There's much to like about Schmidt
Will there be more changes to come in All Blacks coaching staff?
At The Bounce we’re all for the co-opting of Joe Schmidt onto the good ship All Blacks, even if it is in a nebulous all-care-with-just-a-little-responsibility way.
Schmidt in the ultimate win-win situation. If the All Blacks improve, it’s because he provided the special sauce in his role as selector and analyst. If they don’t, well then there were limitations to what he could achieve. His legacy will remain undimmed.
It is good to see, too, that Schmidt has mastered the art of saying words that sound more insightful than they are.
“One of the things about being a selector is that if you compromise the team to make a selection based on loyalty or based on something that’s not maybe in the best interest of the team, then team members see through that pretty quickly, and that can be complicated in an incredibly interdependent environment.”
Um, okay, so you pick the best squad then?
All cynicism aside, Schmidt is a good get; an obvious and as it turns out highly convenient addition to an All Black staff that is going to be under huge pressure to make dramatic improvements in 2022.
There will be further interest as to whether all the assistants - John Plumtree, Brad Mooar, Greg Feek and Scott McLeod - get reappointed in the New Year.
THE WEEK THAT WAS
Sarah Hirini cleaned up the big prize,the Kel Tremain, at the New Zealand Rugby Awards.
The New Zealand sevens skipper also won the Tom French for Maori player of the year and the Black Ferns sevens players of the year.
Ardie Savea was named All Black of the year, adding another glittering prize to Roc Nation’s cabinet.
As for the rest, who really cares after unbeaten Taranaki were left out of the finalists for team of the year.
Awful news about former Blues halfback Taniela Moa, who died yesterday aged just 36. It may be macabre, but I couldn’t help but think of another couple of Tongan giants, Sione Lauaki and the incomparable Jonah Lomu, who also left this world far too early.
World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin wrote a column largely focusing on player welfare for Stuff in which he said the only people who tend to benefit from lawsuits are lawyers, thus perpetuating one of life’s great cliches.
“While I am unable to comment on specific potential legal proceedings involving nine players, in my experience in general it is the lawyers who have most to win from class-action proceedings,” Gilpin wrote of the suit being prepared for the likes of Carl Hayman, Alix Popham and Steve Thompson, who have been diagnosed with early-onset dementia.
For the record, the revised NFL settlement with former players in response to a class-action lawsuit allows for US$1 billion in compensation for retired players with serious medical conditions linked to repeated head trauma. The settlement is not without controversy, but to classify it as only a win for the lawyers is just plain wrong.
It has been a while since the New Zealand Golf open has felt like a top-drawer event but the news that next year’s event will be part of the qualifying series for the Open Championship at St Andrews should provide a shot-in-the-arm for the local game.
It’s been a decent year for New Zealand golf, with the reinvigoration of Lydia Ko’s career and the star turn on the senior circuit by newly qualified Steve Alker.
Just quietly, Roy Keane’s Instagram account is wonderful.
THE WEEKEND THAT WILL BE
This is the most important fight of Joseph Parker’s career, in my opinion. Parker is ranked high across the four divisions but he has a problem with perception: that being he hasn’t put on a dominant performance since losing back-to-back fights against Anthony Joshua and, unluckily, Dillian Whyte. He made a mess of his fight with Junior Fa, even though he won comfortably enough, which precipitated a change in trainer from Kevin Barry to Andy Lee. Their first collaboration nearly ended in disaster with Parker knocked down in the first round against Dereck Chisora and maybe, just maybe, outpointing the veteran across the 12 rounds.
“I did enough to win, it wasn’t the most dominant or best performance, it was a close fight but I believe I won it and it’s good to be able to run it back and to show the improvements I’ve made with Andy. It’s the first rematch of my career so I am excited for that and I just want to go out and fight hard, beat him up and put on a better performance and win in better fashion.”
He needs to. He’s rated the sixth best heavyweight in the world by The Ring magazine and boxrec.com, and eighth in the Transnational boxing rankings, yet he feels as far away from the top four or five - Tyson Fury, Oleksandr Usyk, Anthony Joshua, Deontay Wilder and Dillian Whyte - than he’s ever been. He needs to not just beat Chisora, but to beat him up.
David Nyika fights Anthony Carpin on the undercard if you want to tune in earlier.
Dereck Chisora v Joseph Parker, Manchester, Sunday 11am (estimated), Sky Arena ($)
Super Smash cricket is great but, as discussed in this week’s BYC podcast, the scheduling up till now has sucked. Playing weekend fixtures only kills momentum and the players must watch jealously on as the Big Bash showcases its product on a nightly basis. The big story this weekend is the return to action of Auckland, who have been sidelined from the domestic season due to the city’s Covid restrictions.
The Aces and Hearts feature in a Hamilton doubleheader today.
Northern Brave v Hearts, Hamilton, today 3.10pm, Spark Sport
Northern Brave v Aces, Hamilton, tonight, 6.40pm, Spark Sport
The Ashes got really weird on the first morning of the second test at Adelaide, with captain Pat Cummins ruled out after it was discovered he sat at an adjacent restaurant table to somebody who tested positive for Covid. That begat a redemption story for Steve Smith, who stepped into the role he was forced to vacate following Sandpapergate.
After England could only take two wickets on the opening day, you have to think this is going to be a long, long Ashes campaign for the visitors.
Australia v England, 2nd test, Adelaide, today-Monday 5pm, Sky Sport 1
Did you know it has been more than 22,000 days since Tottenham Hotspur won the title. In fact, their 1960-61 title victory came exactly 22,000 days after the death of Queen Victoria, which The Sun helpfully tells us means their title victory was closer to the Victorian era than it is to the present day. It’s a team with a brilliant stadium, classic kit, great name and logo and, after a botched search, a manager in Antonio Conte to match their ambitions. Their clash with Liverpool this weekend will indicate whether the progress under his tuition has been as swift as suspected.
Tottenham v Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Monday 5.30am, Spark Sport
The Breakers really need to get off the schneid tonight. Turns out they’re playing an unbeaten side.
Illawarra Hawks v NZ Breakers, Wollongong, tonight 9.30pm, Sky Sport 2
With a bit of luck, West Coaster Paul Coll’s stellar squash year will continue in Egypt for the final PSA tournament of the year and he’ll feature in Monday morning’s semifinal.
CIB Squash Open Black Ball, Egypt, semifinals from 7am, Sky Sport 1
Forget Taranaki not being nominated for team of the year. What about South Canterbury missing out after going through the season unbeaten !!!