Tops and Flops: The sporting weekend that was
Opinion: Paul Cully runs the rule over the highs and lows from the weekend’s sporting action.
Top: Hoskins Sotutu
Every time Blues No 8 Hoskins Sotutu plays this year it’s hard not to be reminded of the interviews Michael Jordan gave in TheLast Dance documentary.
“It became personal for me,” was Jordan’s go-to answer as he recalled turning every snub, or perceived snub, into the fuel that maintained his rage during his extraordinary NBA career.
Well, no one in New Zealand rugby was more publicly snubbed than Sotutu last year, after he was overlooked for both the All Blacks and the All Blacks XV.
And he is playing like he took that personally - very personally.
While Sotutu gives every impression of being a laidback character, on the paddock he’s becoming a little scary.
He’s a big man - the Blues list him at 106kg but he’s surely 10kg heavier than that - and anyone who gets in his way tends to find their reverse gear pretty quickly.
Sotutu’s Super Rugby form is outstanding, and quite what Scott Robertson makes of him will be the most fascinating part of his first All Blacks squad.
Flop: The Warriors
Flop is too strong a word, but the Warriors’ loss against the Dragons on Friday did illustrate just how hard it will be for them to win a first NRL Premiership.
It’s not just the travel factor, it goes deeper than that. If you live in Australia for any length of time, you come to appreciate the harsh scrutiny and expectation the Aussies put on their own sides,.
That creates pressure, which creates excellence in performance (as well as regular and spectacular implosions and sackings).
The upshot is that the Warriors are never going to get an easy game, especially over the Tasman.
They only need to be 5% off in all of the key areas, and the result is a 30-12 loss that suggests the wheels have come off.
That’s not true of course, but if you are looking for a bandwagon to jump on, the Blues are much more likely to be the title-winning Auckland team this year.
Top: Smaller rugby grounds
There were at least 40,000 watching the Fijian Drua against the Hurricanes on Friday.
That’s what it felt like anyway, when the truth is the home crowd numbered just over 15,000.
But, put 15,000 fanatics into a stadium that only holds 15,000 and you have an occasion. Put them into a stadium that holds 40,000 and you have an attendance problem.
The Drua have shown that New Zealand has an infrastructure problem, too many stadia that are too big to host Super Rugby games.
It was a sad sight seeing all the empty seats at Eden Park for the Blues v Brumbies game on Saturday: frankly, the Blues deserve better under ‘Stern’ Vern Cotter.
Incidentally, Stuff understands that New Zealand Rugby is so keen on a new downtown stadium at Quay Park in Auckland because there have been tensions with Eden Park about the commercials terms of staging All Blacks tests at the famous ground.
Eden Park has All Blacks tests locked in this year and next, but nothing beyond that date when the new Christchurch stadium is set to open. Watch this space.
Flop: Fozzie’s new Japanese side
Despite fielding Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Springbok Pieter-Steph du Toit and gun Japanese flanker Kazuki Himeno, Toyota Verblitz were hammered 40-7 by Robbie Deans’ Saitama Wild Knights at the weekend.
Ian Foster has a lot of work to do when he starts with Toyota Verblitz this year.
The cashed-up outfit are sixth on the ladder in Japan Rugby League One, and out of the playoff picture with just two rounds to go.