THE ALL BLACKS ROAD TO GREATNESS
What to do with Aaron Smith?
It ’s fair to say this one has no easy answer. If you’d asked me two days ago, I ’d have said there was absolutely no way Smith should play at Eden Park against Australia next weekend.
That’s because the build-up to the Bledisloe clash would centre on the Aaron Smith affair as opposed to an All Blacks team with a shot at history — 18-straight test victories and a new world record for tier one nations.
Now I ’m confused after chatting with All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster, who said: “Our job is to pick the best team available to play, Aaron’s job is to play. Our job is to get him back to work.”
His penalty for the toilet i ndiscretion will l i kely be one match and a fine.
The All Blacks are well aware next week could become a media circus i f Smith is picked, but they are prepared for it.
The next consideration is whether Smith is ready. It would be a massive call, given what’s played out over the last two weeks. Even the Prime Minister was asked to comment — just bizarre. But, as those i n positions much higher than me point out, the Smith articles have been among the most popular sports stories of 2016. People seemingly can’t get enough.
The easy option for the All Blacks coaches would be to bench Smith next weekend, then reintroduce him when the All Blacks head to Chicago to take on Ireland. There would be fewer media around and Smith could get
I had reservations about Foran coming back to league so soon. But when you think about the support networks around him, returning to the game in a new city makes sense.
back to being the best half back i n the world.
I ’m confused, so I leave it you: play him or not?
Foran gets set
Wasn’t it fantastic to see a smile back on Kieran Foran’s face t his week at Warriors HQ? He’s getting himself ready for l i fe i n New Zealand while he sorts out his l i fe and family situation back i n Australia.
I realise t he NRL are st il l to formally register him but I seriously can’t see t he Warriors and Ji m Doyle doing any deal without a clear guidance on t he chances of t hat being done.
I had reservations about Foran coming back to rugby league so soon. But when you t hink about t he support networks around him and his passion in l i fe, beyond his children, returning to t he game in a new city makes sense.
I look forward to sitt i ng down with him t his week and just chewing t he fat to see how he’s doing. From darkness comes hope.
Nick the Dick
As a kid, my first love was tennis. The green grass of Wimbledon, that was me! Alas, I never grew, I was never good enough and the best I ever got out of tennis was a VIP card for half-price McDonald’s when I made a New South Wales squad in Australia — I was a hit with my mates, I can tell you.
That leads me on to Aussie tennis ‘professional’ Nick Kyrgios. You’ve probably all seen the footage of him tanking his match in China, serving like an eight-year- old and behaving like someone even younger. He even asked the chair umpire to call time so he could go home.
This is the same bloke who produced another limp performance at Wimbledon and then said afterwards he’d warmed up by taking on his favourite PlayStation game.
What irks me most about this bloke is the lack of balls shown by the ATP Tour. What Kyrgios did in China was a sellout to the game, to the fans who had paid good money and, most of all, to his talent. He was fined US$16, 500 but wasn’t suspended. What a joke.
If Kyrgios doesn’t really like tennis, as he’s previously stated, then, mate, give it away. Andre Agassi suffered the same mental hurdles around the sport he was born into but, apart from one French Open meltdown, when he was more worried about his hair piece than winning a final, Agassi always gave his all.
Kyrgios should have been suspended. Maybe then he will grow up or make the better call and give the game away. What a waste of talent. It makes all of us who had our own aspirations wonder why.