Resurgent Highlanders- Changing Coach is Changing the Culture.

There is nothing more frustrating as a fan of a team then seeing year in and year out of poor results combined with bad management decisions that perpetuate that losing culture. So when an obvious 'told you so!' move is made which turns things around quickly it's even more infuriating for me at least. Jamie Joseph's appointment as Otago Highlanders coach is one of those moves for me. After years of struggles for the franchise on and off the field the Highlanders are looking on the up.

Ten years ago the Otago Highlanders were one of the very best teams in the then Super 12 competition. Over a stretch of five years (1998-2002) they reached the semi finals three times and the finals once- losing to the Crusaders. Over that time the Highlanders had a wealth of talented players and All Blacks- Anton Oliver, Carl Hoeft, Carl Hayman, Kees Meeuws, Taine Randall, Byron Kelleher, Tony Brown, Pita Alatini and Jeff Wilson made the team formidable and tough to beat especially at their home ground Carisbrook- The House of Pain.

However once these players left or retired the wheels fell off the Highlanders. They have had the worst record amongst the New Zealand Super Franchises in the past decade failing to make the playoffs once. Players didn't want to play for the team and there has been a lack of talent being developed in Otago and Southland. Both rugby unions have struggled financially which has had a direct impact on the resources it could put into player development. This has been perpetuated in the fact they have failed to attract top players from around the country to play for the franchise. The past five years have seen the Highlanders become the team where castoffs of the other NZ franchises went to play.

Jamie Joseph's appointment as coach in July 2010 has been a  fresh of breath air for the franchise. His results before joining the Highlanders were good as he led the Wellington NPC team to back to back titles 2008-2009. He brought with him an expansive way of playing which was exciting for players. It's also more appealing for fans and attracts people to attend games- the number one objective for a professional sports team.

Plodding forward oriented rugby has been shown to be an antiquated strategy in the modern game. The rules of the game have meant the ability to score tries is the key. People from the deep south of the country pride themselves on being 'purists' of the game. Where hard work and gritty determination, not talent and athleticism produces wins. Where kicking penalties and strong defence are the recipe for success.  The arrival of professional rugby to the shores of New Zealand has meant that the game has evolved in a short space of time to the extent that players have to be full time athletes. You can't be just big and work hard you have to be able to do everything- run, pass, offload. In this sense I feel Otago and Southland Rugby Unions are behind the eight ball. Just look at the All Blacks who have come from the them in the past five years- Jimmy Cowan, Jamie Mackintosh, Ben Smith and Adam Thomson. A small list for a region who have produced some of the best players in our game.

There must be something about Joseph as a coach because he is attracting some good players to move down to Dunedin to play for him. In the past two years he has managed to assemble a solid mixture of veteran and youth. Last year he brought Hosea Gear, Andrew Hore and up and coming half-back Aaron Smith with him. This off season he has managed to convince current All Blacks Tony Woodcock and Ma'a Nonu to leave the Blues and move down south. He's also convinced the ageing dual-code legend Brad Thorn to come and play for him. There will have twelve current or former All Blacks on the squad next year.

Despite finishing ninth in last years Super 15 competition they were competitive throughout the season. There is a lot of optimism for the upcoming season and so there should be. It's amazing how quickly a team can be turned around and made competitive again with the right leadership and coaching. It maybe too hasty to say that the Highlanders are playoff bound this year but at least they will be relevant. Considering how the team has fared over the past decade it's a step in the right direction. Now all they need is a first five who doesn't have a glass jaw....

Photo sourced from ort.co.nz

Sports Clippings- Entertaining Stuff from the Sporting World

SPEEDO COPS! (If haven't heard of it, this sums it up quite nicely)

Now that I got your attention Here's some interesting sports related things I came across the last couple of weeks that you may enjoy.

• My only Kenyan follower requested more Football posts. I will be releasing a Football focused post later this week but for now here are two great goals you may have missed. The first is from Dutch player Rafael Van Der Vaart playing for HSV in Germany. A shame about the music I know.

• And then there is this ridiculous goal from Palermo (that's in Italy for those who don't know) striker Fabrizio Miccoli-

• The All Black rugby team as many of you know are currently on pace to beat the world record for most consecutive wins. Maybe it comes down to a little known speech from 'That Guy' several years ago which made them realise that the game of ruby is very simple.

• The NBA season is fast approaching us. Media day last week produced some hilarious looks from players. Check this blog by The Score. Even if your not a basketball fan you will still have a good laugh at these photos.

• American Football maybe the most confusing name for those not from the US. This German DJ sums it up really well actually:

• I wish we had this problem with NZ rugby when it came to season ticket owners- it would be an indication that the game would be worth going to for a change.

Worst play of the NFL season

Now you may think- he just fractured his foot(which happened) he must be in extreme pain. Holmes though forcefully throws the ball away, it takes MORE effort to throw the ball away the way he did rather than hold onto it before a defensive player touched him. For me this sums up the WR so well, as his is selfishness and immaturity is well known. It's one of the reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers got rid of him despite being the Super Bowl MVP in 2008.

Cross-Sports Moment of the Week(CSMW))

Most pro golfers haven't made a putt this long. Swimming super star landed this monster shot last week. Fluke or just naturally athletically gifted?

Hope you enjoyed this.

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Indecent Non-Exposure- How the use of Child Labour by Canterbury Clothing has gone largely unnoticed in New Zealand.

After a year-long investigation, a report released lastweek by Sydney Morning Herald journalist Bevan Doherty, revealed that two sports apparel companies have been using child labour to stitch balls together for a dollar a day.  Canterbury Clothing Company, one of New Zealand's best-known clothing labels, is one of the companies named, yet has anyone seen an article about this on a New Zealand media website to date?

 The Sydney Morning Herald is owned by Fairfax News Media.  Fairfax also owns many of New Zealand's print and online 'newspapers'. I discovered this story because of the furore on Australian media websites last week.  The other company involved, Sherrin, is undergoing a lot of scrutiny in Australia and has already lost credibility.

 Established in Christchurch in 1904, Canterbury Clothing Company is now a global sports apparel leader. It sponsors numerous professional rugby teams around the world, the NZ Warriors rugby league team and recently has ventured into sponsoring  Portsmouth football club in England. It’s global recognition came from the time when it sponsored the All Blacks, which it did until 1999.  The majority of CCC manufacturing is done overseas now but the company’s image is still closely linked with New Zealand.  The logo depicts three Kiwis for goodness sake! Surely  the fact that some of its products have been produced by  illegal child labour should warrant some coverage and scrutiny from the mainstream news media in NZ?

There are several parties involved who may have directly or indirectly had an impact on this becoming a non-story in New Zealand.

CCC

The most obvious would be the company itself.  If the NZ media really focused on this story as much as their Australian counterparts did then CCC would have to fight hard to maintain its brand image. Sherrin,  who produce the official ball for Australian Rules Football, are dealing with the possibility of losing those rights and the subsequent loss of revenue.  If the media chose to pick this up in New Zealand what would the reaction be?  What would be the ramifications in terms of lost sales and negative impact on the CCC brand?  In terms of sponsorship, no other sports apparel company  invests as much into the NZ sport scene at all levels of competition.

According to a message on their website, from  Canterbury Global CEO Chris Stephenson the company is concerned about these allegations:

       "We are extremely concerned about recent media claims of child labour in connection with the      production of Canterbury-branded sports products in India.

  We take this claim very seriously and have launched a thorough investigation. We are committed to responsible business practices and we expressly prohibit child labour. The welfare of our employees, and those employed by all of our suppliers, is extremely important to us."

 An internal investigation is occurring as a result.  But when was the last time the NZ media left a company to do internal investigations?  Where is the accountability?

Media

The lack of coverage on such a relevant story in New Zealand is the most mystifying part of this whole situation.

Is it because they believe that the New Zealand public wouldn’t find a story about child labour relevant?  Considering the increasing demand for ethically made goods in NZ, I would say people do care about this issue.  Social enterprises like Fair Trade, Trade Aid and Freeset have brand recognition in NZ which wasn’t there a decade ago.  The NZ public also show their concern for global human rights with their money. Recent studies have shown that individual Kiwis are some of the most generous financial givers to charities in the world. Many people would at least know someone who sponsors a child through World Vision.

Is it because these kinds of stories don’t sell advertising, their main source of revenue that the media sites aren’t running them?  Maybe.  But when did news media sites in NZ become solely about producing entertaining articles?  Is it the fact that New Zealand media are spread too thin and therefore busy trying to fulfil the public’s insatiable desire for entertainment?

Another way of looking at it is what do they have to lose if they published this story?  It certainly wouldn’t be credibility.

Consumers

Or is it us, the consumers?  Are we more excited by media outlets producing entertaining stories than actual news?  Is it the same people who do World Vision 40hr Famines who made an article about  an eel stuck up a man’s backside the most-read article on the NZ Herald website for three days straight last week (I'm not linking it sorry)?  Are we afraid of knowing the truth- is ignorance bliss when it comes to understanding how the products we are consuming were made?  Would we be bound to act on that knowledge once we had it?  In NZ it seems far too easy to hide yourself away from issues which are a reality only halfway across the world or even in our own waters...

There are evidently people in New Zealand who do care about social and ethical issues.  Do they even visit NZ media sites anymore? Why do people have to rely on overseas media sites such as The Guardian and the Sydney Morning Herald to cover issues like this?  Maybe the majority of them are overseas with the ‘brain drain’?

Government

The Government have the ability to make this a pressing issue in NZ society right now.  Officially, the NZ Government are against child labour they signed and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child in 1990.Article 32 of the convention addressed child labour, as follows:

 " ...Parties recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development."

So why wouldn’t they speak up about something which they are supposedly opposed to?  Do governments have too much to lose if the public becomes well-informed about supply chains, imports, taxes and the like?  In 2009 the National Party and the Act Party, still the current government, opposed an amendment to the Customs and Excise Bill which would ban imports of slave-made products into New Zealand.  Their reason for not supporting it was that New Zealand’s existing legislation was sufficient to prevent such importation.  The time to use that legislation may be at hand.  Will we see the government stand up for the supposed ideals it aspires to in this country?  Is it just too close to an election year?  

The issue of International Fishing companies treating their labourers illegally in NZ waters is already a talking point in society, why isn’t it the fact that a NZ company has been doing the same thing offshore?  This story deserves to be given more time and attention than what is has received in NZ media so far.  We are viewed around the world as a progressive nation when it comes to respecting human rights and protecting those who can’t speak up for themselves.  Should we be taking an honest look at our companies, our media, our government and ourselves?  What more can we do to combat injustice in the world?

So will this be the first article on the subject to be published on a New Zealand news domain?

 I sent it to Stuff.co.nz so we will have to wait and see. (Editor note: the article was published, with subtle editing which dulled down the message of the poor job the media have done. Check it out here if you want, like it or share it to friends if you want to but I feel this version is better).

If you really want to see these sorts of stories published in our media news sites I implore you to send this post to your friends and family members. The media is going to cover what the public want and the Government will act when the public voices their concern. Help by making this an issue worthy of front page news in New Zealand by spreading the news. 

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Photo sourced from theage.com.au