Fringe All Black Perofeta showed nice signs, and a few magic touches, as he orchestrated the Blues’ big win over Suntory Goliath in a pre-season game. Perofeta, who turns 27 soon, is a slow bloomer ready to shine.
Robertson no doubt feels he can get more out of Mo’unga than previous All Blacks coaching regimes managed. The ex-Crusaders boss should certainly understand which buttons to push.
WINNER: The Six Nations…Ireland, Wales (kind of)
Said it before, and will say it again…this is rugby’s finest tournament, and better than the grandiose, often turgid and longwinded World Cup.
The Six Nations crowds are amazing, the rugby is often thrilling and drama-filled, and genuine tradition and rivalries shine through.
The opening round this year was a classic. Ireland are being lauded for one of the great performances in beating France, but the attempted Welsh comeback against Scotland in Cardiff was every bit as good.
Yes, the effort to overhaul a 27-point deficit fell short in the end. But for most of the second half, Wales played the way Wales used to play in the great old days, with skill and stirring spirit.
No 8 Aaron Wainwright was the second-half star, while the Welsh try scorers included fellow loosie James Botham, grandson of cricket legend Ian Botham.
As for the Cardiff crowd - stunning.
LOSER: A terrible week for major sports injuries
There’s been a spate of them…rising USA-based basketball star Charlisse Leger-Walker is out of the Kiwis’ Olympic qualification squad, cycling’s Olympic gold medal prospect Ellesse Andrews was smashed up badly in Adelaide, Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu is out long-term with a broken jaw, the Breakers have been hit by the season-ending injury to import and star performer Anthony Lamb…
The injury curse struck elsewhere.
The usually impregnable Tyson Fury was laid low by an elbow from a sparring partner, the deep cut over the Brit’s right eye delaying boxing’s highly anticipated heavyweight title unification fight with Oleksandr Usyk from Ukraine.
WINNER/LOSER: Rachin Ravindra/cricket
Ravindra’s double century against South Africa confirmed New Zealand has a new cricket superstar on its hands, perhaps.
The decent teams will be going to town on Ravindra’s technique - the big test will be against Australia.
Unfortunately, his massive score underlined that this South African B-team is pretty useless.
Those of us hoping for a fairytale effort from the undermanned tourists were left disappointed. The atmosphere at Mt Maunganui’s Bay Oval is ho-hum.
LOSER: New Zealand tennis
Dropped into the Davis Cup cellar by losing to Turkey. The demise of our tennis is truly shocking.
LOSER: Sport and climate change
Sport blithely ignores this threat to the planet. Latest case: boring ‘cross border’ warm-up rugby matches that involve New Zealand Super teams flying all over the world.
Sport in general appears to play no part in drawing attention to the issue, nor tries to set some kind of example.
And yet the climate threat is splashing at sport’s door - the weekend’s PGA golf tournament at Pebble Beach is the latest event to be affected.
WINNER: This Kiwi league coaching applicant
The legendary Aussie Wayne Bennett wants the job. Just give it to him.
Ideally, the Kiwis should be coached by a Kiwi. But there are simply no great candidates, although Benji Marshall should come into consideration in a few years.
Bennett’s presence would be great for the game publicity-wise. Further to that, it will stir up his rivalry with Aussie boss Mal Meninga going into the 2026 World Cup, to be staged in this region.
It would be fascinating to see what league’s oldest head could come up with in selections and tactics. And his management is truly legendary.
As the departing Dolphins coach, he’ll have an intimate knowledge of which Kiwi players are truly performing in the NRL.
And by giving him the job, the Kiwis will expose a new generation of players to the ways of a coaching maestro, lessons that will embolden their careers.
And Bennett has form, from way back, as a driving force behind the Kiwis’ 2008 World Cup triumph.
Other potential applicants to be identified by the media are Kiwi great Stacey Jones and World Cup-winning captain Nathan Cayless.
You could write their senior coaching experience down on a drinks coaster and have plenty of room left for doodling. It would be surprising if they are even under serious consideration for the Kiwi coaching job.
Bottom line: Why even bother with the application and interview process…give it to The Man for a couple of years.
WINNER: The English Premier League…
…keeps throwing up fantastic drama. There were a stunning 45 goals - a record - in the latest round of 10 games.
LOSER: Moments of madness…
The EPL title race took a dramatic turn when two Liverpool greats, defender Virgil van Dijk and goalkeeper Alisson, got in a terrible tangle and gifted the go-ahead goal to Arsenal.
While there is plenty of football to go, it felt a little bit like Steven Gerrard’s infamous slip that cost ill-fated Liverpool the title a decade ago.
Bottom line: Manchester City will win the title (again). Phil Foden’s hat trick against Brentford emphasised how many attacking options they have.
WINNER/LOSER: Cultural crossover/modern music
The NFL can’t believe its luck, with pop superstar Taylor Swift entwined into the Super Bowl buildup thanks to her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs’ outstanding tight end Travis Kelce. It even got a boost when Swift won her fourth big album Grammy.
It’s obvious why Kelce is headed to the Hall of Fame. As for Swift, her extraordinary fame simply reinforces that I’m glad to have been a child of the 60s and 70s. (kids, ask your grandparents about music back then).
LOSER: Formula One
Red Bull boss Christian Horner, among F1′s most important people, is accused of “incredibly controlling behaviour” by a female employee. The Energy drink maker has launched an investigation. Horner denies the charge but Red Bull and F1 will hate this sort of publicity.
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
