Surf Rage and the Rugby Tackle


When Tom Thimpson suffered a horrendous drop-in he reacted in a fashion people might call extreme. We will endeavour to find out what happened a couple of seconds after this mid-face rugby tackle.

“It’s all happened to us before, you’re out surfing, enjoying a good session with just you and your mates.” Writes Tim on Vimeo “Then you suddenly get that sinking feeling as you see 10 people pile out into the lineup, all at once, heading for you like a homing missile. Oh well, it was bound to happen at some point, so you just smile, wait your turn and try enjoy the remainder of you’re session.

“This would work except the newcomers have a different attitude, continuous snaking, consecutive drop-ins and generally bad attitudes would make you think you have entered into a WQS final. As luck would have it, one particular homing missile decided to head my way to fade me for the third consecutive time, let’s just say my exit off the wave was either poorly timed or perfectly executed, depending on how you look at the situation.”

The moral of the story? Don’t drop in. Be respectful and earn acceptance. Sadly by including the line: “Brazilian’s play soccer – Kiwi’s play rugby.” It is sure to incite a whole lot of jingoistic nationalism. Please take those country stereotypes and hang them in a dark cupboard where they belong.