You've got to know when to give it a rest
Lickspittles unite, another Mauger blow, Zoe 'steals' the headlines... and more
Hurricanes coach Jason Holland is getting a taste of the increased scrutiny that comes with being a future All Black coach.
Named last month to Scott Robertson’s coaching team for 2024 onwards, Holland’s decision to rest key All Blacks Ardie Savea, Jordie Barrett and Tyrel Lomax from Saturday’s highly anticipated matchup with the Chiefs has been the subject of much comment, before and after the event.
On The Breakdown last night, Jeff Wilson and John Kirwan were perhaps guilty of mincing their words, but nevertheless got the fans’ message across.
“I get why a coach would do it… I get why the players need breaks, but I’m pretty sure the All Blacks don’t want them to break during a derby, the best games of the year - that’s when you want to see your best players under pressure,” Kirwan said.
Not 100 percent sure he’s right about that as I can vaguely recall another knight, Graham Henry, decrying the physicality in the derbies that left his players battered and bruised.
Meanwhile, according to Robert van Royen, only “lickspittles” could defend rest weeks.
(Call me a lickspittle then, because I believe rest weeks have a place, but they need to be better managed and articulated to the public.)
As for the game, won 23-12 by the Chiefs, it was strangely compelling and fairly dire all at once. The weather was a huge leveller and after a great season, it was instructive to watch the not-so-good version of Damian McKenzie turn up.
The tantrum thrown by his coach Clayton McMillan when he handed the ball to Hurricanes’ jet-heeled loose forward Braydon Iose, was priceless.
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Brad Weber (main image) last week confirmed his departure from New Zealand Rugby, with the 18-test halfback leaving for France at the end of the year.
I missed this last week, but Phil Gifford wrote a nice column on why Weber was one of his favourite All Blacks ($).
Weber’s one of a fairly small list of All Blacks who have taken a stand on moral grounds...
The more common stance in rugby has been to suggest that sport and politics don’t mix.
On the other hand, Weber didn’t hold back in 2018 when Wallabies fullback Israel Folau posted on social media that gay people would go to hell.
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It’s staggering that the Highlanders could still make the playoffs after a added-time penalty saw them beat the Rebels 20-17. I bore witness to their thumping at the hands of the Chiefs recently. My overriding impression: they were not very good at playing rugby. But the bloated eight-team finals series could yet see them make it.
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Who would have thought that hapless Moana Pasifika would become a playground for a bit of media churlishness.
At 8.20pm last night the NZ Herald ($) revealed that late last week Aaron Mauger had tendered his resignation two years into a three-year contract to coach Moana Pasifika. At 10.55pm Stuff reported that they “understand” that Mauger tendered his resignation late last week.
Is there any acknowledgement in the Stuff story as to who first reported the story?
Of course not.
No surprise there, just as there is no surprise that Mauger is gone after a disastrous two years in charge. The overmatched players have flat out downed tools in recent weeks and the Herald reported that their feedback of the coaches make for grim reading.
Following underwhelming stints at both the Highlanders and Leicester, Mauger needs to think very carefully about his next job.
All sports fans and many who aren’t would agree that Christchurch needs a new rugby stadium.
But at what cost?
A subscriber kindly pointed me in the direction of a rather dry report from the New Zealand Infrastructure Commission. Hidden among the weeds of The lay of the land: Benchmarking New Zealand’s infrastructure delivery costs, was this factoid on Te Kaha, Christchurch’s soon-to-be multi-use stadium.
“Examples like the Christchurch Stadium, which is one of the most expensive rugby stadiums in the world on a cost per seat basis, suggest that our challenges with complex, largescale projects go beyond transport,” the report noted.
“In 2022, Christchurch City Council committed to build a new 30,000 seat stadium in the city centre. After significant cost escalation through the design process, the project is expected to cost $683 million. By international standards, it is an expensive stadium. Figure 3 shows that Christchurch Stadium will be the second-most expensive rugby stadium built in recent decades – assuming costs increase no further. On a per-seat basis, it is twice as expensive as the average rugby stadium. It is also three times as costly as Dunedin’s Forsyth Barr Stadium, another 30,000-seat stadium with a roof that was built only a decade prior. There might be good reasons for these differences – but they require an explanation.”
The only global stadium with per-seat construction costs higher than Te Kaha is Paris La Défense Arena, which was developed by rugby club Racing 92 and is Europe’s largest indoor arena. It has three configurations - 30,600 for rugby, 40,000 for concerts and can go as low as 5000 for indoor sports - and includes 33,000sq m of office space, a student hostel, retail, a brewery and restaurants. It will also host the swimming at next year’s Olympics.
It has been 12 years since the earthquake laid waste to Lancaster Park. The sports-mad city is long overdue for a decent stadium, but for close to three-quarters of a billion, you really hope it comes with all the bells and whistles, including a Cassels microbrewery on site. If not, in the words of the report, “they require an explanation”.
A LIV golfer was always going to win a major and it was always likely to be a rejuvenated Brooks Koepka, whose game seems ideally suited to golf’s toughest tests.
I recall watching a fascinating piece of punditry once by Brandel Chamblee, who was adamant Koepka fell short of elite class, despite his ability to pick up wins at majors. He might be changing his tune now.
That’s five now for Koepka. The only players who have more major wins than him are so legendary they do not require first names to be instantly recognisable: Nicklaus (18), Woods (15), Hagen (11), Hogan and Player (9), Watson (8), Vardon, Jones, Sarazen, Snead and Palmer (7), Trevino, Faldo and Mickelson (6).
Playing less on a less stressful tour - Koepka has a bung knee - should see him climb further up that list.
It was a very good tournament for most of the 16 LIV golfers, with 11 making the cut and Koepka, Bryson DeChambeau, Cam Smith, Patrick Reed and Mito Pereira all making the top 20.
Kiwi Ryan Fox (tie 23rd) finished just outside that mark but can still be proud of his +3 week after an unconventional and highly stressful buildup… but the story of the week was Californian club pro Michael Block, who put an exclamation mark on his brilliant week with an ace at the 15th.
Zoe Hobbs had another great race meet, winning at the Seiko Golden Grand Prix in Yokohama. Given how fast her profile has risen over the past 18 months it was hardly surprising her 11.2s winning time won headlines.
This didn’t make one staffer at High Performance Sport NZ happy though.
I don’t mind having a pop at my own industry when warranted (as can be noted in an item above regarding attribution), but this is not a bad indication of how far out of touch athletics and HPSNZ bosses are.
Yes, what Peeters did was outstanding as was noted in the piece Kearney was unhappy with. Stuff’s introduction said: “Zoe Hobbs has taken her form from the New Zealand summer with her to Japan, while fellow Kiwi Tori Peeters shattered her national javelin record.”
It’s there in the opening sentence.
If you want people to click on the story and read about athletics, which I assume those in the sport and HPSNZ do, then a rising star in a blue-riband event like sprinting is going to do the job far more effectively than the niche discipline of javelin.
That’s just a fact, and it’s why NZOC’s super-tough selection criteria that saw Hobbs (and Eddie Osei-Nketia) scratched from the Tokyo athletics despite having met the qualifying standards was so maddeningly short-sighted.
Grow your sport, not just your medal count.
"Grow your sport not just your medal count". You may have used this one before but I have missed if you have. Seems like a simple memo which could be sent out twice a year or so to all sports administrators down to school level around the country (just with variations like 'grow your sport not your trophy cabinet or similar)...
Watching the Highlanders vs. Rebels game, I thought it would be a colossal injustice if the eight-out-of-twelve-make-it system saw EITHER team playing finals footie.
And I'm a Highlanders fan...