All we want for Christmas is ...
Ending Eddie Jones’ smirking, gold medals on the Gold Coast and playoffs places for the Warriors and the Blues are among the Stuff sport’s team more fanciful festive-season wishes for 2018.
1: All Blacks to batter England at Twickenham. No-one likes a gloating Aussie, so the nation will be willing Steve Hansen’s men to wipe the smile off Eddie Jones’ dial next November and score a psychological boost ahead of the
2019 Rugby World Cup.
2: Nick Willis to end his career with another Commonwealth Games gold medal. Twelve years after he burst onto the world scene in Melbourne at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, Willis must be favourite for the Gold Coast gold. Two Olympic Games medals and two Commonwealth Games titles would cement hispantheon place alongside Peter Snell and John Walker.
3: Serena Williams to return to tennis. Motherhood’s a more important gig than grand slam tennis, but the women’s tennis world isn’t the same without its greatest exponent of all-time.
4: Tiger Woods to win a major. Everyone loves a good comeback – and a redemption tale too. Forget Woods’ foibles off the course, he was once a golfing genius. A major victory in 2018 – 10 years after his last (the 2008 US Open) would only enhance the
41-year-old’s legend.
5: Brendon Hartley to get a decent car and contend. A Kiwi doing well on the Formula One circuit would be a massive shot in the arm for local motorsport.
6: Lydia Ko finds old mojo. The 20-year-old Aucklander’s hardly in the poorhouse – she still won $NZ1.5 million in 2017 to take her career earnings to $12.1 million. But Ko’s slipped to ninth in the world rankings behind some bigger-hitting rivals. That won’t be good enough for the former world No 1, who’ll look to compensate for lack of length with her precision short game.
7: Silver Ferns strike gold on the Gold Coast. The Kiwi netballers have lost the last three World Cup finals, but have a decent recent record at the Commonwealth Games with backto-back golds at Melbourne and Delhi. Playing in their own comp hasn’t made the Ferns’ task any easier, but have the Diamonds lost some of their old sheen?
8: Concussion-free seasons for Ben Smith and Dane Coles. Head injuries continue to be rugby’s blight so the All Blacks will be hoping there are no more knocks to the noggins of two players who remain critical to their chances of a third consecutive World Cup crown.
9: Warriors to sneak into the top eight. No, we haven’t been at the Christmas sherry early – the glass is simply half full today. The Warriors may not have made the playoffs since 2011, but with Tohu Harris in the pack is it too unrealistic to dream of the duck being broken in 2018? OK, yes, you are probably right. But wouldn’t it be a great way to send that great servant Simon Mannering out?
10: Wellington Phoenix avoid the wooden spoon. The Warriors’ main rivals for the bauble as Kiwi sport’s Christmas Turkeys need a comeback to top Lazarus’ to avoid the A-League ladle and to give Australians another excuse to question the Kiwi club’s existence.
11: A sensible Super Rugby draw. Even Santa would struggle to deliver in this department. Sanzaar’s convoluted calendar defies most footy fans’ understanding, but more derbies between New Zealand teams is a sensible step.
12: Beauden Barrett to really deserve World Player of the Year. How Barrett beat Rieko Ioane or Sam Whitelock (let alone a pride of Lions) to this year’s gong was one of rugby’s more unfathomable mysteries. The Hurricanes hero’s maddeningly inconsistent form had All Blacks fans pining for Dan Carter in his heyday. There remains a lingering feeling Barrett is best at fullback.
13: Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor race to become New Zealand’s highest centurymaker. Both are locked on 17 with the late, great Martin Crowe. May the best man win. With just seven tests in 2017, could either gallop through to 20 tons by year’s end?
14: Nadal v Federer in every Grand Slam tennis final. Both may be past their exceptional best, but they’re still tennis’ headline acts. Some of the greatest duels in world sport have been year-onyear duopolies – Real Madrid v Barcelona, Silver Ferns netballers v Australia – but nothing tops these two returning serve (and volley).
15: West Ham to survive in the English Premier League. Having two Kiwis – West Ham’s Winston Reid and Burnley striker Chris Wood – in the best league in world sport is great for New Zealand football’s profile.
16: More international rugby league games. The recent World Cup, with Tonga and Fiji’s giantkilling acts, showed there’s life beyond the NRL. More please.
17: A post-Christmas surge for the Oklahoma City Thunder. Why? Because Kiwi star Steven Adams deserves to be in a postseason team.
18: Blues to qualify for the Super Rugby playoffs.The Blues’ record is as bad as the Warriors’ –
2011 was their last playoffs appearance. It’s long overdue, but could come at the Chiefs’ or Highlanders’ expense. Tana Umaga’s coaching job may depend on it.