Worlds of opportunities
Ferns, Caps and Kiwis all have issues to address before their tournaments get to the pointy end.
Bit of a holding weekend for the three major team world championships of note for New Zealanders.
The Black Ferns outclassed Wales 56-12 and scored a few stunning tries. Sylvia Brunt’s second in particular will take some topping for try of the tournament.
Wales weren’t particularly good and somehow contrived to miss 49 of the 222 tackles they were asked to make. Much tougher opponents wait from the quarter-finals on and the two biggest issues for the Black Ferns seem to be goalkicking - they have managed to guide just six of 17 conversions between the sticks - and discipline, with coach Wayne Smith expressing disappointment in the latter.
“A lot of them [penalties] are avoidable. It really annoys me when I see it. You do so much work during the week from staying up, hitting low, and we go out and do that.
“We’re not going to win this thing unless we get better in a lot of those areas.”
And as brilliant as Portia Woodman is, she can be very thankful she finished both her tries, which would have been scored much more easily with one more pass.
The Black Ferns would be left in no doubt how high they need to aim up after watching the captivating contest between England and France. While England won 12-7, the closeness of the score seems to have triggered some angst among those who cover the Red Roses.
I’m not so sure they need to worry. They dominated territory and possession by close to 70/30 and forced France to make three times as many tackles. Through sheer tenacity France clung on to make it way too close for comfort, but presented with those stats again, you’d expect England to win every time.
Making life tough for England is one thing; beating them is another.
The Kiwis made life tougher for themselves than they needed to in their opening World Cup match against Lebanon in Warrington.
They won 34-12 and did enough good things to suggest much better is to come, but the last quarter of the match was a dumpster fire.
Joey Manu had a spell of wizardry just prior to that where he could not be stopped.
The most worrying takeaway for me was just who was calling the shots. Too often the Kiwis were shifting and running laterally when they should have straightened, yet were running one-out in areas when they could have shifted the point of attack.
It looks like playmaking by committee and if they’re going to win this thing they need someone in the halves to take charge.
The Kiwis next play Jamaica in Hull on Sunday morning.
The most notable result of the opening weekend, apart from the sound being turned off on the Kaiser Chiefs (I predict a riot, perhaps?), was England absolutely thumping a star-studded yet utterly insipid Samoa, and Italy easily accounting for Scotland 28-4.
Keep an eye out for Tonga and Papua New Guinea on Wednesday morning. Expect sparks.
The Black Caps lost their Tri–Series final to Pakistan in low-key yet disappointing circumstances.
With 11 balls left in their innings, New Zealand were 157-4 with two hitters - Mark Chapman and James Neesham - set, yet they made a complete mess off it and ended the innings at 163-7.
Pakistan were wobbling a bit but essentially won it in the 15th over when they took 25 from the disappointing Ish Sodhi. That turned the equation from a tick over 11 an over to a tick over eight.
On the positive side, Kane Williamson showed not just form, but the sort of ball-one intent his critics have been rightly crying out for.
The Black Caps play warm-ups against South Africa this afternoon and India on Wednesday (both Brisbane), before starting the tournament proper against Australia in Sydney on Saturday.
The qualifying tournament has already begun with an amazing boilover.
Namibia thrashed Sri Lanka by 55 runs to move into pole position to take a spot in the main draw. I’m not sure if I’m massively in favour of the tournament before the tournament, but it does at least create some jeopardy and intrigue.
Scotland meets the West Indies soon, while Ireland and Zimbabwe clash in Hobart tonight.
Financial shockwaves continue to reverberate around English rugby, with Wasps following Worcester in imploding, with the club expected to go into administration later today.
In the Herald, Gregor Paul ($) sees an opportunity for New Zealand Rugby to buy not one but both of the clubs.
Whether an investment in Wasps and Worcester can make financial sense would depend on what agreements could be reached restructuring debts and repayments.
But there is no question that there is a strong rationale for looking at this, because ownership would deliver NZR direct influence in the Northern Hemisphere, and more importantly, the ability to expose more players and coaches to the sorts of rugby environments Super Rugby doesn’t provide.
I get how it could work from a high-performance standpoint - although Sky must be thrilled with the thought of Super Rugby’s status being hollowed out again - but the financials? Perhaps the reason the clubs are struggling - and there is apparently one more club close to toppling - is because there just isn’t the appetite for English club rugby that we assume, particularly if you’re not a European powerhouse.
Perhaps, instead, it would be wiser to look for investments in France.
I really don’t have any of the answers, but the shifting sands of rugby’s power and money is definitely a topic worth keeping an eye on.
The last time I properly concentrated on a Silver Ferns match they were hammered by 16 goals by Jamaica in the semifinals of the Commonwealth Games.
Five games and five wins later, albeit two of them against a woefully understrength touring Jamaica, it feels like a new era of New Zealand netball headlined by Grace Nweke is in danger of passing me by.
The Constellation Cup is a curious beast. New Zealand are the holders and are 2-0 up in a four-match series but they can still lose if they drop the final two games, both in Australia, by a greater margin than they won the first two. They have 12 goals to play with, a number that could have been higher had they not finished a minute early last night and conceded the final three goals
The two teams meet in Melbourne on Wednesday night.
Boxing is its own worst enemy at times. The amount of blood in this fight was ludicrous although, long term, a cut is much easier to heal than a concussion.
Not many parents watching that would have been thinking: “Hope my daughter gets into boxing one day.”
Another good win for the highly marketable David Nyika, while Hemi Ahio took the first loss of his career and, potentially, the chance for a big payday fight in the future.
There has been a small-market shock for the ages in the MLB playoffs, with the San Diego Padres eliminating the juggernaut Los Angeles Dodgers, who usually save their worst baseball for the playoffs.
Matt Heath loves the Dodgers. He went to the US on a junket and took in some sport, including the Dodgers and the Rams. At the latter, he marvelled at the stadium experience afforded by the $10 billion SoFi Stadium.
The only stain on the otherwise perfect occasion was my attendance. Like many New Zealanders, the further I travel to watch a beloved team play, the worse they do. I blame New Zealand’s loss in the 2019 Cricket World Cup entirely on my mate G Lane. If he hadn’t travelled all the way to London in a hastily organised last-minute dash, we would have won.
There are probably offers I blame more for the tie than Mike ‘G’ Lane, but he’s right up there.
Regarding the pre tournament tournament, is it the case that if one of those 'minnows' get through, one or more of either SL, WI or Zimbabwe won't be in the main tournament?