Cane’s actions fail to pass the WWRMD test

Sam Cane has apologised for kicking a pitch invader in Argentina. Photo: NZ Herald

Hero ...

I am not sure I have seen the nation this divided since the great debate over whether chocolate mousse or pavlova was the superior pudding.

(Give it up, pavlova enthusiasts. Chocolate mousse is simply divine - and only requires three ingredients. Pavlova is the soul-less popcorn of the dessert world, so let the Australians have it.)

I speak, of course, of All Blacks captain Sam Cane’s awful/reasonable decision to brutally/understandably deal with a security threat/teenager after the win over the Pumas in Mendoza on Saturday.

Some feel it’s been a bit of hoo-ha over nothing; others found it a shocking act of violence.

Ultimately, Sanzaar determined Cane deserved to face no further sanction for the incident, and the skipper later apologised and made amends with his victim.

I do see where the Cane apologists - usually far outweighed by the Cane critics, funnily enough - are coming from.

It turned out there were several pitch invaders causing a nuisance, and there is a solid argument to say it is understandable that an exhausted professional rugby player can be excused for instinctively wanting them to get the hell out of there.

And, as the kid was not hurt, was there really any harm done?

. . . or villain?

There are still a few things about this incident that bother The Last Word.

For starters, it was not a mere "foot trip", as some have claimed.

Cane very clearly aimed a powerful - bordering on vicious - kick at the young man. And when a 103kg professional athlete lashes out with a boot loaded with sprigs, it can be extremely dangerous.

It was also not some sort of spontaneous action.

The video footage shows Cane tracking the pitch invader from some distance away and quite deliberately aiming a kick at him.

There has been some scaremongering about people being in danger from pitch invaders. Now that is just nonsense.

How many athletes in a given year are injured by pitch invaders? How much genuine trouble did it EVER cause back in the day when crowds used to swarm on to the ground? (Not advocating a return to those chaotic times, by the way.)

Above all, there was just something, I don’t know, UNSEEMLY about the All Blacks captain behaving in such a manner.

WWRMD - What Would Richie McCaw Do? Yes, he would take down a fat South African endangering a referee during a game. But kick a bloke having a lark on the field at the end of a game? No chance.

Other All Blacks thoughts

1. Were they really good or were the Pumas just weirdly awful?

2. Has Shannon Frizell already claimed the No 6 jersey for the rest of the year?

3. How good could the De Groot-Lomax propping combination be?

4. How does Damien McKenzie not even make the 23 tonight?

5. Why is Will Jordan not at fullback tonight?

6. Whisper it quietly, but is Reiko Ioane actually a pretty decent test centre?

7. Does Tamaiti Williams have the potential to be a cult All Blacks hero? Or is there a risk he is the next Ben Tameifuna?

8. Are you scared the Springboks are going to win?

Rigorous recruitment

Highlanders fans can really not criticise their club’s decision makers for sitting on their hands.

They have done a pretty solid job in recent weeks in plugging the gaps in the roster led by three huge departures (Aaron Smith, Shannon Frizell and Marino Mikaele-Tu’u) and the loss of a bunch of journeymen.

In particular, the signings of outside backs Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens and Timoci Tavatavanawai are as exciting as any in recent times.

I hope this is a team that will have some fun in 2024 and give plenty of opportunities to the young bucks to develop.

Our updated potential Highlanders team is: Jacob Ratumaitavuki-Kneepkens, Timoci Tavatavanawai, Thomas Umaga-Jensen, Sam Gilbert, Jona Nareki, Rhys Patchell, Folau Fakatava, Hugh Renton, Billy Harmon, Sean Withy, Fabian Holland, Pari Pari Parkinson, Jermaine Ainsley, Henry Bell, Ethan de Groot. Reserves: Jack Taylor, Daniel Lienert-Brown, Saula Ma’u, Mitch Dunshea, Tom Sanders, Nathan Hastie, Cameron Millar, Jake Te Hiwi.

Jessica Pegula, of the United States, in action during her Wimbledon quarterfinal match against the Czech Republic's Marketa Vondrousova at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in London on Wednesday. Pegula lost 4-6, 6-2, 4-6. PHOTO: REUTERS

The perfect season?

Nervous times for your columnist as he watches his beloved Valley rugby club chase an unbeaten season.

Valley starts as the favourite in the Citizens Shield final against Excelsior - coached by Dan Keno, who ironically has benefited countless times from my famously incisive rugby analysis over the years - in Oamaru this afternoon.

But it’s a final. Anything can happen.