Moana Pasifika's Sekope Kepu thanks the Crusaders after their maiden Super Rugby game. Photosport
Moana Pasifika's Sekope Kepu thanks the Crusaders after their maiden Super Rugby game. Photosport
OPINION:
Cameron McMillan looks over the highs and lows from the sporting weekend.
Winner: Super Rugby change
It's hard to view the new competition through restricted crowds and neutral grounds but it has the potential to be a massive improvement on previous Super Rugby editions for one main reason –the kickoff times. As a fan living in New Zealand you can watch every game without needing to set an alarm. What a crazy experience.
To be honest it would have to be almost a decade since I got up in the middle of the night for a Super Rugby game but certainly, I'm not missing the Sharks or Stormers or Southern Kings. I have serious doubts the Springboks biggest names would have still have been playing for Super Rugby franchises if they were still part of it. Maybe I will change my mind in a few years, or even a few months when we get to the transtasman clashes, but as it stands with the way the kickoff times work, Super Rugby Pacific appears to be the best possible competition for New Zealand viewers.
While I don't mind not seeing any South African teams in Super Rugby Pacific, I would like to see the return of 2019 finalists the Jaguares. They probably don't fit under the 'Pacific' banner but Covid could have normalised a change in sport and travel. Maybe they could base themselves in Australia for most of the season and end with three home games.
A Pacific representation in Super Rugby was about 26 years overdue and the Crusaders may have been running out a lighter version of their powerhouse but it was pretty special to see Moana Pasifika finally take the field, while the Fijian Drua earned their maiden win on Friday. Can't wait to see the return of crowds and these two sides get the support they deserve.
Winners: The Crusaders
A new competition but still the same old sight of the Crusaders at the top of the table after three weeks, even when they haven't at all looked their best. Now we get to the quirk of the draw where they play the Chiefs twice in three weeks with a Blues game in between.
Winner: Shane Warne
As a kid growing up in the late 80s and 90s, no one ever bowled spin in backyard cricket, though in my case against two older brothers it would have conserved energy. There was a brief Dipak Patel phase in 1992 but until Warne really made his name in 1993 we were all trying to imitate Merv Hughes or Danny Morrison. Suddenly when the beach-blonde Warne took a seven-for against the West Indies and then marked his Ashes arrival with that delivery to Mike Gatting – which he himself dubbed a 'fluke' – every kid was trying to bowl leg spin. Most of us very poorly because it's bloody hard to do. Which is why we as fans, probably took Warne's career and his life for granted. No one will ever produce a leg spin career like Warne again and 'Warney' was such a one-off character off the field.
The recent Amazon documentary 'Shane' isn't up to the high standards of 'Senna' or 'Diego Maradona' in terms of sport biodocs but a watch over the weekend produced a few insights into the early stages of Warne's career and a nice anecdote from Warne about how he put the strength of his wrists down to breaking both his legs aged six and having to push himself around on a wheeled trolly made by his dad.
Shane Warne appeals unsuccessfully for the wicket of Craig McMillan during a 2004 test at the Gabba. Photosport
Chris Cairns' column did a good job explaining what made it so hard to face Warne. He will obviously be remembered for his test career but Warne was of course one hell of an ODI bowler, capturing man of the match honours in the semi and final at the 1999 World Cup one of his often forgotten feats. A larrikin sporting freak who loved a beer, Warne was about as Aussie as you can get.
Losers/Winners: Fielding
We've seen too many spilled catches and misfields already in the Women's Cricket World Cup starting with the opening encounter between the White Ferns and West Indies. Not a good look on the big stage. Saying all that, two superb caught and bowleds were probably the match-winning moments for the West Indies and Australia. First Chinelle Henry's dismissal of New Zealand skipper Sophie Devine on Friday, which turned the match, and then Jess Jonassen's last over effort to remove England's Katherine Brunt. Catches do eventually win matches.
Losers: Wellington Phoenix
Not losers in the normal sporting sense but it was a lost opportunity when last night's clash against second-placed Melbourne City was postponed due to inclement weather and a water-logged pitch at Leichhardt Oval. The Phoenix have been in a great run of form in another season spent entirely in Australia. They now face the prospect of playing 10 games in April. Just another slap in the face for a side that continues to battle on against all the odds.
Loser: Chelsea fans
As a Chelsea fan myself I don't mind saying this - Chelsea fans suck, well the ones that chanted Roman Abramovich's name during the moment of solidarity for Ukraine over the weekend certainly suck.
