Jordie Barrett congratulates Will Jordan on his try in the win over the Springboks at Mt Smart. Photo / Photosport
Jordie Barrett congratulates Will Jordan on his try in the win over the Springboks at Mt Smart. Photo / Photosport
OPINION:
Cameron McMillan runs through the best and worst from the sporting weekend.
Winners - All Blacks
Two tests in 2023 with two great starts for the All Blacks. But putting the stunning opening 20 minutes to Saturday’s test aside, what was more impressive was how IanFoster’s side finished the test. The final quarter was an issue last year after being almost chased down by the Wallabies in Melbourne and then by England at Twickenham for a draw.
The Springboks managed to close the gap to eight heading into the final quarter with an impressive bench ready to make an impact but the All Blacks quickly responded and closed out the test with two more tries. It’s just one test, but not even giving the Boks a sniff will be huge if they meet in France. Foster will be most impressed with how they did. Especially with the way the Wallabies have been playing, it’s looking unlikely the All Blacks will be pushed the full 80 in the next two tests.
The fact is the result on Saturday doesn’t really change things ahead of the World Cup opener. Playing France in Paris remains just as big a challenge as it did a week ago.
Winner - Ian Foster
All looking pretty good for the All Blacks coach compared to 12 months ago. He’s now set to win his third Rugby Championship title in a row, after also winning the Tri-Nations. Why are they getting rid of him again?
Winners - The Warriors
Luke Metcalf celebrates his try with Rocco Berry. Photo / Photosport
After Sunday’s performance against the Sharks, the top four has to be a realistic target and they’re clearly good enough to do it. A tough clash hosting the Raiders is next, who they already beat away, and then an easy stretch to finish the season — Titans away and Tigers in Hamilton before Sea Eagles and Dragons at home and then finishing at the Dolphins. They should be favourites for every remaining game and five wins is a must if they want a deserved home playoff.
Loser - Eddie Jones
The Wallabies coach faces the real prospect of losing four tests to start the year ... a World Cup year. They open their World Cup against Georgia which suddenly looks like a potential upset.
Alcaraz has proved he’s the equal of Djokovic right now. Maybe not in terms of grand slam titles but he’s going to be a big obstacle for the Serbian to add to his tally of 24. His mix of powerful forehands along with the deft touch drop shots was superb in today’s final. Amazing considering he has little experience playing on grass. He needs someone else around his age to step up or the Spaniard is going to dominate the game for the next decade.
Vondrousova was an unlikely winner in the women’s draw but a great story. Just a year ago she was visiting Wimbledon as a fan as she was recovering from an injury. She was the first unseeded woman to even reach the final at the All England Club in 60 years and walked away a champion.
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates with the trophy after beating Serbia's Novak Djokovic to win the Wimbledon final. Photo / AP
Loser/Winner - Novak Djokovic
Yes he lost the final, and also lost it on the court when he smashed his racket into one of the net poles in the fourth set. The Serbian certainly has his detractors but man he can play some brilliant tennis and was very graceful in his speech afterwards. As he said, he won a few finals at Wimbledon he probably didn’t deserve to so it was his time to lose one.
Loser/Winner - Liam Lawson
Lawson appeared to lose out on an F1 seat last week when Daniel Ricciardo was announced as the replacement at Alpha Tauri for the struggling Nyck de Vries for the rest of the season. Lawson responded by winning for the third time in the Super Formula Championship which saw him jump to second on the standings. It appears Ricciardo might be just warming the seat for the Kiwi.
