then ThinKayak!

A bit off the rugby track, in this post ThinkRugby brings you ThinKayak!

Kayaking or competitive paddling is a relatively small sport but is increasingly growing in numbers! On the global scale growth is evident by the number of entries into competitions each year and on the South African scene we have our very own Louw brothers, Ryan & Greg, increasing the interest in the sport with big international competition wins. Their latest accomplishment was when they recently defended the Liffey Decent - a world famous event!

The following extracts will give you a better idea of what they've achieved...

Thursday, September 3, 2009

Entries for Liffey Descent reach 1,000

Extract: "ENTRIES FOR the 50th Liffey Descent this Saturday have been closed for safety reasons. They had reached 1,000 competitors by Tuesday. The race has had an uninterrupted annual staging since 1960, when it ran from Butt Bridge to O’Connell Bridge in the city centre.The event was switched in the 1970s to its current course, a 28-kilometre stretch from The K Club in Straffan to Islandbridge. The eight weirs – the first very close to the start – can make it a tricky and thrilling course.South Africans Greg and Ryan Louw set the record for the fastest time for the race when they won last year in a K2 racing kayak in one hour 48 minutes and 59 seconds."

Monday, September 7, 2009

Revenge sweet for Louws

Extract: " LOCAL RIVALRY is local rivalry, even if the parties go head-to-head thousands of kilometres from home. Ryan and Greg Louw won the 50th Liffey Descent on Saturday in one hour 46 minutes and 53 seconds.It was their second consecutive victory and they bettered the record time they set last year – but sweetest of all was they beat compatriots Gavin White and Graeme Solomon into second.White and Solomon edged out the Louw brothers by .81 of a second for third place in the South African flatwater marathon championships earlier this year. Ryan Louw said that this time they had a plan to deal with their rivals’ strengths as sprinters.“We knew we had to get ahead at the start and we did that.” Solomon had earlier attested to the success of the plan. “We didn’t make any mistakes but we were under pressure from the start when they opened up a gap.”

Well done Ryan and Greg! Liffey Champions 2009!

Barnes conrtibutes to deserved Oz win over lacklustre Boks

Referee Wayne Barnes had a bad night with some inconsistent refereeing, which now sees him add critics from South Africa to his New Zealand critics' "fan" base.

Above the poor officiating, the Boks were their own worst enemies and turned in their worst performance this year! Credit to the Wallabies as they deserved their win with a far more superior performance with the only tries being scored by Adam Ashley-Cooper and the young O'Connor.

The Boks made school boy errors and did not prize the ball as they should have. They were outplayed by the Wallaby forwards and need to up the intensity to the usual level that we are used to. There were a few moments of magic by the Boks with some try saving tackles, and also de Villiers and Fourie once again combining well in the midfield.

The Wallabies simply never allowed South Africa to play and the young Aussie outfit showed that they have real talent in their ranks. Robbie Deans will surely be delighted at the result and knows that he can build a formidable team with his young squad.

I always said that I don't mind if the Springboks lose playing well against a good side, but lose like this often enough and the Boks will have some fans turn to critics.

Let's just hope yesterday's performance was just a brain freeze and that it was a learning lesson for the World Champions. We all know that it is difficult to win away from home in the Tri Nations, but with this Bok side it has now become expected.

It's times like these when management need to step in to eradicate, vindicate and motivate!