The Week That Was

It’s been something of a smorgasbord of sporting entertainment over the past seven days. I thought this week I’d pick out a few different aspects of the sporting week that have caught my attention.

How Good Are The Lions?

The British and Irish (and Samoan and Kiwi) Lions are currently working their way through the Australian domestic rugby scene. They’ve put in some good performances and have run up some sizeable scores. But I’m not sure the opposition has been of a particularly high standard. Obviously any Wallaby squad members have been held back and as a result a lot of ‘squad’ players have experienced what could in some instances be the highlight of their careers.

Given the Lions only tour Australia once every twelve years, most of the Australian players facing the Lions this time won’t get another opportunity like this. The true gauge of Warren Gatland’s selection policy and coaching ability will obviously come in the first test against the Wallabies. So what will they come up against?

Well, the Wallabies have picked a pretty good squad. I know that sounds slightly non-committal, but I don’t think it’s a particularly exciting bunch. The biggest mistake Robbie ‘Dingo’ Deans has made is not selecting Quade Cooper. I personally don’t rate Cooper at all. He’s defensively frail, inconsistent and can make some horrendous errors. But he can also produce something out of nothing and definitely has an x-factor about him. And he’s an actual first five/ standoff/ fly-half/ pivot.

As Dingo continues to alienate all and sundry in Australian rugby, he’s now trying to manufacture a first five - James O’Connor. A test series against the Lions isn’t a time to ‘try something new’ and I suspect it may backfire. I suspect the Lions will be too good for the Wallabies. But then again, I thought exactly the same thing in 2001…

State of Origin

I think international rugby league is a shambles. Sure there are good-sized crowds, by all accounts televised games are attracting good viewer numbers and money seems prevalent in the sport.  BUT international eligibility rules are a joke (half the Samoan team of 2013 has played for New Zealand in the past five years) and rule interpretations are different depending on which hemisphere the game is played in (even the in-goal areas are different sizes). It’s almost got to the point where there are two separate codes operating under the same label.

And now the Australian NRL is at it again. State of Origin is an intense series that has in many ways surpassed international league in terms of interest and intensity. In game one of the 2013 series, New South Wales’ Paul Gallen sparked a brawl by deciding to ‘sort out’ Queensland’s Nate Myles. An argument after a tackle escalated into three or four clean punches that dropped Myles to the ground before all and sundry arrived and joined in. If that was an NRL game, Gallen would’ve probably been sent off. But because it was an Origin game, there was uproar at even the mention of Gallen being suspended; indeed some in the Sydney media treated him as a hero amid archaic comments like ‘it’s a man’s game’ or ‘nothing wrong with biffo, mate’.

Origin is still a rugby league game and should be subject to the same rules. What league doesn’t need is another variation within the code. If punching is OK in Origin, then it should be OK in all league games. Or preferably say no punching is allowed in any league games. Apply the rules consistently, that’s all I ask.

Explosive

In a sport where the combatants are often walking advertisements for the gymnasium industry, Joseph ‘Explosive’ Parker doesn’t look like anything special. There’s no six pack of abs, no bulging pecs nor overly massive biceps. But holy moly that boy has got some power.

Admittedly Francois Botha is not just over the hill; he drove (judging by his physique, I don’t think he walked) up the hill quite a few years ago, took in the views from the top and has now probably come all the way down the other side. But he’s gone toe to toe with Tyson et al in his day and is known for his granite chin. Botha also made SBW look like an average pugilist at best a few months back.

But Parker simply destroyed him. He staggered Botha with a single shot, measured him up on the ropes then unleashed a ferocious, and fast, combination of lefts and rights that were reminiscent of Tua in his prime, before the referee rescued a defenceless and barely conscious Botha.  I hope Parker’s guides keep him on the right path. If he continues the development of the past two or three years, this boy could be right up there in the world of heavyweight boxing.

ICC Champions Trophy

It caught my attention. But it rains a lot, apparently someone is cheating and I don’t think I really care who wins. Moving on…

James Spurs on the Heat

It’s been great to see such an even NBA finals series between the Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs. At the time of writing the best-of-seven series is sitting at 2-2. Without wishing to disrespect the rest of the Heat team, it seems that if LeBron James fires, so does the Heat. If he’s contained by the opposition, they struggle. I hereby predict that the Heat will win it in seven. 

Major Disappointment

Tiger Woods and Michael Campbell. On the face of it these two don’t seem to have a great deal in common. Clearly Campbell is not sufficiently fit mentally (or physically for that matter) to appear at this level anymore. Woods appears as physically fit as ever, but he appears mentally shot. Prior to the revelations of 2009, it seemed only a matter of time till Jack Nicklaus’ record of 18 wins in Majors (although perhaps not his extraordinary record of 19 second placings) was overhauled by Tiger. But we’ve now reached the fifth anniversary of his last Major win and he doesn’t seem any closer to the next one.

He misses one foot putts, pulls and slices his drives constantly and generally looks miserable. They say a huge percentage of success in golf is down to mental strength. Campbell and Woods are certainly testament to this. In many ways it’s very sad to witness such declines.   

Footy on the Telly

For years NZ Football has had to pay to have their matches shown on TV. This somewhat backward arrangement has contributed to a financially precarious situation at HQ. However new-ish CEO Grant McKavanagh is currently shaking things up big-time including reviewing every little debit from the NZ Football cheque account.

But aside from this, he has negotiated a change so that Sky TV is paying NZ Football to broadcast eight All Whites matches and half a dozen Football Ferns games. That’s such a great step forward for football in this country – you can’t have a major national sporting body having no cash in the coffers. McKavanagh deserves a big pat on the back.

Which One?

I heard on the radio that the Black Sticks have just beaten Ireland in the World League. I also heard that the Black Sticks, on the same day, lost to Germany in the World League.  ‘No wonder they lost the second game’, I thought to myself, ‘they must have been shattered.’ But no, the men beat Ireland and the women lost to Germany. Same name, different teams.

It was a silly idea to duplicate the team name; reporters and journalists always have to follow ‘Black Sticks’ with a gender to correctly identify which team they are referring to. Hockey NZ (or is that NZ Hockey?) dropped the ball when they agreed to this crazy duplication. I could continue and question why we have to give every single national team a catchy name that includes ‘black’ or ‘white’ along with ‘ferns’ or ‘sox’ or ‘caps’ or ‘sticks’ etc etc, but I’ll discuss that another day..

The Phoenix

New Coach Ernie Merrick has arrived in Wellington with a smile, a pedigree and a broom. He’s discarded half a dozen players already, including ‘foundation’ player Tony Lochhead as well as several of Ricki Herbert’s more recent signings such as Dani Sanchez, Alex Smith and Benjamin Totori. So far the high quality Carlos Hernandez, although signed prior to Merrick’s arrival, has come in and the new boss has promised at least three more quality signings.

I’m a big fan of the ‘Nix and I hope Merrick’s arrival is the start of a new era of success. A sneaky tenner at the TAB on the Nix to at least make the playoffs next season might be a good bet I reckon. 

True Warriors

When the Penrith Panthers embarrassed the Warriors by almost 60 points just a few short weeks ago, their season was in danger of becoming a shambles. Matthew Elliot responded by putting his hand up and saying that the performance was a disgrace. He returned to Mt Smart with his troops and proceeded to connect with them and inspire them to turn things around. They’ve now won four in a row including an ‘away’ thrashing of the Brisbane Broncos, and gutsy determined wins over genuine top-four contenders Manly then this week the Roosters.

What Elliot has achieved in the past month is nothing short of astonishing. He now has a team that is, well, a team. They look happy and they’re playing some great league. How amazing it would be if they could continue their run all the way into the playoffs. That would’ve been unthinkable a month ago.

All Blacks

What an improved performance that was. The relatively unexpected tactic of kicking for field position rather than running everything from anywhere as they usually do was a treat to watch for rugby purists.

Dagg was assured at the back.  The Smiths, Ben and Conrad, never seem to have a bad game and didn’t have one on Saturday night either.  Savea was busy, looking for work whenever he could. He scored a try, set up a try and stopped the French from scoring any tries.  Nonu started brilliantly with deft touches with the hands and the boots. Despite seeming to fade a little later into the game, he played very well.

Aaron 9 and Aaron 10 both upped their games this week and both played well. It’s also quite possible that both will lose their places next week as Piri Weepu, who looked pretty good when he came on, and Daniel Carter continue their comebacks.

Kieran Read celebrated his fiftieth test by being big and strong and fast and outstanding. From punishing tackling to towering lineout work to rampaging runs; he did it all.  Sam Cane was a bundle of energy as he involved himself a lot in this game. His desperation in charging down Michelak’s attempted drop goal was absolutely outstanding. But he still doesn’t do it for me as an openside flanker. I do ask myself if I’m simply trying to compare him to the incomparable McCaw. But I don’t think that’s it. It’s more that he has been comprehensively outplayed two weeks in a row at the breakdown. Make no mistake; Thierry Dusatoir is a phenomenal player. But there were numerous occasions on Saturday night when the All Black ball carrier was hopelessly isolated at the ruck, often resulting in a penalty to Les Bleus. That’s not always the openside’s fault of course. But you just don’t see that happen very often when McCaw is on the field. I’m going to start printing ‘Bring Back Tanerau’ t-shirts. I rate Latimer, but it seems few agree with me. Shame.

Liam Messam was good without being outstanding. I thought Vito offered something more, and a bit different, when he came on. I’d like to see Vito wearing a number 6 on his back next week. Sam Whitelock was fantastic, as he always is whenever he plays. Here’s a question though; if he put on another 5 kg of muscle/bulk, would he then become the most complete lock in world rugby? I say yes. Luke Romano did his usual graft in the tight. He performs an important role in this team that allows Whitelock to roam a little more.

Owen Franks was excellent I thought. His tackling was often devastating and he was constantly one of the first forwards to hit rucks. He also performed his core duties well.  Dane Coles was again a solid performer. It feels like he is solidifying his spot in this team for a few years to come. Mr Wyatt Crockett was again mobile around the field and got to a lot of rucks and mauls. He also seemed to be scrummaging a lot straighter this week, the result being a far more solid scrum. I’d still like to see Afeaki there, but Crockett did ok this week (see: I told you I wouldn’t pick on him anymore).

The reserves each get a single word to describe their performance this week. Franks – destructive. Woodcock – solid. Hore – dependable. Thrush – proud. Vito – dynamic. Weepu – suited (to the conditions, I mean). Barrett – versatile. Ranger – beast.

Here’s hoping for a clean sweep of the series next week.

Till next time,

SG