As the next installment of the English Premier League football season draws near, aside from worrying about Liverpool’s chances of adding to their 18 league titles (last one was in 1989-90), I’ve become increasingly fascinated by the number of English players being signed by these English clubs. Or rather the lack thereof. Apparently in the current transfer ‘window’ less than ten percent of players purchased by Premier League clubs are actually English. And I’d imagine most, if not all, clubs could easily field a first eleven without having a single English player on the field.
So why does this matter? Well, if you’re not a follower
of the English national football team, it doesn’t. But if you are a fan of the
Poms, you’ll know this already; the English football team is rubbish. Yes
they’re better than the All Whites. And yes they’ve won one more World Cup than
we ever will (albeit 47 years ago). But it’s an inescapable truth that as the
influx of foreigners continues in earnest, the English team is not exactly
improving.
It’s tough to compare a truly global sport like football
to the rugby scene in New Zealand. But the vast, vast majority of rugby players
in New Zealand are eligible for our national team. And the All Blacks remain at
the top of the pile year after year. Maybe the NZRU has got it right after all.
All this also makes me wonder; given the influx of
foreign rugby players into France over the past, say, 15 years and the fact
that ‘Les Bleus’ somehow took the wooden spoon in this year’s Six Nations, will
we see the same thing happen to the French national team? They’d better be
careful – maybe they need to take a leaf out of the NZRU’s book.
They Call Him
Skippy
A couple of weeks ago the name Matthew Sinclair appeared
in sports headlines one more time. Australian-born ‘Skippy’ Sinclair played
first class cricket in New Zealand for many years and was always near the top
of the averages in whatever form of the game he played. Inevitably he made the
Black Caps side and provided some memorable moments such as a double century on
his test debut. He also took one of the best catches I’ve ever seen when, at
full pace, he leapt horizontally just metres from the boundary and grasped the
ball in his left hand. He then leapt to his feet and delivered a verbal spray
to the Aussie crowd, who had earlier been offering him words of ‘encouragement’.
Brilliant stuff.
But overall I always felt he was the scapegoat when the
team’s performance dipped. He was often wanted about as much as Ma’a Nonu is
wanted by Super Rugby franchises. And to be honest he did tend to clash with
authority, which didn’t help.
And now he’s pulled the pin on his cricketing career. And
he doesn’t know what he is going to do now that he’s retired. Which begs the
question; does NZ Cricket owe him anything? Or is the onus on the player to
plan for the inevitable last innings? I think it’s a bit of both. Yes, the
player is ultimately responsible for planning for life after the final ball has
been bowled. But, as so many youngsters now leave school and embark on
professional sporting careers without ever having a ‘proper’ job to fall back
on, I think sporting bodies have a responsibility to ensure there is support
available and offered to their employees to ensure they are prepared for life
after sport. Although I certainly don’t think NZ Cricket owe him anything, here’s
hoping Skippy lands on his feet.
Boyle Bursts
Through
Part two of my series ‘top NZ sporting chicks’. Following
on from the continued dominance of Valerie Adams that I referred to last week,
we now have late-blossoming swimming sensation Lauren Boyle. This week at the
world swimming championships, Boyle won three bronze medals in freestyle
events. To put that in perspective NZ has only won eight medals in total and
Danyon Loader won three of those. Boyle is considered an old swimmer at just 25
years of age – the winner of the women’s 800m freestyle event is just 16 and
swimming legend Michael Phelps retired at 27. But Boyle is still getting better
and better, including taking 30 seconds off her previous personal best time in
the 1500m freestyle during these championships. She has indicated that she will
compete at the Commonwealth Games next year. I certainly hope she continues to
the next Olympics as well.
41-26
Not a scoreline; these numbers refer to ages. Of netball
players. Of Irene Van Dyk and Caitlin Thwaites to be precise. This week the
Central Pulse announced the signing of van Dyk as a direct replacement for the
excellent Aussie shooter Thwaites. Initially I heard rumours that Thwaites was
happy to head back across the ditch and had potentially already initiated
negotiations with the Melbourne Vixens anyway. But subsequently I’ve read that
Thwaites had made no plans to leave the capital and was even planning the foreseeable
future in Wellington with her partner. Her form was so good that she is now in
the Australian national team. But the Pulse have let her go and replaced her
with van Dyk.
As I’ve said previously I’m a big fan of Irene. She is a
legend of the game and has been for a long time. She continues to defy her age
and play at the highest level. But for how much longer? Surely she only has a
season or two left in her, whereas a 26-year old is likely to have many more
years in the game. Once Thwaites is gone, she won’t be back. I hope this isn’t
a decision the Pulse live to regret.
Piri
The man who kept us in the rugby World Cup just two years
ago is now gone. Despite Weepu plying his trade in Auckland these days, Piri
remains Wainuiomata’s favourite son. He has been an excellent performer in the
black jersey for about nine years. Despite his return to a less rounded
appearance this season, it’s become increasingly clear that he doesn’t fit in
with the coaches’ gameplan that involves pace, pace and pace. The culmination
of this realisation came when Weepu was substituted not long after halftime in
his last test against France. And to be realistic that probably was his last
test as there are three quality young halfbacks in Kerr-Barlow, Perenara and
Smith now vying for the number nine jersey. If that is the case, thanks for the
service you’ve provided to the AB’s Piri. I’ll always remember the 2011 world
cup slogan inspired by Weepu: ‘Chill the &%!$ Out – I Got This’.
Chief Champs
Finally, a shout out to the Chiefs who have now won
back-to-back Super Rugby titles. The spirit instilled in this team by the
coaches, and the resultant success they’ve enjoyed is stunning given the fact
they were the lowest-ranked NZ team for many years. Quite how Aussie McLean and
Ian Foster got their current international coaching gig has always confounded
me. If Wayne Smith can be persuaded to give it another crack, I think the
current Chiefs coaching triumvirate would make a fine international coaching
trio straight after the All Blacks win the next World Cup.
Till next time,
SG
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