Man up!

New Zealand rugby followers are quick to poke the borax at their English counterparts and label them whingeing Poms when they are not happy about something in the game.
However, the way All Black supporters and management are going on with endless complaints and nebulous justifications over hooker Keven Mealamu’s recent suspension for foul play, New Zealand is in very, real danger of stealing this mantel away from our motherland cohorts.
It is embarrassing and doing a lot of damage to the All Black ‘brand’.
Mealamu copped a four week – and justified in my view – suspension for head butting England captain Lewis Moody at Twickenham last weekend. He was suspended by the IRB judiciary after they reviewed footage of an incident involving Mealamu and Moody during the 50th minute of the All Blacks 26-16 victory on Sunday.
Despite the overwhelming and blatant video evidence of the New Zealand hooker smashing his head into the back of the English captain’s noggin – which constitutes a head butt in anyone’s language – everyone from the All Black management down are using the big Egyptian river defence – denial!
Some of the excuses used would be laughable if they were not so pathetic. All Black captain Richie McCaw led the charge with his excuse for Mealamu’s behaviour – when not whingeing about why one of the English players was not cited for another incident – was: “I think everyone knows what Keven's like and the type of guy he is.”
Gee, Ritchie I bet no defence lawyer has ever tried that one before.
“You see, your honour, everyone knows what a nice guy my client Mr Charles Manson, so can you please let him off with a warning?”
Meanwhile, assistant coach Steven Hanson – a mumbling, bumbling communicator at the best of times – claimed that Mealamu “was the only athlete in the world who doesn’t have a dirty bone in his body” and thus it was unfair that he had been suspended for headbutting.
FFS! The ‘only’ athlete in the world? Hanson is an assistant coach of one team, in a minor international sorting code – I fail to see how that gives him the ability to make a comment on the character of all sportsmen and women around the globe!
Now while I don’t doubt Keven Mealamu is a nice guy. Hell, I’ve even seen the guy on TV reading books – that he has illustrated – to sick children.
However, that still does not distract from the fact that he smashed his cranium into the back of Lewis Moody’s head during the test match last week. End of story. That is a headbutt and incurs a 4 week ban.
Remember Baakies Botha – the god-fearing, thug who locks the scrum for the Springboks – smashing his head into All Black halfback Jimmy Cowan’s skull during the tri-nations this year and incurring a ban? I don’t recall any of the All Black management calling for leniency for Botha because he is a practising Christan?
So – in the modern parlance – it is time the All Blacks, their management, captain, players and supporters “man-up”. They should just accept that Mealamu – lovely guy that he is – headbutted an opposition player during last week’s test and that means he must cop a suspension. Game over, move on.