The Chosen Ones

An uninspiring synopsis from 11pm last night
http://ia310113.us.archive.org/0/items/Touch_4/Chosen1.mp3

We won an aggressive match 4-1 against a niggly side who seemed to think that forearms and two arms make touch easier, in a game dominated by the defense. The opposition were telling the ref what to call, but the ref would award something like that Cullen France runaway in the first half and then change his mind, this gets frustrating as half our team was back at halfway and the rest where he may or may not have been touched and it happened several times. The reactive umpiring made an otherwise tough game into one of farsical nature.

Our first half mistake rate was unnecessarily high with some absolutely painfully bad catching and passing. The Hayden Martine dress coat was losing respect during the first half. The second half saw some runaways to the speedsters Cullen and Martine who was a sight to behold with jacket tales doubling his surface area and potential for being touched. Wounded Hoof were a better team than most and I think that over rawed us first half into throwing million dollar passing when we couldn't break them up. Second half we again broke the shackles with five hundred thousand dollar passes which were higher percentage.

Jeremy "Cullen" France showed his growing maturity and his ability to show the ball, in a match again dominated by the speedsters. The Chosen Ones go to seven from seven with one to go.

God Moment Part Two

I was talking to the same guy from yesterday at work, he is the main Liquor Licensing authority in Dunedin. He was saying that he just pick me as the type to be a "happy clappy" my response was that there are so many stereotypes out there many of which actually make me cringe. Then he said the whole good on you then!

Is it good or bad that people don't pick some people as Christians, should it not be obvious by our actions? Is it good though because Christians may seem more reel to him?

This other guy Derek who works in Central Library gave us the same typew of response when he heard me and Boss were in God's Army.

God Moments

Today I had one of those God moments when some people at work realised that I was a Christian. One guy who refs club soccer asked if I was playing for Redemption FC and I said to right, I am one of the two Mr Redemptions roaming around these parts. So he asked me if I was one of the "happy clappies?" and I said yes along with being in God's Squad. A few others were around so it is a small step to being recognised, and I have Redemption FC to thank!

Went to Elim on Sunday night with my flatmates and saw Highlanders halfback Chris Smylie. It is refreshing seeing people that hold some clout in the real world coming to a place of worship. Some other Highlanders like Blowers usually come along. It was kind of like a concert at Elim with the band playing for long periods. I don't think I will go back!

Phil (Rocketman) Dawson- Everything is Rocket propelled whether we are talking about those flat rocket passes or his turbo rocket speed. At least he can sleep again after taking down George!

Jeff (Claire) da Maori- The token Maori in the side with all the hallmarks of Maori play, typified by the run away intercept last week and casual running style.
Alice "Hoppe" France - A great winger, loves the intercept and last week threw a trademark league style shoulder charge.
Gareth "Kyle" Rees (record points scorer for Canada)- He makes few mistakes, reliable, hangs out at pivot and most importantly is a great Canadian ambassador.

The Chosen Ones Unstoppable Again!


The Chosen Ones are unstoppable as they marched to their sixth successive victory 7-1 against the Codfish Allstars. The Codfish Allstars showed up late, but proved to be the most physically demanding opposition so far, with their speed and guile. Unfortunately they lacked the experience factor to make their speed count and despite playing the first half with an extra guy and one girl our defence was solid. They were quick up on attack, but this suited the under strength Chosen Ones with all their fast runners on deck to score runaways from counter attacks. The whole left by the charging defence can be exploited if one maintains their head under pressure. That is exactly what happened. The results were amazing. Jeremy "Cullen" France with a hattrick while The Pencil scored one out wide and Hayden Martine grabbed a double with his trademark runs. These were all scored from long range highlighting the necessity of keeping the line in defence. Seymour charged over from close range off a short ball from Kyle "Rees" to get the monkey off his back from the previous game, where he had two tries disallowed. "Downward pressure first!" he exclaimed when questioned about forcing it right on the line and rolling it forward to make sure he scored it. The ring in girls were solid performers, whilst Alice "Sean Hoppe" France had a quiet game on the wing without her usual intercepts and shoulder charges. But the key was the brilliant defence which gave nothing except a late concilation to the Codpieces. This wasn't your conventional match, but that is the brilliance of the balance of this team. We can play well no matter what style is suited. We can play it tight or open.

For the Codfish Allstars, the presence of George who gave Phil "The Rocketman" Dawson nightmares last year was prevalent. They did everything but post points, including throwing the ball to a girl who was touched by a diving Hayden Martine when they could have scored. Once George left they were less organised.

This is up there with The Chodes victory!

Next week will see the return of Claire "Jeff da Maori" Hesselin, The Hoff, Rushie and Mrs C. Stay tuned as they reunite with the rest of the gang in fighting for The Chosen Ones against adversity!

Join Together!

It was the catch cry of the 1974 Games in Christchurch, but there is some truth in what the song stands for, and the positive things I see the Games creating in New Zealand. There is a sense of patriotism though these games, as an entire nations joins together to follow the fortunes of the kiwi "athletes".

The diverse range of people following the games is encouraging. The sense of pride in seeing New Zealanders do well either by medalling or posting personal bests raises the spirits of workplaces, homes and places of leisure. Why does it take an event like this to get the blood boiling of so many people? Usually it is New Zealanders who ridicule their Australian and American counterparts for showing such high levels of support for their nation. Yet it is a quality in these Americans and Australians, which is really earning respect with me. Surely we should be positive about who we are and what we can achieve rather than the tall poppy syndrome which is embedded in us from such a young age? I love seeing us, little old New Zealand being such a proud nation, even if it is only for two weeks!

Calling the Shots!!!!

Just thought I would raise the issue of calling the shots. Why is it that so many people don't call things as they are? Do they not want to be perceived as whinging or negative? The thing is I believe that calling the shots has to be done. It raises some issues and if done in a constructive manner, can surely be positive in the long run. I just find that there are needless warm fuzzies which are not warranted, so often. Fourth form taught us to give a warm fuzzy and then a cold prickly if you are handing out pricklies. This stems from last year we were playing badly at soccer and losing at the time and the first thing one of the boys said was man we are playing well I am so thrilled! Surely these moments call for a bucket of cold water and a stirring halftime speech from the captain. Wait a minute that's me!


Meeting New People

I am finding myself not going out of my way to meet new people. This is a slippery slope and occurs because I have been around the traps long enough to think that I know enough people to get by. It is selfish, but a hard habit to break out of. Meeting new people should be for the benefit of both parties. I was sitting next to some older but attractive female on Sunday who after the service asked if she could borrow my newsletter. In the past I would have continued a conversation, but these days I don't feel I need to do it. Maybe it is the stage of life. That's why I mainly just hang out with people I know. Boring!

Cullen with his speed and agility pops up where you least expect him, but can bust through any defence. Has mastered showing the ball in recent weeks!
The Hoff "Rohan Callander" one of the new characters to grace The Chosen Ones. He has style! In his skimpy red shorts!
Mrs C. (Cunningham from Happy Days) is the latest addition to the Chosen Ones. You couldn't wish for a more friendly, caring character on the wing!

It was an open game where we started slowly, but our counter attacking ability and experience saw us win in a canter about 9-1! Our attack of choice was the double round. Some lovely Cullenesque decoy running from France confused the defence as the elder statesman Seymour put an unmarked Hesselin away in the corner. Some clean sets of heels from "The Hoff" Callander and The Pencil were to the fore as usual. One Pencil double round on Seymour saw the sharp Gordon feed inside to Seymour who was awarded the try despite a dodgy grounding. The best try came from some marvellous running and spreading of the ball. Eric "Callander" Rush and Pencil Gordon had stretched the defence out right before spreading it to the left where Seymour threw a cutout ball past The Hoff to Mrs C on the wing who showed some fleet of foot to dot it down in the corner. Another personal favourite was mine was a simple showing of the ball as Seymour ran around a girl to score, but as JF Cullen had done earlier in the game it emphasised the power of showing the ball which is close to overtaking the inside ball as weapon of choice on attack. The double round though is threatening the lot of them! One last try that springs to mind was a Pencil double round on Rushie Callander before he off loaded and shielded the Pencil over the line. Try Chosen Ones!

Again we had another victory after a slow start, we won about 9-1, but you lose count after a while.
It was great with just the one sub though!

This sick and twisted game of naming players is intended in no way to offend anyone. In fact it is a sign of affection for those that stand for what The Chosen Ones mean. Unpredictable and counter attacking on attacking, ruthless and uncompromising on defence.

So what other lables can we give to our un named team mates? Any ideas?

Dallas Seymour- Scotty
Eric Rush- Sammy
Colin "The Pencil" Sullivan- Malcs
Mrs C - Mrs Callander
The Hoff - Roh Callander
Christian Cullen - Jeremy France
Hayden "Luke" Martine

Who will be next to star in this Broadway Musical Hit?

Redemption FC

We are now in the 4th Division and had our first run around for the season today. It was great to dust off the cobwebs as we look set to live up to our potential in the Super 12 known as 4th division, with 12 teams and 22 games.

This first run of the season was a tough call as I had been invited to brunch with the Callanders. But I remain loyal to Redemption FC and I instead played the most beautiful game in the world.
This year we have even more mates signed up like Sammy Callander (whose brunch it was), Ryan Lobb along with stalwarts like me, Dalman, Arkapaw and Crampton.

Our first game is 1st April with the big Chatham Cup game on the 25th at this stage.

Small Groups

What defines a great small group? Does it really matter who else goes to this group? I have some of these issues because I have been attending one with cool people, but some of these are in their 40s. Does this matter? My flatmates go to a Life group with several Highlanders, does this matter? Just a thought.

Place your comments.

Project X

The wheels are in motion, but the sightings are infrequent but still occur.

Eric Rush
Dallas Seymour
The Chosen Ones

Second only to Eric Rush, Dallas Seymour has been New Zealand's most consistent and most successful sevens specialist. He went to his first Hong Kong international tournament in 1988 and up until 2002 was a regular national representative.


Eric Rush followed an unusual path to his rugby fame. Though an All Black in 29 games and in nine tests between 1992 and 1996 Rush became universally known for his skill as a sevens exponent, in which he was for many years among the world's foremost players.Remarkably, in 2003 when he was in his late 30s Rush was still prominent in sevens even though by that time he had ceased to play 15 aside rugby even at club level. From 1988 through to the present Rush has played in almost 60 international tournaments and his swag of successes include many Hong Kong tournament titles, Commonwealth Games gold medals in 1998 and 2002 and the 2001 World Cup.

These right ups prove the importance of experience in any side. This was again vindicated on Friday with a comfortable win despite the boots controversy in wet conditions at Logan Park. The Incredibles were anything but that, as they struggled to maintain possession and their feet to contain the Chosen Ones lethal attack. The boot laden "Pencil" was first on the score sheet with a sharp zigzag stepping run after one minute. Things got easier as Rock Star Callander latched onto his first of two Dallas Seymour inside balls to double the score. From then on it was a walk in the park. The Chosen Ones let their guard down a little as the Martine and Pencil show would firstly make excellent try scoring opportunities through great running and then squander the same opportunities with their passing games. The great Phil Dawson would have been squirming when Martine got a run away and then fearful of being labelled boring for scoring (just another run away), did his no look pass and eventually the play broke down. G France glided through the defense using tips from the Kings High teacher of showing the ball and scored despite the presence of illegal footwear not approved by Touch NZ. The Chosen Ones continued to frustrate the Incredibles and it showed with two handed touches by the Asian guy and some complaints from the big guy in the grey singlet. So another victory and it is difficult to know whether this increased experience has improved our performances or whether the opposition standard is down on other years.

If anyone still feels fresh as a daisy after the game as we are prone to do. There was a run around afterwards to raise the heart rates! Should be a regular thing.

Hayden Martine with his ability to tear any defence apart. An inspiration especially for his duplicate Hayden Luke.

The original Chosen One in his trademark green headgear. An enigmatic character with personality to boot. He can be compared to a slower Herring with that Laney streak about him. When the Stags needed some hope they called on The Chosen One.

Return of The Chosen Ones

Game One of the Unipol touch competition for the team got underway against a team of fourth formers from Kings High School. These guys were small but played a high percentage game and no doubt will be stars in the future. In wet conditions it took The Chosen Ones time to kick start their post Christmas season, but in true Chosen Ones style we finished with a flourish.

The young Kings combination scored three tries early on with one of them showing a useful step as the disorganised early Chosen Ones defense didn't know what hit it. But spurred on by an injection of pace from Hayds "Martine" (see photo) and Malcs "The Pencil" Gordon the team raised the bar a notch. The Dallas Seymour and Eric Rush show helped settle the defence before playing a part in the try of the match to the fleet of foot Walker. The Chosen Ones raised the throttle second half playing with a controlled yet flamboyant game which saw five girl tries and six guy tries recorded in total. The defense gained confidence as the game went on. The game was helped by a big five being kept by the two refs and an increase in communication out in the middle. Also a very long first half gave us more time to settle!

It is only one game down, but it was a great start to the new season. We can learn plenty from the way these kids played though. They had nice draw the defender in touches and quick scoops which at times we didn't reciprocate. Still a resounding win in the end 16-3. Unsure though if gal tries count for 2. They did only score 3 times didn't they?

See you all on Friday!

IT ALWAYS WORKS OUT IN THE END??

The dilemma I faced all day Thursday was weather to fulfill my life long dream of sports commentary with Sammy Callander or play in the 3rd/4th game at turf soccer. The poor spelling of the word weather was done on purpose as the weather played a crucial part in proceedings. The cricket which I was supposed to be commentating on was a Backyard Challenge at the Gardens Ground being run by Malcs Gordon for mainly first years and Student Soul people. It would've been great but would also have clashed with the disappointing 3rd 4th play off match at soccer. But the rain would have been useless for cricket and the PA system we would have commentated on so I played soccer. The beauty of this is that the beautiful game is on rain or shine finishing last night whilst the cricket was postponed a week.

The soccer ended up being played in appauling conditions with driving rain and wind. We dominated, determined to beat this side for the fourth time this season yet Aaron Crampton pulled off a covering slide tackle (illegal in turf soccer but fine outdoors). They scored from the penalty spot. The weather made it difficult to mount a recovery, and the final score was one nil. We ended up choking, from losing one game all regular season to losing two in two weeks when it counted. We watched the final and realised how lucky we were as one of the finalists who we beat three times during the season kept picking fights and sent two of the eventual winners off with bleeding facial gashes from forearms and punches. These guy are from the wrong side of the tracks. Whilst the working class thrives playing football in the mother country with the upper class playing rugby, the roles are reversed here and somehow these thugs with several tattooed limbs have slipped through the cracks. An enjoyable summer league but frustrating that we played our worst when it counted!