Oklahoma Sooners running back Gabe Sawchuk runs with the ball as Kent State Golden Flashes defensive back Semaj Cross holds on to part of his kit during their game in Norman, Oklahoma. PHOTOS: REUTERS
Exciting times
There are a few problems with writing a weekly column.
Finding something REALLY fresh to write about every seven days can be a challenge — hence, regular readers will note I often draw water from the same well.
It doesn’t pay particularly well — modern cost of living and all that.
The other biggie is that when you write a Saturday column on a Thursday (Friday being a regular day off for The Last Word), it can be tricky with timings.
So, these words are being typed before the NPC quarterfinal between Otago and Waikato last night.
Did Otago win? Please tell me Otago won.
What a season it has been, and what a job new coach Mark Brown has done in getting a team that had been floundering back into the top tier of domestic rugby.
Please tell me they are in the semifinals, and two wins away from breaking a 27-year drought.
Two great seasons
My feeling is that this is the best Otago team since 1998.
The 2001 team was still loaded, and made the NPC final. And the 2005 team, inspired by a sensational young halfback (sound familiar?), also had a fantastic campaign.
But I go with the 2025 mob, who are just playing so well (seriously, did they win?), as the best to wear the golden O since the amazing class of 1998.
Let me first acknowledge that comparing the 1998 NPC with the 2025 NPC is a complete waste of time, given the change in the rugby landscape that largely removed All Blacks from domestic competition.
And, yes, let me agree that naming a combined Otago team from those seasons, 27 years apart, is therefore unfair and relatively pointless.
Then let me go through the exercise anyway.
Jeff Wilson is at fullback, Brendan Laney and Jona Nareki are the wings, Thomas Umaga-Jensen and John Leslie are in the midfield, and Tony Brown and Byron Kelleher are the inside back combo.
Christian Lio-Willie is at No 8 ahead of Isitolo Maka (the toughest call), Josh Kronfeld and Taine Randell are the flankers, John Blaikie and Joseva Tamani are the locks, and the front row has to be Kees Meeuws, Anton Oliver and Carl Hoeft.
Four 2025 players and 11 1998 players in a combined starting XV seems about right, and bear in mind Fabian Holland would be in there if he was playing for Otago.
The bench would have five modern men (Liam Coltman, Saula Ma’u, Dylan Pledger, Cameron Millar and Sam Gilbert) and three from the 1998 team (Joe McDonnell, Brendon Timmins and big Isi).
Definitely maybe
We have talked a lot recently in the ODT sports department about trophies and shields and sporting droughts.
Which got me thinking.
Which holy grails of sport are left in New Zealand? What really mega achievements are left?
The big one in these parts — in terms of a drought, not a historic breakthrough win — is obviously the Plunket Shield, which the Otago cricket team have not held since 1987-88.
On a national scale, I have decided there are three New Zealand sport holy grails:
1. The Warriors winning an NRL grand final.
2. The All Whites making it out of their group at a Fifa World Cup.
3. The Black Caps winning an ODI World Cup.
What are the odds we will see all three in our lifetime?
Barbie dolls representing international rugby players are (from left) Ellie Kildunne (England), Ilona Maher (USA), Nassira Konde (France) and Portia Woodman-Wickliffe (New Zealand). PHOTO: REUTERS
They are Barbie girls
You might have missed the big sporting news this week.
A bunch of rugby stars have been turned into Barbie dolls.
Black Ferns star Portia Woodman-Wickliffe has had the doll treatment, alongside French centre Nassira Konde, American influencer Ilona Maher and English superstar Ellie Kildunne.
"Barbies are the ultimate image of beauty and femininity ... that's what we grew up seeing every day," Maher said.
"What I want is that when girls play with this and they see my Barbie and the broad shoulders and the big arms, that can kind of shape their views of beauty as well."
No word on when Ardie Savea, Antoine Dupont and Lood de Jager will be turned into Kens.
Fat man’s alley
Only the NFL can come up with a statistic like this.
Earlier this season, Philadelphia Eagles defensive tackle Jordan Davis blocked a field goal attempt and returned it for a game-winning touchdown against my beloved LA Rams.
Davis, it should be said, is 1.98m and 152kg. That’s . . . a whole lot of human.
The NFL stats geeks reported Davis hit a top speed of 29.91kmh. It was, and I quote this directly, the fastest speed recorded by an NFL player weighing over 150kg since 2017.
Your team
Some readers may recall a series we ran — twice — some years ago called My Team.
In it, we asked some folks about teams they supported in the NRL or the NFL or the NHL or the Eredivisie or the Luxembourg T5 Cricket League, and how their sporting love came about.
Stand back because a third season is on its way.
As part of our annual Summer Times features, we will again be finding out more about some teams and why they make us so happy/sad.
If you have long been a fan of a team — any team, really, but preferably not Manchester City or the New York Yankees or that rugby team from Christchurch — flick me a note and convince me you should be part of the series.
