a watch of the Unogwaja 2012 Challenge Documentary.

The post The Unogwaja Challenge – Its Here appeared first on All Things Jabu.

The other day I ran a story here on All Things Jabu about the new appointment of Charlie Pereira as South African Hockey coach. Charlie made an immediate impression on the National team as he guided them to the World League Semi-Finals. I sat with the new National coach and chatted to him about all things hockey.

Jabu: Charlie, firstly, congratulations on your appointment. Is this the proudest moment of your career so far?

Charlie: Certainly is an honour to be Head Coach of the National Team and ranks up there with playing for my Country

Jabu: And what are your goals for the team over the next 12 months?

Charlie: Our first goal would be to break into positions 5-8 in the World rankings. Qualification for the World Cup to be held in Holland in June 2014 is very important.

Jabu: Having sponsors Mugg and Bean on board, must be a huge help. Will this facilitate more opportunities to have training camps?

Charlie: The Mugg and Bean sponsorship is terrific news; it has created great energy and will certainly help with more training camps. To run a decent men’s program for a year will however require more sponsorship and sourcing further revenue streams.

Jabu: Will you be trying to involve all our overseas based players?

Charlie: The overseas players form the core of our team and they will always be involved. These players are exposed to excellent coaching and of course to a high level of competition which is the only way to improve one’s skill set.

Jabu: There was a lot of drama with the captaincy issue in Argentina, which blew up out of proportion in the end. Have you got thoughts on who the SA Captain will be?

Charlie: Yes, we were naïve with the announcement of the team in Cape Town and learnt a valuable PR lesson. For me it was an opportunity to expand our leadership base, the more leaders we have the more responsibility the team can take and this will eventually reflect on the field. The position was that Austin was only joining us late in the campaign and we felt that given the big changes in SA Hockey Coaching structures that someone was required to pull the lads together. Rhett did a fantastic job in this regard, and his leadership skills came to the fore. Austin is still the captain of the National Team and the selectors will debate the captaincy position as part of the final selection process of the team.

Jabu: Moving from playing staff to management, you now have a large management team, how important are they to your plans?

Charlie: Since we are still an amateur body and we all hold down jobs outside of the work we do as coaches, trainers, management, video analysts; we need a big team from which we can draw resources to meet the demands of the various competitions. Specialist skills are required to improve the technical and tactical skills of our players and one coach or trainer is not able to provide specialist goalkeeping, defending, attacking or drag flicking training.

Jabu: In terms of selection, will you be encouraging the selectors to pick some of the youngsters coming through?

Charlie: As a country we continue to produce talented sportsmen and women and we are always on the lookout to bring in young players. It is obviously a fine balancing act in blending experience with youth.

Jabu: A few of the players that played at the Olympic Games are no longer playing for SA, would you lay down the challenge for them?

Charlie: Yes we already have. Lloyd Madsen, Wade Paton and Andrew Cronje are back training intensively .I have met with Marvin Harper regarding his future plans and he is committed to still play for SA. Am in contact with Ian Haley who is living in the UK and my next call will be to Thornton Mcdade.

Jabu: Hockey is not a sport with a huge financial backing, so how else do you keep yourself busy?

Charlie: Busy is an understatement. I am a Chartered Accountant by profession and run an audit and accounting practice from my base in the Midlands.

Jabu: Great minds… All Things Jabu is about all sport, so what other sport have you participated in for your life?

Charlie: Football was my great love, at school I also played cricket and now am into golf and mountain-biking.

Jabu: And which teams do you support?

Charlie: Only one team of course – Liverpool.

Jabu: Lastly, if you could leave young hockey players in South Africa with one message, what would it be?

Charlie: Hard work is also a talent.

Jabu: Thanks so much Charlie and good luck!

Keep up with all that the SA Men are up to in World Hockey by following their twitter account, @TheLads_Hockey

The post The JabuView with SA Hockey coach Charlie Pereira appeared first on All Things Jabu.

Eating in the week leading up to Comrades

In the second part of our Comrades Nutrition Series we focus on the final week. With only seven days to go, your tapering is in full swing and with just one or two training runs left the work has largely been done. This week, it is what you don’t do that will benefit you.

To Carbo-Load or Carbo-Unload?!

The week before most races, begins the customary carbohydrate loading phase. During this phase, one increases carbohydrate intake in order to ensure that one’s muscles are fully stocked with the maximum 2000 calorie glycogen stores, which will be used during the race. To be able to achieve fully stocked glycogen stores, one needs to ensure that they consume between 7-10 grams of Carbohydrates per Kilogram of body weight daily 2-3 days before the race.  Whether the pros of active carbo-loading outweigh the cons is debatable, especially for women.

Lindsay Parry, The Comrades Coach, advises against this type of active carbohydrate loading. His reasoning is two-fold. Firstly, in a race of this magnitude that goes on for well over two hours you will need to take fuel – in a carbohydrate form – at points along the route no matter how well you carbohydrate load. Secondly, during the final taper week you should be eating the same as normal. As physical activity takes a big dip, you will be consuming more than you are burning allowing for natural carbohydrate loading to occur.

The last factor to take into account is the stress that excessive carbohydrate puts on your body. For every gram of carbohydrate stored, your body will store an additional three grams of water leading to a weight gain of up to two kilograms. Whilst, this is a sign of proper carbo-loading, you need to decide whether that extra weight will help or hinder your race.

What to Eat

As mentioned in Part 1, now is not the time to try out new diets. If you are a carbo-loader and it works for you, by all means stick to that plan. If Low Carbs, High Fat gives you the edge, then continue on with it. Whichever diet or eating plan you keep, what is important is that you are getting nutrients from natural and fresh sources: Lean Proteins, Whole grains and lots of Fruit and Vegetable. Keeping a balanced diet and getting in a full range of nutrients will help your body recover and prime it for Sunday. During the final week, keeping hydrated is also important, so don’t let your liquid intake fall by the wayside.

Avoid sugars and processed foods, which give you empty calories and minimal to no nutrients. As most of you will be travelling to Durban, eating out will become a main dining option. Avoid exotic cuisine, foods you know don’t sit well with you, or any foods you are not familiar with.

Three days before Comrades, cut out alcohol, energy bars, fast foods, and dairy and stick to foods you normally eat.

The day before, eat cautiously as what you eat can leave lasting and unpleasant effects on the run the following day. Now is the time to cut out diuretics such as coffee and tea and to increase your water intake. You’ve run plenty races in preparation, at this stage you will know what your body agrees and disagrees with. Listen to it.

During the final three days before Comrades adopt a grazing eating pattern as opposed to sitting down to large meals which can leave you feeling bloated and overly stuffed.

The day before, your last “big meal” should be lunch, comprising mostly of carbohydrates. Dinner should be a light meal eaten early. Avoid heavy meats, alcohol, caffeine, dairy, sugar and fibre laden foods; all of which can negatively impact your digestive system and hamper performance. Do not overeat: (We promise there will still be food when you finish J)

For those who want to increase or supplement carbohydrate intake without the bloated and stuffed feeling pastas and bread leave you with, liquid carbohydrates are a great option as they give you carbohydrates along with fulfilling your liquid hydration needs. A Good option is  32Gi Endurance Energy Drinks which are Low Gi and free of unnecessary ingredients. Alternatively; mixing either apple Juice or Grape Juice with water in a 3:1 ratio provides you with easy to consume carbohydrates.

While focusing on what to eat; don’t neglect the final ingredient to getting yourself Comrades ready – rest – sleep the week before is vital. Aim for a solid eight hours a night in the week before, bearing in mind that the night before you will not be getting much sleep.

Keep Calm and Taper On…The time is nearly here J

This article was written by Nutreats – an online sports nutrition store. 32Gi Endurance is available at Nutreats.co.za

Sources: Jozi Multi Sport: Comrades 2012: A Reality Check; Nutreats: Carbohydrate Loading and Women, Comrades Lessons for the Novice; NutriSport: Comrades Ultra Marathon: Practical Nutrition Advice for Preparation and Race Day; Red Man Racing: Comrades Marathon Nutritional Advice

The post Fuelling the Big C, part 2 appeared first on All Things Jabu.

Yesterday it was announced that Monde Zondeki has retired from all forms of cricket, coming not the long after the announcement that Gary Kirsten will step down as the coach of the Proteas. These two men could not have had more different careers with Gary Kirsten played 101 test matches while Zondeki played 6. Gary was a first choice selection for any squad, while Monde battled injury and selection to get very few chances for his country. But as both these men step away from the game in some way right now, my mind goes back to the moment that these two made South African history and broke English hearts.

The South African tour to England in 2003 will be remembered for the back-to-back double tons by Graeme Smith, the heartbreak at losing the final test and the 10 wicket haul by Makhaya Ntini at Lords, the home of cricket. But the memory that stands out for me from that tour goes to the 4th test in Headingly.

South Africa lost the 3rd test in England after a collapsing 131 in chasing a target of 200 and it seemed that the batting form (or lack thereof) continued into the fourth test. Graeme Smith had won the toss and South Africa selected to bat. And despite a feisty 55 from Jacques Rudolph, South Africa had collapsed to 142 for 8. Monde Zondeki walked to the wicket, playing in place of an injured Shaun Pollock and included for his bowling. What we witnessed next was a mix of excitement, frustration, luck and entertainment as Zondeki and Kirsten turned a reckless looking bat first decision into a stroke of genius.

Zondeki and Kirsten batted through the remainder of the day and the delight for Kirsten reaching another century was delirium when Monde got to his 50. The partnership eventually ended when Zondeki was dismissed for 59, but the 150 run partnership is still the highest 8th wicket partnership for South Africa in test match cricket.

Although Zondeki’s contribution with the ball was curtailed to 4.5 overs in total for the match due to the first of numerous injuries, his contribution with the bat helped turn a losing situation into a win and the lead in a 5 match series, with only one to play. Zondeki eventually did manage to return to the South African fold in 2005 and took 6-39 against Zimbabwe. Again though Zondeki’s collection of serious injuries often led to him being in the International wilderness and the South African public could probably feel aggrieved that we did not see more of the brilliant paceman.

As thoughts may reflect on what could have been for Zondeki in his career, my thoughts will be on what was on the day a South African bowler, batted us to victory. Thanks Monde!

The post Remembering a Special Moment appeared first on All Things Jabu.

Picture courtesy of @YesWeCrann

If anyone was ever in a sporting barren run it would me in recent years. Many have had a stab at me over the years for the teams that I support and their lack of silverware. Arsenal are currently on an 8 year trophy drought (You mean you hadnt heard that yet!?), the Cheetahs went 29 years between their first 2 Currie Cup titles (and not since 2007), Mclaren have not won the Constructors title since 1998 and Kaizer Chiefs had not won the PSL since 2005. So you can understand in looking at the above stats, I am definitely not a glory seeker and that when championships do come along, I will celebrate a little bit more than maybe a Manchester United supporter who are used to regular success.

And celebrate is exactly what I am busy doing right now, as my love affair with Kaizer Chiefs is in a blissful state after the Glamour Boys did what Jessica Motaung has been calling for all season in “Reclaiming the Glory”. In a season that started with the appointment of Stuart Baxter and the ridicule around his suspicious CV, where media and fans alike questioned the Scots ability. The men from Naturena proved to rise to the challenge and led the PSL from the start.

The league was won on the back of an undefeated home season with 8 wins and 7 draws and although the away form was not as great losing to Ajax and Platinum Stars, the Amakhosi were able to confirm the title with a game to spare and the hashtag quickly went from #ReclaimingtheGlory to #GloryReclaimed.

The team was led by the brilliant Itumeleng Khune, who will rightfully clinch the PSL Player of the Season award as well, and the signings of Gaxa and Masilela made the defence a tighter unit than in previous seasons. Incredibly this will be the first title for the likes of Shaba and Yeye and boy do they deserve it.

Thank you Amakhosi! To leave you with one thing now, Arsenal, were you watching!

The post Glory Reclaimed appeared first on All Things Jabu.

© Volvo in Golf

Growing up in South Africa, we have been blessed with an incredible golfing country. In the time since apartheid ended in 1992, South Africans have won 9 majors, the World Cup and had more golfers in the top rankings than any country other than USA on a regular basis. As I was growing up and learning to truly appreciate the brilliance of golf, my ability to maintain concentration for no longer than an average song, meant that I was more excited by match play golf. And if you think of match play in South Africa, you have to think of the Volvo World Match Play. The tournament which paired golfers in knockout golf was dominated by Ernie “The Big Easy” Els as he won the tournament for the first time in 1994 and his 7th in 2007, the most by any man in the tournament history. The second most belong to Gary Player, our greatest ever golfer, and the late Seve Ballesteros.

So why am I telling you all of this? Well its simple. The 2013 edition gets underway on Thursday morning and would you believe it, the 24 man field has four South Africans spear-headed by “Volvo Specialist” Branden Grace, George Coetzee, Richard Sterne and Thomas Aiken. Other big names that will compete in this years event are Henrik Stenson, Matchplay legend Ian Poulter, Graeme McDowell, big hitting Belgian Nicholas Colsaerts and Geoff Ogilvy.

Players will be put into 8 groups of 3. 2 points for a win, 1 for a tie and non for are loss are awarded in the group stage. The top two players in each group will progress to the knock-out stages consisting of the last 16 and quarter-finals, played on Saturday and semi-finals and final, played on Sunday. Lets look at the South African challenge

© Volvo in Golf

Ian Woosnam Group
Branden Grace
Nicholas Colsaerts
Kiradech Aphibarnrat

Match Times:
Thursday 12:50 – Grace vs. Colsaerts
Friday 13:10 – Grace vs. Aphibarnrat

Gustaf Larson Group
Bo van Pelt
Richard Sterne
Geoff Ogilvy

Match Times:
Thursday 13:05 – van Pelt vs. Sterne
Friday 08:15 – Sterne vs. Ogilvy

© Volvo in Golf

Arnold Palmer Group
Peter Hanson
George Coetzee
Shane Lowry

Match Times:
Thursday 13:20 – Hanson vs. Coetzee
Friday 08:25 – Coetzee vs. Lowry

Assar Gabrielsson Group
Ian Poulter
Thongchai Jaidee
Thomas Aiken

Match Times:
Friday 08:35 – Aiken vs. Jaidee
Friday 13:40 – Aiken vs. Poulter

© Volvo in Golf

To get into the mood, check out the video for what happened at the Pro-Am today!

The post The Volvo World Match Play appeared first on All Things Jabu.

Things have been moving in the right direction for South African Hockey in the past few months with qualification for the World League Semi-Finals, getting the sponsorship of Mugg & Bean on board and now the announcement that interim coach, Charlie Pereira, has been given the post on a full time basis.

Charlie was the interim manager for the World League Qualifier when he led a “Justin Reid-Ross-less” and sponsor-less men’s side to the World League Semi Final. Of course at this time it was an interim appointment as the future of Greg Clark was very much undecided. But Pereira has earned great praise from the men in the team, with one of them personally telling me that his impact was immediate and very positive.

“It’s an honour to be appointed head coach of the national men’s team and I look forward to working with the rest of the management team as there is a lot of work for us to do to get ready for Malaysia,” Pereira said.

SA Hockey Association CEO Marissa Langeni also named the management team.

“The coaching staff for the senior men’s team is being appointed up until the conclusion of the 2014 Commonwealth Games,” Langeni said.

“The panel gives SA Hockey a pool of individuals to work with at various stages as part of our strategy to grow the base. Prior to any tour SAHA will continue to announce the Tour Management in consultation with the Head Coach on a project basis, so not all will travel with the team at any one time,” Langeni added.

All Things Jabu would like to congratulate Charlie on his appointment and we look forward to how you take South African Hockey forward. We will be interviewing Charlie on his appointment in the coming weeks.

SA MEN’S HOCKEY TEAM MANAGEMENT
Head Coach: Charlie Pereira
Trainers: Craig Fulton, Kurt Cerfontyne, Pierre le Roux, Darryn Gallagher
Sports Science – Conditioning Coach: Robin van Ginkel
Managers: Reggie Smith, Martin van Staden, Anton van Rooyen
Selectors: Igsaan Ajam, David Viney, Bruce Jacobs, Allistar Fredericks
Video Analysts: Mo Malebye, Wayne Hendricks, Jamie Kroukamp

Upcoming  International Hockey Federation (FIH) events
World League semi-finals in Malaysia, June 29 to July 7.
Africa Cup in Kenya, Sept 27 to Oct 5.

The post Meet Charlie Pereira, the new South African Hockey Coach appeared first on All Things Jabu.

I truly love sport, it has one of the most unifying effects in the World. A great moment in sport could lead to two complete strangers hugging each other in a completely un-awkward, unobtrusive way. It got me thinking about the different moments in sport that have made me want to hug a stranger. But instead of only hearing from me, I enlisted some help from my mates on Twitter and asked them to share a moment that made them hug a stranger.

Tyron “Jabu” Barnard
The Moment: Mark Boucher hitting that four in the 438 game
The Reason: After a tense series we faced our nemesis the Aussies. Australia batted first and broke every heart in South Africa as they manhandled the SA Bowling line-up to score 434. South Africa then took on the impossible and through the inspired Gibbs and Smith, the Proteas got close. Of course, in this country we never make things easy and lost wickets all along the way. But no man is more up to a fight than Mark Boucher and the moment when he hit the four to seal the victory was one which led me to embrace everyone in the near vicinity. A true moment in time when sport makes everything else not matter.

Jarred Barnard
The Moment: Thierry Henry winner against Manchester United at the Emirates in 2007
The Reason: For much of the first season in the Emirates stadium, Arsenal were being criticized for struggling to turn the new stadium into a fortress, drawing many games. On the 21st January, the league leaders came to visit the Emirates and an Arsenal side who were having a terrible stop-start season, found themselves behind to a Wayne Rooney header. As the clock passed the 80 minute mark, United still led and would have condemned Arsenal to a first league defeat at the new home ground. But Arsenal dug deep and equalised through then youngster Robin van Persie (Who fractured his foot with that goal). But then the sweetest thing of all happened, Thierry Henry, a man who had been criticized throughout the season for failing to deliver at his usual standard, climbed onto an Emmanuel Eboue cross and hit a bullet header (yes, really, a header) past Edwin van der Sar in injury time. I was watching at the Arsenal South Africa Supporters club and remember hugging everyone in reach, even sending my glasses flying across the room. The best part of the win was beating Manchester United in Fergie Time.

Andreas Koshiaris
The Moment:  Siphiwe Tshabalala opens the scoring at the 2010 FIFA World Cup at Soccer City
The Reason: The 2010 FIFA World Cup was a long time coming, from the day that Sepp Blatter pulled our name from that white envelope the excitement for the tournament began. Come June 11 2010 and I was a mixed bag of nerves, jitters and pure excitement. We grabbed a taxi into town, climbed onto the Reya Veya and made our way to the magnificent Soccer City stadium. For the next few hours I savoured the atmosphere, walking around the huge calabash bowl taking in the sights and sounds of the, mostly, Mexican fans mingling with the Bafana Bafana supporters. Singing our national anthem just before kick-off was an incredibly emotional experience and then the match got underway. I was watching the match with a very close friend of mine, Sean Riskowitz, and we had traveled the Bafana path together for many years so it was apt that I watched this specific match with him. Cue the 55^th minute, some neat inter-passing on the halfway line sees Dikgacoi pick out a superb pass to release Tshabalala into space on the left hand side of the area, ‘Shabba’ takes a touch, the ball sits up perfectly and he unleashes an unstoppable effort into the top corner. Pandemonium in the stands as Soccer City erupts! I’m hugging Sean, I’m hugging the guy next to me, I’m jumping up and down screaming, I’m high-fiving people behind me and in front of me… I think I was still bouncing up and down a full five minutes after the goal. Watching the replays of that goal still sends shivers down my spine to this day, simply a moment I will never ever forget.

Neal Collins
The Moment:Johnny Wilkinson Rugby World Cup winning drop goal for England v Australia, Sydney 2003
The Reason: Though naturally left-footed, he popped it over with his right foot in sudden death overtime. English journalists, accustoked to so many World Cup disappointments in all codes since 1966 literally burst in to tears and hugs. Fact. The finest moment among so many.

Joe Crann
The Moment: May 29th, 2005 – Sheffield Wednesday’s promotion to the Championship from League One
The Reason: I was a Wednesday season ticket holder back then, attending many home and away games throughout the campaign despite being just 15-years-old. We’d finished fifth in the league, beaten Brentford in the play-off semifinal and made it through to the final, against Hartlepool United. This game was the culmination of the season. This game saw around 40,000 Wednesdayites pack into Cardiff Stadium to witness one of the best games of football that I think I’ll ever watch.

Wednesday fans transcended on Cardiff that day. Myself and my best mate got our pie and got to our seats, only to find that they would not come in handy at all. Along with the other Wednesdayites we chanted our way throughout the whole game, not sitting down for a second, making our presence known. With 81 minutes of the game gone we were 2-1 down and it looked as though our dreams of a return to the Championship were set to be dashed. However, Steve MacLean managed to slot in a late penalty (prompting my first hug of a stranger) and the stadium literally erupted.

As if our nerves needed the extra work, we were going to extra time. 30 more minutes of nail-biting moments as we attempted to secure promotion for ourselves. Then it happened. Four minutes in we went 3-2 up (second random hug) and the noise was once again deafening, although we knew that one goal was never going to be enough. Although, when Drew Talbot popped up in the 120th minute (queue third random hug) we knew we were safe and dry, we would be back up in the Championship the following year and would have a MASSIVE party to celebrate it. All-in-all I would have to say that that game is one of the the greatest moments of my life, let alone of my sporting memories, and will forever hold a place in my heart. Come on Wednesday!

Bianca Bouwer
The Moment: Bayern Munich defeating Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of the semi-finals in the Champions League.
The Reason: Barcelona had dominated World Football and were the best the footballing world had to offer. They of course as we all know were schooled in a fragrant reminder that with a lot of heart and working together as a unit you will achieve greatness

Ancia Potgieter
The Moment:  All Blacks/Richie McCaw World Cup – 2011
The Reason:  A lot has been said about the All Blacks and their inability to win “the big one”. Injury plagued at critical times during the World Cup of 2011 they soldiered on, winning where it mattered the most, at home.  Reading the autobiography of Richie McCaw and his views of the various World Cups that he went to and hiding the extent of his injury from management/squad and his refusal to have x-rays taken until after the World Cup, shows the mark of a world class captain. His influence in the All Black squad is nothing sort of legendary, he reminds me of your player of jester year when guts and glory in the amateur area was all that counted.

Marcel Sigg
The Moment:Joel Stransky kicked the drop to win the RWC 95
The Reason:I was in Cape Town for a 21^st; I flew in on a whim on the Friday afternoon to celebrate one of my best friends 21^st ‘s the following day; coincidentally the day of the WC Final. The drama of the see-saw battle between the Boks and All Blacks would’ve been an emotional rollercoaster for most South African fans but add several litres of party juices to that mix and we were practically hormonal! Anyway, to cut a long story short the winning kick sent us into raptures and much hugging and kissing of people I didn’t know followed. For the record, people who drove past the house on the Sunday were still celebrating as we tidied up the aftermath of an epic party

Tyron “Jabu” Barnard – Part 2
The Moment:  Meyer Bosman scoring the try to win the Currie Cup for the Cheetahs in 2005
The Reason: Being a Cheetahs supporter has never been an easy thing. But in the era of Rassie Erasmus and the colourful cards from rooftops, the men from the Free State had started playing some expansive rugby and impressing on the way to the final in 2004. I headed to that final to witness my Cheetahs get a hammering from the Bulls and continuing our Currie Cup heartache from 1976. So onto 2005 and another showdown with the Bulls at Fortress Loftus. I headed to watch the game live and also watch the Bulls lead 25-12 with 10 minutes to play.

The Cheetahs never give up though and a late converted try by Bevan Fortuin along with a penalty from Willem de Waal gave the Cheetahs a chance. What happened next was a moment of absolute beauty as two Bulls players (I think one was Fourie du Preez) left the ball for each other, it bounced and Meyer Bosman took the bounce and scored a try under the posts. It was that very moment that ended 29 years of pain and caused hugs with anyone willing. The Blue Bulls supporter I embraced didn’t enjoy it that much, but hey that’s the bounce of the ball.

Let me know which moment made you hug a stranger either below, on Facebook or on Twitter

The post The Moment that made me hug a stranger appeared first on All Things Jabu.

Marcel Sigg

Manchester City starting line-up (4-2-3-1): Joe Hart; Pablo Zabaleta, Vincent Kompany (c), Matija Nastasic, Gael Clichy; Yaya Toure, Gareth Barry; Samir Nasri, Sergio Aguero, David Silva; Carlos Tevez.

Wigan Athletic starting line-up (4-3-3): Joel Robles; Emerson Boyce, Antolin Alcaraz, Paul Scharner, Roger Espinoza; James McCarthy, Jordi Gomez, James McArthur; Callum McManaman, Arouna Kone, Shaun Maloney.

Referee: Andre Marriner  

The broadcast has 3 highlights.

The national anthem sung by a lass with good cleavage on display and some punk in a grey jacket covered with purple bubbles;

a fantastic goal in the 90th minute by a ginger, Ben Watson, and the final whistle 4 minutes later.

Let’s focus on the really interesting part, the punk in the stupid jacket!

Alright, let’s talk about the football. Wigan Athletic, managed by Roberto Martinez, pulled off a memorable win in the 2013 FA Cup.

I suppose most people thought the match was already decided when Manchester City qualified for the Final a few weeks ago to face Wigan, a team struggling to survive the Premier Division.

Wigan’s players showed more desire, more energy and generally outplayed the City players in every department.

Personally I felt they were unlucky not to be awarded a penalty on two separate occasions but in the end they managed to score from a corner in the 90th minute.

McManaman, Kone and Maloney all had excellent games, Robbels kept them honest and proved they had to work hard to stay in the game.

To be fair, city weren’t completely useless. Tevez had an opportunity to score and was denied by toe tip save by Joel Robbels.

If you pvr’d the game, do yourself a favour and fast forward to the 83rd minute. You’ll just have enough time to see Zabaleta slide tackle himself into a second yellow and an early shower.

I don’t think it would’ve made any difference if he was on the field, the City players just didn’t show the desire to win the cup.

Other reports may speak of end to end stuff but in truth the match wasn’t a spectacle and the game itself will be quickly forgotten by everyone bar the most loyal Latics fans.

Next season City will be in the group phase of the Champions League, Wigan don’t know if they will play in the Premier League yet.

The FA Cup really is a trophy for the smaller teams.

Other possible highlights:

• The handshakes: I thought I lip-read Mancini saying, don’t forget the cheque I sent you to the officials;
• Mcmanaman 34min great chance but he was selfish and fluffed it;
• Maloney strikes the crossbar with a free-kick;

The post The FA Cup Final appeared first on All Things Jabu.

So here we are. It’s Monday, and I’m talking F1. If you check back the Monday after each race, you’ll find me here dishing out the good, the bad, and the ugly on the past weekend’s Formula One action. All Things Jabu seems to think I know my stuff, and I’m all too happy to oblige and share my enthusiasm with you all.

Let’s start with a recap of the season so far. Australia saw Kimi with a ‘pretty easy win’ as he put it. The first race of the season always brings with it much excitement, however the race didn’t yield any significant events.

What I’d really like to talk about is the most awkward press conference in my Formula One watching history. Yes, you’re thinking of Malaysia. Team-mate wars were on fire with both the Vettel/Webber and Hamilton/Rosberg battles igniting during the last laps of the race. Those moments before and after the podium celebrations made me cringe in my seat. A clearly furious Webber promptly ignored Vettel, and when he finally spoke, the phrase ‘Multi 21’ was repeated. We assume that this is team code for holding position. That or Mark was admitting he didn’t take his multi-vitamin that morning – his only real chance of overtaking Seb. Ok sure, let’s get the facts straight. Yes, Seb didn’t obey team orders. Yes, it was cocky of him to overtake Mark and put both of them in jeopardy. But last time I checked we were watching racing, not which team can execute the most efficient orders upon their drivers. We can argue backwards and forth about Mark obeying team orders and turning down his engine, hence why Seb was faster, but the real issue for me here, is why are there still team orders?

I still remember the 2002 Austrian GP where Barrichello was ordered to move aside for Michael Schumacher to secure the championship. That made me feel sick, and you could see on Michael’s face that he didn’t like it either. So if Webber wants to win races by letting the team hand it to him on a silver platter and not racing for it like a champ, then he doesn’t deserved to be classified as a F1 driver. There is definitely some serious rivalry afoot in Red Bull, and speculation is that Seb’s move on Webber was ‘revenge’ for the 2012 Brazilian GP, where Webber pushed Vettel out to the side at the start of the race, forcing him back and letting a number of middle order cars through. This move put Vettel’s championship in jeopardy, and I’m sure it has something to do with the Malaysian move on Webber. On the total other end of the spectrum you have Nico and Hamilton, both adhering to team orders. Nico clearly also wasn’t happy with the orders from Ross Brawn, but was less vocal about it, settling for a calm ‘remember this one’ to his team over the radio. For me though the day’s entertainment came from Lewis pulling into the McLaren team pits and him admitting he ‘did a Jenson’. I guess old habits die hard.

Heading on straight to China, where Mark’s ‘bad luck’ just seemed to get worse for the poor lad. Quirky headlines of ‘wheel my bad luck ever end’ had me chuckling. Everything seems to be coming undone for poor Mark, even his tyres. The Aussie lost his right rear on lap 17 as it just seemed to slip off. And to make matters worse he incurred a 3 place grid penalty for the next race after crashing into sister team, Toro Rosso’s, Jean-Eric Vergne.

These team-mate wars sure do make for interesting viewing because in F1, the first person you have to beat is your team-mate. Bahrain didn’t disappoint, with Button and Perez having a go at each other when Martin Whitmarsh had told Perez after China to ‘get aggressive’. This sure did light a flame under the seat of Perez, with the Mexican going wheel to wheel with his team-mate. McLaren have no team orders and it was rather refreshing to watch some real racing for a change. Perez tried to take back position from a reluctant Button, which in turn caused Perez to drive right up into Button’s gearbox in turn 4, luckily not slashing his team-mate’s tyre upon impact. Is it just me or did it seem like Button lifted out of that corner to make Perez slam into him? Naturally a couple of seconds later old Button was on the team radio moaning. This constant moaning seems to be an annoying personality trait, and there was a fun poll on Planet F1 about a week ago that made me laugh. The question was whether Perez’s driving style is reckless, and the poll answer that was far in the lead when I voted was ‘Button must just stop moaning’, which I thought was rather funny. It’s a household joke that when we see the team radio for Button appear on the screen that we anticipate a Moaning Myrtle moment.

Let’s get going on yesterday’s race – 22 cars lined up on the 37C track ready to charge down to the first corner. Vettel pounced on Hamilton when a wheel lock caused him to brake late, with Vettel nabbing P2 off him. But the real winner was Fernando Alonso, who went round the outside in a bold move to overtake both Raikkonen as well as Hamilton. Up to P3 on the first lap, the rest of the race seemed a piece of cake for Ferrari, who were clearly the team of the day. Alonso went on to win his home Grand Prix, his first for Ferrari. On to the biggest losers of the day, which had to be Mercedes. The car did not handle the track very well in terms of tyres, seeing Rosberg and Hamilton being picked off one by one by cars coming through. Hamilton’s frustration was evident in his remark of “Now I’ve been overtaken by a Williams,” I had to feel sorry for the chap. Formula One has become somewhat frustrating for us die hard fans as more and more we are seeing tyre degradation becoming one of the sole determining factors of the race outcome. Sure tyre degradation is part of the sport and you need to manage and look after the rubber, but we are increasingly seeing an entire team’s performance being halted by the controversial Pirelli tyres. Sebastian Vettel later in a press conference said that, “When you are telling drivers not to push because we are saving tyres isn’t great for the sport or for the fans. We need to push the drivers harder and allow them to drive properly.” But let’s debate about tyres in another post.

Happy Monday all, have a great week.

Race Result:

Results

01 Fernando Alonso Ferrari 1h39.16.596

02 Kimi Raikkonen Lotus +9.3

03 Felipe Massa Ferrari +26.0

04 Sebastian Vettel Red Bull +38.2

05 Mark Webber Red Bull +37.9

06 Nico Rosberg Mercedes +68.0

07 Paul di Resta Force India +68.9

08 Jenson Button McLaren +79.5

09 Sergio Perez McLaren +81.7

10 Daniel Ricciardo Toro Rosso +1 lap

11 Esteban Gutierrez Sauber +1 lap

12 Lewis Hamilton Mercedes +1 lap

13 Adrian Sutil Force India +1 lap

14 Pastor Maldonado Williams +1 lap

15 Nico Hulkenberg Sauber +1 lap

16 Valtteri Bottas Williams +1 lap

17 Charles Pic Caterham +1 lap

18 Jules Bianchi Marussia +2 laps

19 Max Chilton Marussia +2 laps

Did Not Finish

Jean-Eric Vergne Toro Rosso RETIRED 14 laps

Giedo van der Garde Caterham RETIRED 45 laps

Romain Grosjean Lotus RETIRED 58 laps

Driver’s Championship – Top 5
1          Sebastian Vettel         89 points
2          Kimi Raikkonen         85 points
3          Fernando Alonso      72 points
4          Lewis Hamilton         50 points
5          Felipe Massa               45 points

Constructor’s Championship – Top 5
1          Red Bull                    131 points
2          Ferrari                       117 points
3          Lotus                          111 points
4          Mercedes                  72 points
5          Force India              32 points

The post The Pit Wall: The Spanish Grand Prix & Season recap appeared first on All Things Jabu.