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June 30, 2024 • 13 mins

James McOnie from The Crowd Goes Wild joins Piney to discuss All Blacks squad announcement, the Warriors' comeback victory against the Broncos and the latest theories about the Football Ferns' coaching saga.

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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Pine
from News Talks, ed B Crouch hold Engage Weekend Sports
with Jason Pain and GJ. Counther Homes, New Zealand's first
trusted home builder, News Talks.

Speaker 2 (00:22):
Ed B just on nineteen Away from two. James McCartney
joins us around this time every Sunday. Although I've come
to you slightly early today because I've got a number
of questions to ask you. James, you can just add
it to your and voice.

Speaker 3 (00:33):
Is that okay?

Speaker 4 (00:34):
Yeah, it's fine. But like Jen, you've got some questions
on your main you know, smash mouth, come on, someone
please in the library.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
Absolutely, it's part of one of my Spotify playlists.

Speaker 3 (00:49):
I know it is.

Speaker 4 (00:50):
That's proof. I'm just gonna get kicked out of South Auckland,
which is where I'm talking to you from XIM and Patuma. Oh.
I'm here at Patumahoye Rugby Club. I'm going to be
here for a for an event at lunch next weekend
next Friday.

Speaker 3 (01:03):
Excellent. We you're just scoping the place out.

Speaker 4 (01:06):
I'm scoping and how I'd like to have a look
around and you see what the what the speakers are like,
you know, just to make sure it's all tickety boo excellently.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
Well, while we've got you can I move on to
my list of topics, the first of which is unselected
all blacks, or those who might have thought they were
in the frame, probably were in the frame for selection
in the first all black squad.

Speaker 3 (01:27):
Of the year.

Speaker 2 (01:27):
Didn't hear their names read out earlier this week? So
what now for them? And I'll give you a specific example.
What does Hoskin Satutu do now?

Speaker 4 (01:37):
Well, for Hoskins, I think it's going to be tempting
to go. He's got options. He could play for Fiji
because of his dad, Wisaki, who could play for England
because of his mum. So he qualifies for either and
he could be playing for either nation by the end
of next year. It means he had missed out on
the Lions. Imagine that him turning up in Australia playing

(02:00):
for the Lions. But that could be his future. And
if you break it down, like his dream was to
be all black, he became an all Black, but it
was also his dream to become a great all black.
And that's really you know, to solidify his position now
and in a nation of five million that it's still
a big deal. And if you break it down even further,

(02:21):
say there's two million rugby fans, hard called rugby fans.
That's who you're you know, that's who you're playing for
if you like. Whereas as soon as you step on
that plane and you go overseas, you broaden your horizons
and you know you're playing for England, country of sixty million,
and maybe that becomes what you your perspective, you change

(02:45):
your sights and it becomes playing under and listen to
the annoying English fans singing Sweeten Swinglows, sweet Chariot. That
becomes your life.

Speaker 3 (02:53):
Do you think he'll go?

Speaker 4 (02:56):
I don't know. I mean, I know he'd be tempted
to stay and prove people wrong, but I don't know.
I think at twenty five he could go and have
a really great Test career overseas. To me, England would
be the landing spot if you really want to go
and and docing where that you know they've got a
really great Test season, You've got six nations to look
forward to. There's nothing wrong with playing for Fiji either,

(03:19):
but they just don't have the same Test calendar that
England have, you know, the Autumn Internationals and all that
sort of thing as well, and the potential to play
for the Lions. So maybe that would be enough to
entice them. But sometimes Kimi kids have to look elsewhere
and get their their motivation or their drive or their
you know, reassess their goals.

Speaker 2 (03:41):
I know that there was a lot of clamor for
him to be included after a terrific Super Rugby season.
No one's arguing with the way he played for the
Blues and a title winning season. But Artie Savia is
by daylight the best number eight probably in the world
and certainly in New Zealand. So would Hoskins actually have
played a lot for the All Blacks anyway in the
big games.

Speaker 4 (04:01):
Yeah, that's a good point. Maybe not, but then you're
comparing different players. Artie Savier is under size, small number eight,
an amazing athlete and that's why he plays big. But
then Hoskins satutu. I think at test level the temptation
would better use it because he's just got those other
physical tools that we haven't seen at number eight for

(04:21):
a while for New Zealand. So look, I think he
can play other positions. I think he could play at
number six as well, but then he's pretty much fashioned
himself as a specialist. Number eight in a country like
England or Fiji would just I'd love to have him.
So why not go somewhere where you're totally in demand

(04:42):
and when people would welcome you with open arms.

Speaker 2 (04:45):
Indeed, yeah, it's a very good point. We'll wait and
see what the next move is for Hoskins Stutu. Over
the last week, in fact, over the last four or
five days, we've seen the bounce back ability of a
couple of rugby league sides. We saw New South Wales
reverse what happened in Game one against Queensland in the
second game of State of Origin, and then yesterday we
saw the Warriors bounce back from a sixty point defeat

(05:06):
to beat last year's Grand Final. Let's all be it
without a couple of players, the Broncos in reasonable, reasonably
comfortable fashion amount smart. So what can we take from
this the You know, a team is very good one
game and then or not that good one game and
then very good the next. What can we take from this?

Speaker 4 (05:23):
Yeah, I was mugling this over Poneer. I do remember
you did a great segment on your radio show with
that high performance coach from Australia, So maybe we need
to get someone with a few bit more expertise than me.
But it really piqued my interest because of the massive defeat,
the sixty point defeat, and then of course New South
Wales really absolutely spanking Queensland, who are considered, you know,

(05:47):
the elite team in the sport. Really so I think
it just shows the fine margins that anything can upset
the apple cart. And if the Warriors just not firing,
not finding their mojo over it on the Gold Coast
to come back and play that well, yes, the the
Brisbane were missing a few stars, but that again points

(06:10):
to the fine margins. So for me as a chiefs fan,
I was so gutted by that Super Rugby Final, but
I look at it and think, well, if you don't
have things in place, for example, you two best hookers,
if you don't have you know, a great game plan
in the wet weather conditions, then everything can snowball against you.
And all these teams are so good that they will

(06:31):
make you pay time and time again in the same
way that maybe a referee can then affect you. And
that can decide a game. But I think this really
says that the fine margins between success and failure, the
fine line between pleasure and pain. Piney, you know, have
you got that song?

Speaker 3 (06:49):
I do? I know that song A very fine line.
Was it the Vinyls?

Speaker 4 (06:53):
Yes? Yeah, I think it was.

Speaker 3 (06:57):
What did they sing that one about? Myself? Yes? I
wonder why I gravitated to that particular artist. I'm not sure.
Let's move on to some football.

Speaker 2 (07:09):
The football Ferns will be heading to the Paris Olympic Games,
but they won't have their head coach, Yittka klum Kova
has not resigned, but stepped down as coach. Michael Maine,
the assistant coach who took them in their recent window
against Japan, will again take the reins in Paris. This
is a very, very curious situation. I've tried my hardest

(07:29):
to get some answers out of New Zealand football and
get somebody to come on the air and talk about it.
But without any joy, What have you made of all
of this?

Speaker 4 (07:36):
Well, I guess I can only talk about rumored conjecture.
But I mean you and I have both got I
guess contacts close to the team I mean, I heard
that Yitka just lost the dressing room, So that was
the situation, and a lot of traditionalists out there will say,
we'll play powers out of control. But in a situation
like this, you've got some people who've probably got more

(07:56):
experience than Yitka in the sport, and it's quite hard
to argue your point when someone's saying, well, I'm going
to tell something completely different from my club, who's got
one of the greatest coaches of all time. So and
I think this is where it started to unravel, and
there were some really bad selections. I feel like even
before this came to a head. I think a year ago,

(08:20):
before the World Cup, was it Mikaela Moore Pony helped
me out here. I think it's.

Speaker 2 (08:25):
Yes, yes, wasn't selected for the World Cup, yep, yep, yeah.

Speaker 4 (08:30):
And I know she's famous for scoring an own a
hat trick of own goals, but there was no doubt
that she was one of the senior pros and one
of the top players in that team. So things like
that really started to raise eyebrows. But I think there's
more that I don't think they believe in her coaching philosophy,
it's really tough for them to gel in any way.

(08:50):
And and look, the football fans, they are a tight
unit and and I think they've contributed to a downfall.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Really yeah, I tend to agree that's the that's the
kind of the the Yeah. The guts of the rumors
that I hear as well is that there's there's by
the sounds of it just been a complete breakdown in
communicat or breakdown in the relationship, sorry, between a cohort
of players and their coach. And look, I don't know
what you think, but it just doesn't seem to me

(09:18):
as though there's any way back now for Yittka Klimkover
into this role. I mean, she's been given a six
year deal which takes her through to the next World Cup,
which in itself is a pretty interesting contract length. But
I just don't know that I see her way back
for her.

Speaker 4 (09:35):
Well, the only way back is really for a whole
swavee of senior players maybe to leave and then she
can work with the young ones coming through. But I
think this is going to be it's going to be tough,
and I think they'll be going through some pretty serious
negotiations to work out a way to move forward, because
this is the problem with these things. We just don't
know how broken The relationship is obviously pretty bad, but

(09:59):
also where the coaching philosophy doesn't deal with with what
we'd say is modern or you know, up to date
methods of coaching. That's where I feel like there was
really a big divide there, and and it's hard for
one person just to sort of call their way back
when when the team, especially if the team flourishes without

(10:20):
here having said that, they're in a group of death
over there and the Olympics, so I mean it's going
to be tough for them.

Speaker 2 (10:27):
Yeah, it's gonna be tough. Yeah, tough to get out
of that group they got. Yeah, they got a real
tough time of things. I just want to finish on football, actually,
the Euros. I watched Germany beat Denmark to nil this
morning and also watched with great interest Switzerland beat Italy.
This is a pretty poor Italian side, it must be said,
and maybe they're win at the last Euros was a
bit of an outline because they haven't been that good
for quite a while.

Speaker 4 (10:46):
Now.

Speaker 2 (10:47):
England plays Slovakia tomorrow morning for the right to take
on Switzerland in the quarterfinals. England have not exactly reached
any great heights at this European Championship. Do you think
they're about to to be, you know, to surprise us
all with a run to the final?

Speaker 4 (11:05):
Look I hope.

Speaker 1 (11:05):
So.

Speaker 4 (11:06):
I've got a soft spot for the England football team
and that team alone really on English women's rugby team's
kind of cool too. But the issue there is the've
coften spluttered through, but they have been pretty tight on defense.
I'm so worried about that keeper Jordan Pickford, but he
hasn't really been called into action much much. So hats

(11:26):
off to their defense and I guess to the way
they do keep the ball a bit better than previous sides.
It still will be tough for them. They haven't found
their mojo. It's a strange I guess the way they
formed that club so that that team with all eyes
on still on Harry Kane, means that they can't really

(11:48):
you can't see those other talented players express themselves. The
biggest issue for me, though, Piney of the Euros recently
was an incredible yellow card for a guy who passed
the ball, put his foot down, what he's onto, what
he thought was the ground and it was at the
foot of another player that he got a second yellow
and it was a red card. And I just thought,

(12:11):
even though we complain about rugby, we complain about league
and some of the decisions, Football is almost even more
broken really, with VARs been called into action for some
things and not for others. And then a player simply
imagine this, passing the ball, puts his foot down and
another player's foot appears underneath it. I mean, I guess
that's how you get me or messy send off? Now

(12:36):
stepping get underneath them.

Speaker 2 (12:39):
Yes, just put your foot where you suspect his foot
will be next, and that's it. I can report that
pleasure and pain was performed by the the Vinyls, So
I think we can. We can finish there. Unless there's
anything else you'd like to take up.

Speaker 4 (12:56):
No, I don't want anybody else. When I think about
your pony, I touched myself, so thank you very much
for that. And yeah, I'm.

Speaker 3 (13:04):
Out, Thank you, James.

Speaker 1 (13:08):
A good time to leave it, I think for more
From Weekend Sport with Jason Fine, Listen live to news
talks at b weekends from midday, or follow the podcast
on iHeartRadio.
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