In this week's newsletter, Patrick McKendry discusses the All Blacks win over England, the Tour de France, and if the European Championship is coming home for England.
Okay, let’s get the awkward bit out of the way first. The person in the picture above is of course Scotty Stevenson but the person writing this is in fact Patrick McKendry, a 1News digital sports writer who is having his own Cortez Ratima moment and making a significant debut while Scotty is on a well-earned break.
All Blacks win series after sneaking past England — again
Speaking of Ratima, the little halfback was one of the several All Blacks replacements who did themselves and their country proud in New Zealand’s 24-17 victory over England at Eden Park.
The Chiefs No.9 entered the fray before Beauden Barrett and Anton Lienert-Brown and while he didn’t receive anything like the same number of headlines that one B. Barrett did, Ratima, who replaced Finlay Christie, was tidy and composed as the All Blacks climbed out of a significant hole.
A friend messaged me during the second half to share his displeasure at the All Blacks’ performance and I was inclined to agree. The score at that point was 17-13 to England and the stage appeared set for this All Blacks team to be the first to lose at Eden Park in 30 years and one week.
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The home side didn’t appear to have much of an idea about how to break down that white wall in front of them, but Barrett came on and changed the complexion of the Test with sleight of hand, pace and a whole lot of attacking inspiration, not to mention a late defensive effort.
Like England head coach Steve Borthwick said afterwards, it was a “phenomenal” performance and the question for head coach Scott Robertson now is where to play Barrett in the future – the starting fullback, starting first-five, or on the bench covering both?
The man known as Razor said yesterday he would make that decision Test by Test. It’s a heck of a problem to have but the scrutiny on where Barrett plays, already intense before this series, will only increase.
“Every Test is different – whether he’s on the bench or starting,” Robertson said. “He’s class, he can slot straight into 10 or 15… whatever the Test needs.
“He’s come back [from Japan] in great nick. He’s a good pro. He feels fresh. He cares about this team and is a hell of a leader.”
A potentially complicating factor is the imminent return of Will Jordan from a shoulder injury which has kept him out of all rugby this year.
Robertson said yesterday that the Crusaders outside back will play a couple of pre-season games for Tasman before the Rugby Championship which starts with a Test against Argentina in Wellington on August 10.
Jordan, the top try-scorer at last year’s World Cup, will almost certainly start at fullback when he returns which will leave Barrett with a bench role or an option to start at No.10 ahead of Damian McKenzie.
“It gives us that depth, yeah,” Robertson said in a masterclass of understatement.
Time is of the essence for the All Blacks
The All Blacks boarded their flight yesterday bound for San Diego and a Test against Fiji on Saturday with a list of improvements and possible a sense of bewilderment that the current laws of the game allow so much time wasting.
The number of England players flopping to the ground apparently injured with cramp or in need of other attention when the All Blacks threatened to increase the tempo was highly noticeable and it came a week after similar acts in Dunedin.
What can Robertson do about it? Not much apart from going through the official World Rugby channels.
“We wanted to play quick,” he said. “We wanted to get there and take those lineouts and a lot of those lineouts were just slowed up or the scrum was slowed up.
“We’ve made the referees and World Rugby know that we want to keep the game going. We’re an entertainment game. They’ve got the safety element as well, so it is a balance.”
The balance becomes more precarious when there are front rowers going down, as they did at Eden Park.
Robertson added: “I won’t get too much into the detail, but our philosophy is we want to play, to keep going. There have been so many advances – the shot clock… the scrum clock, all these other clocks. The game can be marginalised in some ways and slowed up. Look, full respect to everyone, every scenario is different, but we can speed the game up a bit more and bring in fatigue more.”
Those of a delicate constitution may wish to look away now but one player who definitely did need attention was England fullback Freddie Steward who ran straight into All Black prop Ethan de Groot’s right shoulder in the second half and was very unwell afterwards – all over the middle of the pitch.
South Africa v Ireland series not one for the faint of heart
The world champion Springboks, who also happen to be the No.1 team in the world, took on world No.2 Ireland in Durban in the weekend and the match did not disappoint.
A week after an intense Test in Pretoria, won 27-20 by the Boks, the Irish prevailed 25-24 at Kings Park thanks in large part to two dropped goals in the final 10 minutes by replacement Ciaran Frowley. The second was the last act of the game.
It should be noted that they were both from long range and that Frowley had never before succeeded with a dropped goal in a first-class game. Incredible.
It should also be noted that the Test featured eight penalties by Boks No.10 Handre Pollard, and that the only try of the game was scored by Ireland halfback Connor Murray. It was a nice one, too, which featured the type of skill execution that Razor is hoping his All Blacks find.
It was also an at times (legally) violent Test with casualties all over the park and entirely befitting of the two best sides in the world. The All Blacks are ranked No.3.
Black Ferns bring tries back to the international game
If there was a paucity of tries during the men’s international rugby weekend, there wasn’t for the Black Ferns in their 62-0 demolition of Australia in Brisbane yesterday.
Wing Katelyn Vaha’akolo scored four in an outstanding personal performance but there were stars for New Zealand across the park, including their loose forward trio.
There were tries and offloads and running into space. There were smiles too – from the visitors, of course. In other words, it was a refreshing change. It wasn’t better or worse, just different and all the more welcome for that.
Tour De France — the greatest race
I competed in a stage of the Tour de France once. Well, I say competed. What happened was I rode the first stage of the 2007 race (which started in England) from London to Canterbury – it was about 180km I think, plus I rode 20km to get to the start line which was a long day out. I was fitter at the time. An enduring memory was riding through the southern inner-city streets of England’s capital at about 6am on a Sunday and seeing bleary-eyed nightclubbers emerging in a state of shock at the sight of thousands of cyclists racing past.
It is a personal link to a race that has become compulsory viewing for me, and this year’s race is one of the best I can remember – helped possibly by my family’s growing interest in it which in turn has been assisted by the excellent coverage and highlights packages which can be viewed at one’s leisure on Sky Sports.
One of the most heart-warming storylines is the way Eritrean sprinter Biniam Girmay has broken all sorts of metaphorical barriers in this year’s event.
A week ago, Girmay became the first black African to win a stage of the famous race. He has now won three; a mixture of his extraordinary sprinting instincts and pure power (especially in slightly uphill finishes) paving the way for his breakthrough. Last year, Girmay crashed at 75km/h during the Tour of Flanders. He was unconscious for two hours.
There is a wonderful story in The Times of London about a school in Leeds which includes a high proportion of Eritrean children on its roll.
One of the teachers, John Robertson, felt it only right to celebrate Girmay’s achievement because it’s not every day an Eritrean wins at the tour, only to find he’d be celebrating every few days.
“What astounded me,” Robertson told the Times, “is just how revered he is by these young children. A national hero.”
England, is it coming home?
Depending on when you read this – possibly yes, probably not, yes, or no. England’s Euros final against Spain in Berlin, is/was the first outing in a major overseas tournament by their men’s team ever.
Whatever happens, their performance – especially their finish – in their semifinal against the Nertherlands was extraordinary for its quality under pressure, not something you can always attach to the England football team.
Like the rest of the 2024 Euros, the match is live on TVNZ+. There will also be a full replay and highlights available.
A shoutout to Kiwi boxer Andrei Mikhailovich
On Saturday morning, Andrei was preparing to fight Janibek Alimkhanuly for two world titles in Las Vegas only to watch in shock as his opponent fainted due to dehydration while weighing in.
The issue isn’t unusual. Fighters push themselves to their limits and beyond to make weight for fights – another dangerous aspect to the sport.
So, the fight is off and the undefeated Mikhailovich, who went on several trips to Australia with his trainer Isaac Peach to prepare with quality sparring, has lost his opportunity. Heart breaking.
What to watch out for
Kiwi IndyCar driver Scott McLaughlin set a new track record to qualify for pole position in today’s race at Iowa Speedway.
Raiders v Warriors (who had the bye this past weekend) in Canberra at 10pm next Friday. The Warriors are 15th of 17 teams but are only four points from the top eight.
All Blacks v Fiji in San Diego at 2.30pm next Saturday. Expect changes as Razor gives other players opportunities in the USA. Visit 1News.co.nz for team news and analysis.
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