Ali and the Crusaders (sounds like a 50s rock 'n' roll band)!!

First, Ali Williams sent home for repeated indiscretions and breaking team protocol, sent home by his peers, or sent home for once incident, and by team management, not his peers, we're not sure yet, both Ali and Strachan, the Blues manager, both managing to contradict themselves sentence by sentence.

Second, you have some young pissheads getting the snot beaten out of them by some Crusaders - allegedly Rua Tipoki, Caleb Ralph, and John Paringatai .  Two out of those three I would not want to cross, the third I would not want to leave alone with my 90 year old great grandmother, but that, as they say, is another story...

First up, Ali.  Ali's bean a dick, and has suffered the consequences, and fair enough too, no single player is bigger than the team, as Ali has learned.  Although, I am on Ali's side (he'll be stoked to hear that I am sure), the big plank should have been getting game time, and if he had been getting decent amounts of game time, he'd have been in form enough to be starting matches.  There is more to this matter than meets the eye, as we all know.

Did he have to go and get pissed though (or whatever he did)?  Why didn't Mealamu and Rokocoko do the same things?  Well, being racist here, the Island boys seem to respect authority a bit more than the Palaga's of this world, and would just sit back and take their medicine.  They probably don't get on the piss either, which would help no end too.  People are different at any rate, so lets not worry about these two, lets talk about Ali on the piss.

I think he blew his press conferences though.  His "it takes two to tango' comment, and lack of remorse, portraying himself as a victim here - I still don't know what protocols I have broken - come across as petty to me - maybe that's not the right word, but he's done it wrong, among a few things right.

I think the big galah should have sat down and taken his licks "I have been a dick, it's all my fault, I'll take my medicine like a man".  Then behind the scenes, in the right channels, in the right places, got his side of the story over to the people that matter, and got it sorted like that.  The true story would have come out, and I expect it will anyway, at some stage.  A cover up?  Nope, not on Ali's part, by doing the above it would be a PR dream I reckon - takes a big man to admit he fucked up, and Ali hasn't.

Doesn't sound too much like I am on Ali's side does it, but I am really.  Especially so if Nucifora keeps the Blues coaching job and big Ali moves down state highway one to Hamilton to play for the Chiefs next year.  His other option is sodding off overseas though, as he is off NZRU contract at the end of the RWC, and has an English passport...

Second up, the Crusader bruisers belting the living shit out of some young punks.  I'm on their side here.  Scenario as thus I would expect.  Young wankers on the piss see three blokes in Crusaders clobber (yeah, the wankers weren't the Crusaders players), and start giving them lip, get a bit cocky, thinking that these blokes won't want to tee off, as they'll get in trouble.  Well, when you have Rua Tipoki, he of the 'Pa Wars' broken fists, he who tried to step his club captain out after a game in Hamilton, he who doesn't mind a bit of biff at the best of times, John Paringatai , a good Northland hard bastard, and Ralph, who has an ego bigger than most small nations, well, they are in the shit!  And so it proved.

Funny though, I am sure these young pricks would have dished out a bit of pain in their time, and as soon as they get giving a bit in return, they go crying to the police.  The same police they would be calling 'pigs', and flipping the bird to when trying to prove how tough they are to their mates.  Can't have it both ways girls, good job.  I am equally as sure that they would be known to the local constabulary, and they are probably sitting back, doing what they are required to by law, 'investigating' the incident and all, but at the same time stoked that the little shits have been handed their beans.