In this week's newsletter, Scotty discusses the All Blacks' win against England, the Warriors' fall to the Bulldogs, and it's centre court for Lulu Sun.
All Blacks get the win and the pass mark to start
In Test match rugby, you take the win and just as it is in golf, there are no diagrams on a score card. Relief was the overriding emotion for the All Blacks on Saturday, which is a better emotion than disappointment, which would be understating things if you’re an English player, or a fan for that matter.
You can read my full column on the first test here but suffice to say this was, margin of victory notwithstanding, an entirely expected performance from a team that by its own admission has had to learn a new coaching language in a little over a week and was up against a well-drilled, match hardened side that, but for a couple of crucial lapses, looked test match ready.
The All Blacks coaches will have seen enough to know they have a squad they can sharpen and hone over the coming months, one that blends raw boned enthusiasm with test match smarts. Jordie Barrett and Reiko Ioane deserve high praise for throwing themselves at England’s potent rush defence all night long, and the two locks – Scott Barrett and Patrick Tuipulotu – deserve to be singled out for praise, carrying with teak toughness the entire game.
There are elements that will require special attention this week ahead of the Eden Park assignment. The attacking lineout was found wanting, and it is too important to the overall offensive effort to misfire like that. The execution of the backline attack in the face of the rush will also be a special assignment this week, but there are signs it is a high-reward style that warrants further trial.
No one expected fireworks at first sight from this All Blacks team but neither, perhaps, did fans expect them to be pushed to the limit as they were in Dunedin. The good news is the home side still managed to find its way across the finish line first, and England will have to resume the engagement at a venue that has spooked much better sides than this lot of visitors.
Warriors fall to Bulldogs in a game no side deserved to lose
Forget the result for a second if you can and revel in the memory of one of the greatest NRL matches you could ever hope to witness. This was NRL unleashed, and the Wahs and Dogs put on a show that lasted 88 minutes and left Warriors fans pining for just a couple more. In the end, Matt Burton had the final say for the home side, knocking over a field goal to seal the deal 13-12. Has it sealed the Warriors' fate this season? That’s not entirely certain.
There were five missed field goals in total, which neatly sums up the nature of the contest. Chanel Harris-Tavita missed thrice, and Burton twice – including one that hit the left upright – before the dagger was thrust through the Wahs' heart with just two minutes remaining in the second period of golden point. It was that kind of night.
For all the action, points were hard to come by. The Warriors' goal line defence in the final 10 minutes of the first half was so heroic there should be odes written of it. A 12-6 lead at the break was well deserved but never felt like enough in a night of big hits, clutch plays, and superhuman performances. None was more at home in the Marvel Universe than Mitch Barnett’s. It included 54 tackles, 5 offloads, and 226 running metres. In any other match it would have been match-winning.
There wasn’t much else the Warriors could do in the match, apart from find that field goal. And it wasn’t as if they didn’t try. If there is any criticism it would be the kicking game. Neither Te Maire Martin nor Harris-Tavita owned this part of the game, while the Dogs rained snowflakes on the visitors all second half. Those towering bombs proved a handful for Roger Tuivasa-Sheck who moved back to fullback in place of the injured Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, and with both the impressive Marcelo Montoya and tireless Dallin Watene-Zelezniak hitting the injury bench early in the second half, the Warriors' backfield became a battlefield.
This might have been one that got away, but it is hard to find fault with a performance that was at least worthy of a draw, in a game neither team deserved to lose.
Southern Hemisphere on top in opening tests
The Boks put the Irish back in their box with a 27-20 win at Loftus Versfeld to open a series that feels like it was marketed by Norman Schwarzkopf. Nothing about a game of rugby resembles a war, but it was all guns and tanks and desert storm militarised rhetorical nonsense leading into this one. Then the TMO got involved and reminded everyone that it's rugby.
It would be tempting to say the scoreline flatters the Ireland side, but that would be unfair. Cheslin Kolbe’s 65th minute try, cloaked in controversy by the claim James Lowe was in touch before his pass back in field was pounced upon for the score, gave the Boks the breathing room they needed but two tries to Ireland in the final five minutes showed how up for the contest they were.
Those scores would have seen them take the win to extend their incredible run of victories over the Boks, stretching back to 2016, but a penalty try to South Africa saw them able to see off the late rally. Expect the, ahem, ‘war’ of words to intensify this week.
Meanwhile, Australia beat Wales to give new head coach Joe Schmidt the perfect start. Beating Wales is not quite the point of pride it used to be, considering they have now dropped out of the top 10 in the world rankings, but take nothing away from the Wallabies who find themselves with the added responsibility of trying to win a fan base as well as a game of footy.
In other international fixtures, Samoa accounted for Italy in Apia on Friday in an entertaining Test that showed just how tough touring the Islands can be. Italy has not left Europe since 2018 and may have wished they had stayed on the plane when they were outshone and outscored 21-7 in the second half. Samoa’s victory was spearheaded by the impressive Danny Toala and newbie Olajawon Noa who was outstanding from the back of the scrum. Samoa take on Spain next week with coverage LIVE and FREE on TVNZ+.
It's not home yet, but it's inching ever closer
Gareth Southgate must have an incredible ability to shut out noise from the outside. The England manager has been pilloried from pillar to post since his side’s opening win of the European Championship against Serbia almost a month ago. Since then, England and Southgate have been absolutely rissoled by their own fans. And yet, here they are, in the semi-finals.
It took another win on penalties, but what perfect penalties they were. Southgate’s detractors are too numerous to list, and their own gripes more numerable still. But this is a fact: under Southgate, England have won seven knockout matches at major tournaments. In the previous 50 years, they had won a total of six.
Southgate’s 100th game as England manager will go down as a win, setting up a juicy semi-final with the Netherlands who accounted for a disjointed and ill-disciplined Türkiye 2-1. On the other side of the draw, Spain will take on France after the former ended the host nation’s chances and the latter ensured Cristiano Ronaldo would likely have more tears.
Of course, the Southgate critics will claim England are no chance against the Dutch. Southgate himself may have other ideas.
You can catch both semi-finals and the final LIVE and FREE on TVNZ+.
It's centre court for rising Sun
Lulu Sun’s Wimbledon heroics have already endeared her to New Zealand fans but overnight, the 123rd ranked Kiwi faced a stern test against British hopeful and former US Open champion Emma Raducanu. Sidelines realises the result will be known this morning but it pays to recognise an incredible achievement in making the final 16 (and hopefully advancing).
Not a single pundit gave Sun a chance of being here when she faced the 8th seed Qinwen Zheng in the first round. Three rounds later – after scrapping, clawing, and fighting her way to victory – she finds herself ready for centre court with the odds still overwhelmingly against her, but her world ranking actually above that of Raducanu’s.
It has been 65 years since New Zealand had a women’s player making it this far at Wimbledon. Lulu Sun now walks in the footsteps of the great Dame Ruia Morrison, which itself is an incredible achievement. Win or lose overnight, this has been a career-changing tournament for Sun and one that New Zealand’s tennis fraternity can rightly celebrate.
Wimbledon coverage continues LIVE and FREE this week on TVNZ+.
What's ahead this week
ATHLETICS: Diamond League Athletics returns to TVNZ+ with a number of Kiwis in action as they finalise preparations for Paris. Among them will be Tom Walsh who has been training in Athens, Georgia ahead of his final push to break the 23 metre mark.
CRICKET: The White Ferns continue their tour of England having been swept 3-nil in the ODI series and going 1-nil down in the five match T20i series that began in Southampton on Sunday morning and now heads to Hove. So far the Ferns have found the going tough but the team remains adamant it can turn its fortunes around in the remaining matches, which shape as crucial preparation for the World Cup in Bangladesh.
RUGBY: The All Blacks show moves to Auckland this week as preparations for the second and final Test begin. The injury to TJ Perenara will likely be of chief concern to the management. The question is whether Perenara will be fit and if not, where does the extra cover come from? We’ll have full coverage on 1news.co.nz.
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