Louisa Wall: Norm and Cambo do us proud

What a week.

Norm Hewitt set the tone with a champion performance.

Unfazed by the near riot caused by Shane (shirtless) Cortese and Nerida (belly button exposed) Lister, Hewitt and Carol-Ann Hickmore were able to sustain the pressure of finals competition.

It reminded me of the Olympics. It was a scenario that not many would have predicted at the beginning of the competition, but one that Hewitt and Hickmore absolutely flourished in.

Someone at TVNZ needs a pat on the back for picking Hewitt as a celeb starter. It just shows that All Blacks can do anything.

Then we were mesmerised on Monday morning when Michael Campbell, ranked 80th in the world (now 27th), became the only Kiwi to win the US Open title, in North Carolina, on a course that humbled all.

Not since Sir Bob Charles' 1963 British Open victory has a Kiwi had such golfing success. Campbell has now achieved some of the potential many knew he had but few had seen on such a prominent stage.

The scenario was similar to Hewitt. Tiger Woods had completed his work and all the pressure was on Campbell. He clinched it with that birdie on the 17th to take a three-shot lead into the final hole. And one of those shots was needed.

Cambo had worked hard for this and he sure wasn't going to let it out of his grasp.

Congratulations Titahi Bay and the Campbell whanau. Any dad would be happy with such a Father's Day present. Campbell's post-match interview was brilliant: "I put in the work and this outcome is not a surprise".

Success, it seems, does not creep up on you but is all part of a grand plan.

All we want now is an All Black victory against the Lions as the cherry on this week's sporting cake.

And forget the Muhammad Ali-type hype and "We are the greatest" sentiments from Sir Clive Woodward and colleagues after the Otago match.

We aren't scared, regardless of the tricks yet to be revealed. Psychologically, you may think we are weak.

Some of you (it was Wales' Australian assistant coach Scott Johnson) think we come from a "poxy little island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean" - actually, two poxy little islands - and you may have intimidated the referees with your sideline intervention. But bravado will only get you so far.

The talking that matters is on the field. You are clear that winning is everything and you are not here to inspire the New Zealand public.

Forget that you had committed to a series of public performances and have let a lot of children and rugby fans down; it is the on-field performances that matter. You have to keep the sponsors happy, after all.

But after your Maori loss, the assessment - failure. You may think you can take our eyes off the ball by such distractions as questioning the refs' role and avoiding the media. But it won't work.

The boys know that wearing the black jersey with the silver fern is an honour and they are playing for the pride of all New Zealanders.

Michael Campbell espoused this after his win - that he had achieved this for himself, his whanau (specifically his grandmother, who he was very close to and who had said to him, "Michael, you will change people's lives") and all New Zealanders. He did it for all of us.

And what did Campbell have to say on his website, apart from kia ora? "At last - a major in the bag! It's been a long time in the making, but I've finally achieved a goal I set myself many years ago. It's such a fantastic feeling to make a breakthrough in the United States - and at the US Open, no less."

At last indeed; it's time for the haka.

* Louisa Wall is a former NZ netball and rugby representative.