Editorial: Sport fans savour year of victory

Opinion

Perhaps the most compelling commentary on New Zealand's outstanding sporting year was delivered by the Australian Institute of Sport. Late in the piece, it announced that international coaches would be denied access to its knowledge pool. As New Zealand had been the main beneficiary of the institute's expertise, the message was clear. This country's sporting triumphs, often at the expense of Australia, had begun to irritate big brother. The time had come to see whether it could stand on its own feet.

That may not be as difficult as Australians imagine. New Zealand's excellence in high-performance sport has reflected the steady development of an effective infrastructure. Additionally, 2005 was not so much a year when the country revelled in success in new, or unexpected, sporting spheres as one in which traditional strengths were reaffirmed and promise became fruition.

Never did potential blossom more dramatically than with Michael Campbell. Armed with a new mental clarity, he saw off the challenge of Tiger Woods to become the United States Open champion. Not since Bob Charles won the British Open in 1963 had a New Zealander claimed a golf major. The victory was made the sweeter by Campbell's strong sense of national pride, and his determination to help young New Zealanders replicate his feat.

Pride was also rekindled during a superb rugby season. The All Blacks, playing with power and panache and marshalled well by coach Graham Henry, lost only one match while achieving a clean sweep over the Lions, victory in the Tri-Nations, the retention of the Bledisloe Cup, and a Grand Slam tour of the British Isles. To cap it all, in what was the upset of the year, New Zealand won the hosting rights to the 2011 World Cup. With new provincial and Super 14 competitions about to begin, rugby's stocks are high.

So, too, more surprisingly, are those of rugby league. There was little to enthuse about as the Warriors served up another forgettable season. But the international game was transformed when Brian McClennan took the reins of the Kiwis. Astoundingly, he engineered victory in the Tri-Nations, even without the likes of Benji Marshall, whose stunning play for Wests Tigers lit up the NRL final. The transformation will be complete if some of the new-found glitter rubs off on the Warriors.

No less astonishing were the four gold medals won within 45 minutes at the world rowing championships in Japan. Rowing has always been one of our main Olympic hopes, and has rarely disappointed. But success of this magnitude was beyond the wildest of dreams. For the world champion crews, and outstanding head coach Richard Tonks, the task is to sustain that level of excellence through to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

More immediately, the focus will be on the Commonwealth Games. There will be no stronger favourites in Melbourne than the New Zealand netball team. Under the tutelage of Ruth Aitken, another of the country's coaching masterclass, the Silver Ferns defeated Australia with ease. An improving swimming squad and cycling's continued high level of performance should be other features of the Games.

Before then, however, there must be hope of significant improvement from the Black Caps. Victory in a one-day competition in Zimbabwe and a world-record run chase during the Chappell-Hadlee series against Australia were virtually the only bright spots. This was a team which, after a period of improvement, contained too many players failing to fulfil their potential.

Cricket's malaise, however, was one of the few scars on an outstanding landscape. It barely detracted from the tone of triumph. Rarely have our sportsmen and women engendered a greater degree of national pride.