Word of the day: Māori sidestep

I came across an interesting rugby-related word (or phrase, if you prefer) in conversation the other day: 'Māori sidestep'. I suppose it could also be written as 'Māori side step', Maori sidestep', or 'Maori side step'...

The best definition I could find online is as follows:

The "Maori sidestep" was first used by the New Zealanders, and occurs when a player doesn't try to avoid the tackler, but charges him head-on, bumps off the defender, and generally tramples him as he runs over the top.

A couple of warnings, however - the first regarding usage, the second regarding the manoeuvre itself.

On the topic 'Rugby clichés you would like to hear', one member of The Silver Fern.com forums comments: "Maybe im wrong here but i don't think [the term 'Māori sidestep' is] culturally insensitive or racist. it's kinda cool."

That suggests, of course, that the term is sometimes perceived to be "culturally insensitive or racist"...

And here are a couple of extracts from a letter published in Volume 296 of the British Medical Journal:

The Maori side step, known hereabouts as "bursting the tackle," is a highly dangerous manoeuvre where the runner aims himself directly at his tackler.

[It] is more dangerous than the high tackle and should be banned from schoolboy rugby immediately. Adult rugger could also do without it.

You have been warned!

Friday roundup: Talula, Giles, Mexico and China

I'm using this week's Friday Roundup to share some of the things that you lot have been emailing in to me.

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First is a BBC News article on a story that has received a lot of media coverage here in the UK: the nine-year old New Zealand girl who wanted to change her name from 'Talula Does The Hula From Hawaii'. The article also includes some other great names that New Zealand parents have chosen for their children. 'Benson' and 'Hedges' for twins made me chuckle.

Thanks for that, Harry.

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Second is something that has been doing the rounds for a while but is worth sharing: a furious letter by journalist Giles Coren to subs on The Times criticising them for a change they had made to one of his restaurant reviews. It reads like a spoof, but isn't, and illustrates what a thankless task it is to be a sub.

Cheers, Andrew.

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Andrew also sent in the following photo for those of you who like spotting stray apostrophes:




And it's up on Andrew's Flickr account.

(Don't forget that this blog also has its own Flickr account...)

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And one more photo, this time from Clutchslip:



Apparently using translation software to translate the name of your restaurant into English is not without its hazards. (NB I'm not sure of the provenance of this snap and it too may have been doing the rounds for a while.)

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Thanks, everyone, for all your contributions. You can find the blog's email address up on the top right, under the section called 'Stay in touch'.