Hamish Bond and Eric Murray are the latest New Zealand sporting duo to rule the world. Reporter Adrian Seconi rates our best sporting pairings from over the years using a multi-layered and complex algorithm — guesswork.
Hamish Bond and Eric Murray (No1)
Old yin and yang might be two very different peas in the same pod but the double Olympic gold medallists certainly know how to pull together.
They have been utterly, utterly dominant in the men’s coxless pair, stringing together 69 consecutive victories in a remarkable winning streak that stretches back to 2009.
The ease with which they slipped away from the rest of the field in Rio was just ever so slightly boring.
Come on, lads — make a race of it.
Ian Ferguson and Paul MacDonald (No2)
Have not forgiven the 1980s for a lot of things, so perhaps that explains why our dynamic canoeists did not make No1.
They won Olympic gold in the K2 500m in Los Angeles (1984) and again in Seoul (1988).
They were part of the K4 crew that won gold in the 1000m in Los Angeles and claimed silver in the K2 1000m in Seoul.
Between them they have 10 medals (five each) and, along with Sir Mark Todd, are our most successful Olympians.
Caroline and Georgina Evers-Swindell (No3)
The identical twin sisters teamed up in the double scull to win back-to-back Olympic gold medals in Athens and Beijing.
Now they knew how to make a race of it.
Their victory over the German pair in 2008 was by the smallest of margins imaginable until Mahe Drysdale split the atom to win gold in the men’s single scull in Rio this month.
The golden girls were named New Zealand sports champions of the decade (2000-09), and who knows how many steaks they helped sell as the face of Beef and Lamb New Zealand.
Sir Russell Coutts and Brad Butterworth (No4)
Snatched the America’s Cup away from that mean Dennis Conner with a 5-0 drubbing of Young America in 1995.
Joined forces again to help New Zealand defend the cup five years later.
Defected to Alinghi but we don’t talk about that other than to say they were very successful, darn it.
Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith (No5)
Two Rugby World Cup titles.
What else do we say other than thank you — thank you very much.
Sir Mark Todd and Charisma (No6)
Having teamed up for two Olympic gold medals (1984, 1988) and a bronze-coloured one (1988), the famous equestrian duo can lay claim to a much higher spot.
But they were relegated on the account only one of them is human.
Charisma does have his own Wikipedia page, though.
John Wright and Bruce Edgar
Just joking. That fabled opening partnership gets better every year since their retirement.
Blair Tuke and Peter Burling (No7)
Silver in London. Gold in Rio. Unbeaten in a major regatta for four years.
Pretty good but you know you’ve made it when a bank wants to inscribe your name on an ATM machine.
Jo Aleh and Polly Powrie (No8)
Gold in London. Silver in Rio. But no ATM machine as far as we can tell.
Sir Richard Hadlee and Ewen Chatfield (No9)
England’s Graham Gooch reckoned playing New Zealand was like facing "the World XI at one end and the Ilford Seconds at the other".
Hey, now.
Be nice.
Chats’ niggly line and length undoubted helped Hadlee.
He got to accumulate a lot more wickets.
Peter Wolfenden and Cardigan Bay (No10)
"Wolfie" won the national harness racing drivers’ premiership 14 times but he will forever be linked with Cardigan Bay, the first pacer to win $1 million dollars and a cult hero in New Zealand and American racing circles during the 1960s.
