I’d love to see loose forward Wallace Sititi used off the bench as well. It would be the better way to build his test career, and his explosive running could break games open in the second half.
The All Blacks will also be able to instal a power-packed halfback on the bench when Cam Roigard returns.
Even mad, misfiring Damian McKenzie is a ready-made gamebreaker.
It will be interesting to see if Robertson is prepared to make early mass changes, the way Erasmus has done, as his test career builds.
Tosi shapes as a great piece of selection by Robertson and co, presuming that his scrum work will be up to scratch.
Winner: South Africa…and their latest trick
The Springboks monstered previously impressive Argentina in Mbombela, to win the Rugby Championship title with ease.
It has been a truly magnificent series for Rassie Erasmus, Siya Kolisi and co.
The Springboks have kept building a World Cup squad through selection changes without - ultimately - losing their dominant aura.
Giant blindside Pieter-Steph du Toit - maybe the most influential player in world rugby - and zappy wing Cheslin Kolbe were among the standouts, as the card-hit Pumas were crushed.
The Springboks continue to be innovative…they like to deal in bluffs or double bluffs.
On their first attacking lineout, lock Eben Etzebeth caught the ball high at the front, then flipped it mid-air over his head to the raised du Toit.
The aim, presumably, was to confuse the Pumas over where the lineout maul would develop…and put future opponents in two minds over lineout defence.
Loser: Everyone
Giant Kiwi prop Nelson Asofa-Solomona is set to miss the NRL grand final, for a supposed high shot as the Roosters ran back the opening kickoff on Friday night.
If Asofa-Solomona is rubbed out of the final, it will be a devastating blow for the player, the Storm and probably the Kiwis.
Even his Penrith grand final opponent James Fisher-Harris, the Kiwis captain, is hoping Asofa-Solomona plays.
At least the big man has two NRL win medals already.
Thirty years ago, Canberra’s Kiwi prop John Lomax - father of All Blacks tighthead Tyrel - was suspended out of the grand final, won by the Raiders over the Bulldogs. Lomax never got to play in an Australian grand final.
On the kick-off subject, America’s NFL changed its rules seeking safer re-starts that don’t involve players hurtling towards each other from a distance. The NRL may well consider something similar under sharp boss Peter V’landys.
Winner: Jahrome Hughes
The Kiwi halfback has had a sensational year with the Melbourne Storm, and scored three tries in the playoff win over the Roosters. The Dally M favourite has a running game that might make him a better player than his legendary Storm predecessor Cooper Cronk (IMO).
Loser: The Warriors
The Auckland NRL club has egg all over its face regarding Eliesa Katoa, the Tongan powerhouse who came to Auckland in his late teens.
Second-rower Katoa is going from strength to strength at the Melbourne Storm, and was rated one of the standouts in their playoff victory over the high-quality Roosters. He is an NRL star of 2024.
How on Earth did the Warriors let Katoa go two years ago?
What started as a superb piece of scouting by the Warriors has turned into an embarrassment.
In return, they have been left with the underperforming Marata Niukore, a flop since he was signed from the Eels, and solid but unspectacular veteran Kurt Capewell.
Winner: Liam Lawson… BUT
His rise to the Formula One ranks is a great achievement. But the Brendon Hartley experience suggests that if Lawson can’t push towards the very top of F1 through being in race contention, our interest drops off.
Way back, it was an enigmatic sailing contest of dodgy rule manipulation and fascinating people - Ted Turner, Dennis Conner, Alan Bond et al.
Then it became a great Kiwi crusade, full of drama and characters, from here and abroad. We had a parade. We had Peter Montgomery.
Then it became a high-speed foiling spectacular.
Those were the days.
Taking the contest to Spain is a miscalculation by Grant Dalton, although he won’t care.
Yes, New Zealand’s actual defence of the Auld Mug against Britain or Italy will perk things up.
But the magic has gone. It’s been turned into just another cold, remote, professional sports contest.
Flat as a millpond.
Winner: Netball explanations, please
The England Roses were better prepared for the opening netball test against the Silver Ferns, which they won by a point.
As Ferns captain Ameliaranne Ekenasio pointed out, they haven’t had court action for months. England, in contrast, have just played Australia.
Why was the preparation so under-cooked before what should be regarded as a major series? What can be done about it in future?
Loser: New Zealand’s cricket reputation
The lads have had a two-test shocker in Sri Lanka, to put it mildly. And it doesn’t get any easier. Next stop: India. Eeeeeeeek.
Devon Conway departs on day two of the second test. Photo / Sri Lanka Cricket
Winner: Caitlin Clark and the WNBA
Clark’s x-factor has given women’s basketball a remarkable boost.
The season is over for her Indiana Fever, with Clark nailing a load of rookie records. But the stats don’t go close to revealing Clark’s influence on the game and associated optimism about the future.
There’s even a supposed feud with Chicago Sky player Angel Reese - they have been rivals since high school.
Like many sports feuds - such as the one between boxing greats Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier - it’s not clear how deep it goes.
Even the sports stars involved can feel conflicted about the nature of a feud, as Frazier seemed at times about Ali’s insults.
Reese says there has “never been a beef” between her and Clark. But she is hurt over racist taunts from others linked to their rivalry. What is it about sports and racism?
Winner: English football punditry
Former star striker Michael Owens is among the best. He lambasted Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag after the 3 - 0 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur, saying: “There are absolutely no chinks of light at all.”
Owen continues to demand ten Hag’s sacking.
Spurs’ Australian manager Ange Postecoglou was celebrating a 3 - 0 result that could be the making of his EPL career.
Winner: Aussie Rules coach Chris Fagan and his path to the top
The Brisbane Lions coach is being credited with perhaps the greatest turnaround of a Southern Hemisphere football club after they smashed the Sydney Swans by 60 points in the Aussie Rules grand final.
The 63-year-old Fagan is the oldest winning grand final coach, and just the second never to have played at the highest level.
When he took over eight years ago, the club was a sinking ship that had won a total of just seven games over the previous two seasons.
Former top players tend to dominate the world coaching ranks.
But six-time Super Bowl winner Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots didn’t play in the NFL. Basketball maestro Gregg Popovich has a similar NBA story.
Winner/Loser: To be decided
An 18-year-old named Max Matus filed a civil lawsuit claiming he is the owner of a baseball hit by Dodgers MLB history-maker Shohei Ohtani that could be worth millions. Matus said the ball was wrestled off him by a “muscular, older man”, after Ohtani hit his 50th home run of the season, having also stolen 50 bases. The ball was due to be auctioned.
Fights over famous baseballs are the stuff of legend.
A couple of fans have feuded for decades over ownership of a record-equalling ball hit by the Chicago Cubs’ Sammy Sosa into a street next to Wrigley Field. One of them decided to try and settle things by giving the ball to Sosa.
