ROSEMARY ABBOTT | Sport
GOING OFF SCRIPT
1News reporter Thomas Mead wasn’t meaning to catch Crusaders coach Rob Penney off guard yesterday.
Mead was under the impression that after being invited to the Crusaders headquarters at Rugby Park to a session they organised, he would ask newsworthy questions around the current performance of the team and head coach Penney, whose team has lost 10 matches this season.
“Yeah, I thought it was going to be your typical Crusaders media session where we’d discuss the team’s performance this season and ask relevant questions of the head coach, who hasn’t been faring so well,” said Mead calmly.
“But when I started asking just that, Rob looked like a deer in the headlights who hadn’t actually fronted a media session before in his life. The questions I asked, well, shouldn’t have been a surprise. I was just expecting him to brush things off about the consistently poor performances and rattle off endless cliches about how the effort from his team is there.”
Penney however, was not in the mood for any generic rugby questions about himself and the team’s performance and constant struggles throughout 2024.
“He’s a disgrace, that c*#t,” Penney was overheard saying to the Crusaders’ media manager about Mead.
“Who is he? Tell me now,” Penney said in a moment of rage, providing the best news grab of the day.
Mead was still confused by the whole debacle.
“All quite strange isn’t it? I turn up as a reporter to a press conference they invited me to and ask relevant questions about the coach and the team. What did everyone want me to ask? Did I miss a memo or something?”
More to come.
Big fan of the Whakataki? Head over to the support page and become a Whakataki backer. You can also follow us on Insta.
