Chris Rattue: Sport's winners and losers - The opening round of Super Rugby Pacific was a dire experience

General view of the Highlanders v Chiefs clash at Wakatipu Rugby Park, Queenstown. Photo / Photosport

OPINION:

Chris Rattue runs through the winners and losers of the past week of sport.

LOSER - rugby, sport

From the Emperor Has No Clothes department…

Watching the opening round of Super Rugby Pacific was a dire experience.

The Chiefs and Highlanders played in a deserted paddock while the atmosphere at Dunedin's stadium for the Crusaders-Hurricanes match sounded like a quiet day at a public swimming facility. The games themselves were ordinary standard-wise.

Crowds help draw better performances out of players, and they also mask the faults.

A great game isn't necessarily a high-quality game. A close score allied to a vibrant atmosphere is what really works.

No wonder New Zealand rugby boss Mark Robinson sounded a warning for sport if Covid-forced crowd restrictions remain much longer.

General view of the Highlanders v Chiefs clash at Wakatipu Rugby Park, Queenstown. Photo / Photosport

In particular, he seems to fear for the mid-year series between the All Blacks and Ireland if the crowds aren't back.

He also said there would be dreadful consequences down the line if sport and recreation participation levels dropped permanently across the board as a result of the pandemic.

It's not like rugby to really care about anyone else, and I don't think the national sport does in its heart. It has long thrived on narcissistic tendencies.

But Robinson will know that if he bangs the drum on behalf of all sport, he will have more of an impact.

And the pandemic has broken the magic spell sport often casts over the masses. Like other matters, such as working from home rather than the office, it has given citizens a chance to re-evaluate their lives, how they spend their time.

And there are lots better ways to spend it than watching soulless Super Rugby contests right now.

LOSERS - Football Ferns

Of course she got it right, because it was her call to make.

Football Ferns coach Jitka Klimková has been questioned in some quarters for substituting Meikayla Moore before halftime, after the defender conceded a world record three own goals against the USA.

New Zealand coach Jitka Klimkova consoles Meikayla Moore after her substitution. Photosport

Poor Moore had to make a walk of shame in California. Or that's how it probably felt to her.

But this is international sport. It's a brutal place. Klimková had to do something to try and stop the rot. What if Moore had scored a fourth? The coach's responsibility is to the team. Personal feelings don't come into it.

Professional players get pulled out of games all the time when they fail.

And this was an epic fail from Moore.

The final own goal came from an awful piece of defending. In that moment in time, Moore was a goner.

The 25-year-old made for a disconsolate figure. The Football Ferns struggle for recognition. This is not the headline you dream about when pulling on the national strip.

She can bounce back. We all hope she does. But the time for that had long gone in this game. It was Klimková's right, absolutely, to make that call.

The real question is whether the Football Ferns can bounce back with New Zealand co-hosting the World Cup with Australia next year.

They were ripped apart by a young American team's pace, having fallen to Iceland a few days earlier.

It will be fantastic to see the world's best players in this country, and the World Cup will be a massive boost for women's football and sport.

But winning the hosting rights is also starting to look like a "Be Careful What You Wish For" moment.

The national team is in a terrible state, and can't break free of the malaise which has gripped it after years of offhand, chauvinistic treatment by the national administration.

WINNER - Brodie Retallick

The giant All Black legend produced a fabulous back-flip pass to complete a Chiefs try against the Highlanders. I only saw the tail end of Colin Meads' career, and it is very hard to judge players across different eras. There is a mystique and aura to Meads which is hard to match. But for my money, when it comes to locks in world rugby, Brodie Retallick is THE greatest.

Chiefs Brodie Retallick is brought down during their Super Rugby match against the Highlanders. Photosport

WINNER - our Winter Olympics

Zoi Sadowski-Synnott and Nico Porteous take a giant bow, for flying up the slopes of world snow sports.

The idea that New Zealand could win two gold medals (along with Sadowski-Synnott's silver) at a Winter Olympics is preposterous.

They are also part of a new wave, taking their sports to amazing new levels.

Zoi Sadowski Synnott of New Zealand celebrates her silver medal in the women's snowboard big air finals. Photo / AP

WINNER - our cricket fast bowling stocks

Matt Henry's stupendous first test against South Africa adds to the legend. We've got across-the-board quality and variety like never before. Long may it continue.

New Zealand's Matt Henry celebrates the wicket of Dean Elgar during play on day two of the first cricket test. Photosport

WINNER - Sky Sport

The old one-stop shop for sport has been given a giant kick in the you know what in recent times, from opponents picking off their wares.

There was a time when I backed those interlopers, who forced Sky to look at how it operates.

Sky's pricing is now more reasonable, its services generally better, and the use of multi-channels to cover big events a boon (even though its general sports programming remains poor).

Time then to celebrate the return of English Premier League to Sky from next season, after a spell with Spark Sport.

Taking note of my own viewing behaviour, I haven't watched as much cricket or English football since Spark grabbed them.

In theory, a sport on another easily found platform shouldn't matter. But for some reason it does in the world of channel surfing.