The Covid edition
A bit of Moana Pasifika love, Super Rugby Aupiki dilemma, some BYC spikiness and Israel's millions - and a brief note...
Somebody should be making a doco of Moana Pasifika’s first season.
Perhaps they are, in which case they should have enough material before a ball-and-all tackle has been made in anger, to match the drama of fly-on-the-wall benchmarks Drive to Survive and Sunderland ’Til I Die.
They’ve already produced the best rugby content of the year, a piece of footage so heartwarming you can’t help but wish them well.
They’ve now got the agony of having their first two matches postponed due to a Covid outbreak and all the uncertainty that brings.
I suspect, judging by the inexperience of much of their squad and their drubbing at the hands of the Chiefs in a warm-up match, that they’re going to get some fearful hidings but those two shows I referenced above are proof positive that failure means televisual success.
You can guarantee, too, that the moments of success they do enjoy, after all the trials and heartaches, will be box-office gold.
There’s also the curious little story of them receiving $4.5m in government funding from Sport New Zealand via a Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade transfer.
The story ($) slipped by largely unnoticed, possibly because the headline on an editorial the same day basically said “there’s nothing to see here, move on”, but at the very least it’s curious the Government is essentially paying for the expansion of a commercial tournament from which it sees no material return.
The pro: We’re finally getting a professional women’s rugby competition.
The con: Super Rugby Aupiki will go for 15 days, total.
The pro: It is going to start in the face of a rapidly spreading pandemic, giving the figurative middle finger to the virus.
The con: It will start in a field on the Central Plateau.
The pro: More rugby content to watch on television.
The con: Rugby without crowds, as we saw in Queenstown last weekend, is just not the same.
The pro: From small things, big things grow.
The con: You only ever get one launch.
March 5, when Super Rugby Aupiki kicks off, will be an auspicious day for the sport played in inauspicious circumstances. That’s a huge shame.
While it was not possible to shift the dates back any further due to the fact many of the best players are committed to high-profile sevens campaigns as well as the Black Ferns World Cup tilt in October, it just feels like we’re not ready.
Granted, “feels” means nothing in the true scheme of things, and hopefully the quality of rugby will make up for the unusual logistics.
Hopefully the pros outweigh the cons.
Regular readers have probably detected an indifference to the UFC, which may at times even veer dangerously close to condescension.
You can only like what you like.
Some have pointed at the contradiction between that indifference and my fondness for boxing but there are two elements to that: 1. Humans are a mass of contradictions and faulty logic, and 2. The aim of boxing is to knock the opponent down, then you retire to a neutral corner as they attempt to recover their senses, whereas knocking your opponent down in the UFC signals the start of a frenzied attack on a prone person. Yuck.
But that’s not what I’ve drawn you here for.
Regardless of my misgivings, Trevor McKewen in Business Desk ($) has made a compelling argument that Israel Adesanya has - through outrageous talent and circumstance - found himself at the right place at the right time.
The key points are that UFC owner Dana White and his stranglehold over mixed martial arts is under threat like never before. Fighters, egged on by the needling of YouTubers Jake and Logan Paul, are demanding a bigger cut of White’s actions.
The UFC is also arguably lacking star power at the moment, so to tie the charismatic Adesanya, the undisputed middleweight champ and No 2-ranked pound-for-pound fighter, to a long-term, multi-fight deal was crucial.
Writes McKewen:
The details of Adesanya’s new deal with White remain closely guarded. His management agency will only say the deal will make him one of the highest paid fighters in the game. Jake Paul waded in and claimed Adesanya’s talent and box-office status demands a $US7m price-tag per title defence.
The deal is conceivably close to Paul’s figure, and if so, potentially propels the Kiwi’s annual fight earnings to in excess of NZ$30.1m if he fights more than three times in a year.
Adesanya is on record as saying his new deal is the “second biggest” in UFC history [behind Conor McGregor’s six-fight US$100m deal in 2018]. “You can't undersell my value. If you are, you’re kidding yourself,” Adesanya says. “I bring so many different looks to this company, even without trying.”
The BYC nonsense was funneled in from three separate locations but MC Jason Hoyte managed to prevent much spillage.
The South African series was the focus, with one key question: The Proteas cannot be that bad again, surely?
I mentioned on Monday that Covid was knocking loudly at the door. According to the RAT test at least, it snuck in.
I’m not going to say my experience has given me any increased medical, scientific or worldly insights.
Everyone’s interaction with Covid will vary depending on age, fitness, genetics, potential comorbidities or even dumb luck. It always irks me when I hear the “no-worse-than-the-common-cold” crew expounding like theirs is the definitive account.
Just take care out there.
Hey Dylan, all the best to you and family. Rest up, get well soon. Nathan Burdon