Sam Cane leads the All Blacks haka ahead of a test against Ireland in 2022. Photosport
Sam Cane leads the All Blacks haka ahead of a test against Ireland in 2022. Photosport
OPINION:
WINNER/LOSER: Rugby
There are times, many of them, when rugby actually looks more morally corrupt than Fifa.
The difference is this: Fifa scandals are the types that attract legal trouble, involving personal earners.
Rugby operates another level of self-interest, where the rich nations cling to all the power, runthe show for their own advantage, and everyone else can go to hell.
After a promising beginning in the mid-1990s, the professional era sees a game drifting towards the rocks.
In response, the squabbling Six Nations and Sanzaar (does it still really exist) have taken an age to come up with this Nations Championship, to be played every second year.
The power brokers have, with familiar condescension, left two places to be filled at their whim (Fiji and Japan are the favourites) but any (admittedly forlorn) dreams of building a great competition in this region have long gone.
It will take some kind of miracle for the promotion/relegation system to work, and by the time it is instituted in 2030 the powerful will surely be even more powerful while the weaker are permanent cannon fodder.
I fear for the future of Tongan and Samoan rugby (and other so-called Tier Two teams) who are being parked in an eternal waiting room.
Their players, quite naturally, will gravitate towards other test teams if they are good enough and eligible. Downward spiral is the term that comes to mind.
Not that those in charge really care.
This Nations Championship is all about the big guns. It gives the southern hemisphere giants, particularly New Zealand, a way of tapping deeper into Europe’s financial might, from which it felt excluded.
And there will be a heavy price to pay whether the Nations Championship takes off or not.
The Nations Championship will almost certainly hurt the grandeur of both the World Cup and Six Nations, rugby’s finest competitions.
In terms of symbolism at least, rugby is also planting a new and heavy footprint elsewhere, apparently oblivious to the impact of air travel on climate change.
WINNER/LOSER: Rugby
The Black Ferns smashed Australia by an embarrassingly large margin. They deservedly won plaudits but women’s rugby needs proper rivalries, not walkovers, to take off.
Wowed the sports world by winning on his Nascar debut in the new Chicago street race.
WINNER: The substitute
Belgian shot putter Jolien Boumkwo won world attention by filling in as a hurdler at the European championships, in order to earn two points for her country.
“I never thought I could be this famous,” she said after the race in Poland, which became a video hit.
Boumkwo stayed upright but Belgium still fell short of the points required and was relegated to the second division.
Golfing greats Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia had a bust-up when the latter joined the breakaway LIV tour.
But they are friends again, the ice-breaking moment occurring during the US Open when Garcia’s wife and McIlroy acknowledged each other.
Garcia said the saddest part of golf’s big split was the souring of relationships.
“I gained a friend back,” he said of McIlroy last week.
WINNER: The Ashes
There’s no such thing as bad publicity. The second cricket test at Lord’s between England and Australia has had everything, from protesters to a lot of bouncers, an incredible innings from Ben Stokes, and a hugely controversial dismissal.
England can whinge all they like about fair play but Jonny Bairstow was out when he was stumped, having prematurely wandered from his crease.
It was an unusual dismissal, but a proper one.
Indeed, a number of England’s pundits including former captain Nasser Hussain have said Bairstow was at fault.
Yapping on about the so-called “spirit of cricket” the way their Kiwi coach Brendon McCullum does, is a load of nonsense, particularly given that cricket has often been played in a spirit of fascinating antagonism (including between teammates).
Sport is governed by rules — and that’s all you can play to really.
England may be two-nil down, but they can still win this five-match series, without a doubt.
I can’t wait for the next one to begin, especially given all the rancour. Pity it’s on the other side of the world. But these Ashes are superb.
Australia's captain Pat Cummins and teammates celebrate their win in the second Ashes test. Photo / AP
WINNER: Marta and the World Cup, but…
The greatest women’s player has been named in Brazil’s World Cup squad, at the age of 37, for the fast-approaching tournament in Australia and New Zealand. Marta is unlikely to make the starting lineup. Still, it’s great that she will grace the tournament yet again. Hopefully, we will get more than just a few glimpses of her, at somewhere close to her best.
LOSERS: Warriors in the rain
Another wet weather loss in a poor NRL performance against the Rabbitohs at Mt Smart Stadium. They failed to even score at the ground in a previous downpour, against the Roosters.
WINNER: Domingo German, but…
The New York Yankee became just the 24th pitcher to throw a perfect game in MLB history.
Unfortunately, his career includes a domestic violence incident when he attacked his then-girlfriend (now wife), which brought him a long suspension.
He was also ejected from a game and suspended this year for breaching foreign substance rules, an umpire saying the pitcher had the ‘stickiest hand’ he had ever encountered.
How do we reconcile these things, particularly when it comes to the domestic violence situation? I’ve never really settled on an answer.
It’s important not to sweep those incidents under the carpet.
A perfect pitching game is an incredible feat though.
