48 hours: Tour puts All Blacks on track for Lion-taming

So, four wins from four, smiles all round and now the country's top rugby players can head off into what's passing for summer and put their feet up for a few weeks.

All Blacks coach Graham Henry doubled their usual break after yesterday's Barbarians game, so players can head to the beach and don't need to get back into training until the end of January.

He must be happy, and this country's rugby heads should be, too. They can delight in the knowledge that the All Blacks seem to be well on track for the Lions challenge next year.

The Barbarians game was about what you would expect - some good moments, the odd flash of brilliance, the understandable lack of cohesion from the Barbarians, and the distinct lack of the intensity you would find in a test match. So no surprises there.

Quite what the all-Australian, South African, New Zealand, Fijian and Italian Barbarian players thought of having God Save the Queen as their anthem for the day is anyone's guess, but the bemused looks on the players' faces gave a clear hint.

So, was it all worthwhile, this tour aimed at developing depth for the future?

You would have to say yes, and hats off to selectors Graham Henry, Steve Hansen, Wayne Smith and Sir Brian Lochore for that.

The reservations about why 32 players were needed for four games remain, but you cannot argue with their results, most notably the French triumph.

Take two of yesterday's tryscorers, Jerome Kaino and Piri Weepu.

It was Kaino's only game time of the trip, but the 21-year-old blindside flanker did not look out of place, pulling off some strong defensive work and scoring a rollicking try.

As for halfback Weepu, to him fell the honour of the final points of the trip, scoring a try through sheer strength, then converting it.

His well-known desire to play league for the Kiwis notwithstanding, he looked the part - if not to immediately unseat either Byron Kelleher or Justin Marshall, then certainly with the 2007 World Cup in mind.

But the Barbarians game formed just one small part of a bumper sporting weekend for the armchair fan.

Having heard the moaners bagging Sky TV in the last few days for scheduling blips, let's take a look at what was on offer, live. First, take a deep breath ...

Saturday: the Davis Cup final between Spain and the United States; five hours of the Australian PGA golf championship and a couple more from Hong Kong; New Zealand's opening men's Champions Trophy hockey match against the Olympic champions Holland in Lahore, and a live NBA basketball game.

Sunday: Apart from the Barbarians-All Blacks, there was the conclusion of the Puhinui three-day equestrian event; the doubles from the Davis Cup; a few more hours of the final round of the golf; New Zealand playing Australia in the opening one-dayer in Melbourne; the hockey men playing Pakistan, Parma v AC Milan from the Italian soccer championship and three - count them, three - English premier league games one after the other.

Remember Ian Porterfield? I do.

He was the goalscorer when Sunderland pulled off probably the greatest FA Cup final upset of all, beating mighty Leeds United (and that's got a funny ring to it these days), in the 1973 final at Wembley.

It was the first FA Cup final screened live - wonder of wonders, in technicolour, at 3am from halfway round the world.

Why was it so memorable?

In part because Sunderland, in their red and white stripes, were second division, and expected to be cannon fodder for the star-laden Leeds. But the little men roared that day through our television sets and the stony-faced giants were dumped.

And, in part, because it was new and exciting.

And the point of this? The next time you're about to pick up the phone to berate a telephonist about scheduling boo-boos - and yes, they are frustrating, but life does have bigger issues to be confronted - remember that we don't do that badly when it comes to watching the sporting world unfold from our small corner at the bottom of the globe.

And if you could find nothing out of the weekend's fare to keep you happy, you've got a problem.

High point

The New Zealand Breakers tip over one of the NBL title contenders, the Brisbane Bullets, 24 hours after copping a pounding in Wollongong. It got them off the bottom of the table and showed there's still some life in their campaign.

Low point

The unveiling of the sleazy world of Victor Conte, the founder of the Balco laboratory, who has provided and designed illegal drugs for some of the world's leading athletes. You need a shower after entering Conte's world.