The NZME’s sports team collectively covered hundreds of sporting contests over the past 12 months. Many weren’t classics but there was still plenty to choose from and judge their favourite matches of 2023.
Black Caps beat England by one wicket
The five-day duel was distilled into a final act on February 28, 2023 at Wellington’s Basin Reserve.
“J Anderson, c T Blundell, b N Wagner 4″ will surely achieve immortality as a dismissal in New Zealand cricket folklore.
If tests ever need an antidote to apathy, then bottle the serum from the hosts’ one-run victory. To sit in the press box absorbing and reporting on such theatre is a privilege. A case of ignoring your lamington and letting your tea stew as a game for the ages unfolds.
Eventually, the gladiatorial Neil Wagner coaxed James Anderson to edge a ball down the legside. Wicketkeeper Tom Blundell snared a diving catch. Hopefully, the local gloveman’s heroism is one day cast in bronze somewhere beyond the pickets.
England’s dismissal for 256 meant New Zealand became the fourth side in the game’s 2494-test history to win after following-on. The previous such incidents in 146 years of internationals are so iconic they can be catalogued by year and location: Sydney 1894, Leeds 1981 and Kolkata 2001.
Perhaps most important of all, many could simply savour an “I was there” memory to relay to future generations and thus keep the romance of the game alive.
– Andrew Alderson
Carlos Alcaraz beat Novak Djokovic 1–6, 7–6 (8–6), 6–1, 3–6, 6–4
It felt at the time like a long-awaited passing-of-the-torch moment in men’s tennis.
Carlos Alcaraz ended Novak Djokovic’s grass court supremacy at SW19 with an inspired performance across four hours and 42 minutes. A procession loomed early with Djokovic winning the first five games en route to a 6-1 first-set rout.
The 23-time Grand Slam champion was a point away from a two-sets-to-love lead before two unforced errors gave Alcaraz an opening. A backhand return clinched the set in a tiebreak for the Spaniard, much to the delight of the Centre Court patrons. Alcaraz carried that momentum through to the third winning 6-1.
In trademark fashion though, Djokovic refused to roll over in the fourth. He held serve down 15-40 and broke Alcaraz twice to level the match and send it to a decider. Both players saved break points early in the fifth set before Alcaraz made the crucial blow in the third game after a series of remarkable returns on the run. Djokovic obliterated his racquet into the net post in frustration, and Alcaraz never looked back, winning the set 6-4.
Djokovic paid Alcaraz the ultimate compliment in the aftermath, saying he’s never played someone like him in his career. Not bad considering a couple of guys you may know named Roger and Rafa.
– Nick Bewley
Portugal 24 Fiji 23
There were many epic matches at the Rugby World Cup but Portugal’s dramatic 24-23 win over Fiji – their first-ever in their tournament history – stands above them all. The final Pool C match, the last of 40 pool stage contests, was a captivating match that had rugby fans on the edge of their seats.
At halftime, the score was 3-3 hinting at the possibility of Portugal securing their maiden World Cup victory. They started the second half explosively, with wing Raffaele Storti outrunning the Fijians to score Portugal’s opening try in the 45th minute. Fiji wouldn’t go down without a fight, with Levani Botia barrelling over the line three minutes later, with the try converted to make the score 10-10.
The match continued to deliver wild moments, with the props playing crucial roles. Francisco Fernandes forced his way over the try line in the 51st minute while Botia was serving time in the bin. Fiji fought back again, with Mesake Doge crossing the line from close range with 12 minutes to go to level the score once again.
But the drama reached its peak in the final moments of the game. Two late Frank Lomani penalties in the 74th and 76th minute seemed to secure Fiji’s victory, but Portugal had other plans. A try to Rodrigo Marta with two minutes left, followed by a conversion, sealed Portugal’s historic triumph.
– Luke Kirkness
Aberg/Hovland beat Scheffler/Koepka 9 and 7
I’d usually have a close sporting contest as my favourite – but this is a rare good old-fashioned whooping where you couldn’t look away.
The US went into day two of the Ryder Cup trailing Europe 6 1/2 to 1 1/2 after dreadful opening day at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. They had to make a statement early on day two and the pairing of world No.1 Scottie Scheffler with five-time major winner Brooks Koepka looked the right way to do it.
They were up against Viktor Hovland, recent winner of the FexEd Championship, and Ryder Cup rookie Ludvig Aberg. Surely chalk up a win for the Americans.
In a foursomes format, the European duo won the first three holes by going par, par, bogey as both Scheffler and Koepka struggled. And then Aberg nearly aced the fourth as Europe took another hole. You kept thinking the two Americans would mount a comeback but both Hovland and Aberg didn’t give them a look-in, responding with superb approaches every time. It was over in a flash.
Over the 11 holes, two of the best players of this generation went seven-over and suffered the biggest defeat in an 18-hole match in Ryder Cup history as images showed Scheffler appearing to cry in the wake of the defeat. The US made a comeback attempt in the afternoon and although the Scheffler/Koepka defeat wasn’t a knockout blow, it certainly left the Americans stumbling around the ring thinking “where did that come from?”.
– Cam McMillan
Football Ferns 1 Norway 0
This was something so unexpected, it was almost frightening. The Football Ferns were $10 outsiders at the TAB and had never won a World Cup match, across 15 previous attempts, dating back to 1991. The capacity crowd were mostly there to celebrate the occasion while hoping they might see something special.
But no one counted on this – against a top European nation – and especially after the Fern’s poor buildup to the tournament, with just four victories from 25 matches. The atmosphere was fantastic at Eden Park, as fans cheered every touch, in an animated, vibrant way rarely seen in this country. That spurred on the team, who were collectively and individually in the zone.
Hannah Wilkinson’s 48th-minute goal was the lift-off moment, an explosion of joy and noise felt the length of the country. It was a well-worked move, but the Ferns had other chances, as they passed with confidence and verve. They also defended stoutly, especially in the second half, as Norway upped the ante. It was a surprisingly open game, where players abandoned usual caution, perhaps caught up in the rollicking atmosphere.
Ria Percival’s late penalty miss – with her spot kick bouncing off the crossbar – only added to the drama, before 12 minutes of injury time, amid scenes of immense tension.
The final whistle was the cue for mass celebrations – and plenty of tears – as the Ferns finally had their cherished World Cup win, when it mattered most. The players were exhausted but so were most of the 42,137 crowd, who had ridden every moment for almost two hours and been part of something they would never forget. That game was the highpoint of a Ferns’ campaign that ultimately ended prematurely but for a fortnight they were the talk of the town, thanks to the performance of their lives on that special Thursday night.
– Michael Burgess
Spain 2 Sweden 1
The highest-stakes football I’ve watched live did not disappoint. For 81 goalless minutes, the atmosphere was tense as the stakes rose higher before Spain broke the deadlock with Salma Paralluelo pouncing on a rebound to put one Spanish foot in the final.
Sweden hadn’t read that script and showed as they had throughout the tournament they weren’t going home without a scrap. Rebecka Blomqvist smashed one into the Spanish net to draw level once more and the crowd went into stunned mania.
Then, the crescendo came as one of the most remarkable sporting twists I have ever seen unravelled. Olga Carmona’s swirling, dipping winner from the edge of the area that rattled home off the crossbar had a Kiwi man yelling “Vamos!” louder than I’ve ever yelled anything else at Eden Park.
– Will Toogood
Australia 0 France 0 (Australia won 7-6 on penalties)
One of the most extraordinary finishes I’ve ever seen in a football match. After 120 goal-less, yet entertaining minutes, the co-hosts and France produced a marathon penalty shoot-out, with Australia eventually prevailing when 20-year-old Courtnee Vine slotted home the 20th spot-kick to send the Matildas through.
Goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold missed the chance to win the tie with Australia’s fifth penalty, but bounced back from the mental anguish of that to save Kenya Dali’s effort not once, but twice, after she was adjudged to have left her line early while stopping the first attempt.
The scenes in Brisbane and across the country when Vine scored to send her nation through were among the most emotional and euphoric of the year. Although they couldn’t get past England in the semifinals, the Matildas stamped themselves as one of Australia’s premier sporting teams, selling out 11 straight matches in 2023.
– Jason Pine
Sweden 0 US 0 (Sweden won 5-4 on penalties)
Scoreless football games are notoriously boring because all fans really want is to witness fantastic goals. However, the US and Sweden’s 120-minute Fifa Women’s World Cup deadlocked match, ending in a penalty shootout, is an exception.
The World Cup round-of-16 match will go down as one of the greats, as it knocked out the world’s best-ever team and because of the controversial penalty kick that ended all chances of a possible three-peat.
Seeing an underdog knocking out America – a team that’s held the world No. 1 spot for 13 years – would always be big. But seeing a team of their calibre and aura exit a tournament early is far from ideal – especially for the fans.
After dominating the match, the two-time defending champion US side twice had penalties in the shootout to win it over Sweden but botched both before crashing out of the tournament.
Megan Rapinoe, Sophia Smith and Kelly O’Hara missed with kicks from the spot before Lina Hurtig converted to clinch the shootout 5-4. US goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher fruitlessly argued she had saved Hurtig’s attempt, but it was ever-so narrowly ruled over the line by VAR.
The goal is furiously debated online to this day.
– Bonnie Jansen
Mea Motu defeats Ellen Simwaka
The undercard included Lani Daniels and Jerome Pampellone fights, adding to a memorable evening.
The big news was Motu though, who was helping break new ground as a woman defending her world title in the main event.
Motu is an amazing character. Plenty has been written about her experience of surviving domestic violence, and that’s because she is open and perceptive about it. Her voice is so authentic – it needs to be heard in the right places.
Beyond that, it was a terrific fight, with Motu overcoming a dislocated shoulder in the first round to hold on to her title.
New Zealand has a healthy fight scene, dotted with characters who operate in relative obscurity, hoping all the skill and hard work leads to a shot at glory.
I have a special memory of that night, involving light heavyweight Pampellone, who is bidding for a crack at a world title.
Pampellone also works as a plumber, for trainer Isaac Peach, and happened to be doing a job at my house just before he fought South African Luvuyo Sizani
“Don’t get injured,” I begged of the fighter, as he began to crawl under the house.
It was surreal seeing him step into the ring just days later.
Pampellone crushed Sizani in quick time, the only disappointment being that a TV sound operator blocked our table’s view of the magnificent final body shot.
– Chris Rattue
Springboks 12 All Blacks 11
World Cup finals are not meant to be enjoyable. For players and fans, they are a test of character, a ritual in which a definitive perspective on an era is carved into our psyche. Each of the All Blacks’ five finals appearances neatly captures the age in which the match was played: The bold ambition ‘80s of Kirwan and Co., the nausea of 1995 and 2011, and the frivolity of 2015.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup final was the perfect finishing point for the Ian Foster era, containing the elements All Blacks fans had come to know all too well over four strange seasons: a match-defining red card, painful tension throughout, individual talent shining through and – ultimately – hard-earned defeat.
Captain Sam Cane deserves to be remembered for his phenomenal defensive effort in the glorious quarter-final victory over favourites Ireland, but it’s his early trip to the showers on the sport’s biggest stage that will live longest in the memory. Psyche duly carved.
– Winston Aldworth
Tottenham 2 Liverpool 1
If your team can’t win with skill and ability, the next best option is to win with drama and controversy. That is what Tottenham delivered against Liverpool in late September on my first visit to their home ground for 30 years.
Tottenham’s recent record against the Reds is terrible – just one win in 23 attempts before this fixture – but hopes were heightened when Curtis Jones was sent off inside half an hour for a bad tackle on Yves Bissouma.
Luiz Diaz appeared to have given Liverpool the lead with a well-taken goal but an assistant flagged for offside. Play restarted but the stadium screens continued to show “goal under review” for a disconcertingly long time – an omen of things to come.
Minutes later, Son Heung-min opened the scoring for Spurs but Cody Gakpo equalised in first-half injury time to the annoyance of the home fans.
When halftime substitute Diogo Jota picked up two yellow cards within 90 seconds, Liverpool were reduced to nine men with more than 20 minutes to play.
Surely a long-awaited Tottenham win was imminent but Liverpool defended resolutely, first with a 4-4-0 formation, then 5-3-0.
Groans grew audibly around the stadium as Spurs struggled to produce any incisive moves while time ticked away.
The corner of Liverpool supporters at the far end of the ground cheered when six minutes of added time was indicated and their team looked like holding on for a famous draw against the odds.
But then fullback Pedro Porro fired in a hopeful low cross from the right with no Tottenham team-mates in the six-yard box. His cross looked unthreatening - until Liverpool centre-back Joel Matip shinned the ball into the top corner of his own goal.
The clock ticked past 95min 30sec as the ball rebounded out of the net and was punched by frustrated Liverpool keeper Alisson into the South Stand, where an eruption of euphoria engulfed the 17,500 fans I was among.
Thousands congregated inside the stand’s ground-floor entrances to celebrate and chant and sing long after full-time, complete with an inflatable kangaroo bouncing above their heads in honour of new Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou.
When news broke that Diaz’s goal had been wrongly disallowed due to “significant human error”, that just added to the gleeful carnival atmosphere.
The official attendance was 62,001 – I’d come a long way and fortuitously picked a spectacular game to be the 1.
– Simon Kay
South Africa 29 France 28
Sometimes it is better to be neutral, to witness the emotional rollercoaster devoid of vested interest. This was certainly one of those occasions.
Like the epic All Blacks victory against Ireland the previous night, South Africa’s tormenting win over France should never have occurred at the quarter-final stage. As everyone knew prior to this tournament, the four best teams were destined to collide at that juncture, forcing two to depart in a self-imposed black eye for World Rugby.
This quarter-final had it all: Antoine Dupont’s comeback from a broken cheekbone, five tries in the frenetic opening 25 minutes, speed, brutal force, multiple changes of lead, drama, controversy, ecstasy, heartbreak. It didn’t quite match the All Blacks and Ireland as the clear standout match of the tournament but it wasn’t far away.
Stade de France was never the same after that night. As the devastated hosts departed so, too, did the heart of the tournament.
French tantrums would flow for weeks. While they had a strong case for a penalty try and an Eben Etzebeth yellow card for a deliberate knockdown on his line, after conceding two tries from botched high-ball catches France only had themselves to blame.
This was, of course, the first of South Africa’s three knockout wins by one point. In the two weeks that followed England and the All Blacks suffered the same fine-line fate as the Springboks went back-to-back for their first time.
Even now, it’s difficult to comprehend quite how the Springboks survived three such agonising margins.
– Liam Napier
Australia win SailGP grand final
High stakes, high drama. SailGP probably could have drawn up a more intense finish to a grand final than the one they got in San Francisco this year. Contested between New Zealand, Australia and Great Britain, plenty of water went under the trampolines before Australia claimed the trophy. New Zealand had a solid start but were forced wide by the Australians and had to race at the back for the opening legs. They probably shouldn’t have had a look in from there, but a sport powered by nature can be a funny thing. They made some moves midway through the race, finding the breeze to swoop passed the British, while Australia twice came off their foils which opened the door for the Kiwis.
It came down to the final stretch, with the Kiwis gaining quickly on the Australians into the final turn. Ultimately, they weren’t able to get over the top of the frontrunners – for what Australian skipper Tom Slingsby said would have been “the biggest choke of all time here”, though Team New Zealand’s efforts in 2013 will be hard to top in that regard - but few other matches I’ve watched this year have ignited the fan in me quite like that one.
– Christopher Reive
Warriors 32 Sharks 30
A rainy afternoon in Cronulla marked one of the greatest comebacks in the Warriors’ history, and perhaps the moment they were to be taken seriously as NRL playoff contenders. Down 20-nil against the Sharks in the first 20 minutes and 26-6 after 27, any hope of victory seemed far-fetched at best and downright delusional at worst. It was made even more so when destructive second-rower Marata Niukore was sin-binned for a hip-drop tackle just before halftime.
The Warriors held their nerve, winning the 10-minute period 6-0 after Shaun Johnson ran away with a drop from Sharks winger Ronaldo Mulitalo from a bomb. New Zealand winger Ed Kosi had a fiery exchange with Mulitalo, making the contest even more spicy as the pair traded tries four minutes apart.
When Josh Curran eventually crashed over in the 68th minute, scores were tied up at 30-all. Shaun Johnson subsequently nailed a penalty kick from 35m out in the pouring rain against his former club.
The drama didn’t end there, with the Warriors conceding a penalty from the restart. Dally M medal winner Nicho Hynes missed a tough chance to send the match into overtime, putting the Warriors and fans alike into a state of ecstasy.
– Nathan Limm
All Blacks 28 Ireland 24
Uncharted territory can go one of two ways. Luckily for the All Blacks when they went in as underdogs for the first time to a Rugby World Cup knockout match, they played with the spirit that underdogs often do. Plucky, resilient and relishing the chance to put the pressure on a more fancied opponent.
This was the All Blacks in their best form of the entire World Cup cycle, even despite two yellow cards and allowing 24 points in.
Punch and counterpunch rugby at its finest, the All Blacks go out to a 13-nil lead and then Ireland chip away as they know best.
The best games of sport come when both sides bring their best to the table – which the All Blacks and Ireland did on a hot night in Paris – and when there are key moments that live long in the memory. Two stay with me.
First, Jordie Barrett with the hands of steel to hold up Ireland’s Ronan Kelleher and deny a certain try, then Sam Whitelock showing a clear lift to referee Wayne Barnes that earned the All Blacks the right to knock the ball into the Stade de France stands. And with that, the Irish monster that had terrorised the All Blacks in 2022 was vanquished.
– Elliott Smith
