Razor v Schmidt
The Bledisloe Cup suddenly seems more interesting following the appointment of a new Wallabies coach.
While it has turned into one of the most one-sided rivalries in world sport thanks to the All Blacks holding on to the trophy for 20 years, there will be some extra spice in the transtasman tussle in 2024.
In one corner is Scott "Razor" Robertson, the breakdancing and slightly out-there newcomer who had (ugh) a long run of success with the Crusaders and finally gets a chance to see if he can weave his magic at test level.
No pressure, Joe Schmidt. It’s just that, you know, Australian rugby is a mess.
You have to wish Schmidt well and hope a man who clearly has a bit of a golden touch does not get beaten down by the lucky country’s propensity to get rugby matters so badly wrong.
The former Irish coach had a massive impact in his short time as a bit of guru with the All Blacks, and for the sake of this rivalry, hopefully he can succeed where many others have failed.
Robertson has his own challenges, not least replacing some very good All Blacks who left these shores after the World Cup, but it will certainly be interesting to see how their respective teams shape up this year.
Racing resurgence
The Last Word does not pretend to know a massive amount about the sport of kings — though the difference between harness and gallops is now clear, and there is some certainty Blossom Lady was still a good horse despite failing to win the Melbourne Cup.
But, in light of the news this week of the massive bump in stakes in thoroughbred racing in summers to come thanks to the mega-deal with Entain, it seems clear the industry is feeling buoyant.
It was very pleasing to see Wingatui included in plans for a series of beefed-up meetings.
Gambling is not to everybody’s taste — it is certainly not to mine — but racing has a lot of good people doing a lot of good things, and these are exciting times.
Happy Highlanders
Look, I get it. It’s January, the sun is shining, the new training kit looks lovely, and they have not lost a game yet.
It was still nice to visit Highlanders headquarters this week and get both a warm welcome and a sense there is a nice unity and optimism bubbling away in the squad.
There is such little expectation on the Highlanders this year — that is just a fact, not me being cruel — that it would be kind of nice if they can translate good vibes into successful rugby.
Sad journalism news
Terrible to hear of mass layoffs coming at Sports Illustrated, the former titan of journalism that has been torn to shreds by the brutal media landscape and a series of heartless corporates.
Things are so bad that there are suggestions the entire staff will be gone before long.
Some of the stories are just sad. There was the scandal that broke about artificially generated stories. The quote from one of the dreaded executives: "The amount of useless stuff you guys do is staggering." The changes in ownership.
Absolutely stumped
Some cricketers are very smart. Some need to find another hobby.
Two greats of the game caused a stir this week with two bonkers suggestions.
Kevin Pietersen proposed that a six that travelled over 100m should count as 12 runs. Um, OK.
AB de Villiers went further when he suggested that the Decision Review System should be easier to understand for television viewers. The answer, he suggested, was getting the television commentators to cast votes on big decisions and explain their reasoning to viewers.
Yep. Because what could go wrong with getting three people from a nation to make big calls involving a cricketer from that nation?
Masterful performances
My best wishes to everyone taking part in the New Zealand Masters Games starting in Dunedin next weekend.
It has been four years (thanks, Covid) since the city hosted the event, which if you have forgotten is a massive gathering of seasoned competitors participating in a remarkable variety of sports and activities.
My mind always goes back to the late, great Alistair McMurran. Our former colleague was a special man who provided outstanding coverage of the Masters Games over the years.
Classy as always
"You're a weak f...ing man. You're the f...ing problem. You elected Justin Trudeau. The fact that you have no f...ing backbone. Trudeau shut down your f...ing country and seized bank accounts. You asked me some stupid s... like that. Go f... yourself."
That is UFC fighter Sean Strickland — a loser, in the literal sense of the word — ranting at a Canadian reporter.
