Welcome back . . .
Now where was I?
Observant types will have noted The Last Word has not appeared on this page for rather a long while. Oh, those heady days of February when the sun shone and we could dream of the Highlanders winning a Super Rugby title, the Black Caps winning the T20 World Cup, and the Crusaders crashing and burning.
Your columnist has not been lazy. Oh no. He has merely been on Highlanders duty (apart from 10 glorious days in Sydney), and that is close to an all-encompassing job.
But their season has ended, and the column will be back most Saturdays between now and February 2025, when we will again dream of the Highlanders winning a Super Rugby title, the Black Caps winning the T20 World Cup (no doubt two are held
next year) and the Crusaders crashing and burning.
Some thoughts and some questions on my mind:
• It goes without saying that the review of the Highlanders’ season has been utterly overshadowed by the death of Connor Garden-Bachop. What an awful time for his family and his team. I did not know Connor, but the tributes being paid to him speak to how he was regarded. Rest in peace, young man.
• In February, I tipped the Highlanders to finish seventh. Sixth represented a pretty decent effort, given the roster. But I liked the brutal honesty from the boss Roger Clark (see yesterday’s ODT). The Landers are simply 25-30 points worse than the very best teams, and the challenge ahead is immense.
• More than once this season, I heard someone suggest the Highlanders might nudge Clarke Dermody into a different role and bring Jamie Joseph back in as head coach. Not sure I see that happening, but there will be a deal of pressure on Dermody next season to make his team better, and some big questions about his coaching staff in light of Kenny Lynn’s decision to bolt to Argentina.
. . . to all . . .
• Ethan de Groot does not say much. Although he did say ‘‘Are you the media man?’’ to me this season, which put me nicely in my place after 26 years as a journalist. But he will make a good Highlanders captain.
• Blues to beat the Chiefs by 10.
• Not sure Chiefs tyro Wallace Sititi is ready for the All Blacks just yet. But I do love the fact his first name came from legendary Scots figure William Wallace (FREEDOM), bestowed when dad Semo was playing in Scotland. It’s my favourite rugby name since Carisbrook To’omalatai, or that Dunedin club player called Shelford Meads.
• What does the future hold for Super Rugby? The Rebels are goneburger. Some Australians seem to be openly calling for a full abandonment. Moana Pasifika are finding life tough. On the flip side, the rugby has been great.
• Speaking of Australia . . .
Sydney, wow. What a city. Could have stayed there a lot longer. You don’t realise Dunedin is such a village until you leave it. A proper city with all the amenities and attractions, proper public transport, endless food options — not as good as a lovely little town by the sea like, oh, maybe Oamaru, but really very cool.
• It was a thrill to stop by the home of the mighty Penrith Panthers. What a team, what an organisation.
• Lovely as always to attend the Otago Sports Awards last Friday. The judges — not sure they were mentioned or thanked during the night — had a tough job as the amount of talent in this province is frankly ridiculous. There are surely no two athletes more impressive and delightful than Paralympic stars Anna Grimaldi and Holly Robinson, the guest speakers. And we all felt for Glenn Phillips, the sportsman of the year, whose cheery pre-recorded acceptance speech talking of the Black Caps hoping to bring home the World Cup came a day after their chances were snuffed
out.
• T20 World Cup. Discuss. Because I am struggling to stay interested.
• Interesting call by the Otago Volts to go for Ashley Noffke as their new coach. He has an impressive pedigree, and was an excellent interview subject. But challenges lie ahead.
• What on earth is happening at the Football Ferns? They are chronic under-achievers and now there is some sort of murky dispute and resolution process happening with the coach and players. What a shambles.
• One hesitates to call the Otago Nuggets a shambles — coach Brent Matehaere would have stern words with me — but they are not exactly having a wonderful season. Disappointing, after a couple of great years.
. . . my readers
• Have you jumped on the Caitlin Clark bandwagon? The basketball superstar has become the most marketable female athlete in world sport. And the story just keeps getting bigger as some others in the WNBA do not seem to appreciate the spotlight she generates.
• I am a long-suffering Knicks fan but I did not mind seeing the Boston Celtics win the NBA finals. They have been the best team, and built a roster really smartly.
• Speaking of basketball, RIP to the great Bill Walton.
• RIP also to baseball megastar Willie Mays. He had one of my favourite sporting nicknames: the Say-Hey Kid.
• Exciting times for Edmonton Oilers fans, both diehards like my colleague Hamish and my Canadian cousin Dan, and relative newcomers like this ice hockey neophyte. They have come back from a 3-0 hole in the Stanley Cup finals and get a chance today to take it to game seven.
• That US Open golf finish, oof. Gutted for Rory McIlroy. Will he actually win another major?
• Excited for the Olympics? Only 34 days and counting.
• Is it the Wahs’ year? Nah.
• Hat tip to Netball New Zealand for winning the coveted ‘‘nice work burying the real story’’ trophy with their press release about the ANZ Premiership. After wading through the guff about television coverage, you discover the competition has been slashed by a full third. That is actually shocking news, and does not bode well for the future.
• Will next year be the last in the Southern Steel’s existence if just three New Zealand teams join the Australian league?
• Enjoyed the big fight between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. No doubt Usyk was a deserved winner. Kind of wish Fury would retire now.
• Germany or France to win the Euros. I do like this England team but I worry they are less than the sum of their parts.
• Manchester City won another Premier League title. Does anyone care? When do the 115 charges get dealt with?
• Juergen Klopp has left Liverpool. Insert tear emojis here.
• Sevu Reece to Southland? Eh? It’s a weird one. Sure, he will never play for the Stags as long as he is in the All Blacks, but that just makes it weirder.
• How’s that civil war in New Zealand rugby going? Or is everyone over it already?
