Chris Wood scored a magnificent header for his 10th Premier League goal of the season. Photo / AP
OPINION
Chris Rattue runs through the best and the worst from the sporting weekend.
The Warriors coach is the most significant addition to New Zealand sport for a long time.
He is giving history-altering substance to the rugby league revolution, producing a side that is superbly drilled, united, and genuine NRL top-four quality.
Webster wants to stay long term and under his guidance, the Warriors will finally deliver the high-quality, title-chasing the club it was always meant to be.
Webster tends to fly under the radar though.
But great to hear his explanation of the Roger Tuivasa-Sheck v Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad debate, over who should play fullback, while revealing Tuivasa-Sheck’s team-first attitude to it.
With Nicoll-Klokstad and Taine Tuaupiki sidelined by injuries, Tuivasa-Sheck had a magnificent game against the Newcastle Knights.
Tuviasa-Sheck must sense he is back home, after failing to make a serious impact in rugby union.
Walking out of Mt Smart Stadium on Sunday night, it was easy to feel that RTS had won back the No.1 jersey after running riot, although he dropped one bomb and wasn’t as dominant defensively.
But Webster will stay loyal to the very physical Nicoll-Klokstad when he returns from injury, with RTS going back to the centres.
It makes sense, even if it is an arguable decision.
Nicoll-Klokstad was awesome last year, a driving force in a watershed season, and also deserves the loyalty Webster is showing him.
And Tuivasa-Sheck is quickly coming to grips with a roving role from centre, and could be almost as devastating with the ball in that position.
It’s unlikely that Nicoll-Klokstad, who has to be in the lineup, would have the same sort of impact at centre.
It’s also great to see Webster encouraging the fullback debate.
However, Webster must surely enact one U-turn. If Nicoll-Klokstad is missing again, Tuivasa-Sheck HAS to be his replacement at fullback, rather than Tuaupiki.
It burst into life during a Warriors attack against the Knights on Sunday night. Fantastic.
Congratulations to the ground announcer, for toning down his over-the-top act during the opening Sharks game.
This let the crowd have its rightful say.
The Kiwi is not only scoring goals in the English Premier League, but in some respects is just about the most successful striker in the world’s finest football league right now.
A magical back-to-the-goal header brought Wood his 10th goal of the season, earning a draw for Nottingham Forest against Crystal Palace.
Wood’s EPL numbers top the charts.
In goals alone, he is well behind Erling Haaland, Mohamed Salah and co.
Wood lies 11th on the goalscoring chart, with eight fewer than Manchester City superstar Haaland.
But in many categories among the top goal scorers (such as goals per minute, match-winning goals etc.) Wood is right near or at the top of lists.
His shot accuracy and conversion rates (goals per shots) are incredibly high.
Those who knew Wood when he was a teen say he always had a weird knack for finding the net. His latest goal is a wonderful example of that.
Do we celebrate Chris Wood enough? Probably not.
The Crusaders hooker scored a fabulous solo try against the Chiefs, expertly angling through a gap before haring off towards the corner flag.
It was a reminder of Dane Coles in his heyday, although it would be unfair to prematurely compare Bell to the great All Blacks hooker.
But a try like that certainly makes you look out for a player, and the compact Bell - with a similar build to Coles - had a vigorous game.
On the downside, the Crusaders’ lineout has hardly been a thing of beauty this year. But Bell might be a player on the rise.
As a quirky aside, measuring the length of Bell’s run against the Chiefs has been a tricky business. One report put it at 30 metres, another at 50 metres.
Whichever, it was impressive.
The Christchurch Super Rugby battle between the Crusaders and Chiefs was the glamour rugby fixture this weekend, yet the stadium was liberally dotted with empty seats.
And the Moana Pasifika venture - which had a lot of potential - is a flop so far.
Done well, it would have created a vibrant local rivalry in Auckland. But the odds were always against it being allowed to succeed because New Zealand rugby is built for one purpose, to supply the All Blacks with players.
The Blues’ monster victory over Moana Pasifika was such a foregone conclusion it was hardly worth watching.
Arsenal’s visit to Manchester City produced a flat, cat-and-mouse game. What a letdown.
A lot of optimism sprung up last week over the Kiwi’s chances of getting a permanent Formula One drive. He’s even threatening to quit mighty Red Bull to make his dream happen. Love the attitude.
The Welsh rugby wing signed a three-year deal with Kansas City Chiefs, the Super Bowl champions who are built around star quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
The next step for Rees-Zammit is to progress out of the large initial squad into the 53-man roster, where he hopes to play as a wide receiver/running back.
Excuse the cynicism…but the Chiefs, and NFL, will have one eye on the international publicity value here. It would be a surprise if he succeeds ahead of so many American contenders who are steeped in the game, and desperate for their shot at the big time and a whopping contract.
It would be great to see him suit up in proper NFL games though.
The Japanese MLB baseball star will be fine in the end. Ohtani is too big to fail.
But for now, his image has taken a huge hit, over the scandal involving his now-fired interpreter.
Ohtani says the interpreter stole millions from him, to pay off gambling debts to an illegal bookie, and that this was reported to authorities.
The trouble is, media enquiries have failed to find any such authority receiving a theft report.
Which leaves the obvious question: Was it a theft at all?
Ohtani is a once-in-many-generations player who is a brilliant pitcher and batter, although he will only bat for his new Los Angeles Dodgers club this season as he recovers from elbow surgery.
He’s got much more than an elbow problem to recover from.
Two veteran Dutch women’s darts players have quit their national team because a transgender woman has been selected.
One said she was “ashamed” to be playing alongside a biological man, which is taking the outrage way too far.
I fully understand, and back, female sportspeople who oppose competing with and against those they believe are male.
But it is a complicated issue, requiring some level of empathy rather than “shame”.
And surely darts is a sport where all genders can compete together anyway.
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.