Yes, the Saturday night before the Sunday announcement, and in the bowels of All Blacks rugby, claim and counter-claim were being proposed by many an arm-chair selector, making their case for why this player should Tour and this player should not.

In all of these discussions, the name Piri Weepu would barely have received a murmur, let alone a mention!

Why so?

When discussing the selection issue names like Brad Thorn, Kieran Read, Conrad Smith and Cory Jane, to name a number, rarely come up for debate. These players are in the form of their rugby lives and are as dead, as a stone-cold certainty… Ben Franks is getting there [insert: looks like Stone Cold Steve Austin with that goatee]. These players have earned their title as, Sure Things, something that the recent All Blacks play of one Piri has definitely warranted and deserved.

All this may have seemed like a world away from reality, when in the World Cup of 2007… Stop Reminding Me!… Sorry!…. All this was a world away when Piri Weepuwas shockingly set aside as we went North for another rugbying jaunt, in pursuit of another “i am,” Will-i-am… Webb Ellis!

However, just as time would heal old wounds, we bring you forward to Saturday October 16th 2010 in Wellington-again-had-Wind, as the Lions let loose on their Hurricanes bed-fellows, the Naki [insert: Taranaki] in the latest round of the ITM Cup. While there were moments to remember, only one sticks resolutely in my mind!

The Devil is definitely in the Details therefore let this blogger simply say that what would transpire would make Piri Weepu the Biggest Selection Shocker… and this time it would be Graham Henry who would be the one waving his fist at this misfortune [insert: or expletives to that effect].

What to Say Now?

While Bugger may seem appropriate, let us not dwell on this moment. In this season of All Blacks rugby Piri Weepu has put the Bugger into Bigger things on the field of hopes and dreams, and is one reason why this has been a domestic season to remember!

Reflecting on a playing career, we very easily discuss and document a player’s rise from potential to reality and, while such is the nature of words on a page, there is no guarantee that this transaction would ever take place.  There are too many variables to take into consideration to sufficiently detail, with history providing many an example of players who had the gifts to succeed.

While it would be unwarranted to connect this last paragraph to Weepu’s All Blacks career, if it had stopped at 2009 and ceased before 2010, we would have missed his own very killer cross-over.

From this blogger’s standpoint, in the year 2010 Piri Weepu the rugby player has truly found himself, and the All Blacks may very well have found the answer to the recent perennial half-back shuffle.  While Jimmy Cowan would want to challenge and dispute… and he is up for it…  the wrinkles in Weepu’s game have been smoothed, and his edge has been sharpened.

While Henry and Co. have played share and share alike for the Number 9 spot, whenever Henry has called on Piri he has delivered… in all phases, even when Dan lost his kicking boots for a half, and in the wind of that Wellington night, he would Powza it over versus the Boks!

These are Great Rugby Memories from a Season to Savour!

If you are feeling gutted for the man on fire, consider his personal disappointment at this time. If you have interacted with his tweet, you will know that he is loyal to those he has bonded with, and so, with close and long-time friend, the Twitter King, Neemia Tialata, Tweeps would be updated with a smiling Hacksaw Jim Dugganeven as his hopes for a Grand Slam lay in a plaster-ous ruin

As the timing of the moment would have it, it would be Saturday night that would provide the biggest selection shocker of the weekend, even before Graham Henry and Co. would arrive on early Sunday evening to deliver a team that had just lost its Pow!

I can not help but feel gutted for the man who has seemingly grown so much in a year, both on and off the field!

With all this in mind, we at BackingBlack send out much love or aroha to Piri!  We can’t wait to tweet you back on the field of our All Blacks dreams and your All Blacks realities.  We know you can come back stronger for this period of pain, as you set your course for Rugby World Cup glory.

That is surely enough from me, but while I stop this flow, I encourage and exhort  you all to comment out some love for our All Blacks number 9 Piri Weepu as he begins the road to recovery!

He’ll Be Back!

… and so will I… Not as exciting, I know!

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking