Gone are the histrionics, replaced by a quiet confidence and increasing competence to his Wallabies, who crushed Warren Gatland’s woeful Wales in Cardiff after pipping England the week before.
Significantly, the Aussie players didn’t over-celebrate their tries or the victory in Cardiff.
After their England victory, the Wallabies crushed Warren Gatland’s woeful Wales in Cardiff. Photo / Photosport
The Wallabies look like a team that mean business and have a well-defined mission.
And they are starting to find the physical power so necessary at the top test level.
For my money, the star has been blindside flanker Rob Valetini, but he’s not the only player emerging as a test force.
One of the bottom lines: the Bledisloe Cup could be back on the agenda as a genuine and absorbing contest. Brilliant.
Winner: Test rugby ... and this viewing technique
Said it before, will say it again. Sport doesn’t get any better than test rugby, which has a grandeur and drama impossible to match.
Making it even better ... I’ve just about given up over-analysing the rules, refereeing decisions, yellow/red cards, the downtimes et al, and instead just enjoy the game for what it is: crazy but magnificent.
Losers: Modern All Blacks for this reason
Great All Blacks teams of the past were ruthless. All power to France for their comeback victory. Their players’ joyous celebrations were well-earned.
But a top-drawer All Blacks side would have gone on with the job after establishing a good early lead against an underprepared French team. The senior All Blacks appear unable to take control and put a foot on the throat of opponents.
Winner: This left-field coaching change ...
The All Blacks need to get Vern Cotter, the hard-nosed Blues coach, into the set-up. He’s a man who sets the right tone.
Loser: A breakaway rugby union troupe ... the establishment’s normal reaction
It is widely reported that a rebel outfit is targeting “top stars” for a new tournament.
It would be a disaster, and rugby doesn’t need to be divided.
But the establishment needs to show more urgency than it usually possesses in dealing with the situation.
World Rugby and the various unions should be desperate to uncover what is going on, and find out what will keep their star players happy.
Rugby lags behind other professional sports in understanding that the players have power and that stars are the lifeblood of their operation.
Losers/Winner: Boxing fools/the real fight
People booed at the hopeless Netflix fight in Dallas between a 58-year-old heavyweight legend and a lightweight professional.
Seriously? You thought it would be a great contest?
Mike Tyson versus Jake Paul got way more publicity than it deserved. Anyone who has reached the age of 58 will tell you how ridiculous the concept was.
It wasn’t a lost night though.
The super-lightweight fight between Ireland’s Katie Taylor and Puerto Rican Amanda Serrano was an absolute ripper. It should have been the main event.
Loser Serrano, who finished with a horrible gash above one eye, has apologised for accusing Taylor of deliberate head butts.
But the post-fight accusations from her camp have helped set the stage for a brilliant third contest.
Winner: Tim Southee ... if only he could have done this though
What a legend.
The Kiwi cricketing great announced he will retire after the England tests this year, with his final game – if he’s selected – being in Hamilton.
In tandem with left-armer Trent Boult, the transplanted Northlander gave New Zealand its finest new-ball attack and helped take the Black Caps to the top of the world.
As a side trick, Southee also hit a lot of sixes, although his batting remained an enigma.
One technical aspect stopped Southee from being an even better bowler, though – he never mastered the late in-swinger to right-handed batters, something that frustrated the man himself.
His haul of 385 wickets so far is magnificent, but his average of just under 30 is well below the historical benchmarks.
Kane Williamson (left) and Tim Southee hold the World Test Championship mace after victory over India in 2021. Photo / Photosport
Winner/Loser: Bela Karolyi
The legendary but highly controversial Romanian gymnastics coach has died, at 82, leaving a life that is almost impossible to judge in black-and-white terms.
He was accused of creating the atmosphere in which the horrific sexual abuse occurred within the American national team camp he controlled. His own methods were abusive in other ways, although they may not have been seen so at the time.
Yet he – and wife Martha – were instrumental in changing gymnastics into the entertaining and dramatic sport it is today.
His most famous athlete is the Romanian legend Nadia Comeneci, who stole the show at the 1976 Olympics with a perfect-10 routine.
Former American gymnast Dominique Moceanu described Karolyi as a complex individual of strengths and flaws.
She added: “While our relationship was fraught with difficulty, some of these moments of hardship helped me forge and define my own path.”
Others are less charitable about him.
Decades ago, an American coach said the tyrannical Karolyi’s gymnasts “don’t so much retire as expire”.
Winner: Another victory for the oldies
American ski superstar Lindsay Vonn is coming out of retirement at the age of 40, six years after her last Olympic appearance.
“I love to go fast. How fast can I go? I don’t know,” she told the New York Times.
Even more encouragingly, Vonn says she is only able to return because of successful knee surgery. Knee surgery that works is no gimme.
Winner: Silly records
Former Cuban water polo player Jhoen Lefont has set another world record in the pool, this time for balancing a ball on his head for over eight and a half minutes.
Lefont, known as The Dolphin, holds many other similar records, both official and unofficial. Way to live.
Loser: New Zealand Football
The Oceania World Cup qualification matches involving the All Whites smashing lightweight opponents is a pointless embarrassment. Fifa needs to sort it out.
