OPINION
It was a multi-hued year for sport — everything from whitewashes to blackouts — so here is something a little different, a colour guide to memorable people and moments from this year.
The original concept was to do this in the colours of the rainbow and, while they are all there, some additional shades seem to have seeped in:
As in red-hot and red-faced. The Silver Ferns were red-hot when they recovered from a ghastly netball series against England to trounce the world champion Australians home and away and win the Constellation Cup. Red-faced: the men’s All Black Sevens finished only fifth at the Paris Olympics and then had the ignominy of being beaten twice by Spain in the Cape Town sevens this month. Spain?
The colour of Scottie Scheffler’s prison jump suit after he was paraded in handcuffs by police, accused of “assaulting” an officer with his car in a trivial incident. The world No 1 was trying to gain access to the PGA Championship (in which he was playing) past a fatal traffic accident blocking his way. All charges against him were later dropped.
Let’s call it gold, shall we? The perennially amazing Dame Lisa Carrington emerged from Paris with her career Olympic gold medal count swelling to nine (plus one bronze) but, for sheer drama, Hamish Kerr’s gold after that intense jump-off in Paris literally raised the bar.
Okay, we know it’s not a rainbow colour but it has a place here. We could opt for that astonishing 3-0 whitewash of India in India by the Black Caps, but that earns a place under a different colour below. Instead, we opt for Jurgen Klopp or, specifically, Jurgen Klopp’s teeth.
Liverpool’s champion manager stood down this year after a stellar record, including winning the Champions League, the Premier League and both English Cups. However, his teeth are still to be seen on our TV screens as he stars in an ad spruiking an internet hotel booking service. In the ad, Klopp flashes his gnashers in a shade of white that can only be described as neon — the best teeth in the Premier League since another Liverpool champion, striker Luis Suarez. His prominent dental assets (especially after he bit a Chelsea player) earned him a regular chant from opposing fans advising him that his protruding teeth were offside.
The colour of the baggy cap of cricket’s latest star, 19-year-old Australian test opener Sam Konstas. His blazing and inventive 60 from 65 balls announced his arrival, though it remains to be seen whether he is, as many think, the next David Warner. Green is also the colour of envy — and seemed to be attached to Indian batting maestro Virat Kohli as well, fined 20 per cent of his match fee for shoulder-barging Konstas.
Kohli was seen laughing openly at Konstas after the youngster failed with two attempts to play ramp shots against crack Indian quick Jasprit Bumrah — a piece of sheer cheek. Kohli’s humour changed after Konstas later got it right, ramping Bumrah for two fours and a six in one over, plus taking 18 runs off one Bumrah over, something the world’s leading bowler had never experienced before. The shoulder bump may not have been out-of-form Kohli doing the old bull thing at this cocky kid — but it sure looked like it.
Aimee Fisher after the only paddler to have posed a viable threat to Carrington came fourth as Carrington won gold in the Paris Olympics K1 500m event in a much-anticipated Kiwi clash that didn’t really eventuate. Fisher said her heart was “broken” and she was “grieving” and “feeling pretty low”. However, she has declared she’s in for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics so the corker kayak clash could yet be on.
As worn by All Black midfielder Billy Proctor and possibly also describing his mood after being overlooked following his impressive debut in a big win over Fiji. He played well in a big win over Japan in his second start — so, of course, he hasn’t been seen since.
The colour of the face of Tottenham Hotspur’s Australian manager Ange Postecoglou after his side went down 6-3 to Liverpool in a ridiculous EPL game. Spurs are all about attack but the contemptuous ease with which Liverpool overran them made a mockery of the so-called defence and Spurs’ famous motto: To dare is to do. They dared … but they really didn’t do.
This is really a shade of blue and is how India felt after that historic 3-0 series Black Caps whitewash in India, something no other cricket team has ever achieved, and which Indian skipper Rohit Sharma said was the low point of his career. Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke bowled India out for 46 in the first test, before spinners Mitchell Santner (13 wickets in the second test) and Ajaz Patel (11 in the third) wrapped up the series in an astonishing triumph still almost too incredible to believe. Then, of course, being the Black Caps, they lost a home series to England, looking entirely ordinary.
Colour me unsurprised.
The Proteas' win means only one of India or Australia can qualify for the WTC final.