kiepie
Executive Member
Pretty Percy
(inspired by Ernest Thayer)
The prospects looked quite dismal, for the Springbok team that day
The score was 13- 20, with a minute left for play
And then when Chester dropped a pass, and James Small did the same,
A deathly silence fell upon the lovers of the game
They didn't Shosoloza, didn't wave the Gold & Green
This was an ugly nightmare, that they had never seen
A straggling few got up to go, heading East or West
But hope still springs eternal, within the human breast
And then we shifted gear, Francois Pienaar led his men
James Dalton crashed across the line, we're in the game again
The conversion by the flyhalf went sailing through the posts
The All Blacks turned All White it seemed, just like startled ghosts
And when the final whistle blew, our relief, we couldn't hide it
The scores were surely level, and the World Cup undecided
So now the weary players had a bigger hill to climb
They went back on the field again, to play some Extra Time
With a minute left for battle, the score was zero zero
It was the golden moment for a man to be a hero
The scrum was on their 22, the forwards played their role
Joost got the ball quite cleanly, and flicked it back to Joel
The time stood still, it seemed to me, the stars were all aligned
The memory is etched upon the hard disk of my mind:
The dropkick is a beauty, Stransky turns around, he knows
It flies straight through the middle, as that famous photo shows
Well, Ellispark erupted, the roar was heard for miles
Francois and Madiba both had great big toothy smiles
The trophy called Webb Ellis, was safely in our hands
We'd shown we were superior, in all the rugby lands.....
And now we have moved on a bit, a dozen years or more
The All Blacks came to Paris, to even up the score
The French team fell out early, the Pommies followed suit
The Wallabies, well what the Hell, we soon gave them the boot
And now it was the Springboks and the All Blacks once again
Our paths just keep on crossing, like a bitter-sweet refrain
The 'Stade de France' was packed that day, thousands came to see
In RSA were millions more , who watched it on TV
But first there was the rigmarole, they did their stupid Haka
Our boys just stood there, thinking : What a load of ***a
The game was fiercely fought, of course,and both sides did their best
'Cause this was hailed to be "The Super Rugby Test"
At first the All Blacks struggled, they somehow looked inept
Habana scored a quick try, from his usual intercept
The lineouts we were winning, we had the right idea
Vic Matfield jumped a metre high, as good as Frik du Preez
At halftime we were still ahead, despite some wayward passes
And Jake White talked and screamed a bit, and kicked their tired arses
The commentators thought that we were doing quite fantastic
Naas Botha, on de udder hand, was not enthusiastic
The second half was much the same, it's neither here nor there
Schalk Burger played his heart out, his white mane everywhere
And then he met disaster, the card was coloured Red
He had quite accidentally, stepped on Carter's head
The armchair refs at home went wild, their protests were quite violent
When all their toys were out the cot, they finally fell silent
With only 14 men on hand, John Smit fought like a lion
But the men in black were made of stuff as tough as Iscor iron
They scrummed, they ran, they scored some tries, they filled our hearts with fear
And when the dust had settled, they were one point in the clear
( I thought of Danie Craven: How would he behave now?
If he were alive still, he'd be turning in his grave now )
With a minute left for battle, and Doomsday all around
It was the golden moment, for a new king to be crowned
The scrum was on their 22, like back in ' 95
And now the forwards, one man short, they kept the game alive
Now Os du Rand was moving, advancing down the wicket
Oops, I seem to be confused, this simply isn't cricket :- )
But serious, big Os and friends, surged forward like a tide
And next that oval thing came out, quite cleanly on our side
The scrumhalf passed that ball out, swiftly and with flair
To the tall & handsome fullback, who was waiting way back there
And once again the time stood still, it was like deja vu
I felt I'd seen this all before, and tell me, haven't you?
The past and present all at once, had now become entwined
While I dredged that glory picture from the recess of my mind
Percy was poised perfectly, he knew it was his call
He let fly with a dropkick, he nearly burst that ball
It sped up from that left boot, like a bullet from a rifle
It soared up straight and higher than the tower known as Eiffel
Now sometime in the future, when finally you are sober
Remember that old rugby match, in Paris in October
You think that life's just great, my friend, but I must tell you this:
Pour another Klipdrif, pal, poor Percy's drop was miss
(inspired by Ernest Thayer)
The prospects looked quite dismal, for the Springbok team that day
The score was 13- 20, with a minute left for play
And then when Chester dropped a pass, and James Small did the same,
A deathly silence fell upon the lovers of the game
They didn't Shosoloza, didn't wave the Gold & Green
This was an ugly nightmare, that they had never seen
A straggling few got up to go, heading East or West
But hope still springs eternal, within the human breast
And then we shifted gear, Francois Pienaar led his men
James Dalton crashed across the line, we're in the game again
The conversion by the flyhalf went sailing through the posts
The All Blacks turned All White it seemed, just like startled ghosts
And when the final whistle blew, our relief, we couldn't hide it
The scores were surely level, and the World Cup undecided
So now the weary players had a bigger hill to climb
They went back on the field again, to play some Extra Time
With a minute left for battle, the score was zero zero
It was the golden moment for a man to be a hero
The scrum was on their 22, the forwards played their role
Joost got the ball quite cleanly, and flicked it back to Joel
The time stood still, it seemed to me, the stars were all aligned
The memory is etched upon the hard disk of my mind:
The dropkick is a beauty, Stransky turns around, he knows
It flies straight through the middle, as that famous photo shows
Well, Ellispark erupted, the roar was heard for miles
Francois and Madiba both had great big toothy smiles
The trophy called Webb Ellis, was safely in our hands
We'd shown we were superior, in all the rugby lands.....
And now we have moved on a bit, a dozen years or more
The All Blacks came to Paris, to even up the score
The French team fell out early, the Pommies followed suit
The Wallabies, well what the Hell, we soon gave them the boot
And now it was the Springboks and the All Blacks once again
Our paths just keep on crossing, like a bitter-sweet refrain
The 'Stade de France' was packed that day, thousands came to see
In RSA were millions more , who watched it on TV
But first there was the rigmarole, they did their stupid Haka
Our boys just stood there, thinking : What a load of ***a
The game was fiercely fought, of course,and both sides did their best
'Cause this was hailed to be "The Super Rugby Test"
At first the All Blacks struggled, they somehow looked inept
Habana scored a quick try, from his usual intercept
The lineouts we were winning, we had the right idea
Vic Matfield jumped a metre high, as good as Frik du Preez
At halftime we were still ahead, despite some wayward passes
And Jake White talked and screamed a bit, and kicked their tired arses
The commentators thought that we were doing quite fantastic
Naas Botha, on de udder hand, was not enthusiastic
The second half was much the same, it's neither here nor there
Schalk Burger played his heart out, his white mane everywhere
And then he met disaster, the card was coloured Red
He had quite accidentally, stepped on Carter's head
The armchair refs at home went wild, their protests were quite violent
When all their toys were out the cot, they finally fell silent
With only 14 men on hand, John Smit fought like a lion
But the men in black were made of stuff as tough as Iscor iron
They scrummed, they ran, they scored some tries, they filled our hearts with fear
And when the dust had settled, they were one point in the clear
( I thought of Danie Craven: How would he behave now?
If he were alive still, he'd be turning in his grave now )
With a minute left for battle, and Doomsday all around
It was the golden moment, for a new king to be crowned
The scrum was on their 22, like back in ' 95
And now the forwards, one man short, they kept the game alive
Now Os du Rand was moving, advancing down the wicket
Oops, I seem to be confused, this simply isn't cricket :- )
But serious, big Os and friends, surged forward like a tide
And next that oval thing came out, quite cleanly on our side
The scrumhalf passed that ball out, swiftly and with flair
To the tall & handsome fullback, who was waiting way back there
And once again the time stood still, it was like deja vu
I felt I'd seen this all before, and tell me, haven't you?
The past and present all at once, had now become entwined
While I dredged that glory picture from the recess of my mind
Percy was poised perfectly, he knew it was his call
He let fly with a dropkick, he nearly burst that ball
It sped up from that left boot, like a bullet from a rifle
It soared up straight and higher than the tower known as Eiffel
Now sometime in the future, when finally you are sober
Remember that old rugby match, in Paris in October
You think that life's just great, my friend, but I must tell you this:
Pour another Klipdrif, pal, poor Percy's drop was miss