By Lucky Vince Pienaar
The unanswered question is: Does anybody in New Zealand acknowledge that Shannon Frizell deliberately threw his weight down on Bongi Mbonambi’s leg, putting him out of the World Cup final?
The series about New Zealand rugby, All Blacks in their Own Words 2, comes so close to the release of both Chasing the Sun 1 and Chasing the Sun 2 that a comparison cannot be avoided.
The All Blacks documentary is really good, but there are just too many instances that make one think of the South African edition – and leave one wondering to what extent the New Zealand producers were influenced by Chasing the Sun.
The dramatic camera angles, the interviews, and the treatment of the matches are just too similar to the South African documentary.
Having said that, Chasing the Sun set the bar very high, setting a standard by which rugby documentaries, if not all sports documentaries, will be measured.
Sport (in this case rugby) is, in its soul, defined by competition. Therefore, it is almost impossible to view it from anything other than a personal perspective, depending on where your loyalty lies. These words, clearly, are written from a South African perspective.
And so, to the question that has remained unanswered since 28 October 2023, the date of the World Cup final in Paris.
In the opening shot of chapter one of All Blacks in Their Own Words, Sam Cane talks about his red card and how it felt to let his team down, with his family sitting in the stands behind him. One feels for him. Could there be a worse feeling than being on the sideline, knowing you have let your team down?
Seven minutes into the first episode, Cane, speaking about the final, says: “There were a couple of things that didn’t go our way early on,” as the shot shows Shannon Frizell sitting down on Bongi Mbonambi’s leg. The commentator says: “He dropped his body onto an exposed leg.”
Much is then made of Frizell’s yellow card.
Later, the documentary focuses on the All Blacks’ enormous effort to play with 14 players after Cane’s red card.
Nothing is said about Bongi Mbonambi’s potentially career-ending injury.
Does anybody in New Zealand acknowledge that Shannon Frizell deliberately put Bongi Mbonambi out of the match, knowing he was possibly the most vital cog in the Springbok scrum? Do they admit that because of Frizell’s deliberate action, South Africa effectively played the entire match without a hooker?
There is no mention of Mbonambi’s feelings. He is sitting next to the field, unable to move, while watching Deon Fourie perform miracles. Bongi’s family, flown out to Paris for the tour, is sitting in the stands behind him.
All Blacks in Their Own Words is a worthwhile series. It is very good and helps to answer that very interesting question.
Image: Bongi Mbonambi
Source: X
