IT’S NOT often you sit down at a press conference and wonder if Frank Drebin from the Naked Gun films is going to walk into the room at any minute.
However, when the ‘gentlemen of the press’ attending the Rugby League World Cup 2013 ticket launch assembled at a MediaCityUK venue in Manchester it was the only thought running through my head.
You have to give the organisers their due because they had gambled on doing something different to capture what they hoped would be global interest for rugby league’s big event in a year’s time.
The ‘concept’ was to represent all 14 nations in the competition at the press conference with six players present, while the other eight countries had interviewees ready online in a big internet hook up.
The links were already up and running when the media entered the room and they were greeted by a soundtrack of what sounded like someone doing the dishes and, I swear, a dog barking in the distance.
Somewhere, someone’s internet link was in a dominant mood and you were just expecting a re-run of that classic moment from the Police Squad movie offshoot when actor Leslie Nielsen’s character decides to visit the ‘bathroom’, as the Americans would say, having forgotten that he was wired up to the PA system for a speech.
As it was we weren’t actually treated to any such lavatorial sound effects, but there were certainly enough hit and miss moments to keep everyone entertained.
As Australia’s Paul Gallen fielded a question on Ireland his joke about Guinness was lost as the connection broke up.
Next up New Zealand’s Jason Nightingale made an audible quip about the quality of the internet service in South Australia, but sadly the rest of his put down of the Aussies vanished as the sound went.
To be fair pretty much everybody did get their say, even though this predictably fell into the two camps with realistic winners saying that’s what they aimed to do, while those representing the also-rans promised they were well-prepared and determined to be competitive.
But the starring roles were taken by Italy’s Anthony Minichiello and the guy from the USA team – more of his name later.
The Sydney Roosters full-back and former Aussie Test star Minichiello was truly enthusiastic as he revealed that the Azzuri were chasing just about any player with NRL experience who they could prove had Italian relatives, had visited Venice on holiday, had listened to a Pavarotti CD or might have once bought a chocolate flavoured Cornetto – real shades of Jack Charlton efforts as manager of the Irish football team.
However, the pick of the bunch was USA’s Apple Pope – who was making a special effort to be involved as he had to sit in front of the webcam in his Florida home at five o’clock in the morning.
With blonde hair and designer stubble, he looked like Kurt Cobain had the Nirvana singer-guitarist been about eight stones heavier and had worked out regularly – and he had an easy-going surfer-dude delivery.
Aside being quizzed on the chances of his team, he was sadly only asked one other question which was ‘Are their many people in America called Apple?’
Apparently there aren’t, but it would have been more interesting to have found out if Uncle Sam’s squad boasted more fruit-and-cleric combinations on the moniker front.
For instance are we going to be treated to a US front row of Peach Bishop, Apricot Parson and Satsuma Archdeacon next year?
So be ready as when the World Cup rolls into town – Huddersfield’s John Smith’s Stadium hosts the England v Ireland game on November 2, 2013 – the organisers are certainly hinting that it will be a bit different and potentially exotic.
