Play nzherald.co.nz's rugby Pick the Score competition - go to: pickthescore.nzherald.co.nz
KEY POINTS:
It's taken a while but early February rugby not only feels normal, but something to look forward to. Whether the players feel the same, as temperatures soar, is another matter.
The weekend marked a changeover point for sport. The Wellington sevens were the appetiser, announcing that the national obsession is back with us this week, and right up until near the end of the year.
Who could ever have envisaged the day when England would win the sevens in the capital. England? Running rugby?
Back to something far more normal, although rugby old timers still shake their heads at the modern day scheduling.
The Chiefs and Hurricanes played a pre-season match over the weekend in what were described as hot and sunny conditions in Gisborne. Hot and sunny is easy to say, but not so easy to play in.
Rugby and league, whose season is hard on union's heels, may need to monitor the climate closely. The players are being taken to their limits already, and if weather experts are correct, even higher temperatures are on this hazy horizon.
The reality of it came to me while doing a small, late-morning job outside over the weekend.
It required not a lot of effort due to the wonders of an electric drill, which meant safety goggles were mandatory. Five minutes later the goggles were completely steamed up, my face was doing an impression of the Niagara Falls, and the body was following a very damp suit.
Job completed, I looked like one of those human puddles that played at the recent Australian Open.
Bush fires are raging in New South Wales. Temperatures have cracked the 40C mark in Christchurch and Perth. People on water tanks are worried. This is not a moderate time of year.
How on earth do the footballers cope in this sort of heat?
Talk about being thrown in the deep end, because the NRL's opening round in mid March includes two afternoon games, on the Gold Coast and in Sydney.
At least the Super 14 - which kicks off on Friday - sticks to evening and night games, but still, it must be a severe physical test at this time of year.
The opening weekend venues are Dunedin, Perth, Johannesburg, Christchurch, Wellington, Cape Town and Pretoria. That's a well spread tanning clinic and the best chance of respite will come in Dunedin, where the Highlanders and Brumbies open the Super 14 on Friday night.
Dunedin aside perhaps, the rest of the venues are full of high temperatures (even at night) plus sticky humidity.
The warm-up games have been hot stuff, and they'll feel like a warm shower compared to what's coming up in the real deal.
What will be the effect then of the weather on the opening round? Coaches will be inclined to get their reserves on early, which can lead to games losing their shape earlier than usual. Tired defenders will leave more scoring opportunities than later in the year, but mistake rates might also be up in the heat.
Apart from the weather problem, I have come to like this summer rugby.
All of our seasonal sporting expectations have been changed, not only by the schedules but also the flood of sport that is available from around the world on television. Why not watch a rugby match one night, a cricket contest the next?
Variety is the spice of life, and television has turned sport into a delectable smorgasbord quite unrelated to the local customs and climate.
This seems so ironic, looking back on those formative sporting years as a kid. Back then the holy of holy times was 2.30pm on Saturday afternoon, when almost all the big football matches were played.
Now Saturday afternoon is about the last time that you'll find any decent weekend sport. You're more likely to find a cracking game to watch on Sunday night, or in the wee hours of Sunday or Monday morning.
Mud, rather than heat, used to be the eternal problem. Not any more.
The pace, power and impact of union and league has increased dramatically. So a tribute here to modern rugby union and league footballers. They are being asked to play in quite extreme conditions, and it is a testament to their dedicated preparation that they do it so well.
* * *
But for a timing problem, this column might be honouring a New Zealand one-day series victory over Australia.
Whatever last night's result, the Black Caps are doing stupendously well in Australia. Who would ever have thought a team containing names such as Guptill and Broom would be lowering Australia's colours in Australia. Daniel Vettori is proving a fine one-day captain, even if his test cupboard is almost bare. It is also hard to remember an Australian team in such disarray, in terms of of performance, cohesiveness, tactics and selection.
* * *
What's the best definition of hopeless sporting optimism? Here's a contender. The basketball Breakers are in a serious lull but a fan told me : "I'm a believer ... it takes more than eight defeats in nine games to shake my confidence."
* * *
Football managers are so expressive. You could only feel for the under-pressure Portsmouth manager Tony Adams, as an English premiership victory against Liverpool slipped away yesterday. With Portsmouth leading 2-1 and 10 minutes remaining, a hopeless piece of defending led to a Liverpool equaliser. Adams gave a nearby chair an almighty kick. What a frustrating job.
