Brazilian skier Lucas Pinheiro Braathen feeds one of Santa Claus’ reindeer after winning the men's slalom in Kittila in the Lapland region of Finland. PHOTOS: REUTERS
Last dance ...
Nearly there.
A mere 140 days since the All Blacks ran out at Forsyth Barr Stadium for the first test against France, their 2025 campaign comes to a close with a 13th and final test tomorrow morning.
It is highly unlikely they will lose to the helpless Welsh — yikes, imagine the angst if that was to happen, for the first time since 1953 — but even a comprehensive victory will not ease some of the concerns people are feeling.
A record of five losses in the first two years of the Scott Robertson era does not technically constitute a crisis but it does have an underwhelming reek about it.
And the All Blacks are not built on underwhelming.
Their fans want to see dominance, spark, confidence, innovation and a clear direction.
Do you see any of those in great amounts right now?
... for the All Blacks
It seems certain there will be a strong focus on Robertson’s coaching staff before the next international season.
Leon McDonald did not last a year, Jason Holland is deserting the ship, and there is plenty of speculation about something being not quite right with the overall coaching mix.
The playing roster will always be a topic of interest, even when Super Rugby returns, as the 2027 Rugby World Cup starts to loom large on the horizon.
Right now, who are your dialled-in starters for the first All Blacks test of 2026?
Lock in only Codie Taylor, Fabian Holland, Ardie Savea, Cam Roigard, Jordie Barrett and Will Jordan, though Ethan de Groot has had a very good year.
Plenty of questions remain for Razor.
Bowled, Shane
In case you missed it, the Guardian newspaper has revealed its list of the top 100 Ashes cricketers following an extensive judging process involving lots of former players and journalists.
The top 10 had seven Australians and just three Englishmen — Ian Botham (No 3), Jack Hobbs (No 7) and Herbert Sutcliffe (No 10) — which is a fair reflection of Australia’s overall record.
Allan Border (No 9), Steve Smith (No 8), Steve Waugh (No6), Dennis Lillee (No 5) and Glenn McGrath (No 4) continue the countdown to the two greatest of all.
And you know those names.
Don Bradman takes the No 2 spot, and spin king Shane Warne is No 1.
Warne took a record 195 wickets in Ashes test at an average of 23 with a record 11 five-wicket bags, playing in eight series and winning seven of them.
The Don scored 5028 Ashes runs at 89.78 with 19 centuries.
Paris FC midfielder Anaele Le Moguedec (left) competes with Real Madrid forward Naomie Feller during their Women's Champions League match in Madrid.
Jumbo update
Ma wee Scots matey — you might recall his entertaining summary of the All Blacks’ win over Scotland last Saturday — has been peppering my email inbox again.
As incandescent with rage as he was after his national rugby team’s wasted opportunity to make history at Murrayfield, he was equally full of haggis-laced joy this week after the Scotland footballers qualified for the Fifa World Cup with those wonderful late heroics against Denmark at Hampden Park.
I am unable to reprint the many hundreds of words I received from the laddie but his final four said it all: NO SCOTLAND NO PARTY
Ring of dishonour
The Last Word has always accepted the sweet science is half noble, half farce.
The latest boxing announcement falls firmly into the latter category.
A fight between proper boxer Anthony Joshua and social media clown Jake Paul might make both men lots of money but it cannot possibly be a proper sporting event.
Joshua, even on the slide, would utterly destroy Paul if this was a genuine fight.
Will not be watching.
Southern interest
We are keeping a watching brief on the plans of the new South Island United football team.
In case you missed it, that is the name of the professional team the Christchurch United club is entering in the new OFC Pro League starting in a couple of months.
It seemed at first glance like a rather lame attempt to claim to be a team representing a far bigger market and fan base, perhaps using that to claim an advantage over the Wellington Phoenix, whose application for the league was denied.
But I’m prepared to give it a chance, especially if South Island United play some games in Dunedin, and offer a genuine professional pathway for our best local footballers.
Hail the Austrians
Here is a pop quiz for passionate fans of the great game of cricket.
Which nation provides the only two batters to have scored at least 1000 runs in men’s T20 internationals in 2025?
You might assume it is India, or England, or Australia.
Readers, it is not.
It is Austria. Yes, Austria.
As of Thursday, only Karanbir Singh (1488 runs at 51.31) and Bilal Zalmai (1008 at 31.5) had passed the 1000-run mark.
Zalmai has played a staggering 36 internationals for Austria — I repeat, Austria — this year.
His opponents in 2025 have been Malta, Hungary, Slovenia, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Norway, Romania, Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and France.
Cricket — the truly global game.
