Weekend Wrap
It's taken me 2 weeks to recall one of the lessons learned last year - the Super 14 is a bloody unpredictable competition. Part of the reason is rugby is actually quite a complex sport and consistency in sporting performance is difficult to achieve, and also there is not that much difference between the competing teams (as the draw last year between the top of the table Crusaders and wooden spooners Force will testify).
So another three teams win away from home at Betfair starting prices of $3.10, $2.98 and $2.62 with not a cent of my money on them. Grrrrrrrr. Instead ol' plonker here dropped some money on the Tahs and then spent the early hours of Sun morning hurling the TV remote at the cat every time Peter Hewat missed a penalty. Please send flowers to Ward 9 of the Waiuku Animal Hospital.
Goalkicking. In a tight competition assumes a bit more importance and I haven't seen this weeks' stats, but last week goalkicking was at 60% compared to the long-term average in Super rugby of around 75%. Already this year 3 games out of the 14 played could have/should have had different results had the radar being switched on for some of these kickers. Something to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
Still, it could be worse. I could be an Aussie. Losing to England two-zip in the final of their ODI competition must make the muesli taste a bit funny this morning. Now where's that John Buchanan quote? Y'know, the one where he was a bit miffed about the quality of the opposition in this series and was wishing his team could be a bit more tested on the field. Geez, it must be tempting to throw that back in his face but I'm a bit too mature for that. No I'm not - HA HA HA HA HHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Bit of course all this pales into insignificance to the real big sporting news of the weekend - yes, New Zealand's win in the Davis Cup tennis tie against Pacific Oceania. "Kiwis serve up Davis Cup treat" screamed the headline in the Herald on Sunday.
Someone sack the sub-editor, although I suppose NZ winning a Davis Cup tie is technically a treat, as it doesn't happen that often. Never mind that it was against a team that is made up of a few Pacific islands no-one has ever heard of cobbled together.
But the rest of the article made me throw up as well - "The key to the tie was power - the Kiwis had it and the Pacific Oceania players didn't."
Look dufus, Roger Federer has power. Andy Roddick has power. NZ tennis players don't. Suggesting otherwise is barf material. Or how about "(NZ) had serves too powerful for their opponents, who were athletic but lacking in big tournament play"
There's that word - POWER - again, but the inference that our tennis players have "big tournament" experience is also laughable. As a free service to the nation, here's what we should really be reading over breakfast this morning:
NZ WIN BATTLE OF THE MINNOWS
NZ's Davis Cup team - that's tennis if you don't know - have avoided complete humiliation by beating some poor underpriveleged kids from Wallis and Fortuna (get your atlas out, I don't know where it is either). Our boys are out celebrating hard, for they know they will get their ar$es kicked in their next match against the Phillippines.
So another three teams win away from home at Betfair starting prices of $3.10, $2.98 and $2.62 with not a cent of my money on them. Grrrrrrrr. Instead ol' plonker here dropped some money on the Tahs and then spent the early hours of Sun morning hurling the TV remote at the cat every time Peter Hewat missed a penalty. Please send flowers to Ward 9 of the Waiuku Animal Hospital.
Goalkicking. In a tight competition assumes a bit more importance and I haven't seen this weeks' stats, but last week goalkicking was at 60% compared to the long-term average in Super rugby of around 75%. Already this year 3 games out of the 14 played could have/should have had different results had the radar being switched on for some of these kickers. Something to keep an eye on over the next few weeks.
Still, it could be worse. I could be an Aussie. Losing to England two-zip in the final of their ODI competition must make the muesli taste a bit funny this morning. Now where's that John Buchanan quote? Y'know, the one where he was a bit miffed about the quality of the opposition in this series and was wishing his team could be a bit more tested on the field. Geez, it must be tempting to throw that back in his face but I'm a bit too mature for that. No I'm not - HA HA HA HA HHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA.
Bit of course all this pales into insignificance to the real big sporting news of the weekend - yes, New Zealand's win in the Davis Cup tennis tie against Pacific Oceania. "Kiwis serve up Davis Cup treat" screamed the headline in the Herald on Sunday.
Someone sack the sub-editor, although I suppose NZ winning a Davis Cup tie is technically a treat, as it doesn't happen that often. Never mind that it was against a team that is made up of a few Pacific islands no-one has ever heard of cobbled together.
But the rest of the article made me throw up as well - "The key to the tie was power - the Kiwis had it and the Pacific Oceania players didn't."
Look dufus, Roger Federer has power. Andy Roddick has power. NZ tennis players don't. Suggesting otherwise is barf material. Or how about "(NZ) had serves too powerful for their opponents, who were athletic but lacking in big tournament play"
There's that word - POWER - again, but the inference that our tennis players have "big tournament" experience is also laughable. As a free service to the nation, here's what we should really be reading over breakfast this morning:
NZ WIN BATTLE OF THE MINNOWS
NZ's Davis Cup team - that's tennis if you don't know - have avoided complete humiliation by beating some poor underpriveleged kids from Wallis and Fortuna (get your atlas out, I don't know where it is either). Our boys are out celebrating hard, for they know they will get their ar$es kicked in their next match against the Phillippines.
Labels: post mortems
posted by Rob Crawford at 8:42 AM
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