Making a statement
Eden Park was important.
But maybe the second test against the Springboks in Wellington tonight will be the real chance for the All Blacks to lay down a marker and convince everyone they are tracking in the right direction.
They were mostly pretty good in the unofficial world championship decider at Fortress Eden, and they showed impressive steel in the latter stages when it looked the the Springboks were charging home.
And they might, too. The Springboks are wily and wary and wounded. They will quite possibly be better tonight than they were last week, and the All Blacks will have to lift accordingly.
A feature of the Scott Robertson reign has been the All Blacks looking razor-sharp one week and worryingly blunt the next.
Tonight, more than ever, it is imperative they back up an important victory with a statement performance.
Flying high
There is not much rarer in sport than Otago, the Spirit and the Old Golds all winning on the same weekend.
In fact, their efforts in the most recent round of their respective competitions — Otago beat Northland 29-10, the Spirit pumped Taranaki 77-12, and North Otago beat Thames Valley 45-36 — marked the first time in three years that our southern rugby teams tasted simultaneous success.
On the weekend of August 20-21, 2022, Otago beat the Stags 37-32, the Spirit beat North Harbour 38-22, and the Old Golds beat Wairarapa-Bush 35-5.
We better not get too excited.
The Old Golds, in particular, are a work in progress, if at least trending in the right direction after two early disappointing performances.
But there are rightly plenty of smiles in Otago rugby circles at the efforts of the flagship teams.
The men were so poor in 2023 and 2024 but they have bounced back this year in some style under new coach Mark Brown.
Christian Lio-Willie and Lucas Casey are powering the forwards, wonder boy Dylan Pledger and ageless winger Jona Nareki are shining in the backs, and there is no reason not to believe Otago, presently second in the table, can stage a serious run at just a third national title in 50 years.
The Spirit, meanwhile, have blown through the Championship division of the Farah Palmer Cup, have a home semifinal this afternoon, and remain great to watch.
A sport in crisis
Netball has had the odd moment of high drama in recent years but nothing to really compare with this.
That was a legitimately jaw-dropping moment when Netball New Zealand announced Noeline Taurua had been stood down as coach of the Silver Ferns.
The PR spin came out immediately but it is clear Taurua has "lost the dressing room", as they say, and it seems highly unlikely she will be back.
This shambles followed a period of upheaval for the domestic game.
NNZ had to pay a huge sum to TVNZ to screen the ANZ Premiership next year as Sky was not interested in broadcast rights.
And that competition has lost all of its best players, following the tweak to Silver Ferns eligibility, to Australia.
All while women’s rugby, women’s cricket and women’s basketball are offering more opportunities than ever.
Netball is teetering.
Whose year?
It is that time of year when the NRL finals tend to remind you that good rugby league is REALLY good.
The Last Word has not watched a great deal of "the greatest game of all" this year but will be keeping a close eye on proceedings over the next month.
I was praying for the Bulldogs to beat the hated Storm last night, and am predicting my beloved Panthers (sorry, Wahs fans), the Roosters and the Raiders to win this weekend.
Speaking of the Warriors, what an average move by the NRL to schedule their home playoff game for basically the same time as the test between the All Blacks and the Springboks.
Australian sport
I note with interest the ESPN Australia website has started the countdown of the 30 most memorable Australian sporting moments of the past 30 years.
No 30 is that great ton scored by Steve Waugh off the last ball of the day in the SCG test during the 2002-03 Ashes series.
No 25 is the Wallabies winning the 1999 Rugby World Cup, and No 24 is Sandpapergate.
The top 20 has yet to be revealed but I would presume Cathy Freeman’s Olympic gold at Sydney 2000, Steven Bradbury’s won-by-default Olympic speed skating gold, Ian Thorpe’s swimming heroics and a Matildas win or two will feature prominently.
Names of the week
My son Eli and I have an annual obsession.
American media, ahead of the new college football season, always do funny lists of the coolest (or weirdest, or funniest) names among the various rosters.
Here is the 2025 list. Note these are all real young men, studying at various universities and playing football.
Indiana Jones.
King Large.
Squirrel White.
Legend Journey.
Nitro Tuggle.
Da’Realyst Clark.
Panda Askew.
Chief Borders.
Dude Person.
Rocky Beers.
Sirr Bible.
Moh Bility.
Blazen Lono-Wong.
Pig Cage.
General Booty.
Tommy Running Rabbit.
Birthday of the week
Shane Keith Warne would have been 56 today.
Oh man. Still hurts.
