Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane during State of Origin II last month. Photo / Photosport
Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane during State of Origin II last month. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
WINNER: New Zealand league and sport, but...
Put it in the diary: State of Origin at Eden Park.
All-powerful Aussie league boss Peter V’landys has signalled, most strongly, that the idea is on the table as the State of O beds in one neutral venue each year for theclassic Queensland-New South Wales encounter.
V’landys doesn’t muck about. With veteran super coach Wayne Bennett also urging the move, stand by for State of O to make its Auckland debut in 2027, and return every four years.
In a key quote, V’landys told News Corp: “We are ecstatic with the success of rugby league in New Zealand. The Warriors have been outstanding this season and naturally we want to keep the momentum going.”
On the face of it, he may be overstating league’s current position in New Zealand for now.
It has the potential to thrive as the Warriors, finally, appear to be building a club that will have sustained success.
But below that NRL level, rugby league is a niche non-event profile-wise in this country.
Still, there’s also no doubt that a rising Warriors club is on the cusp of creating a sports revolution in this country as rugby loses its grip.
Hosting State of Origin games would be just another contributor to a rapidly changing New Zealand sports landscape.
The only major potential sticking point: the kick-off time. The State of Origin games start at 10pm NZ time, which might need adjusting as the Eden Park noise cutoff is 11pm.
Or perhaps some negotiation might bring the neighbours on board.
WINNER/LOSER: Darren Bazeley/the All Whites
Darren Bazeley during the media conference to announce his appointment as new All Whites coach at Eden Park. Photo / Photosport
Bazeley has won the lottery, or more aptly a lolly scramble.
Having tracked the coaching appointment saga in the media, it appears he got the job by default as New Zealand Football continued to engage in its Keystone Cops impersonations.
Former assistant Bazeley is thus in charge of a team that has the nearest thing to a free ride into the new World Cup finals format.
Yet Bazeley has barely coached a senior team, and in a major All Whites assignment was involved in a team walk-off against Qatar.
The point is this: how on earth would anyone know if Bazeley is a good head coach or not? There is no evidence to go on.
He has been a junior representative and senior assistant coach, and even then with no great record of success.
Previous coach Danny Hay came from a similar — although I would say more impressive — background, and couldn’t make any headway.
I wish Bazeley all the best, and hope against hope that he proves a doubter like me wrong. He’ll need a great team around him.
But his appointment, for now, is bizarre and concerning.
LOSERS: A different type of pitch invader in Mendoza
There were so many advertising signs on the field in the All Blacks-Pumas test that it looked like something that had been stuffed into a letterbox. Sports playing surfaces (and footballs for that matter) should be completely ad-free.
WINNER: Sam Cane’s example
Who could blame the All Blacks captain for instinctively kicking out at a pitch intruder in Mendoza. In the heat of an unusual moment, and all that.
But he also did a brilliant thing by tracking the individual down and apologising.
Cane has struggled to win over the masses on the playing and captaincy fronts, but he has always come across as a class act.
In a world where polarisation thrives, even small acts of conciliation feel extremely important.
All Blacks captain Sam Cane. Photo / Photosport
LOSER: The Rugby Championship/the new Sky box
Mendoza was an underwhelming start to what is supposed to be a major sports championship. The Sky coverage felt remote.
Speaking of Sky, I’m struggling with their new box and remote, which don’t feel intuitive (yet).
And the new gear turned decidedly unhelpful on Saturday night, recording the Warriors game in six different segments for some strange reason.
Starting to watch the game by mistake at the wrong end, with the final chapter, I saw that the Warriors were winning by heaps, defeating the aim of keeping the score secret.
The whole experience was very confusing and annoying.
WINNER/LOSER: All Blacks coach Ian Foster
With so much doubt around Foster, the outgoing All Blacks coach needed an emphatic opening to the World Cup year.
He produced that in the first half against Argentina where the All Blacks exposed a ponderous Pumas backline defence, but old doubts resurfaced during the second half.
These are very early days and my reading of the first test is that all the World Cup teams will be nervous about how referees interpret key rules. The game is officiated in different ways around the world and Argentina were clearly bemused by some of Aussie Angus Gardner’s rulings.
WINNER: Mt Smart Stadium
The place is a dump devoid of charm, yet it can conjure up a great atmosphere at Warriors matches.
With spectators closer to the field than at Eden Park, and so many South Africans living in Auckland, it will be fascinating to see what the vibe is for Saturday’s test.
Whatever the result, the change of venue is actually a bonus for the All Blacks in the World Cup year.
Somehow — and who knows what it is all about — fortress Eden Park gives the All Blacks an edge, but one they can’t haul to France for the world tournament.
Facing up to a new type of adversity will put another tool in their kit.
Hopefully, the weather behaves for this test (and the forecast is good) having experienced a couple of dire NRL nights there this season.
The Warriors coach will probably have a very tough decision when it comes to picking out the Warriors’ player of the year for 2023. It will actually be an interesting decision for once.
Webster’s beleaguered predecessors would have needed about half a second before handing the gong to Ben Matulino, Simon Mannering, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck or Tohu Harris.
(Things were so bad last year that the redoubtable but limited Euan Aitken won it before heading elsewhere.)
Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, Harris and Addin Fonua-Blake are my leading contenders right now, with Shaun Johnson tucked in behind, ahead of a good-sized peloton.
WINNER: Megan Rapinoe
The USA soccer star announced she will retire at the end of this year, after trying to help America win a third consecutive World Cup crown. No one has done more for women’s football than the strong-minded Rapinoe.
Once a golden coach of New Zealand athletics, the pole vault supremo’s name is now mud after he was banned for a decade, over sexual transgressions.
It further raises a very fundamental question: is sport actually good for you?
Sport likes to portray itself as a healthy example.
Yet the world of professional sport is rife with so many extremely serious problems, from mental and physical health issues to McColl-type misbehaviour.
The Dutchman is unbeatable in Formula One, as is his Red Bull team. Made it six in a row at the British Grand Prix, giving his team a record-equalling 11 straight wins.
WINNER: Mark Wood
England's Mark Wood (right) celebrates a wicket with captain Ben Stokes. Photo / AP
There’s no more spine-tingling sight in sport than a fabulous fast bowler.
Wood has had an odd career, hurt by injuries and remaining kind of anonymous behind the great opening duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
This looks to be his moment, although Broad has continued to dominate Aussie opener David Warner. Wood even smashed three quick sixes off the Aussie bowlers.
WINNER: Hannah Dingley
Dingley becomes the first female coach in England men’s professional leagues, taking charge of EFL League Two side Forest Green Rovers.
WINNER: Mark Cavendish
Plaudits came thick and fast for the British cycling sprint legend, who crashed and broke a collarbone as he looked to set a new record of stage wins in the Tour de France. Cavendish plans to retire this season.
