In this week's newsletter, Scotty discusses the Crusaders' return, a Highlanders' nail biter, and what to look for in the week ahead.
Crusader: They're back. Well, kinda.
The Crusaders were far from perfect but were at least pragmatic in their 39-0 shut out of the Rebels. This was some old school Crusaders business, making a mockery of the Rebels position on the Super Rugby table (the visitors were ranked 4th while the Crusaders were 12th), and proving the bookmakers bang on.
It had been a heady week for the competition’s most successful team with senior players publicly backing their coach, Rob Penney, and the club’s CEO, Colin Mansbridge taking shots at pundits and commentators who had dared to question whether Penney’s tenure was on thin ice. For what it’s worth, this correspondent does not believe Penney’s job is on the line and backs the Crusaders to be in the play off mix despite results so far.
That said, Mansbridge’s comments need to be examined. Rugby’s powerbrokers have always had a strange take on those who legitimately question decisions, results, or administrative directives. It wasn’t that long ago when former All Blacks coach Sir Steve Hansen would say to media, “you’re either with us or against us.” As if the business of covering professional sport was simply (all) black and white. The job of your club’s social media team is to get attention, the job of the media is to engage in scrutiny. Attention and scrutiny are two different things, but they both have a place in sport.
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The greatest thing about the Crusaders win? Owen Franks scored a try for the first time in 14 years. To give that some context, the last time the big prop dotted down, Crusaders reserve halfback Noah Hotham was 7 years old.
What's wrong with a 7-6 thriller?
Nothing if you’re a Highlanders fan, but apparently plenty if you like watching rugby. Not this guy. I loved it. A 7-6 mistake fest in perfect conditions is the metaphor for most of our lives. Forget the bells and give me all the whistle. Hand me an opportunity to shine and I’ll likely trip over both feet and fall down some stairs. This is what existence is all about: being handed a perfectly good chance to look good and making every second of it as hard as possible, with your t-shirt inside out and socks that don’t match.
The Highlanders have long been a team that sees special merit in being as tough on themselves as they are on the opposition. This is what makes them so much fun to watch. That, and Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, who has to be one of the most gifted runners in the game. JRK only has to get near the ball and the Zoo is on its feet. And speaking of the Zoo, the sound of the gathered animals belting out Dancing Queen with a game very much in the balance was the kind of cross-over weirdness I needed in my life.
To be fair to the Highlanders, the Rhys Patchell injury after 25 minutes did much to disrupt the attack. Patchell looked good in the opening exchanges and had the backline up and at the Force line. They did not attack with anything like that intent for the rest of the game, even though some of the broken play work was exhilarating.
One final point. Rugby may be a team game, but every team needs a leader. In Billy Harmon the Highlanders have a captain who proves his worth every week. Do yourself a favour and watch him in isolation for a few minutes next time you tune in. The Force also have a leader, and they subbed him with 17 minutes remaining. Nic White may well have been the difference in the dying moments of the match.
Blues go box office while Canes flop in Canberra
Maybe I’ve saved the best for last here, but Patrick McKendry sure thinks the Blues are the real deal and it’s hard to argue with that having watched them pull an iron from the fire to break Reds hearts after the full time hooter.
Patrick covers the points that matter in his analysis of the game but I’ll add to his fulsome praise of Vern Cotter’s men by saying Hoskins Sotutu is playing freakishly good footy right now, and may even be the most exciting player in the competition.
There are still lapses in concentration that the Blues will have to fix – they were vulnerable on their right side where Reds debutant Tim Ryan scored a hattrick – but belief is a powerful tool when a team is chasing a game, and this Blues side certainly looks imbued with it.
Meanwhile in the battle of the capitals, the Hurricanes looked desperately out of ideas as the Brumbies gave them a night to forget. The Canes have been highflyers this year but it would have been of great concern to coach Clark Laidlaw that the Brumbies were able to manipulate the defence as easy as they did. Jordie Barrett worked hard but looked a different player without the presence of Billy Proctor at centre. The pack also looked down on impact without the injured Asafo Aumua.
The Hurricanes have another tough Australian battle against the Waratahs this week before that showdown with the Blues.
Phoenix face anxious wait after MacArthur mauling
The tops were off in Wellington as the Phoenix finished the regular A-League men’s season on a high with an efficient 3-0 win over MacArthur. Unfortunately, the Newcastle Jets, who last week held the Nix to a 1-all draw, couldn’t do Wellington a solid against Central Coast, though that concurrent contest kept the thumbs busy as fans here checked in regularly on proceedings at McDonald Jones Stadium. The Mariners now need only a draw against Adelaide on Wednesday to clinch the Premiers’ Plate and top spot of the playoffs.
Regardless of Wednesday’s result – and it’s likely Adelaide will never have a bigger fan base this side of the Tasman – the Phoenix are flying in rarefied air. No season in the club’s history has come close to this one in terms of results and 15,000 rolled into their home on Saturday night to make the occasion a memorable one.
It will be intriguing now to see how many casual fans jump onboard as the A-League men’s competition heads to the post-season. With competition coming on the home front courtesy of the new Auckland franchise, professional football here has never looked a more enticing proposition for players or for fans.
Black Caps set to name T20 World Cup
New Zealand’s meritorious 2-all series draw with Pakistan may not have hogged the cricketing headlines over the last week but Michael Bracewell’s men deserve enormous credit for ensuring the honours were shared in what always shaped as a tough tour.
After a shellacking in the second match (the first was abandoned due to rain) the side managed to pick up wins in the next two before falling short by just 5 runs in the final match in Lahore. Quite what the selectors learned from the tour remains to be seen today when the squad for the Caribbean and USA is named at 2.30pm.
At least they had some cricket to watch, which is much the same for a cohort of kiwis at the IPL where batting is dominating the headlines and strike rate baselines are being rewritten.
New Zealand selectors Gary Stead and Sam Wells perhaps have an easier job selecting their batting unit than the bowlers, with Adam Milne absent for the Pakistan tour and the enduring questions over Trent Boult given his contracting situation. Finn Allen is another who was a late scratching for Pakistan but seems likely to be at the top of the order given his destructive capability.
Tim Seifert’s timely half century in Pakistan in the final match perhaps puts him in the frame as a back-up keeper, while Bracewell’s spin may put him ahead of the experienced Jimmy Neesham in an all-rounder’s spot.
1News will have full coverage of the squad announcement as it comes to hand.
The week ahead and what to watch for
No news is not necessarily good news when it comes to New Zealand Rugby’s governance review but the latest oil is that the current board has no plans to step down en masse, instead proposing to all see out their remaining terms. The unions are still demanding conditions on the experience of any
Appointed director and NZR Chair, Dame Patsy Reddy, has already pulled her trump card by threatening to resign should the unions not fall into line.
The ISA World Junior Surf Championships begin on May 3 in Surf City, El Salvador. New Zealand has taken a team of twelve to the event which comprises both under-16 and under-18 events. Speaking of surfing, Mark Crysell signs off from Sunday with an incredible story of the man who put New Zealand surfing on the pages of the sport’s biggest magazines, and risked his life in the process. Mark’s contribution to journalism is immense, and his passion for storytelling shines through in all he does. If you missed Sunday, please take the time to enjoy this remarkable tale.
The Warriors hit the training field again this week looking to find a way back into the winner’s circle. The side faces Newcastle on Sunday giving Andrew Webster’s men plenty of time to figure out what has gone wrong. Defence will be high on the agenda, but this relatively luxurious turn around feels like it could not have come at a more important time for the likes of Shaun Johnson and Tohu Harris.
Auckland Council will finally be asked to make a decision on the great Auckland stadium debate with a working group today set to put forward two options for consideration. Those options are believed to be yet another revamp of Eden Park or the Ngati Whatua backed Te Toangaroa venture which promises a brand new stadium as part of an ambitious urban renewal precinct adjacent to the CBD.
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