Still remember him getting nicked for peeing in the street....and that Try down that wing against the Baa Baas in what I consider to be the perfect game of rugby ever. It had everything, including an amazingly big and passionate crowd atmospere not to mention some great tries and moves. Phil Bennets wicked side steps. Sid Going and of course Batty down the wing and dotting it down instead of the flashy big dive. RIP former Wellington Winger.
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
Oh Shark missed that one used to love watching him one of those players whenever he had the ball in his hands you expected something to happen. Remember watching him carve up in an All Blacks trial game at Athletic Park
Bevan wrote: Posted on the Nix Instagram April 19th was long time fever stalwart Hard News passed away. Really sad to hear this. Are there any funeral plans?
This was hard news to hear alright. Feels unbelievable. Had such a history of football support, from the Kingz to the Nix and lots in between. Oh yes, Sam Neill too, another legend.
about 1 month ago· edited about 1 month ago· History
Before we get too soppy, he seemed to have a great retirement wine and farm, your gran and aunt probably had a thing for him after Reilly: Ace of Spies and he was in Sirens which none of us have ever watched all of. Bless the talented Elle!
What a legend.
Who’s the next Kiwi to become a legend? Take the torch. As we say at the Nix every couple of weeks as we fill orders from international clubs…
I loved his yarns about hanging out with his life time great mate John Clarke at first VIC Uni and then in Melbs. ‘Death in Brunswick’ a very famous in Aussie movie they both starred in
One of my all time favourite Kiwis. Is an Aussie series Home Delivery where the host Julia took him back to his child hood in Dunners and then boarding school at Christ College. Taking the train up to ChCh from Dunedin as like a 10 yr old!! His old school Irish WW2 army dad thinking that was the way to do it
coochiee wrote: I loved his yarns about hanging out with his life time great mate John Clarke at first VIC Uni and then in Melbs. ‘Death in Brunswick’ a very famous in Aussie movie they both starred in
One of my all time favourite Kiwis. Is an Aussie series Home Delivery where the host Julia took him back to his child hood in Dunners and then boarding school at Christ College. Taking the train up to ChCh from Dunedin as like a 10 yr old!! His old school Irish WW2 army dad thinking that was the way to do it
I saw the great man play at English Park in April 1985 for a Canterbury Invitation 11 vs. the All Whites. Kev toured NZ playing three games for provincial rep sides and even Claudelands Rovers. A lot of big name English players used to come out in those days at the end of their careers, some even playing in our national league, such as West Ham and England legend Trevor Brooking for a two month spell with Auckland University AFC in 1984, Paul Mariner, Mick Channon etc. Players weren't paid as much then and combining playing football for a Kiwi side with a holiday was attractive. Keegan had close childhood friends from the UK living in Hanmer Springs, NZ. There was an English couple living there who were friends of my parents when they spent 1992-2002 living in Hanmer Springs. They had some nice pictures of themselves with Keegan. He had been out to NZ and holidayed with them. Report on Keegan's match in Chch April 1985: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850418.2.155?end_date=31-12-1985&items_per_page=100&query=kevin+keegan&snippet=true&sort_by=byTY.rev&start_date=01-01-1985image.png121.03 KB
I saw the great man play at English Park in April 1985 for a Canterbury Invitation 11 vs. the All Whites. Kev toured NZ playing three games for provincial rep sides and even Claudelands Rovers. A lot of big name English players used to come out in those days at the end of their careers, some even playing in our national league, such as West Ham and England legend Trevor Brooking for a two month spell with Auckland University AFC in 1984, Paul Mariner, Mick Channon etc. Players weren't paid as much then and combining playing football for a Kiwi side with a holiday was attractive. Keegan had close childhood friends from the UK living in Hanmer Springs, NZ. There was an English couple living there who were friends of my parents when they spent 1992-2002 living in Hanmer Springs. They had some nice pictures of themselves with Keegan. He had been out to NZ and holidayed with them. Report on Keegan's match in Chch April 1985: https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19850418.2.155?end_date=31-12-1985&items_per_page=100&query=kevin+keegan&snippet=true&sort_by=byTY.rev&start_date=01-01-1985image.png121.03 KB
The late Russell Cotton in that same team as Kevin Keegan!
Used to train with a bin bag on to help him "Sweat it out son!". Russ definitely had more to sweat out than most...
wibbler wrote: Back when football was banned due to hooliganism and was replaced with ballet.
Dark times, those were... We even had Bill the Football Hooligan (contains some language that would not be acceptable in the stands today, although that is the whole point of the skit).
RIP to one of the greats, Franco Baresi... Started watching Seria A in late 90's & the elegance of Maldini & Nesta drew me to AC Milan... of course after watching highlights & reading about Franco, hard not to admire him.
In an era dominated by physical defenders, Baresi distinguished himself through his reading of the game, redefining the sweeper role by combining defensive authority with the ability to launch attacks from deep.
He marshalled a celebrated Milan backline featuring Paolo Maldini, Alessandro Costacurta and Mauro Tassotti, helping perfect the high defensive line and offside trap that underpinned the club’s 58-match unbeaten run in Serie A and earned Fabio Capello’s side the nickname “Gli Invincibili” (The Invincibles).
Glen Hansard. Was the lead guy in the film Once that starred his music and became a musical and lead the singing of Fairytale of New York at Shane MacGowan’s funeral.
Reminded me of the music evenings and even one or two Celidh’s I got to go to as a kid. Though he seemed to do more of that longing Irish ballad than head banging or foot stomping.
Don’t know if he was a good guy, but wrote and sang a few good tunes.
Edit: he was an expert at what Ausling Bea called the sadness in Irish necks. Aisling first:
When he won his Oscar Bono sent him a text: “A busker that plays the Oscars, that’s the poetry”
And his principal told him at 13 it was okay to quit school to chase music!
“Hi Franco. Today I feel the same way I did whenever, for any reason, you couldn't take the field alongside us. How will we go on without you, Captain?”, as shared by Football Italia.
“You protected me when I was a child, guided me as a young man, and inspired me as an adult. You were the greatest footballer I have ever had the honour of playing alongside.”
“You taught me to fight until my very last breath... You led by example, every single day: few words, but so many deeds.”
Proud to have attended the first 175 Consecutive "Home" Wellington Phoenix "A League" Games !!
There are those things that have some universality when you travel: football was one and it seems like this music of longing is another. You find yourself in a living room with high ceilings and open doors on a summer night or round a fire somewhere and someone’s singing or everyone’s singing, and giving it a bit of a story to round it off or introduce it.
And here’s Eddie Vedder, Pearl Jam and who wrote the soundtrack to ‘Into the Wild’ which is such a simple story and such a complex one at the same time, and did it so beautifully.
Here he is with Glen in 2017.
As a Kiwi I have to undercut it and say it’s the Irish ‘Leggy Blonde’. We’re better at our absurdism than romanticism, despite Po Kare Kare Ana. But that song works because Murray’s being so sincere, vulnerable and open.
Such a generous performance too, each letting the other shine. Vedder’s such a great vocalist too. All this sh*t, money markets, oil ships, bombs and so on. In the morning there’s still the sun, and out there are guys like these guys catching that divine fire in a bottle for us every day.
Into the Wild (read the book first) is indeed a beautiful and sad thought provoking story. "Alexander Supertramp". Had no idea Vedder did the soundtrack.
