Could you imagine trying your absolute best, representing your country, and considering wearing a hoodie to go get groceries, like some sort of criminal ? The world is a ruthless, ruthless place.
The way Beaver was treated after HK in 2010 was beyond sad. We love our rugby in NZ but for some people they lose perspective. Beaver missed a kick.., he didn’t miss the tackles that lead to the Aussies scoring the try to win the game. In 2011 final he did more than kick that goal, he lead the back line, directed play and tackled well to make a strong contribution to the win.
He sure is everything he does he does well went to watch him play against counties in pukekohe his off the ball play was as spectacular as he was with ball in hand he was our best right winger in history
It made me almost ashamed to be a New Zealander watching how the NZ public treated Beaver in general but in particular after Hong Kong. Did people forget that he came off the bench and won the game in Brisbane in 2008 or started at 10 at Eden park in 2009 and completely outplayed Giteau when Dan was injured. Critical in helping us keep the Bledisloe in both those seasons. In contrast Hong Kong was a dead rubber. If he had kicked that ball out the aussies would have taken a quick throw anyway and there was tons of time left. Not to that he was not alone in making mistakes in the dying stages of that game. Brad Thron, John Afoa and Toeava all made pretty bad defensive mistakes allowing the aussies to drive the whole way down the field to score. I also want to mention that it wasn't just the kick in that final '11 that beaver contributed. When the french went on the rampage in that game Donald made more tackles than any other all black for the time he was on the field. Only McCaw, Read and Conrad were ahead of beaver on the tackle stats for the game despite beaver only playing 50min. McCaw was stuck at the bottom of most rucks and the french hammered that 10 channel with it obviously being perceived as a weak area, maybe that was their game plan with them expecting the much smaller Cruden to be there. Two of the stronger tackles Donald made were converted into turnovers which were absolutely critical to the result. I'm so happy he got redemption but he shouldn't have needed it, he was the next best 10 in NZ during the majority of the Carter Era, he is a very good player in his own right and was a big part of some very important games during that era either off the bench or as injury cover for Dan. Also realise that his job for a lot of that time was to study and imitate opposition 10's at training. A hugely important job contributing to the success of that era.
Met Stephen briefly when he was playing for Bath in Calvisano; it was shortly before the game, yet he was the epitome of a gentleman. Top guy, who delivered for his country on the whitest of white hot days 👍👏
I'm sure Donald meant nothing by it but when he said mental health wasn't an issue, I cringe because what he talks about around 4:10 clearly illustrates that he was battling huge mental health issues. I'm just happy he is as resilient as he is and probably had a decent enough support structure to see the light of day. Nevertheless, a legend in my eyes.
The way he was singled out was absolutely disgusting. I hope I wasn't one of those that got stuck into him but if I was I can only apologise. In the RWC final, he had a fricking blinder.
I gave him shit but supported him at the final i was there too there were still some people in the crowd that werent very happy when he came on to be honest no one really knew how important that kick was going to be
Good thing he knew how brutal is it to be in that environment. So glad he knew how to get around it and most of all, got his redemption in that very desperate moment, executing it in such a very confident way!
Coming into the final as he did and standing up to the pressure where others failed. That defined Donald for me. A players player who never gave up. I just hope he never has to beer a beer for the rest of his life. Also catch nets full of whitebait. Well done.
How he was treated was ridiculous. All of these people treating someone like shite most likely have played themselves or have family that play rugby at some level....so that is how you would want to be treated, or your family to be treated after a not so great game?? Please! Either way winning or losing is a team effort. I hope no one ever has to go through what he went through again.....and thank you SD for being the legend you are.
Say what you want about him, but if you had to choose kicking a penalty for some exhibition game against the Aussies in HK vs the winning penalty of a RWC final, I think you know which one most would go for. You kicked it when it counted the most Stephen Donald, that’s all people will care about🙏🏾
Look, in all honesty Stephen didn't have great techniques - some were woeful, like chucking the ball onto his foot in open play kicking - just terribly bad technique. When you look at the situation that had to arrive for him to get a chance - he didn't straight up deserve the spot, that's why he wasn't even close to a first choice. Even realises the pressure rugby carried at the national level back then, people were super emotional about the team performance. If you got a shot and had a terrible game, that could have been it all over. (These days nobody even cares at all - we all felt the 95 loss, we all felt the year we lost every match in the Tri-Nations & lost the Bledi. That demand created the decade long era of falsely perceived "complete dominance". But folk got complacent and bored after triple world cup wins and hardly losing a match, and now we realise life's too short to really care much about who wins a ball game.) But that hard work and dedication stood him in good stead. And you can't deny the fact he was there for those fans in the moment someone was needed the most, calling him a choker one day, then having him slot the most pressured single kick in history after watching Piri choke almost every time he saw a kicking tee before Stephen came on. He's owed a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid for mind. Lesser men, myself included would've told you all to suck it and watched you lose and weep. He's got a huge heart, and on your death bed that heart is the only thing in life that really mattered.
The only people who criticise players are the ones who have never played at any level. Stephen always new unless Carter got injured he was a small part player and content to play that role. When his country needed him he stepped up and did the Buisness. Outside of his winning kick he had a great final tackled well and took it too the french.
Think the issue was also that at the time he was selected, Collin Slade and Cruden were already the fan favourite for fighting for the next backup 10 to DC. Beaver had some freakishly insane MVP itm form that season so he got the call up over the new kids. But at that moment he wasn't that popular amongst the fans since he was in the way of the new kids, the missed kick just added fire to the fuel.
Well you served me humble pie Beaver and I accepted. You served it to me nice and cold and I gladly accepted it. My apologies and I’m glad you vindicated yourself from myself and many other armchair critics. Thank you for proving me wrong
As I recall the reason for his hard time and it is unjustified in a sense was that he kicked away precious possession at a crucial point in the match, probably due to pressure.
yep. total bullshit. at the time Stephen was our 2nd best no.10 after D.C and after one missed kick he gets dumped on, i would say more by the rugby pundits rather than nz fans.
Legend. Loved his attitude when he came the field in that final. Super confident. I'm glad he was fully aware of how brutal that environment was and managed to redeem himself. Whitebaiting 😂😂
@@blaquenguni9249 Wrong answer! Joubert had nothing to do with it, it was beavers magic boot and the mighty defense of the ABs that held back wave after wave of the french attack.
@@lbradshaw6817 the wave after wave of French attack was being ilkegaly slowed down, McCaw being the biggest culprit. But Joubert wouldn't make the big call
@@lbradshaw6817 not salty, All Blacks 2015 RWC is the nest team of all time and the best performance I've ever seen in any world cup from any team, BUT 2011 you choked in the final and Craig Joubert didn't make the big call
Huge Fan of Leon MacDonald. Humble and genuine . Still in two minds about Goldie as an interviewer and his grasp of the English language and syntax is better , but in my opinion is a beginner compared to Australian Rugby commentators. If Goldie is the smartest ex player of his generation, that is a sad indictment of Kiwi education. I prefer female commentary anyway . More balanced and generally better prepared.
Let's not forget Craig Joubert not giving lose to 10.leat cut penalties to France for 10min straight. All Blacks were the best team in the world in 2011, BUT they did NOT beat France in the Final. Joubert just didn't wanna do the unthinkable and decide the world cup
