spinofflive
Neil Wagner celebrating his game winning wicket. (Photo: Getty Images)
The celebration after Neil Wagner’s test match clinching wicket. (Photo: Getty Images)

OPINIONSportsMarch 1, 2023

Put the Black Caps’ one-run win over England in Te Papa

Neil Wagner celebrating his game winning wicket. (Photo: Getty Images)
The celebration after Neil Wagner’s test match clinching wicket. (Photo: Getty Images)

Dylan Cleaver wraps up the miracle at the Basin.

This is an excerpt from Dylan Cleaver’s sports newsletter The Bounce

ENGLAND 435-8 dec & 256; NZ 209 & (f/o) 483

NZ win by 1 run

Test cricket, eh.

It was tempting to just write “Holy shit,” sign off and push the publish button, grab a cold one from the fridge and sit staring into the middle distance.

What’s the point in trying to intelligently summarise something you liked a lot but don’t really understand?

By the time I pointed the car north yesterday I had already stayed a day later than planned in the nation’s capital. By the time I got to Ohakea, I was pondering how much it would cost to hitch a lift back to Wellington on an NH90. It might have been worth it because I can tell you something for free: the western side of Lake Taupo is no place to follow the denouement of an epic test.

That it got to that point is one of the wonders of the sporting world.

New Zealand practically lost this test inside two days, being 138-7 in reply to England’s typically explosive 435-8 declared. Never has the word “practically” been asked to do so much work.

Even that third morning, when Tim Southee teed off in a way we haven’t seen in a long time, seemed merely ornamental – fool’s gold.

Black Caps captain Tim Southee.
In the centre, Black Caps test cricket captain Tim Southee. (Photo: Phil Walter, Getty Images)

Instead it was the start of an inexplicable chain reaction.

Ben Stokes enforced the follow on and nobody can convince me that it made sense from either a statistical or vibe point of view. Teams who enforce the follow on have a win rate of 79 percent; teams who have the opportunity to but don’t enforce it have a win rate of 85 percent. That’s a small but significant difference, especially when one of your strike bowlers is 40, another is 36 and another has been dropped in the past for being too unfit for five-day cricket.

Even then there was no indication that New Zealand was about to flip the game in its head.

At Mount Maunganui the top feted three totalled 84 in the first innings and 17 in the second. At the Basin it was 39 in the first and… 276 in the second.

To deny James Anderson and Stuart Broad the early breakthroughs they usually feed off was critical, as was eclipsing the deficit with wickets in hand.

Tom Latham was excellent and Devon Conway was a mix of grit and glamour. Kane Williamson, well I haven’t any more to add that I didn’t say on Monday – pure batsmanship.

But even then New Zealand conspired to hand back the initiative, the tail folding crazily and meekly and the bowlers got sucked into the sort of frenetic start England were hoping for in their pursuit for 258.

Tim Southee and Matt Henry were excellent on the fifth morning, making the early inroads that were demanded, before the latter went down with what looked like a serious back injury.

England’s poor start was compounded by a run out of the in-form Harry Brook that might not have equalled Michael Bracewell’s for comic value but was in fact more crucial (in a karmic offering, it was Bracewell that effected Brook’s dismissal), Joe Root (95) decided to get serious and win the test in partnership with his captain.

It was ordained until a final, incomprehensible twist: Bazball succumbed to Wagnerball.

Brutalised in the second innings at Mount Maunganui and the first innings here, Wagner looked every bit the spent force as his short-ball tactics were used against him. While you could never make a strong case that he was the bowler of the series, he somehow ended with the most wickets (11), the best strike rate (wicket every 35.8 balls) and a serviceable average (33.9).

There’s a part of me that hopes that the final wicket is Wagner’s sign-off. It couldn’t be more apt: a grunt and a short ball followed by a maniacal, puce-faced celebration. To borrow an idea from another famous Wagner, it is his Gesamtkunstwerk – his “total work of art”.

There’s another part of me that feels that like all great divos he deserves a curtain call, but to what purpose?

This is where the romance dies, at least momentarily.

This was a brilliant win. According to Jacob Oram on the wireless, it is New Zealand’s greatest test victory. It might well be, or it might just be their most dramatic. Either way, it doesn’t really matter.

What it can’t be is a coat of paint on a leaky home.

If James Anderson gets a millimetre more wood on that ball New Zealand fall to 0-2 and without a win since the first test against South Africa last season. As it is, they haven’t had a series win in their last six.

They have done that with a team of over-30s. The only sensible conclusion you can make is this iteration of the test team has peaked and is sliding. Yes, it has enough world-class players to remain competitive and sometimes spectacular but it is far closer than the end of an era than the middle.

So without wanting to dampen the mood, there should be a checklist.

They need to get better at identifying, developing and, in exceptional cases, fast-tracking young players.

They must invest in spin (it’s even more gobsmacking that they won a test by bowling a side out cheaply on the fifth day without a wicket from a spinner). The difference between England’s commitment to Jack Leach and New Zealand’s lack of commitment to a specialist spinner has been stark.

They must get even more nimble and innovative around their approach to central contracting. God knows how, but that’s an imperative for New Zealand Cricket and the Players’ Association.

But, most importantly of all, they must first toast this absurd test and their role in history.

Only four teams have won following on, the first in 1894. They made the second into a documentary video, Botham’s Ashes, and the third, India’s victory over Australia at Eden Gardens is so iconic that VVS Laxman’s 281 is often referenced as the greatest innings of all time.

This one deserves to be immortalised. Get that final image of Wagner mobbed by his teammates down to Te Papa – or at least to the walls of the very fine Cricket Museum at the Basin – immediately.


Dhys Faleafaga of the Cheifs Manawa (Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)
Dhys Faleafaga of the Cheifs Manawa (Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

SportsFebruary 27, 2023

Super Rugby Aupiki week one review: Matatū ekes out first win while Manawa dominates

Dhys Faleafaga of the Cheifs Manawa (Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)
Dhys Faleafaga of the Cheifs Manawa (Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

The first week of Super Rugby Aupiki 2023 saw a historic victory in Dunedin and the defending champs come from behind in Levin. Alice Soper recaps.

Hurricanes Poua vs Chiefs Manawa

The fans had barely taken their seats in Levin before they were brought to their feet by the home team. The Hurricanes Poua scored twice in rapid succession, charging runs by Joanah Ngan-Woo down the blindside, opening up opportunities that they were quick to convert. Up 14-0 after seven minutes, their undoing by the Chiefs Manawa would soon be on display. 

First scrum of the match had the Poua rapidly reversing and that was just the beginning of their pain with this set piece. Manawa finished the match with six steals against the feed. This meant the Manawa could play with increasing confidence on attack, knowing that any scrum called would end up back in their possession. 

It was a maul that gave Manawa their first try. Executing the lineout England wished they had, it was easy pickings for Luka Connor at the back. That maul would continue to cause headaches for the Poua as would Ōpōtiki’s finest, Luka Connor. 

The first half continued at a frantic pace, Rhiarna Ferris scooping a bobbling ball and gassing everyone to add another. Carys Dallinger, perfect from the tee, putting the Poua up 21-5. That try felt emphatic in the moment but in reality marked the beginning of the end as Manawa began their epic comeback.

Monica Tagoai of the Hurricanes Poua in action during the round one Super Rugby Aupiki match between Hurricanes Poua and Chiefs Manawa. (Photo: Kerry Marshall/Getty Images)

It was Manawa muscle that saw Tanya Kalounivale crash over, followed by Kennedy Simon doting down as the scrum drove over the tryline. That scrum popped Krystal Murray, sending her to the bin then set Luka Connor up for her try that put Manawa ahead at halftime 22-21.

Manawa started the second half as the Poua had started the first, with tries in rapid succession. Unlike the first half, the Poua had no answer. Manawa clinical at the breakdown, disrupting any opportunity for the Poua to build their way back into the match. Impact from the bench saw Dhys Faleafaga rewarded with a try, pushing the Manawa over 50 points. 

While a dominant display from the Manawa, unfortunately for their opposition there is still room for improvement. Most of their tries went unconverted and their impressive backline was largely unused in this match. Taking the ball off the boot and putting it through the hands will see another whole dimension of this team unlocked.  

$500 was being donated by Sky and New Zealand Rugby to the Cyclone Gabrielle relief fund for every point scored in this round. This initiative offered a silver lining for Poua fans as this hiding brought in $37,000 for the cause.

Chiefs Manawa win 53-21

Matatū vs Blues

Down to Dunedin for the second match and it was Matatū on the hunt for their first ever win in Super Rugby Aupiki. This game was brought to you by the letter B – in the first half that stood for breakdowns and the boot of Rosie Kelly. Kelly steered her side into choice strike positions off her laces and was supported by the dogged work of her forwards to dominate the breakdown. The combination of the two put Matatū up early with tries to Kendra Reynolds, Alana Bremner and Martha Mataele. 

The Blues finally offloaded their impatience, Ruahei Demant going close but it was Grace Gago scoring on debut to get the Blues into this game. Matatū weren’t done harassing the breakdown though and turned it over from the restart to score again. It was an arm wrestle out there which meant another try came for the Blues. The final play of the half saw Jaymie Kolose find herself in a massive overlap to score. 

Rosie Kelly of Matatū charges forward during the round one Super Rugby Aupiki match between Matatu and Blues at Forsyth Barr Stadium. (Photo: Joe Allison/Getty Images)

The B of the second half stands for bench and battlers. The gear shift coming off the Blues bench threw everything at the battlers of the south. Workhorse Lucy Jenkins started the second half crashing over wide. The Blues hit back and started to gather some momentum that only built after Alana Bremner was sent to the bin for cynical play. Fresh from the bench, Patricia Maliepo’s impact was felt quickly. Her touches created line breaks and sent Kolose over for her second. 

Bench prop Toka Natua won a vital scrum penalty for the Blues; they fluffed this opportunity but an intercept moments later from Katelyn Vaha’akolo brought the game back within seven points with just over 15 minutes to go. With the clock winding down the pressure was building on the battlers of the Matatū to defend their lead and secure their first win. 

It was the bench who won the scrum for the Blues, the bench who broke the line through Maliepo and the bench who rolled a magnificent maul. And the bench who set up heartbreak for the hosts as Sophie Fisher finally crossed the line for the Blues. Ruahei Demant lined up the kind of kick she’d slot nine times out of 10 to tie the scores, but dragged it wide – this was the battlers’ day after all. Matatū with a famous win, their first in Super Rugby Aupiki. 

Result: Matatū win 33-31

Coming up…

This week, winners play losers. The Hurricanes Poua head south to take on Matatū and the Blues will welcome the Chiefs Manawa. The Poua will need to sort out their scrums – no easy feat facing the Black Fern’s front row of Pip Love, Amy Rule and Georgia Ponsonby. The Blues will take heart in the fluidity they built over their first match but will be wary of what the in-form Manawa will bring. It’ll only get harder to pick the outcomes from here – and harder for new Black Ferns coach, Allan Bunting, to pick his first side.

Which is bloody good news for women’s rugby. 

If you’re only going to watch one, tune into The Blues versus the Chiefs Manawa, 2.05pm Saturday 4 March. The Blues got better as their match went on and had Demant landed her kick, you feel they had the momentum to win it in extra time. We also need to see if anyone can stop this Manawa side – if they dish out another hiding, they could have one hand on the trophy with three weeks still to go. 

‘Like a thousand-piece jigsaw puzzle, each member is vital to the whole picture. Join today.’
Calum Henderson
— Production editor

Round one awards

Filthiest Dummy: It’s rock, paper scissor between Di Hiini and Jaymie Kolose, both selling a big one on their way to the try line.

Welcome to Aupiki: Kahurangi Sturmey’s shoulder folds Tenika Willison.

Doing it all day ref: The Manawa pack’s relentless scrummaging making things difficult for Poua.