The Crusaders win the Super Rugby finals, victory for the Black Ferns and the Warriors get mauled by the Panthers: Cheree Kinnear gives you the weekend of sport.
Video / Sky Sport / Photosport / Spark Sport
OPINION:
Cameron McMillan lists the winners and losers from the sporting week.
Winner: Scott Robertson
Ian Foster had to make some tough phone calls last week when he named his first All Blacks squad of the season but he needs to make another one — to Scott Robertson, and heneeds to ask for help.
Is it too far to call Robertson the best rugby coach in the world? He's not exactly doing it with a bunch of rag-tag underdogs but you cannot argue with his record after Saturday's Super Rugby final victory. Six titles in six years. He just picked apart and dismantled a Blues side that had earned the status as title favourites.
It's making the Foster over Razor decision looking worse with every title — and shaky All Blacks performance. Robertson has a proven record in the big games which is still lacking from Foster's resume. Maybe Robertson has been asked and said no, but NZ Rugby should make it a priority to get him into the All Blacks set-up ASAP.
He obviously has a brilliant rugby brain and it's wasted between the months of July to January.
Sam Whitelock of the Crusaders and Crusaders coach Scott Robertson. Photosport
Winner: Super Rugby
In the end, it was a fairly decent Super Rugby Pacific season. Did anyone miss the Stormers or the Bulls? You forget it all began with the New Zealand-based franchises in bubbles in Dunedin and Queenstown as Covid still played its part with postponed games making it even harder on newcomers Moana Pasifika. Taking more games to the Pacific Islands should be a priority in 2023.
Anytime you have 45,000 fans turning out for the final it's a success. Just a shame 40,000 of them lost their voice as the Blues failed to fire.
Obviously. But at least they'll forever be the reigning Super Rugby Transtasman champions. An opportunity lost for sure.
Blues players look on in disappointment following the Super Rugby Pacific defeat to the Crusaders. Getty Images
Losers: Ryan Fox and Danny Lee
I had dreams of a Kiwi playoff at the US Open but both Fox and Lee failed to make the cut at a tough Country Club course — which turned even tougher for the New Zealand duo with later tee-times on day one where the majority of the players struggled.
The career performances in the majors of Fox and Lee shows not just how amazing Michael Campbell's triumph in 2005 was but how under-valued his run of results are at the big events.
Campbell followed up the victory at Pinehurst No 2 with fifth at the Open Championship and then sixth at the 2005 PGA Championship — the last time a Kiwi male cracked the top 10 at a major.
Campbell finished with four top tens and nine top 25s at 52 majors — Lee and Fox have one each.
They still have plenty to come in their careers but the best Fox has managed was a share of 16th at the 2015 Open Championship while Lee tied for 17th at 2016 Masters.
Someone who has no trouble with getting near the top of the leaderboard is Lydia Ko who earned her 100th top 10 finish on the LPGA Tour at the Meijer Classic. She enters her 49th major this week with 27 top 25s, two shy of Sir Bob Charles' record. Not to mention her two wins, three seconds and four thirds.
Winner: Steph Curry
He's changed the way a generation plays the game with his panache for making the long distance three look oh-so easy and earned a much deserved fourth title with the Golden State Warriors last week.
Curry joins the likes of Shaquille O'Neal, Robert Parish and LeBron James with four rings. And he's 'only' six-foot-two — doing it for slightly above average guys against the really tall guys. A true great who will leave a great legacy in the sport.
Winner: Matt Dunham
Matt Dunham was a surprise winner in Poznan. Photosport
He wasn't supposed to race the men's lightweight single sculls at the Rowing World Cup regatta in Poznan over the weekend but ended up an unlikely champion.
The 27-year-old won gold on the first day of finals but he was originally targeting another event.
After Covid hit doubles teammate Chris Stockley, Dunham jumped into the single for a "bit of experience" in his first international competition since 2019. Thinking he was a bit light for the event and aiming for an A-final appearance instead, he was "pushed to his limit" and took the race out. But, like a true teammate, he told NZME that he's now even more excited to get in the doubles boat and see what they can do.
Loser: Will Zalatoris
Probably the best loser in sport right now. He was oh-so close to sinking a birdie on the 72nd hole at the US Open to force a playoff with Matt Fitzpatrick. Instead, the putt just missed left and the 25-year-old had to take his second major second placing of the year. He's had a stunning run at the majors this year with a sixth at the Masters before losing a playoff to Justin Thomas at the PGA Championship last month. Surely his time will come soon.
