Never Walk Alone

On the upside, that was the most amazing sporting experience of my life. On the downside I’m now wondering if I’ll ever witness a better show in my life – what if this was the greatest sporting moment I’ll ever witness? What if it’s all downhill from here?

I’m talking about Liverpool Football Club’s pre-season trip to Melbourne. To cut to the chase, the game itself against the Melbourne Victory was fairly boring. The Victory had their chances but were never realistically going to win while Liverpool, despite winning 2-0, appeared disjointed and lacked quality in that final pass to players in goal-scoring positions.

So that’s got the game review out of the way. Now to the overall experience. Once my travelling compadres and I had recovered from the 3am start to catch the red-eye flight from Wellington, we hit the outlet mall. Almost immediately we began to notice a sprinkling of replica LFC shirts, some of which matched my season 2012-2013 version and some of which were shout-outs to kits of the 1980’s, 1990’s and early 2000’s.

There were numerous exchanges of the customary greeting involving a lifting of the eyebrows, usually without an accompanying smile and certainly requiring no accompanying words. As we entered day two of the trip, and yet another mall, the replica shirts became an increasingly common sight. Due to increased numbers of shirts encountered the eyebrow lift greeting was replaced by a very slight nod of the head that simply said “yep, I see you and I acknowledge that we are ‘as one’ due to our common love of the Mighty Reds”. Later that day the prevalence of red on the streets of Melbourne had intensified further and I was disturbed to realise that I was on occasion failing to acknowledge some of the wearers.

By the time game day arrived, for every suit-wearing banker on Collins Street there were three Liverpool kits of varying appearances. People were starting to appear ridiculous if they weren’t wearing a red shirt. By now there were no greetings - if I nodded my head to every fellow fan I came across I would’ve eventually injured myself I’m sure. I felt like I was actually on Merseyside. Just when I thought things could not get any better, a trip into a Rebel Sport store was rewarded with a one-day-only special on new Liverpool shirts.

Around 6pm, we began our walk to the wonderful MCG. The streets were now filled to bursting point with a flowing sea of red. The walk slowed to a stroll, and then a crawl as the footpaths became full to overflowing.

But then we were there; the massive magnificent illuminated stadium reared up in front of us. A few escalators and 80 steps upwards and we took our seats in row KK (it only goes as far as row MM). Even half-full, it was an extraordinary sight below us. The seats filled steadily and as the teams walked onto the field, there were 95,446 of us in attendance (I counted). As I sat there I wondered if the Hurricanes had attracted that many fans to Westpac Stadium over the course of the entire Super Rugby season. Then the music started and the crowd commenced the obligatory rendition of Liverpool’s anthem ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’. I’m more than happy to admit that a) I had a tear in my eye and b) my singing was not great.  

The match kicked off and … (please see match report above). The game went through its paces with few highlights. Then with about 15 minutes remaining, manager Brendan Rogers answered the calls of thousands of fans to ‘bring on Suarez’.

Luis Suarez is gifted, quick and immensely skilful. He’s also selfish, sulky and disrespectful. He wants to leave Liverpool and makes no secret of that. His conduct in his short cameo on the MCG was embarrassing. He often looked like he couldn’t be bothered and he regularly chastised his teammates. And then the crowning moment; after he set up a goal right at the end of the match he shunned his teammates’ congratulations and then appeared to try to leave the field as he walked toward the tunnel. He turned back and reluctantly remained on the field, seemingly when other senior players asked him to do so. But it was a horribly awkward moment created by a man who was acting like a child.

I think I speak for the majority of Liverpool fans who were present in Melbourne when I say three things to LFC;

1.       Thank you for a fantastic experience in Australia

2.       Please win another Premier League title in my lifetime

3.       If you are offered 45 million for Suarez, take the money and ship the kid out

Crusaders vs. Chiefs

‘The Crusade is Over’ said the headlines after the Chiefs defeated the once-mighty Crusaders to book another Super Rugby final in Hamilton. I thought the Chiefs were fantastic in what was a brutal affair. They clearly played to a game-plan that included disrupting Crusaders ruck ball whenever possible.

But ultimately the Cantabs contributed to their own downfall. Dan Carter had a decidedly average evening in terms of his goal-kicking with two awful dropkick attempts, one penalty attempt that missed by about 10 metres and one kick that unluckily struck the woodwork. Ryan Crotty didn’t help proceedings when he threw a long pass that was intercepted by Aaron Cruden who scored next to the posts. Cruden had a fine match, including chasing down Crotty when the tryline was open and waiting.

But for me an equally defining factor was Todd Blackadder’s decision to wait till the 68^th minute of the match to bring on the substitute wearing the number 19 jersey (R McCaw). Yes, I know the Matt Todd fan club out there is rallying behind their man. And he has been playing well this season (although perhaps not as outstandingly as some would have you know). But we’re talking about Richie McCaw here. Even a 70% fit McCaw is an outstanding player. On Saturday night, Tanerau Latimer was superb (again). I don’t think he would’ve dominated to the same extent against McCaw. Just my opinion…

Regardless, here’s hoping the Chiefs smash the Brumbies in the final next week.

A List of All the Things I Find Interesting About the Americas Cup

Shot Val

How good is Valerie Adams? She is an astounding athlete and one whose excellence I don’t believe we sufficiently appreciate in New Zealand. She has won the shot put in 38 consecutive athletic meets against the best (non-drug cheat) throwers in the world and to be honest nobody is even close in second place.

This weekend she threw the shot a touch under 21 metres. Imagine walking onto a rugby field, standing on the goal line, taking a single step forward then throwing a shot all the way to the 22 metre line. That’s a long, long way to throw such a heavy object. Adams looks very fit, very healthy and very happy at the moment. I hope she continues to, using her own words, ‘smash the s&%t out of it’ for many years to come. 

Till next time,

SG

Dust to dust....

…Ashes to Ashes

It’s early to make a call like this but it seems likely on first test evidence that the English will be too strong for the Australians and will retain the smallest trophy in the sporting world.

What a finish to that first test. There were heroic English bowling performances and for the Aussies, two of the best tenth-wicket stands I can recall. But the Aussie top and middle order batsmen continued the trend of the past few years of not performing. But the Decision Review System had the final say.

The Ashes is one of the world’s oldest sporting contests dating back to the 1880’s. In a time when test cricket increasingly struggles to compete with the popularity of the shorter forms of the game, the Ashes is one of the few remaining attractions of the five day marathon version of the sport.

For so long the Aussies were the dominant force in world cricket. In the 1990’s Ricky Ponting, the Waughs, Matthew Hayden, Damien Martyn and Justin Langer dominated opposition bowlers then Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz would sledge their way through batting line-ups on the way to another test victory. There was some succession planning in evidence as players like Simon Katich, Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Adam Gilchrist and the late-blossoming Michael Hussey emerged on the world stage.

But despite the development of these players, it seemed that in relatively quick succession McGrath, Warne, Gillespie, the Waugh twins, Martyn, Langer et al disappeared from the international game. There were the inevitable calls that many of these players hung around just a touch too long at the expense of the youngsters coming through. But it’s always a tricky call to drop legends of the game when they’re still performing at a good level and want to remain involved.  At the present time, the Aussies seem to have developed some outstanding bowling stocks with players like Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and the previously unknown Ashley Agar, who is now the greatest number 11 batsman in test history.  There are also numerous others waiting in the wings.

But the Aussies’ batting stocks have not fared so well. Headlines like”…As the Aussies Fold Again” would have been unthinkable just a few years ago. Numerous players have been tried and quickly discarded – it’s only a couple of years since Usman Khawaja was touted as the next big thing. And several of the current crop, for example Ed Cowan, must have serious question marks hanging over their calibre at this level. 

In the meantime the English team has developed into one of, if not the best in the world. Their recruitment drive in the African continent has been combined with resurgence in their county game that has resulted in a high number of excellent players coming through. Names like Bairstow, Root, Cook, Broad and Swann complement ‘imports’ like Trott, Pietersen and Prior superbly.  England has built a superb central core around which the rest of the squad is built. They just need to ensure that, when the time comes, they make the tough calls and, unlike Australia, don’t let the superstars hang around just that little bit too long.

Americas Cup

A quick summary of recent events;

Officials say: “You can’t have those innovations on your boat – we’re changing the rules”.

‘Luna Rossa’ team’s response: “OK then, we’re going to protest and we won’t race until we get an answer”.

Team “New Zealand”: “Fine, then we’ll race against an imaginary opposition”.

TVNZ: “That sounds great, we’ll broadcast that”.

Race Committee: “Innovations are all good. Luna Rossa – get back in there”.

Conclusion: The whole thing is a farce. Even if we did win, what does that mean? There are only three challengers, each having spent hundreds of millions of dollars to be there. Each team consists of a conglomerate of highly-paid yachting mercenaries from numerous different countries.

Winners: Lawyers and already-wealthy yachties.

Loser: Sport. What started as a keenly-contested test of sailing skill between representatives of different countries racing identical boats has turned into nothing more than a debacle and an embarrassment. It’s hard to see how the Americas Cup will ever recover from this. People just don’t care about this ‘sport’ anymore.

Solution: Put everyone back into identical 12 metre boats and just let them race. That doesn’t seem too difficult does it?

Till next time,

SG

Super Rugby Regular Season Review

The Super 15, 2013 edition, certainly had some excitement this year. There were close games, extraordinary comebacks, new stars and a few upsets to boot. There were also many an empty stadium and numerous games and teams that didn’t really live up to expectations. Something has to change in terms of the way the competition is structured and presented because, ultimately, it has become BORING. Using vast generalisations, South Africans don’t really care about NZ or Australian teams, Kiwis have perhaps a slight interest in Australian teams and no interest in South African teams and Australians don’t, overall, really care about rugby at all.

But all three countries need Super Rugger. The SA and NZ rugby unions need the TV money – let’s be blunt about that. And without S15, Australian rugby would have nothing at all.

So it has to change. I think adding a couple of other teams from Japan and Argentina is worth a shot. I also think some representation from a South Pacific team has lot of merit, although how that would work would require some careful planning.  But I think more ‘intra-pool’ games would be a good start. More local games would result in increased interest. It’s going to be a long road back, but I do hope this once fascinating contest can be resurrected.

Following is my review of each NZ Super Rugby franchise’s performance over the past season. 

THE BLUES

In a Nutshell

Started with a hiss and a roar in defeating the Hurricanes and the Crusaders. The return from the next eight games was four wins and four losses, symbolising a frustrating inconsistency that was to define their season. Finishing with six consecutive losses was, obviously, simply not good enough.

Key Injuries

All Black Charlie Faumuina was a crucial loss for the Blues. Keven Mealamu’s leadership was missed while he was injured early on, and Anthony Boric was only involved later in the season as he recovered from injury

Best Performance(s)

I thought they were actually very good against the Chiefs this weekend just gone, despite being defeated. It’s a tough one, but you’d probably say their second game of the season, when they dismantled and outplayed the Crusaders, was the highlight of an otherwise pretty average season

Season-Defining Moment(s)

Probably the return fixture against the Crusaders in mid-May. When they ran out that night, their win/loss record of 6-4 meant they still had a reasonable shot at making the playoffs. After 80 minutes of being shut down and frustrated by the Crusaders machine, their chances had diminished significantly. Successive subsequent losses to the Brumbies and the Highlanders were the unnecessary knockout punches as they fell to the canvas.

Standouts

Steven Luatua’s star rose all season to the point that he won his first black jersey.  Charles Piutau joined him, and Francis Saili was included in the All Blacks’ squad. Piri Weepu, the slim-line version, was much, much better than he was last season and Rene Ranger did his best Tana Umaga impersonation at centre as he monstered opposition would-be tacklers and acted as a fourth loose forward at the breakdown

Disappointments

Chris Noakes started well enough but in the end failed to live up to expectations. Frank Halai played very well at times but sometimes failed to flatter; he will be all the better for a season at this level under his belt. George Moala seemingly succumbed to off-field distractions and issues while Jackson Willison, undoubtedly a highly talented player, failed to make the most of his chances to cement a spot in the team 

Conclusion

Behind the scenes I’m sure Sir JK will be pretty disappointed with that season, especially the run of defeats to finish the campaign. They promised so much, with a well-recruited squad that mixed experience with exciting flair. In the end they were probably a couple of quality players short of being a top team. They’ll be back next year (with Benji Marshall at number 10??) and will do better.

THE HURRICANES

In a Nutshell

After four matches, they were already pushing it uphill as they had lost three and, somehow, defeated the Crusaders. It just felt like they never really got going all season. Finishing with five losses was remarkably disappointing and those quarter-filled stands at Westpac must be a major concern for the franchise.

Key Injuries

Alapati Leiua and Matt Proctor were excellent performers, but Cory Jane was a massive loss before the season even started. His composure under pressure and his X-factor were sorely missed. All Black Dane Coles and his replacement rake, the destructive Motu Matu’u, were also missed greatly around the field. Jeffery Toomaga-Allen was another long-term injury.

Best Performance(s)

Their second half against the Highlanders was good, although they should never have let the Southerners run out to such a huge lead in the first place and the two performances against the Crusaders were right up there. But the fact that no performance really stands out in my memory is significant.

Season-Defining Moment(s)

May (the month, not the prop). They were thrashed by the Bulls but then enjoyed a rare victory in the Republic as they held off the Cheetahs. But then followed close losses, which could’ve gone either way, to the Chiefs and the Brumbies and their season was effectively done.

Standouts

Brad Shields played his way to borderline All Black status. Had Luatua not shown just that little bit extra throughout the season, Shields would probably have gone a bit further. Conrad was his usual awesome self, Beauden Barrett ran the backline with aplomb, Julian Savea was very good (not as outstanding as last year though it must be said) and Ben Franks along with second-rowers Jason Eaton and Jeremy Thrush did their jobs well in the engine room.

Disappointments

Ardie Savea. Not his performances; I just would’ve liked to have seen him on the field more often. Faifili Levave and Victor Vito both had some wonderful moments but were both frustratingly inconsistent at times while TJ Perenara was another who mixed pure class with schoolboy errors – for example against the Chiefs when he had a crucial clearing kick charged down.  Tim Bateman didn’t do as well as I’d hoped and what a long way Andre Taylor’s star has fallen in the past 12 months.

Conclusion

Hammer Hammett will be bitterly disappointed with how this campaign has ended. I think Ma’a Nonu would be a good inclusion in next year’s squad next to his old mate in the number 13 jersey. We fans are a cynical bunch and those record low crowds at Westpac won’t be increasing until a better spectacle is on offer.

THE CHIEFS

In a Nutshell

The defending champions and the best team in the New Zealand conference. More often than not they won the close matches and that was what set them apart in the end.

Key Injuries

Ben Afeaki, Gareth Anscombe and Tim Nanai-Williams were all absent for a period of time and were definitely missed. Richard Kahui was of course a massive loss and it’s a huge shame that injury has robbed NZ rugby of such an outstanding player.

Best Performance(s)

I find it hard to pick one. It wasn’t that there weren’t any great performances along the way; it was more that they were consistently good. Perhaps not as good as last year in many instances but they are missing their dominant second five of last season… 

Season-Defining Moment(s)

Narrow victories over the Hurricanes and, in the last round, the Blues were defining moments for me. These matches could have gone either way but victories ensured top spot in the NZ conference for the Chiefs and an all-important weekend off.

Standouts

Tanerau Latimer was outstanding. The Chiefs are extremely lucky they can alternate Latimer and Sam Cane, who also performed well. Andrew Horrell was a surprise package, as was Gareth Anscombe before he was injured. Craig Clarke and Brodie Retallick were often dominant up front. Ben Tameifuna looks, relatively speaking, rather trim and fit and very few opponent s have been able to handle his scrummaging strength.  Tawera Kerr-Barlow was both efficient and exciting to watch at various times and Bundee Aki was a handful every time he touched the ball. Liam Messam was, as ever, a workhorse.

Disappointments

Gee, can I say ‘nobody’? The Chiefs clearly had a ‘first squad’ and ‘others’ set-up and to be honest I thought everyone did their jobs pretty well     

Conclusion

They deserve their billing as the top NZ team. Whether they can overcome a tough semi-final and, if they get through, a likely final in South Africa remains to be seen.

THE CRUSADERS

In a Nutshell

An uncharacteristically rusty start was quickly turned around. Some excellent performances along the way resulted in an 11-5 record for the season.

Key Injuries

Not an injury but McCaw was missed despite Matt Todd doing a decent job in his place. Tom Taylor missed the odd game through injury and we now know that Robbie Fruean had more heart-related issues to contend with this season.

Best Performance(s)

Versus the Chiefs. They took the defending champions apart and didn’t let them into the game.

Season-Defining Moment(s)

The one-point victory over the Waratahs in round 16. If they’d lost that one, it may have dented their confidence. But after that victory they finished with four more as they surged into the semis.

Standouts

The usual suspects; Read, Carter, Franks, Whitelock S. and Whitelock G. Israel Dagg, Ryan Crotty and Luke Romano.

Disappointments

I would’ve said Fruean, but we now know why he struggled – hope his recovery goes well. Zac Guildford was also disappointing, but his off-field struggles are also well-documented.

Conclusion

An 11-5 win-loss record was a great effort considering how the season started. Their big match experience gives them a fighting chance of taking the title.

THE HIGHLANDERS

In a Nutshell

Three early losses were joined by ten more during the season. At times they looked courageous yet unlucky. Other times they looked awful. The feeling in the Deep South is perhaps confirmed by the fact that the results section on the Highlanders website hasn’t been updated since May 25^th!

Key Injuries

Lots - too many to mention. Needless to say it disrupted their planning and execution on the field a great deal. 

Best Performance(s)

Probably the game against the Sharks. Although their attack in the victory over the Hurricanes was outstanding.

Season-Defining Moment(s)

Early losses and early injuries and the writing was on the wall already.

Standouts

Ben Smith had his best season. Brad Thorn continued to defy his age. Hosea Gear and Aaron Smith had their good moments as did Kade Poki, Liam Coltman and huge loose forward Elliot Dixon, who was outstanding in the unfamiliar number 7 jersey.

Disappointments

Tony Woodcock was injured much of the time so his effectiveness was reduced. Fringe players such as Declan O’Donnell and Josh Bekhuis didn’t get (m)any chances to impress. Ma’a Nonu didn’t contribute anywhere near as much as Jamie Joseph would have hoped.

Conclusion

Whether it’s Joseph’s reputed ‘old school’ training methods or other factors, something’s not clicking down South. Players looked disinterested and unhappy. Retaining Sir Brad Thorn for another season is a huge coup but player movements overseas and to other NZ franchises is going to leave an awful lot of holes to be filled.

Till next time,

SG