The Penrith Panthers, as they have in previous years, had a disappointing showing at the NRL Auckland Nines. Despite the speed and versatility of their named squad, the Mountain Men were once again unable to make it past the first round.
Despite the limited success of the team, Panthers hooker James Segeyaro was the talk of Twitter during the two-day tournament. Debuting a new braided hairstyle, the newly-naturalised Australian was the target of a steady stream of Tweets, most of which were damning.
It was a strange over-reaction to what is essentially just an athlete rocking braids, which really hasn't been an unusual occurrence since like, 1997. It could be the NRL crowd just aren't ready for braids, or maybe the fans just needed something to keep themselves occupied over a 16-hour weekend of rugby league.
