The referee ends the fight after Joseph Parker was knocked out by Joe Joyce. Photosport
The referee ends the fight after Joseph Parker was knocked out by Joe Joyce. Photosport
OPINION
Loser – Joseph Parker
Sunday's defeat and the manner of it certainly are heavy blows, much like the Joe Joyce left that ended the fight, to Parker's career ambitions. He was certainly outmatched in Manchester and it now looks a much longer and near impossible task to get backin contention for a heavyweight title shot. He's gone from contender to being on the verge of that dreaded boxing title ... journeyman.
A positive for Parker is the fight that he showed in the ring. Yes, he was being outpointed in the middle rounds but he kept coming back and didn't take a backward step. He may have lost some of the star power after suffering a third career defeat but he's still a name and, with a current deal with Sky Sport UK, shouldn't have trouble getting future fights with the courage he portrayed over the weekend.
They just won't have much riding on them as he faces a run of convincing wins required to even get back in the conversation. And it means remaining in the UK ahead of every fight. I'm sure Morecambe is lovely but, at some point, the 30-year-old might start wondering whether it's all worth it. He's had a fantastic career up until now, reaching the heights most boxers only dream of, but it's certainly at a crossroads.
The big question is whether he has the fight to go on.
Winners - All Blacks
In the end, they won a trophy – a pretty important one considering not one reader of this column can name the silverware the All Blacks lost against Ireland* earlier in the year. And isn't that all that matters? Keeping silverware in the NZR trophy cabinet?
Yes, they lost to the Springboks in South Africa and were upset at home by Argentina. But the All Blacks are Rugby Championship winners. Give them a parade. Knight the lot of them. Sir RTS, for his 10 minutes of brilliance. All joking aside, the All Blacks have shown vast improvement over the last three tests but Australia and Argentina aren't the best opponents to gauge where they stand in the world. November 20 at Twickenham remains as judgment day for Ian Foster's side.
Loser – Roger Tuivasa-Sheck
Option A - Play another NRL season based mostly in Australia and lead an embattled franchise through another disappointing year where they miss out on the playoffs yet again but you get a genuine shot at a Rugby League World Cup title, or Option B – Play 21 minutes of test rugby through the first nine tests of the year but still get a genuine shot at a Rugby World Cup title. Not as clear-cut as has been made out. Hopefully, he gets more game time in black later this year but with loaded midfield stocks, now led by Jordie Barrett and Rieko Ioane, it's probably fair to say he's not needed.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck has done a lot of training for those 21 minutes of test rugby. Photosport
Losers - The All Whites
That's now five straight games, or 450 minutes going back to the Oceania Cup final, in which they haven't scored a goal.
Winners - The All Whites
34,985 fans, three of whom were from my household, at Eden Park was an impressive showing of faith from the football community for the All Whites' first home international in five years. It certainly helped that it was the Socceroos as, dare I say, that number of people wouldn't have turned up for Kenya or Trinidad & Tobago, the two nations that sit directly above world number 103 New Zealand on the Fifa rankings. It was a great occasion, with plenty of young fans, helped by a sunny Sunday afternoon kickoff but just a shame the All Whites couldn't provide any goals. You could see the players appreciated the impressive support, with Chris Wood signing autographs after being subbed in the first half and through the halftime break, while Elijah Just walked around the stands to applaud the crowds after he left the game early in the second half. The players then continued to sign autographs long after the 2-0 defeat. Great to see.
All White Winston Reid walks from the field for the last time during the All Whites v Australia, homecoming match at Eden Park. Photosport
Winners - Kerri Williams and Grace Prendergast
A third rowing world title for the women's pair to go with their Olympic gold in Tokyo last year. Prendergast prepared for the world championships while completing a major in philosophy at Queens College in Cambridge.
Loser – The spirit of cricket
I imagine the spirit of cricket to be a ghostly figure of WG Grace who looms over every game taking place around the world, nodding with approval when batters are clapped off the ground or growling and head-shaking in disgrace at a fielder claiming a bounced catch. The spirits would have spat out their Pimms at the ending of the India-England ODI at Lord's when Deepti Sharma spied England batter Charlie Dean backing up too far and whipped the bails off. It may be within the rules now but it still looks wrong. The simple answer is for the batters backing up, especially late in a game when the fielding team are even more desperate for wickets, to just stay in your crease.
Loser – Golf fans
The Presidents Cup (which is to the Ryder Cup what the Europa League is to the Champions League) didn't capture my attention this year. Three years ago it featured Tiger Woods and now we're here. With the LIV Golf breakaway erasing the likes of Cam Smith and Joaquín Niemann from the International team and denying Americans Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Bryson DeChambeau a chance to play, the lack of star power took it off my must-watch list. It didn't help that Ryan Fox didn't make the team. By the time I checked it on the final day, the US team looked in control as they had been all week to take a 12th victory in 14 attempts. Golf continues to be in a weird lie at the moment.
It was another great weekend for New Zealand golfers, not just the weekend hackers who got an extra round in on a public holiday, as Lydia Ko, Steven Alker and Daniel Hillier all had superb results in their respective tours. Hillier is looking good to join Ryan Fox, if Air France finds his clubs, on the DP World Tour next season.
* It was the Steinlager Series trophy, which no doubt wasn't the drop of choice the Irish filled the cup with after the third test win.
