A 'true' test of credentials
A big Matariki weekend of sport includes a daytrip to Penrose!
A mixed-and-matched and by no means exhaustive version of The Week That Was and the Weekend That Will Be.
Anybody that has read The Bounce with regularity will know that it’s not here to be Ian Foster’s stooge.
His reappointment has been questioned, his tactics, his communications strategy.
As recently as last week this newsletter questioned the wisdom of starting the presumptive first-choice first five-eighth, Richie Mo’unga, from the bench in a year where every on-field second counts.
Yet as much as I have struggled with the concept of Ian Foster, All Blacks coach, I struggle even more with the idea that we can’t acknowledge his wins - that every success has to come with caveats.
In the first test of the season, Foster selected and prepared a team that went into Argentine rugby heartland and blew the hosts off the park in the first half. The performance was not without fault but by and large his most contentious selections - Damian McKenzie at No10, Beauden Barrett at fullback and Josh Lord at lock - worked. They played adventurous, probing rugby and while imperfect, it pointed to a desire to move away from some of the more stagnant fare we’ve been served up in recent times.
The commentary that emerged during the week that it meant less because it came against a weak Pumas side just comes across as mean spirited - that Foster’s 2023 is being set up as a case for the prosecution rather than a footy campaign.
The Springboks will undoubtedly provide a sterner test. That’s a given. It took me a few days to fully catch up with their win against the Wallabies but they did a number on them without several of their best players.
It’s shaping as a mighty test of both team’s credentials. There are still a few selections in that All Black team that is causing my right eyebrow to arch (would have loved to have seen McKenzie on the bench after his promising return last week), but mostly it’s just a test to look forward to.
Foster has made it clear that this test is a true marker of where the teams stand in World Cup year.
If the All Blacks lose, the kicking will no doubt begin again.
It at least makes far more sense than when they’re winning.
NZ v South Africa, Auckland, tomorrow 7.05pm
Australia v Argentina, Sydney, tomorrow 9.45pm
Black Ferns v USA, Ottawa, tomorrow 8am, all Sky Sport 1
There is nothing I enjoy about the trip to and from Mt Smart Stadium and the change of name to Go Media Stadium does nothing to lighten that logistical load.
Tell you what though, I’m looking forward to the 80 minutes between the first and final hooter. At $20 a ticket I can hardly complain that I might get wet and a bit chilly.
Lets gone!
NZ Warriors v Cronulla-Sutherland, Auckland, Sunday 4pm, Sky Sport 4
Hopes of Liam Lawson being rapidly elevated to the ranks of Formula One were put on hold this week with the news that Australian Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull’s third driver, would replace the underperforming Nyck de Vries at sister team AlphaTauri.
Was interested to read this rather scathing assessment of the once-vaunted Red Bull driver programme that addresses the treatment of both Lawson and Brendon Hartley.
At no stage in the last 12 months has, for example, Red Bull junior Liam Lawson appeared to get a look-in despite having the requisite superlicence points. Instead he was sent to Japan’s Super Formula this season to defer having to decide on his future.
Speaking of which, if you subscribe to motorsport.tv you can watch the latest round of Super Formula from the Fuji Speedway on Sunday afternoon, otherwise get your fix of fast cars from…
IndyCars, Toronto, Monday 5.30am, Sky Sport 5
Plenty of golf to watch and follow. Lydia Ko found some decent form in the opening round of the latest LPGA Tour event in Ohio, but there is more interest at the Renaissance Club where a great field has assembled for the Scottish Open, the final tournament ahead of next week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.
Scottish Open, R2, North Berwick, tonight 11.30pm, Sky Sport 6
Dana Open, R2, Sylvania, tomorrow 7.30am, Sky Sport 9
Major League Cricket got off to a rollicking start in Grand Prairie, with Devon Conway’s remarkable consistency to the fore as his Texas Super Kings walloped the Los Angeles Knight Riders. Conway scored 55, while Mitchell Santner chipped in with a quick 21 down the order. Martin Guptill didn’t have such a grand start for LA, surviving a huge shout for caught behind first ball and then scuffing a trademark lofted drive straight to mid on third ball for a duck. LA’s other NZer, Lockie Ferguson, took 2 for 23 off his four overs, including Faf du Plessis for a golden duck.
It was a good crowd and looked like a decent set-up, but the challenge is to sustain that over the course of the two-and-a-half-week tournament. Cricket has a huge advantage over rugby in one aspect as it tries to grab a foothold in the US’ crowded sports market - MLC can attract some of the best players in the world, unlike Major League Rugby. This game alone had two of the top 10 T20I batters in the world in Rilee Roussouw (5) and Conway (7), and a top 10 bowler in Adam Zampa (7).
There’s a double-header tomorrow, both at the same Grand Prairie venue. Potential Kiwis in action are Trent Boult (NY), Finn Allen and Corey Anderson (SF), and Glenn Phillips and Adam Milne (Washington).
Unfortunately, it is more palatable viewing than the West Indies hosting India in a test series, as the best players from the Caribbean are in Texas.
MI New York v San Francisco Unicorns followed by Seattle Orca v Washington Freedom, tomorrow 8.3-0am and 12.30pm, Sky Sport 3
Really should have paid more attention to Wimbledon than I have, but I keep getting sidetracked by the Tour de France, which is building beautifully towards an epic general classification showdown between Jonas Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar - just 17s separate them - in the Alps, and the Ashes.
It would be great to see Tunisian Ons Jabeur climb that final hurdle and become a grand slam champion at Wimbledon, but the unseeded Czech MarkétaVondroušová is a great story too, so I’m agnostic. The men’s semifinals are overnight, with the lowest seed being No8-Jannik Sinner, so they should be crackers if I can tear myself away from the summit finish on the Grand Colombier.
Sinner v Novak Djokovic, tomorrow 12.30am; followed by Carlos Alcaraz v Daniil Medvedev, Wimbledon semifinals, Sky Sport 2
Jabeur v Vondroušová, Wimbledon final, Sunday 1am, Sky Sport 2
Tour de France, stage 13, Châtillon-Sur-Chalaronne, tonight 11.35pm, Sky Sport Select
As a general rule, when it comes to gender and high-performance sport I believe the concept of fairness should trump over inclusivity. That “general rule” can be made to look inadequate. Chief case in point is Caster Semenya, the South African athlete who this week won her case at the European court of human rights.
Semenyam, who won Olympic gold in 2012 and 2016, was legally identified as female at birth but has a condition which means her body naturally produces higher levels of testosterone than women without the condition.
The 32-year-old South African has been unable to compete at her favoured distance [800m] since 2019, following the introduction of limits on testosterone levels for female athletes by World Athletics which would have forced her to use medication.
The ruling was against the Swiss state, not World Athletics, who have indicated they will continue to enforce the testosterone regulations as a “necessary, reasonable and proportionate means of protecting fair competition in the female category”.
It’s one of those cases where there is no “fairness” to be found.
I'm going out on a limb here; the ABs have little to no chance against a very strong Bok side who are playing attractive rugby. An oxymoron surely? Boks playing attractive rugby? But that appears to be the case today. And long may it continue.
Foster's biggest weakness - selection - continues. This ABs side, relative to other top rugby nations such as Ireland, SA and especially France, is the weakest it has been in the professional era.
No mention of the Women's FIFA World Cup, starting next week in Australia and New Zealand ?