The good, the bad, the indifferent
The Halberg Foundation opted to disrespect our athletes and write off 2020 as an unworthy sporting year, but Stuff will do no such thing. Robert van Royen dishes out awards, both good and bad, from a wacky 12 months.
Team of the year – Crusaders and Canterbury women
Nobody likes joint winners. It’s usually an easy way out.
But these two Christchurch-based teams can only share this award, having both won their fourth straight title in 2020.
The Crusaders’ Super Rugby Aotearoa triumph was their fourth in as many years under Scott Robertson, and their record-extending 11th overall.
Canterbury followed suit under new coach Blair Baxter, after lock Cindy Nelles’ last-ditch try in the Farah Palmer Cup decider againstWaikato.
Sportsman of the year – Scott Dixon
Perhaps doesn’t get enough respect for his feats, but the 40-year-old deserves all the kudos after bagging his sixth IndyCar title, ensuring he pipped MMA fighter Israel Adesanya for this award.
Dixon is one short of AJ Foyt’s record, amark he’s got his eyes on.
‘‘Six is good, seven sounds better. That’s obviously got to be the goal,’’ Dixon said soon after securing his latest crown in October.
Sportswoman of the year – Courtney Duncan
Produced a heck of a ride to defend her women’s world motocross title by the skin of her teeth in November.
The Otago product came off her Kawasaki KX250 and was dead last in Italy in the penultimate race, as her title hopes appeared to be slipping away.
However, Duncan jumped back on and carved her way through the field to win the race, which proved a vital tie-breaker and ensured that she was crowned world champion for a second straight year.
Biggest flop – Chiefs
The return ofWarren Gatland to New Zealand was supposed to return the Chiefs to their glory days of the early 2010s.
Crown them now, some said when the British and Irish Lions coach signed a three-year deal with the Hamilton-based franchise.
Those folk soon had humble pie dribbling down their dials, after the Chiefs capitulated after a promising start to Super Rugby.
They lost all eight pf their Super Rugby Aotearoa matches, and lost a team-record nine straight games, including a pre-Covid-19 loss to the Hurricanes. Only the Highlanders’ 11-match run of misery, across the 2012-13 seasons, is worse.
Best quote – Breakers owner MattWalsh
It’s safe to say Breakers owner Matt Walsh and Wellington Saints owner Nick Mills don’t get along.
That much was clear last year whenWalsh let rip in an interview, telling Stuff his side would not play in the capital as long as Mills was in charge, after he slagged off the Breakers’ poor start to the Australian NBL season during a radio interview. ‘‘Nick Mills, the guy who runs the games there, is not a big fan of mine or the Breakers seemingly. He likes to speak from a place of no knowledge and rip us. I’mnot sure that would work because Nick Mills believes he’s [basketball’s creator] James Naismith and invented the game of basketball here in New Zealand. I’mnot sure we’ll go back to Wellington as long as he’s in charge.’’
Best individual performance – KaneWilliamson
Never take watching Black Caps captain KaneWilliamson bat for granted.
The 30-year-old put on a batting masterclass in the first test against the West Indies in Hamilton in December, scoring amagnificent 251 in the first innings.
It surpassed his previous high score of 242, against Sri Lanka inWellington in 2015, and set up a comprehensive series-opening win.
Williamson occupied the crease for more than a day’s play, facing 412 balls
Best comeback – Otago Nuggets
Back in the NBL for the first time since 2014, the Nuggets bagged their maiden title in a fairytale return.
Sure, it wasn’t really an Otago team, given Covid-19 resulted in a rehashed competition which featured a draft, and wasmissing powerhouse teams, the Wellington Saints and Southland Sharks, but don’t take it away from them.
They still had to draft well after being awarded the opportunity to make the first pick in the draft, which they used to nab small forward Jordan Ngatai.
Most clutch play – Cindy Nelles
Canterbury’s stranglehold on the Farah Palmer Cup was slipping away with time up andWaikato clinging on to a 7-3 lead. Not so fast.
Canterbury lock Cindy Nelles ran on to a Kendra Cocksedge pass and barrelled over the line in the 81st minute, snatching a 8-7 win and sparking euphoric scenes at Christchurch’s Rugby Park.
To think Nelles later admitted she had practically accepted their dreams were over five minutes earlier.
‘‘In that lastminute the mindset just shifted, I switched back on. I saw Kendra [Cocksedge] at the back of the ruck, I saw Pip Love set up in that first receiver/first forward pod and I saw a big gap in front of me, and I was like ‘I hope Kendra sees this gap like I see this gap, and I hope she gives me that ball’,’’ Nelles explained.
‘‘Next minute I’mover the line and there’s a dog pile on top of me.’’
Howler of the year – Rieko Ioane
Rieko Ioane wins this in a canter, given his terrible blunder proved costly in the All Blacks’ 16-16 draw in their Bledisloe opener against theWallabies in Wellington.
It was only amatter of time before his ever so casual tryscoring technique burnt him, so it wasn’t a complete shock when he spilled the ball on the stroke of halftime.
The All Blacks would have taken a 15-3 lead into the sheds had he simply grounded the ball; instead the gaffe came back to bite.
‘‘He’s feeling pretty frustrated with himself but it is what it is,’’ All Blacks coach Ian Foster lamented.
‘‘It’s one of those little lessons that players have to go through.’’
Biggest meltdown – Lydia Ko
It wasn’t Dean Barker bad, but Lydia Ko’s final round collapse at the Marathon Classic in August was some meltdown. Ko butchered a five-shot lead with six holes to play in Sylvania, Ohio, ensuring her LPGA title drought – her last win was in 2018 – drags on.
After double bogeying the 18th and getting pipped by Danielle Kang, Ko said it was ‘‘God’s way of telling me it wasn’t my day’’.
Biggest upset – All Blacks’ 25-15 loss to Argentina
No debate here – the All Blacks’ maiden defeat to Argentina during this year’s Tri-Nations takes the cake.
The Pumas hadn’t played a test in 402 days, some players had spent as long as four months in isolation, and more than a dozen contracted Covid19 before travelling to Australia.
They’d been through hell, in coach Mario Ledesma’s words.
In contrast, the All Blacks were battle hardened and fielded a near full-strength side, yet they ran into a South American wall, and paid the price for woeful discipline.
There were tears aplenty at fulltime. The Pumas, in their 30th test against the All Blacks, had finally cracked them.