Well, give Peter de Villiers points for steadfastness. The Springbok coach is considering starting Ruan Pienaar over Morne Steyn at flyhalf in this weekend’s big Tri Nations clash with Australia. Steyn just finished a record setting day against the All Blacks in which he scored all 31 of the Springbok points. Pienaar has had several appearances this year in which, for all of his promise, he has not been able to get out of his own way. Given that unpredictable player selection has been the biggest gripe of de Villiers’ detractors, it is almost as if he wants to thumb his nose at his critics and tempt fate against a Wallaby side that is ready for the Bok physicality and thinks it can defeat the Springboks. It is one thing to understand that in the best annual rugby competition on the globe even the best teams have to improve constantly. It is quite another stubbornly to stick to preconceived notions in the face of overwhelming evidence.
A few months ago, I wrote about the early stages of the conflict in Ukraine through the lens of Sun Tzu’s The Art of War. While it appears likely that the war will carry on into the foreseeable future, enough time has passed for us to make an honest assessment of each side’s relative […]
The Ukrainian Army has made dramatic strides in the last few weeks. Ukraine’s tactical commanders have outfoxed their Russian counterparts, and by issuing a feint towards the south the UA has been able to earn substantial gains in the north of their country. The impact of these efforts have been compounded by the steady stream […]
In mid-May the Irish political party, Sinn Féin, won the plurality of seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly. Many American readers might not fully understand the significance of Sinn Féin’s political victory- but rest assured that subjects of the United Kingdom and a wide range of political movements the world over have heard the message […]
The first wave of the Russian offensive in Ukraine has fallen short of Russian autocrat Vladmir Putin’s ambitions. Most analysts deduced that Putin had hoped to achieve a decapitation strike of the Ukrainian government- taking Kiev and replacing Ukrainian President Vladimir Zolinski with a pro-Kremlin voice. Kiev has been threatened repeatedly through the course of […]
On the weekend of March 26th, the notorious MS-13 gang went on a massive killing spree in El Salvador which left more than 70 people dead by Sunday. Even for a country where powerful gangs hold massive sway, this recent tragedy stands out considering that it was the bloodiest day on record since the civil […]
