Wallace Sititi starting against the Springboks was shameful, writes Chris Rattue. Photo/ Photosport
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
OPINION
WINNER: A new All Blacks strategy... get an overlord
South Africa toyed with the Wallabies in Australia, and have just beaten the All Blacks twice despite extensive injury problems at lock in particular.
They will go for a World Cup three-peat in 2027. They are rightly being lauded for using a heady mixture of brain and brawn.
And the man getting much of the credit is coach Rassie Erasmus, who has been orchestrating this under various titles for a long time.
On the other side of the fence... what are New Zealand’s weaknesses?
I would argue that the main one is a lack of world-class players in too many positions, and Hail Mary selections forced by the absence of sure-fire world-beaters.
The current test backline is full of hybrids and converts and it’s hard to know who will play on the wing from week to week.
Worst of all, Scott Robertson hurled a rookie blindside flanker – Wallace Sititi – into action last weekend against the most feared team in the world.
That selection made the game close to a forgone conclusion and risked smashing Sititi’s confidence. Sititi – with just two NPC games at blindside flanker under the belt – versus the great Pieter-Steph du Toit? Crazy.
This, after the All Blacks’ infamous last-minute call to put a lock – Scott Barrett – on to the blindside flank in a World Cup semifinal, for which they paid a huge price. Lesson not learned.
Super Rugby Pacific teams are, apparently, not producing test-suitable fullbacks, centres and – most notably – blindside flankers.
The All Blacks also need colossal locks who can dominate any opponent on their day, not just cope, but they won’t magically appear.
The way Rieko Ioane commands the No 13 test jersey is bizarre, and in my humble opinion what was done to Sititi in Cape Town is shameful.
An All Blacks overlord should be able to demand certain types of players are promoted if there are serious holes, as there are. The blindside flanker issue has gone on for too long.
Come on people. Get organised. Get desperate. Get nasty.
The All Blacks could even go hunting, the way the Aussies have recruited Joseph Sua’ali’i. (How about trying to get giant wing Will Warbrick back from the Melbourne Storm?)
South Africa and New Zealand rugby have different strengths and weaknesses, but they are showing us the way with the all-powerful Erasmus approach. Can Scott Robertson be that man?
Bottom line: New Zealand Rugby helped wreck once fabulous Super Rugby by turning it into an All Blacks tool. Yet it doesn’t effectively use it as one. The competition can’t be restored to former glories, but the All Blacks can.
WINNER: Mea Motu... but this threat looms
The revered super bantamweight boxer has scored a unification bout, against rising British star Ellie Scotney in Manchester next month.
New Zealand can unite to support Motu but let’s hope the fight isn’t off-limits to most behind a high one-off subscription, like most big combat events seem to be.
The 34-year-old Northlander has got the shot that many boxers always dream of, and one she so richly deserves. And it is a significant step in the evolution of women’s sport in this country.
As many people as possible should get to see it.
WINNER: Fate... instincts
Americans Tara Davis-Woodhall and Hunter Woodhall are described as world sport’s new power couple.
Tara Davis-Woodhall won the Olympic long jump gold medal in Paris a month ago. Hunter Woodhall won a Paralympic 400m gold medal last week.
This sounds too good to be true, but they met at a 2017 track meet when Tara told Hunter: “I don’t know why, but I just feel like I need to give you a hug.” Hunter had already decided he wanted to marry her.
They are aiming to compete on home turf at the 2028 Olympics, in Los Angeles. If they do, this story will go stratospheric.
LOSER: Stale samples
Norwegian sports drug testers asked for urine samples from a list of footballers that included two national stars who had been dead for about 40 and 60 years. Norway’s manager Stale Solbakken said he initially looked for hidden cameras, thinking it was a practical joke.
WINNER: Brendon McCullum... and this question.
England’s Kiwi test cricket boss has been put in charge of their white ball teams.
The BBC’s Stephan Shemilt wrote that it was England’s “most surprising and exciting appointment since the last time they gave Brendon McCullum a job”.
But he did ask: “How can a man who lives in northern New Zealand commit to the relentless schedule of both England teams? Why would he want to?”
Shemilt said a few other famous England characters like Andrew Flintoff could give McCullum a “breather” now and then.
LOSER: This ‘only in America’ story
Tyreek Hill, the star wide receiver with the NFL’s Miami Dolphins, was detained and handcuffed by police outside his team’s stadium, before the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Hill tried to hold his tongue at the post-match press conference, but certainly inferred that it was another case of racist behaviour by American police.
He ended up face down on the ground after the alleged traffic violation, despite saying that he acted respectfully.
Only in America... after Hill scored an outstanding touchdown, he faked being handcuffed by a teammate.
WINNER: Tennis
The men’s game has enjoyed a watershed year with hardcourt powerhouse Jannik Sinner from Italy adding the US Open to his Aussie title, and Carlos Alcaraz claiming the two other Grand Slams. It is the first season since 2002 that Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, or Rafael Nadal haven’t claimed one of the big titles.
Despite claims of an American renaissance in the wind, no man from the United States has won a Grand Slam since 2003.
LOSER/WINNER: The Pegula family
Jessica Pegula may have lost the US Open women’s final to Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, but it wasn’t all bad sporting news for the family.
The Pegulas, billionaires through the oil and gas business, own sports teams including the NFL’s Buffalo Bills, who started the season with a win over the Arizona Cardinals.
Jessica Pegula, the world number six, jokes that “people think I have a butler”.
Her parents had tough beginnings. Dad Terry is from a family of coalminers and mum Kim was a South Korean orphan.
WINNER: This documentary
Speaking of tough beginnings... the Netflix series Untold has done an excellent job on Hope Solo, the famous US goalkeeper whose dad was a mysterious figure who ended up living in the woods.
Fair to say Solo has a few grievances, including against her famous teammates, who she says stole the glory in their historic equal pay deal.
She also claims the deal is not so great at all.
A touch of self-awareness might help Solo’s credibility, but she has a tremendous story to tell, and there are great and hardly flattering insights into the US women’s team. A must-watch.
WINNER: Inspiration
A CNN story on Nora Langdon, a Michigan real estate agent who became an incredible powerlifter.
Langdon could barely walk up the stairs without losing breath when she retired at the age of 65.
Now, at 81, she has had a career in which she has squatted 187kg, bench-pressed 92kg and deadlifted 172kg.
Her motto: Ignore advice to slow down in retirement – keep moving.
“If you like roller skating, roller skate,” she says.
Veteran Sam Cane is given his farewell test appearance.