The Case for October Toplessness

A timely blog on being topless today.  Why "timely"?  More on that later.

First off, to answer a request from the last entry on the Def Leppard concert.  Unfortunately, I did not take any photos from within the concert venue myself, so I have no photos of any of those who spent the evening sans shirt (Phil Collen, young lads around me, and not the attractive young lady who bared her all for all), and I don't think my companions took photos of anyone who was not up on stage (well, besides themselves).

And so I have scoured the internet and found an approximation - and, besides the fact she wore a lot less make up (not that I really paid too much attention to her face), I reckon she looked a lot like this:

However, there is other shirtless news that needs to be addressed (and this is the "timeliness" bit, before the NZ v Australia match, which has yet to be played as I write this).  

A few entries ago, I wrote up a "humourous" article on Sonny Bill Williams' wardrobe malfunction and the resulting hullaballoo.  I mentioned that the shirts were designed to fail, and that Richie McCaw's shirt would require mid-match removal shortly, while Dan Carter's would wait until the final. 

Well, Carter is now out of the World Cup, so that means the latter part of my "prediction" can't come true (though I see Carter will still get a bit of a bonus for his contributions up until his injury; and this same article also kind of explains how Corey Jane can afford to go out for a bender, and even more why he really shouldn't have).  However, the Richie McCaw prediction actually did in the match against Argentina.

Miss it?  I know I did, as it was nowhere near as well publicised as SBW's disrobing.  SBW's goods' baring led to all sorts of "excuses" to show off his physique, including a "guess the bodypart" quiz on Stuff which has him prominently displayed more than once.  But All Blacks Captain (soon to be Sir) Richie McCaw?  Nada.

While I didn't see the game myself, there is some photographic proof out on the Interweb confirming this story, though not on any of the major local news sites as slideshows:

And from the looks of it, he also required assistance to put on his figure-hugging replacement "jersey":

McCaw has a huge number of fans out there, and indeed is considered one of the game's sexiest men, but it seems that, for some reason, his physique is not deemed as worthy of attention as other members of his team.  Was this a sign of respect?  Was this a decision made my the All Blacks?  Or is Adidas getting a bit worried that all their shirts do seem to disintegrate when worn for anything sporty?  

[As an aside, I noted a Nike top also fell apart in the France/England game, though again there was no slideshow montage showing each stage of the change process].

Whatever the reason, it will be interesting to see what hype surrounds the members of the team in the next 10 days, as the Rugby World Cup comes to an end.  A new hero has arisen in the commanding presence of Piri Weepu, so perhaps he will be given the faulty (well, easily torn) shirt in the days to come.

Verdict: I always find it fascinating when people doing roughly the same thing are treated differently, and in particular how things are playing out and being hyped up during the Rugby World Cup.  And full credit to the young lady at the Def Leppard concert.  An appreciative smile out of a seedy leer.