Welcome home, it's nice to see you
A bunch of warm fuzzies take the chill out of the air.
This is probably not the smartest thing for someone who makes a living writing about sport to admit, but here goes… I don’t really like going to games any more.
There, I feel a bit like Big Terry now, the bloke in that ad set in the pub who drinks beer even though he doesn’t like it1.
But it’s true, though it requires some qualification. I don’t really like going to games at night, I especially don’t like going to outdoor games at night, and I double-especially don’t like going to outdoor games at night in winter.
There are multiple reasons for this, some more valid than others, like the fact I was never blessed with great eyesight and coming up three decades of staring at small screens has not helped. If you see me on the roads at night - I’m the one in a gun-metal grey, Korean-made SUV - do not step out on that pedestrian crossing on the assumption I will see you.
When you spend at least half your time at a rugby match watching the big screen you start to think: “Hey, I’m basically watching television, except I can’t lie on my couch, belch and spill guacamole down the front of my T-shirt.”
That gets you thinking more and more and sinking deeper and deeper into a hole.
“Hang on a minute, I’m having to wear a bulky jacket because it’s cold, which means I’m wedged into a small plastic seat at a suboptimal angle and there’s a bloke a few seats along doing shoeys and it’s going to take me much longer to get to the ground and back than I’ll spend inside it…” so on.
But you know what, despite all my negativity, I mostly enjoyed the All Blacks v Ireland.
I mostly enjoyed the Warriors’ long-awaited return to Mt Smart to face the Wests Tigers, too.
And I was endlessly fascinated by the similarities and differences in the match-day experiences between the two - and I’m not just talking about the codes - which I’ll dig deeper into tomorrow.
What first of all needs to be said is that in very different ways they were restorative wins.
There has been a bit of doom and gloom hanging around the All Blacks since their underwhelming performances towards the end of last year.
Thoroughly beating one of their recent tormentors was surely good for Ian Foster’s soul, coming as it did so soon after Scott Robertson, the man who would/should be king, won another Super Rugby title.
The warm fuzzies might have disappeared by this morning though, when he read this piece in Stuff, which said: “After Saturday night’s commanding 42-19 victory over Ireland at Eden Park, in the first of three straight matchups against Andy Farrell’s side, you could have been forgiven for wondering just how important, how influential the All Blacks coaches actually are.”
It was referencing the fact, four of the coaches, including Foster and forwards coach John Plumtree, missed most of the week through Covid isolation.
Some players, like prop George Bower, sound positively giddy about working with the ring-ins.
“That was my first time being coached by Mike [Cron]. He only spoke for probably a minute at the captain’s run, and I was blown away. He’s an awesome scrum coach, and I’m looking forward to working with him next week while [Greg Feek] is out.”
So despite the All Blacks putting in one of their most convincing performances of the past year or two, Foster still found himself in a no-win situation.
It was generally considered that Scott Barrett’s move to blindside was a screaming success, though former England forward Ben Kay highlighted one of the converted locks bugbears - discipline.
Barrett got away with this one. He hasn’t always in the past and won’t in the future. Be smarter.
His performance pleased the raters. Stuff’s Aaron Goile spotted him a 9 (at least one too many IMHO), Newshub’s Reece Labuschagne a 7.5, Rugby Pass’s Tom Vinicombe a 7, with the NZ Herald’s Winston Aldworth ($) playing the Grinch Who Stole the Lineout with a 6, which just seems mean.
A few suburbs south, the Warriors’ 22-22 win was never going to move the needle much in terms of the NRL ladder, but it was bloody important to give the bulk of the 26,000 paying customers a reason to come back next time, and the time after that.
To be brutally frank, I went to the match thinking the result was irrelevant; that the mere fact they were home after a 1000-day epic road trip was enough.
It felt that way before kickoff.
The crowd was buoyant, the replica jersey sales were off the charts, the booze was flowing and Dave Dobbyn was hitting all the right notes on the ubiquitous “Loyal”, crowd-pleasing yet cloying “Slice of Heaven” and the majestic “Welcome Home”.
The noise was the crowd that started as a low-fi hum when the players were first spotted by the cameras in the tunnel to a primal roar by the time they hit the field was something that will stick with me for a long time.
The mood shifted quickly, however, from one of celebration to one of anxiety as wave after wave of Warriors attacks failed to yield tries.
It was a timely reminder that sentiment plays a part, but in the end it was a professional sports contest and hell yeah, it mattered that the Warriors won.
It was also a timely reminder of why playing away from home for two-and-a-half years should never be underestimated. You could see the Warriors rise on the crowd support. You can be dispassionate about it and say it shouldn’t matter where you play - the field is the same size and the posts look the same - but it does, that’s why it’s called home advantage.
In the NFL, it has been calculated that advantage is worth on average 2.8 points. I’m guessing that with transtasman travel involved, home advantage might mean slightly more for the Warriors.
The important thing is they’re back, they won, it was a lot of fun - life as a Warriors fan is good again.
The good news kept coming, with the NRL announcing the popular NZ Maori v Indigenous All Stars game will be coming to Rotorua in 2023.
Tony Kemp threw out a morsel on SENZ’s commentary that I’m not sure whether was speculative or informed punditry.
As far as I can see it hasn’t been picked up by the major news sources but he believes Stacey Jones could shortly be named to the head coach’s role for next season and possibly beyond, with Kevin Campion as his assistant.
That might be what CEO Cameron George was referring to when he said the Warriors needed a harder edge. Having lined up near Campo for a drink and a punnet of chips at the All Blacks test, I can confidently say his face tells the story of coming into contact with many a hard edge.
Kiwis coach Michael Maguire is the other name that seems to have some traction.
The prize for the “Really?!” tweet of Saturday night goes to…
If he’s not wrong he needs to get on the blower to Silver Lake quick smart because the main reason they’ve invested cajillions into New Zealand rugby is the very fact that all research points to the All Blacks being miles out in front of the field when it comes to being people’s “second-favourite team”.
MONDAY SHORTS
Scott McLaughlin won his second IndyCar race of the season at the Mid-Ohio 200. The win lifts him to seventh in the driver standings, one behind Scott Dixon, who finished fifth today.
***
Ryan Fox continued his brilliant yet near-miss season, coming second at the DT World Tour’s Irish Open behind Poland’s Adrian Meronk. He’s now fourth on the Tour rankings, behind just Will Zalatoris, Rory McIlroy and Matthew Fitzpatrick, who have picked up the bulk of their points in the co-sanctioned majors.
***
I can’t work out whether Nick Kyrgios is exactly what or the last thing tennis needs.
I’d hopefully never be quite so ignorant to suggest that the child of immigrants revoke his passport because he doesn’t meet the sensibilities of a true-blue Aussie stock, however.
PIC OF THE WEEKEND
THIS WEEK
I’ll give a few more ‘insights’ after my twin match-day experiences tomorrow, plus any bits and pieces I’ve missed or overlooked today, plus the usual Wednesday and Friday newsletters.
Just to clarify, I really like beer.
Richie Benaud would have loved that scoreline.
2 for 22.... marvellous
All Blacks win was solid, and that Warriors game reminded me why I love the Warriors, but struggle to watch their games!! About 20 minutes in and many missed opportunities later, my 8 year old daughter asked me, basically, "Why do you watch it if you don't enjoy it?" I had to laugh. But after fulltime you could see why it mattered. Players with the fans and especially with their families, it highlighted the sacrifice of the past two years and counting for the Warriors. It means so much to be home.