A dejected Beauden Barrett after the Blues' loss to the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
A dejected Beauden Barrett after the Blues' loss to the Crusaders. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Chris Rattue runs through the big winners and losers from the sporting weekend.
LOSER: Beauden Barrett
Modern rugby is a confusing mystery (to me) a lot of the time, but even then, it was hard to understand Barrett’s kicking and generalship during much of their loss to the Crusaders.
The home side were dominating possession, forcing the Blues into a mountain of tackles that would sap their attacking strength. Yet the Blues kept kicking the ball back to them.
Maybe it was the coaches’ dictates - after all their best ball-running off-loader Akira Ioane was on the bench - but it looked very odd. I felt the Blues were too passive, and virtually ran up the white flag.
Playing the mighty Crusaders in Christchurch requires a much bolder approach.
And strategy aside, a lot of Barrett’s kicking in the pivotal stages was of poor quality.
WINNER/LOSER: The All Blacks No 10 battle
Chiefs' Damian McKenzie in action. Photo / Photosport
There is a lot of extreme talent and experience available - Beauden Barrett, Richie Mo’unga, Damian McKenzie. It’s hardly a lost cause.
But none are making every post a winner, particularly after McKenzie and the Chiefs suffered an upset loss to the Reds. And from what I’ve seen, no newcomer is putting up their hand, demanding that it’s time - even in a World Cup year - for Ian Foster to take a selection plunge.
Don’t know who I’d pick anymore.
No one is saying “I am THE man”.
As for Caleb Clarke, I’d throw out the word “overhyped” after the wing’s substandard performance against the Crusaders. He doesn’t look World Cup material.
Crusader Will Jordan is a different story, an enormously gifted player in a sea of muscle. But coming back from extremely concerning issues, his attacking game was shackled in a low-scoring game at Christchurch.
I fear the World Cup punditry will centre on a Brodie Retallick injury watch, again.
WINNER: Brad Thorn
The former All Blacks block wall guided the Reds to victory over the Chiefs in New Plymouth, breaking what was kindly described as a drought in this country. The description “shock” hardly does the Reds’ win justice. A great result and memory for Thorn, who bows out as Reds coach this year.
WINNER: LeBron James, NBA finals
Basketball comes alive in the finals, and the legendary LeBron James keeps on keeping on, at the age of 38. His Lakers saw off Steph Curry and the champion Golden State Warriors, whose three-point game fell apart in the semifinals. The conference final match-up between James and the Denver Nuggets’ giant magician Nikola Jokić is even more tantalising than his scrap with Curry.
The All Blacks have had a line of truly great centres over the past 50-odd years and while it is hard to compare and rank them, Robertson’s elegance set him apart. The way he played and glided along was absolutely timeless.
The last time I saw him play was in the late 1980s, a festival match at the Bombay club, about five or six years after his last game for Counties.
I’ll never forget the way he not only overhauled an opponent - a top provincial player at the time - to make a try-saving tackle on the goal line, but also emerged with the ball. And he made it look easy.
Centre was a position of tremendous strength for the All Blacks, before No 13s were turned into glorified loose forwards.
There is no one in the game these days to compare with the status achieved by Robertson, Joe Stanley, Frank Bunce, Tana Umaga and Conrad Smith.
Robertson would have been a star in any era, even the current one where brawn is all the rage.
There may be trouble at mill involving women’s football in places like the Western Springs club, which is dealing with accusations of misogyny. Elsewhere though, it is booming.
A world record domestic crowd - a Wembley sellout - watched Chelsea beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final.
Aussie superstar Sam Kerr scored the Chelsea winner, and therein lies the mission for New Zealand football.
Kerr has helped turn the Matildas into Australia’s sporting darlings. We need to find ways of uncovering players good enough to make their mark in America and Europe. It can be done.
As for misogyny in the Kiwi game, it’s a huge reason why the highly promising, fun-filled foundations of the 1970s turned into so many disappointing days for our women’s football code.
WINNER: Manchester City
Arsenal's Martin Odegaard reacts during his side's loss to Brighton. Photo / AP
It took far longer than many expected, but Arsenal’s impressive bid for the English Premier league title has finally collapsed, a handful of games from the end.
Their thrashing at home by Brighton leaves Manchester City with one hand and quite a few remaining fingers on the trophy.
WINNER: Hayden Wilde
A brilliant win in Yokohama by the outstanding Kiwi triathlete. It looks as though Wilde is ready for another tilt at the world crown.
WINNER: New Zealand sevens
A double world series triumph for the men and women. They play in relative obscurity and many of the players are hardly household names. But the sevens pop up now and then to give New Zealand’s rugby image a bit of a polish.
