OPINON
Chris Rattue takes a look at the best and worst of the sporting weekend.
LOSER: World Cup misreads
It’s a trap and one the All Blacks could not avoid, unfortunately.
Italy’s hopeless performance is the last thing All Blacks needed - Chris Rattue’s Winners and Losers
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Italy’s hopeless performance against the All Blacks is the about last thing they needed in their quest to win a fourth World Cup title.
After a walk in the park against Namibia and a bye layoff, Ian Foster’s troops needed to be confronted, not comforted.
Now they face Uruguay, a team that was smashed up by Italy.
By quarter-final time, it will have been five weeks since they played a proper game, which they lost against hosts France.
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A series of soft outings is no way to prepare for a potential sudden death match against a battle-hardened side like the world number one Ireland.
There are two sorts of rugby going on in France.
Italy’s incompetent, gutless display belongs in the festival section. It should come with free rides for the kids.
They actually looked quite good with the ball, but didn’t want to know when the All Blacks had it.
Of course the All Blacks ran riot. But the whole game changes when opponents have a scrum that doesn’t fly backward and a competent lineout.
The other rugby at this World Cup is the stop-start trench warfare that involves fighting for every last centimetre and set piece supremacy.
It’s a paper-rock-scissors deal. If you can’t stop the All Blacks’ momentum, they will tear you apart in a way no one else can. But it’s a completely different story if they are put under pressure.
Yes, it was a truly wondrous display of New Zealand rugby skill, and something to be celebrated.
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But wondrous displays can mean nothing next week at a World Cup. Just look at England in 2019, or New Zealand in 1995.
I don’t buy all this confidence-building stuff. If anything, the Italian romp will encourage false confidence.
In particular, Richie Mo’unga can fade when the pressure goes on and he doesn’t drive the All Blacks on in the hard-nosed way that Johnny Sexton does for Ireland.
The inexplicable Italian capitulation, starting from their set pieces, has given a misleading read on the overall situation.
WINNER: Sam Whitelock
Broke the record for All Blacks appearances... but it’s his locking partnership with Brodie Retallick that will be remembered most.
Whitelock is a remarkable character of great character - he has kept the Richie McCaw legacy alive.
It’s hard to fathom how these blokes keep producing such high-quality performances for so long at the top of professional rugby. Hundreds of games... it is superhuman.
WINNER: Aaron Smith
After all these years, the fire still burns bright in the little All Blacks halfback.
WINNER: Ryder Cup
Another incredible angst-ridden golf contest, this time including push and shove between European star Rory McIlroy and an American team caddy, plus world number one Scottie Scheffler shedding tears after a horror defeat.
WINNER: The English Premier League and Ange Postecoglou
It is some feat, a manager from Down Under rising to take charge of a glamour English Premier League (EPL) club.
Postecoglou has led Tottenham Hotspur on an unbeaten seven-game run to open his EPL career, including a bizarre win over nine-man Liverpool.
It was some weekend of football, with champions Manchester City beaten for the first time.
The EPL would do with a multi-team, tangled, title race, and we may have one in store this season.
WINNER: Follow the money
On one hand, you can only scratch the head when World Rugby says it wants to expand the World Cup to 24 teams.
This has been the worst tournament so far in holding interest during the pool stage. The quality gap is too large, and yet again the usual suspects are the only title contenders.
“Grow the game” claims are a joke. Grow the market in affluent countries is the name of this game.
World Rugby wants to give teams like the USA - who failed to qualify this time - the best possible chance to always be there. Simple as that.
WINNER: Cricket’s World Cup
Remember the last one? After battling through the rain, it came up with one of the greatest world finals in the history of sport when England pipped New Zealand. In the process, the 50-over format was revived. The 2023 tournament in India is almost upon us, after a quiet build-up.
WINNER/LOSER: Black Ferns
No surprises - another huge victory over Australia. But these cakewalks are no good for the development of the game.
WINNER: The Breakers and Tom Abercrombie
Off to a winning start in the new NBL season, with the iconic Abercrombie cracking the 400-game mark.
