Who said what?

No sooner have the All Blacks arrived on British soil and the old cliches are getting dolled out by the British media.  You would think after all these years and all the rubbish written these old hacks would be able to come out with something a bit more original than what I've read in today's papers:


Paul Ackford, The Telegraph: " The All Blacks have pillaged the Pacific Islands for their talent"
ruggerblogger: This is not only wrong and tired, but witless.  How many kiwis are currently playing for England?


Stephen Jones - The Times: "In 2005 the Lions consulted the ubiquitous, even capricious, Maori elders. They were told it would be appropriate for skipper Brian O’Driscoll to accept the challenge by throwing some grass into the air. And what happened? A few minutes after his gesture, O’Driscoll was smashed in an illegal double tackle and was out of the tour."
ruggerblogger: You really need to put this to bed SJ. It was half a decade ago. And maybe refrain from making judgements about Maori culture too, because it appears you don't know much.


Stephen Jones (again): "Opposition for the haka is growing. One recent critic of the haka refers to a “politically correct lunacy” and a “cynical stage-managed circus”. Another calls the haka “a bad joke” and another said the team performing it are like “preening ninnies”.
ruggerblogger: Another cut and paste job from last year's article that SJ wrote, and the year before that too.


Mick Cleary - Telegraph: "Some call it cheating. Richie McCaw has led a charmed existence in that regard. So much of New Zealand's play revolves around his dominance of the breakdown."
ruggerblogger: Yawn.



However, this is my all time favourite. It made me laugh out loud:


Mike Tindall, current English centre: "I was unbeaten by the All Blacks for four years you know."
ruggerblogger: I mean - Tindall - WTF were you thinking say that?!?!?