Marc and Laura discuss Lydia Ko’s return to form while Kiwi surfer Paige Hareb’s buzzing ahead of her wave pool debut
I'll be cheering for the Waratahs on Saturday night - there is a lot to gain and nothing to lose if the wobbly Aussies beat the disgracefully bad Blues.
On a list of Aussie teams to cheer for, the big talking Waratahs would not score highly. This is a special case, and anything which sinks the Blues even further is a welcome agent for change.
Either coach Tana Umaga must go, or chief executive Michael Redman must go, or maybe both must go. The board must be strong, proactive. The buck has to stop somewhere.
Blues rugby has sunk to unimaginable depths, including a run of losses at Eden Park. What can't be tolerated is the idea that this very same leadership outfit will turn up for the 2019 season.
Aiming blame is a tricky business, but the thing is badly broken. The odd win here and there will only prolong the agony. Beating the Waratahs will provide a potential smokescreen or escape hatch for those who have got it wrong.
Could be wrong, but I don't think Umaga has it as a coach, pure and simple. Some have the coaching knack, some don't. But pinning major blame on him shouldn't mean others are exonerated.
What the Blues may well need is a chief executive with a successful sports CV, rather than a Redman-type who came from a local body political and executive background. Calling for an experienced sports executive to take over is not a radical proposal in these circumstances.
Redman has made an attempt to defend Umaga in recent days as he should, as an employer still hoping for a good outcome. It was an impossible task though, because the only possible defence for Umaga's atrocious results is that he's been let down by the organisation Redman leads.
The only thing holding the current leaders' reputations up is the horror of the team's history. The Blues are like a drowning man who can just be sighted because he is being kept afloat by all the people who drowned before him. Those left on the beach still see a lost cause.
Speaking of beaches, the Blues are scheduled to play on a treacherous sand-based surface at Brookvale Oval on Saturday night and are being cast as the team most likely to allow Australia to break their long trans-Tasman losing streak.
The 36-game winning run by New Zealand teams over Australia in Super Rugby needs to come to an end, and the Crusaders are not likely to fall in Melbourne on Friday night.
This trot is a badge of dishonour slapped all over a confusing Super Rugby competition which has only moderate credibility anyway.
The joy of long winning runs is based on the excellence of the victor. The length of this winning run is down to the Australian teams being hopeless. It feels sad, tired, boring, pointless.
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Lydia Ko with a trophy, for the first time in 44 tournaments. Photo / Photosport
Lydia Ko's tournament victory in San Francisco was an absolute heart warmer. In a way, the extent of her decline only magnifies what an amazing start she had to her professional career. It included one of the longest reigns as the world number one in LPGA history. Staggering, really.
Ko exhibits a light hearted exterior, which endears her to everyone. She skipped about like a spring lamb at one point during her final round at Lake Merced.
The tears at the end said much more. It must have been so frustrating, to have been that incredibly good and successful, and wonder if anything good would return.
Former coach David Leadbetter is probably right - he predicted before the Mediheal tournament that Ko would win again and could add to her two major titles but completely reclaiming such lofty former glories was beyond her.
It's a story which has become, in a way, all the more fascinating because of her decline and the controversies around it.
A number of American golf commentators including ex-players believe she became distracted by the constant changes she made, losing sight of the skill and attitude which made her so good.
Can't wait for the next chapter.
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From left field...the legendary New Zealand fast bowler Richard Hadlee was also famous for being extremely tidy, and he may have a modern-day rival.
I interviewed New Zealand quick bowler Neil Wagner at Papamoa Beach recently — he and wife Lana have just shifted from Dunedin. Fair to say that it was as neat and tidy as a home could possibly get, despite the move.
Insiders tell me that Wagner's spot in the New Zealand dressing room is also like a show home with nothing out of place. He's always happy to do the media duties, but not before ensuring that all his gear is lined up perfectly. Sir Richard would be impressed.
Neil Wagner...tidy bowler. Photo / Alan Gibson
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Is there a miracle worker operating at the Warriors?
One minute, star NRL hooker Issac Luke is dinged so badly that he was out for a month. Next minute, he's named to play against the Wests Tigers on Saturday night.
Warriors coach Steve Kearney must be trying to throw his Wests Tigers counterpart Ivan Cleary off course and take the pressure off inexperienced dummy half Karl Lawton, who was signed by the Warriors from the Gold Coast Titans this year.
A rejuvenated Luke, injured against the Storm, is so vital to the Warriors they would be crazy to risk his dodgy knee at this point in the season.
