ZOMBIE STOPPER VIDEO! This is the Oscar Pistorius footage Barry Roux didn't want you to see today

This is the Oscar Pistorius "Zombie Stopper" video Barry Roux doesn't want you to see in the Oscar trial today. As I write, Justice Masipa is still deciding on whether this footage can be shown in court.

It aired on Sky News on February 28. Here he can be seen shooting melons with Springbok rugby star Francois Hougaard, the Blue Bulls back who was also a close friend of the deceased Reeva Steenkamp.

The words: "It's a lot softer than a brain but it's like a zombie stopper" can be heard. Not suprisingly, defence advocate Roux wants to stop prosecutor Gerrie Nel showing this footage after a fierce start to his cross-examination.

Roux argues this video is an "ambush" on the part of the state and never formed part of their case but Nel says Oscar, having denied all knowledge of "zombie stoppers" asked to see the video.

Ultimately, Roux agreed to the court viewing this video as long as it didn't set a precedent. Nel immediately tore in to Pistorius, comparing Reeva's shattered skull with the water melon's being exploded. Oscar immediately broke down in tears as he was told to look at a photograph of Reeva's head wound... and he was told to take "take responsibility". Within minutes, Justice Masipa had called an adjournment.

The Zombie Killer ploy, an ambush without question, may have turned this trial.

What we know about Oscar Pistorius. And what we don't

Reeva and friends, retweeted on twitter by Francois Hougaard

There is a thin but comforting line between sport and news. This week, for obvious reasons, the vibrant world of goals, trophies and fans was rudely interrupted by the sound of gunfire.

Oscar Pistorius, the first amputee to compete in the able-bodied Olympics in London this year, is one of South Africa’s few globally recognised sporting stars. The news that he had shot his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp simply shook the world we live in, turned sport upside-down.

Yes, Popes resign, meteorites flash across Russian skies, trains crash… and sport carries glibly on, reporting on Robin van Persie versus Cristiano Ronaldo, South Africa v Pakistan… even Bafana Bafana v Mali despite the war raging around Timbuktu.

But Oscar impinges. He is a genuine sporting hero. Loved by all for his tenacity in the face of being born with no shin bones, his ability to lead an superstar sporting life while most others would retire to a wheelchair and self-pity.

How do we cope when a star of that magnitude appears to be crashing and burning?

The initial tale – picked up wholeheartedly by the Oscar-sympathetic newspapers – suggested he had mistaken the beautiful Reeva for an intruder in his high-security estate. Tragic but accidental.

But once details from unnamed police sources emerged, that theory appeared to fall apart. By Sunday morning, we had suggestions of blood in the bedroom, a shot fired, a cricket bat used… and a frightened woman hiding in the bathroom. Then four bullets through the door.

Two of those bullets hit Reeva in the head. She did not die instantly. Lurid eye-witness reports suggest Oscar tried to resuscitate his girlfriend – though why he called a mutual friend rather than the emergency services to report the incident remain unexplained.

All we can say with any confidence before Oscar’s return to court on Tuesday is that he pulled the trigger, he - and he alone - killed the woman he called “baba”.

With former Sun editor Stuart Higgins arriving to provide “positive spin” to his heavyweight legal team, we read of Oscar’s father Henke telling the UK Sunday Telegraph: “Crime is endemic in South Africa. When you see somebody in your house, you shoot.”

He went on to explain how “Oscar grew up hunting, my sons grew up with guns” and he said Oscar's action were "instinctive - and sportsmen react to instinct" but that hardly explains the need for small arms in a secure estate – or why Oscar had SEVEN more gun licences pending.

It doesn’t explain recent incidents involving the police where Oscar had lost his cool with so-called “love rivals” Quinton van den Bergh and Francois Hougaard.

As journalists – even sports journalists – we are trained not to pre-judge issues until all the facts come to light. In this case, we must attempt to stick to that creed.

But it’s damned difficult.

I’ve spoken to a lad who went to Constantia Primary with Oscar. He says, disabled or not, Pistorius was a bully. That he was cock of the walk at Pretoria Boy’s High. That he was, predictably for a sporting celebrity, surrounded by sycophantic yes men who let him act as he pleased.

The more recent of the many women in his life suggest he was not the most chivalrous of men. Others talk of his parents' divorce, his mother's death. A bloke who, for all his talent, went the way of so many top sportsmen... down the road of arrogance, shagging and insecurity

And always, in the background, the beautiful Reeva, loved by all. Gone.

Given recent cases – Shrien Dewani and Nico Henning spring to mind, just have a look on Google – it’s hard to believe in justice for the well-off and famous. But we must. On Tuesday, let’s hear what forensics have to say. If today's police leaks were accurate. How Oscar’s legal team explain away the shooting of multiple bullets at an apparently defenceless woman.

And hope that justice is done.

This story will appear as my Neal and Pray column in www.thenewage.co.za on Tuesday.

Spanish lesson: why Poms and Boks have no need to panic. Yet.

Remember how Spain bulldozed everyone standing in their way during the World Cup in South Africa last year? How their particular blend of Barcelona brilliance and Real Madrid magic made them impossible to beat?

Not quite. You’ve already forgotten the shocking Swiss rollover. For those holding their heads in their hands after the opening shots of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, Spain’s path to glory at South Africa 2010 offers a unique perspective, no matter what shape your balls are.

England were absolutely awful in their opening Pool B game, Jonny Wilkinson missing a record four penalties in a bottom-clenching 13-9 win over Argentina on Saturday. And holders South Africa were a line-judge’s flag away from losing their first match against Wales in Wellington on Sunday. One game in, and those proudly sporting Red Roses or Springboks have all but given up hope of seeing their emblem feature at Eden Park on October 23 when the Webb-Ellis trophy is handed over.

Here beginneth the lesson. On June 16 last year, Spain entered the fray as reigning European champions and joint favourites for the World Cup. Beaten just once in 41 games, the football-speaking world reeled when Switzerland, unfancied but hard-working, produced the only goal of the game from a now-forgotten striker called Gelson Fernandes.

But the Spanish, undaunted, bounced back from a worst-possible start in Durban to lift their first ever World Cup, dispatching Portugal, Paraguay, Germany and Holland in the knock-out phases. They knew they had the quality, that one bad result could be overcome. The likes of Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Iker Casillas don’t become ordinary players overnight. That’s what cricket, rugby and football World Cup tournaments are all about.

Just last week in the athletics World Championships, Usain Bolt overcame an absurd disqualification in the 100m to surge to glittering gold in the 200m. A lesson for all professionals in the sporting sphere.

There are numerous examples of world-beaters starting tournaments with a hiccup rather than a hurrah. But surely none better than Spain’s opening defeat in South Africa last year.

That’s why nation-quaking panic in South Africa and England is not necessary after those epic struggles over the weekend. England should remember the Falklands – and the fact that Argentina are ranked the ninth-best rugby side in the world. South Africa must realise the Welsh live and breathe rugby and are currently ranked sixth.

Much-derided Springbok coach Pieter de Villiers, judged a clown by those who dislike moustaches and high-pitched defiance, said after his side’s 17-16 win over the gallant Welsh, said: "We came to win the first game and we achieved that goal. Our bench went on and made the difference, that's why they were there.

"It wasn't a rugby test. I call it a test of character. At the start, Wales flooded the breakdowns and never allowed us to get going."

Div may not be the best coach in the world, but his decision to throw on match-clincher Francois Hougaard for the great Bryan Habana cannot be overlooked.

England boss Martin Johnson, with no track record as a club coach and eyebrows which join in the middle, said: " World Cup games are about finding a way to win in difficult circumstances against difficult teams. You charge down a kick, you think you're going to counterattack and it spins back 15 yards to their possession you think, 'Christ, it's going to be one of those days.' Clearly, while we could have been a lot better, we found a way to win.”

Again, it was Johnson who put Ben Youngs on as a replacement scrumhalf... and saw him score the only try of the match in Dunedin.

And really both Div and Johnno are adopting the Spanish philosophy: the World Cup in any format, no matter what size or shape your balls, is a marathon not a sprint. South Africa have Fiji (ranked 15 in the world) next while England must take on Georgia (16).

Both have already edged out the next best teams in their group. Though the favourites and hosts New Zealand looked impressive in the first half of their 41-10 win over Tonga (12) and Australia had few problems crushing world No11 Italy 32-6, both the All Blacks and the Wallabies have yet to play their most difficult group rivals, France (4) and Ireland (8).

Until they have, let’s reserve judgement. There’s no denying South Africa and England both started with a wobbly win rather than a vibrant victory. Hair has been duly pulled out, nails have been bitten.

But we’ve got six weeks of crouch-touch-pause-engage to come. And for worried Bok fans, a few points worth noting.

Events in Wellington will ensure past-it captain John Smit won’t over-shadow in-form hooker Bismarck Du Plessis at this World Cup. You don't have to worry about the living legend Jonny Wilkinson's mental state. And imagine how James Hook at the Welsh fans must feel have been denied a perfectly good three points by the errant flags of the touch-judges in the first half.

Still, it all means Wales – if they make it – will now avoid New Zealand in the semi-finals as probable runners-up in Pool D. Perhaps that’s why Rhys Priestland duffed his late drop goal attempt from right in front of the posts.

In essence, after the opening weekend, nothing has changed. There were no Senegal v France 2002 or Cameroon v Argentina 1990 type opening shocks. Remember when Turkey and South Korea reached the semi-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup?

It doesn’t happen in rugby, not with your set-plays, huge forwards and incredible fitness levels. As things stand, you have to back New Zealand, France, England, Argentina, Australia, Ireland, South Africa and Wales to reach the last eight. And then – and only then - the real World Cup begins. Just ask Carles Puyol or Andres Iniesta.