Breakfast With Richie

Well, not quite with Richie himself, but at least with a chance of winning an awesome prize from www.weetbix.co.nz .

This morning, I opened a new box of breakfast cereal, Weetbix. Some time ago, Sanitarium, the manufacturers of Weetbix sold their product in a promotional storage tin, much like Granny’s old cake tins atop the kitchen cupboard, except that the Weetbix can is in the same proportions as the box, and has no pretty flowers on the outside.

Now, opening a box of porridge is not mind-blowing, except that this new box had a scratch-card thingy inside. Before dumping it in the bin, I took a closer look: not a scratch card this time – more like the old cigarette cards – just healthier than tobacco, and “You’ve won an entry into a Fuel Your Dreams prize draw!”

Winger Cory Jane (14), hooker Keven Mealamu (2) and coach Steve Hansen feature on the three cards in my box. Cory’s stats on the reverse side are debut Nov 2008, 1.83m tall at 85kg played for Upper Hutt club and Wellington province. Keven’s debut was in Nov 2002, 1.81m and 109kg played for Papatoetoe club and Auckland province.

In the past few months that we’ve been resident in New Zealand, I’ve learned more about the various sporting disciplines than ever in South Africa --  I guess one of the main reasons for this is the way the media and promoters feature their sports and their players to the public, and the way the sports encourage youngsters to aspire to achieving greater heights.

This is spear-headed by the All Blacks. and a typical approach by someone like Richie McCaw, as related in his autobiographical “Richie McCaw: The Open Side” (titled “The Real McCaw” in the UK and USA). In New Zealand, many kids know all about rugby game-plans, line-outs, scrums, and rules, before they can ride bikes without fairy wheels!

Some of the nicknames used in sport here include: All Blacks= men’s rugby; Tall Blacks= men’s basketball; Tall Ferns= women’s basketball; Black Ferns= women’s rugby; Black Caps= men’s cricket; White Ferns= women’s cricket; Black Sticks= women’s hockey; Ice Blacks= men’s ice hockey; Silver Ferns= women’s netball; Wheelblacks= men’s wheelchair rugby; Kiwis= men’s rugby league; Kiwi Ferns= women’s rugby league; All Whites= men’s soccer.

Kiwipedia Wikipedia has a fairly detailed article on the subject of sports in New Zealand here.