The All Blacks' latest star, Aaron Cruden came so close to death a few years ago when he was battling testicular cancer. He appears to have won his battle and is now about to appear in the biggest stage of his rugby career.
Yet, not everyone is lucky with cancer especially the older the age. Earlier this year, I lost my uncle in Singapore to throat cancer - he was a lovely, generous Christian man and it was sad to see him the way he was when I last saw him earlier this year.
4 years ago, on the day the All Blacks played Portugal in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, I lost my grandmother to cancer (a picture of her in her younger days is below). She was a lovely woman and I still miss her greatly. Her death didn't hit me at the moment - then again things don't tend to sink in straight away with me - but today, I find it hard not to choke back tears when I see pictures of her. It's a topic I try to avoid when I can.
In July last year, a friend I met on the Rugby Rebels messageboard also died after a long battle with cancer. MikeWlg of Lower Hutt was a true battler and used Rugby Rebels to get through the adversities he faced in life. His wide knowledge in the game was respected by his fellow posters and his loss is still felt.
MikeWlg would definitely have thoroughly enjoyed seeing the All Blacks last Sunday and look forward to a Final on Sunday.
It's the stories of our lost loved ones which inspires us to keep going and reminds us that life isn't so bad after all. It's also the stories of tragedy - Christchurch earthquake, Pike River mine disaster - and success over adversity - the loss of Carter, Cruden's battle with cancer - which have inspired the All Blacks onto the success we are now seeing.
As we head to Sunday, let's not forget the people who have got us to where we are.
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