I trust you caught the article the other day about how Obama unwittingly helped promote the new Rugby World Cup movie, after Nelson Mandela SUDDENLY received an ESPY award for his connection to sport some 15 years ago? Oh you missed it? No problem – here it is right here.

Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon
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So we’ve established that the financiers of the Clint Eastwood directed 1995 Rugby World Cup movie “Invictus” also happen to own ESPN. It’s to do with the likes of Disney and Warner and that level of vibe.

So now that we’ve got our head around that, it comes as no surprise that Rupert Murdoch’s THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, of all publications, suddenly does a MASSIVE article on the Springbok rugby team. Out of nowhere. You know, just to sort of bring the nation up to speed about a team (and sport!) they may not have heard of before. Because the paper just feels it is important and something that needs to be highlighted. So now, when the movie comes out in December, everyone will be like, “Oh my God, they’ve finally made a movie about that amazing team – and Nelson Mandela is in it as well!”

ASIDE: I remember chatting to a yank in Martha’s Vineyard a few years back. He asked where I was from. I said South Africa. His face went blank. I said it was the country connected to Nelson Mandela. He was over-the-moon and said he loved Nelson Mandela. I asked if he knew why Mandela was famous and he said, “because he’s Nelson Mandela!!!”

Beautiful vibe.

So back to this manipulation of the media and ceremonies and awards and Hollywood. Ja, very clever. We do a similar thing here at 2oceansvibe, although we’re struggling to get a testimonial from Barack Obama, with him sipping on a Jack Black beer, opening a bottle of De Grendel, wearing a Puma tracksuit top and Ray Bans – filmed in my suite at The Cape Royale hotel, following a lunch at Caprice with a Vida e coffee already down the hatch and a Butlers Pizza menu in front of him, while he tap-tap-taps Kika Sack ball with his feet and uses his one free hand to bet on some sports game at Greatodds.com and buy lottery tickets at PlayEuroMillions. Would have been nice if he was dropped off in an Audi as well.

You get the picture.

Well anyways, check out this article from the WALL STREET JOURNAL:

The Toughest Team in Sports?

South Africa’s rugby players maul their way to the top; a punch in the scrum

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa—Just before a recent game, South African rugby player Schalk Burger stated his belief that a rugby match isn’t a rugby match unless it “starts with a bang.” After less than a minute of play, Mr. Burger was sin-binned, or penalized, for what looked like an attempt to gouge an opponent’s eyeballs.

Far from condemning the act that earned Mr. Burger an eight-week ban, South Africa’s head coach Peter de Villiers suggested that the offended parties “go to the nearest ballet shop, get some nice tutus and get a great dancing show going.”

South Africa’s Springboks, named after the graceful and rather docile springbok gazelle, have run afoul of rugby laws more often than most. But this team’s physical prowess and aggressive mindset have helped put them at the pinnacle of the sport. The reigning World Cup-champion Springboks have just vanquished some of the best British and Irish players in the game, and last week beat New Zealand 28-19 in their first match of the Tri-Nations, an annual rugby competition for southern hemisphere teams. A victory in this tournament, which continues through Sept. 19, would cement their place as the undisputed kings of rugby.

The Springboks have demonstrated their toughness throughout the last century—sometimes playing with broken bones or honing their skills by tackling large animals—but the origins of their physical dominance can be traced back much farther.

In rugby, size matters, especially when it comes to a team’s pack of forwards. Weight is an undeniable advantage in a scrum, a fearsome tangle in which players fight for possession of the ball. Height is a distinct plus in a lineout—where players leap high in the air to receive a ball thrown back onto the field. South African rugby has long been dominated by Afrikaners, a population group that has a seemingly endless supply of large people .

“They’ve got some big old dudes, and it’s always physical,” said Lee Mears, an English player, after a recent match. “The South Africans pride themselves in the scrum, so they’re never going to disappoint you in that area.”

Most observers explain Afrikaners’ oversized proportions with genetics . After all, they say, the first Europeans to colonize the southern tip of the continent came from Holland, and the Dutch are among the tallest people in the world.

Raj Ramesar, professor of human genetics at the University of Cape Town, said there is little scientific evidence available, but he said genetic selection likely played a role as only the fittest and strongest specimens made the grueling boat trip and later thrived in an environment plagued by disease and angry Zulu warriors. A “sissy ” would not have survived the hardships, Mr. Ramesar said.

Locals also credit arduous farm work for enhancing their inherent physical attributes, and rarely did it get more arduous than for Tiaan Strauss, who has represented both the Springboks and Australia. Mr. Strauss, who played much of his career before the game turned professional in the mid-1990s, said he used to make extra money by capturing wildebeests and other large antelopes .

“Sometimes you tackle them, but mainly you sort of catch them by the horn and wrestle them to the ground,” Mr. Strauss said matter-of-factly.

Mr. Strauss said the activity, while earning him cuts, bruises and the occasional shoulder injury and twisted ankle, also helped condition him for the game.

Mr. Strauss’ feat was topped by that of Andy MacDonald, who wore the Springbok jersey in the mid-1960s. Mr. MacDonald was tracking a livestock-killing lion when the predator leapt on him, and he was left fighting off the feline with his bare hands .

“The lion bit off part of Andy’s ear and clawed his legs and lower body,” wrote South African rugby historian Paul Dobson [Dobbo, you beaut!] in an email. “Andy put one hand into the lion’s jaws and eventually the lion left him.” Mr. MacDonald received more than 400 stitches, Mr. Dobson said.

While some display their toughness by manhandling large beasts, others show their courage by staying on the field after sustaining serious injuries. André Joubert broke his hand in a tackle during the quarterfinals of the 1995 World Cup, yet went on to play two more matches—this without taking any painkiller. Mr. Joubert said he suffered few long-term consequences other than a shortened finger. “I had to change my golf grip a bit,” he said.

[read more here – it’s a pretty rad article]

Don’t be surprised if you see John Smit on the red carpet in Hollywood when this movie launches..

Keep a ticket handy for the vibe, Barn Dog..

We can do a documentary along the way, you know, similar to the Pauly Shore Hollywood videos (here)..

Then it’s the Gumball 3000 Rally after that, right?