Commentary Box: Andrew Saville and Jason Pine comment on the All Blacks, Tennis and a surprise appearance from Kate

Jason Pine and Andrew Saville join Mike Hosking this morning to discuss the weekend's sports.

On the table today: The All Blacks lost to England at Twickenham - is it time to question Scott Robertson's leadership? 

And Kate Hawkesby joins the show to recount some of Mike and Andrew's history playing tennis together. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Jason Pin Andrew Savill both well us fellows. Good morning,
My day, Good morning, Andrew. You're an old mate of Parkers.
What do you reckon?

Speaker 2 (00:09):
Like I think you said before, I think we had
to take his take him at his word that The
strange thing is the bizarre thing is why on earth
would he do that knowing he's going to be tested
so close to a fight, And if he had a one,
this would have been even worse, I suppose because he

(00:30):
would have been in line to fight Usik. I understand
that he will definitely fight it. I understand he firmly,
firmly believes Mike that it's that's a mistake has been
made and it is not anything to do with cocaine.

Speaker 1 (00:48):
No, that would be my read on it as well.
Have you talked to Higgins, by the way, I haven't known,
because he'll Mike can't work out what he thinks that.
I mean that he's the one who'd be handling. Wouldn't
he very difficult also from the other side of the world,
which makes it complex, complex or complicated?

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Yes, it does.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
And what you've got to understand, Mike is that VARDA
is the Voluntary Antidoping Association it's.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
Primarily it tests boxes. Boxes.

Speaker 2 (01:14):
A lot of boxes don't get drug tested, but those
that do and those who have it in their contracts
for each separate fight, and it's demanded by a lot
of promoters and management. It is voluntary, so they I
think the rules are eight weeks out from a fight.
You can be tested anywhere any time. You have to

(01:34):
let them know their whereabouts. The test is like you
do with Olympic Sports and warder rules, and then you'll
be tested after the fight as well.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Was it a big deal for you and the sports show, Jason?
Were people into it or not?

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Really? Not really.

Speaker 4 (01:48):
I've got a couple of texts asking if we were
going to address it, and I don't know what you say.
You say, look, we wait and see what happens. I think,
as you both say, we take Joseph Parker on his word.
There's never been a suggestion of this in the past.
Why would he, as Andrew just said, why would he so?

(02:08):
Look like what your hope is that it is a mistake.
The only cautionary tail is that it's rare for these
things to be a mistake.

Speaker 3 (02:16):
But I hope on this occasion that it is right.

Speaker 1 (02:18):
Rugby Andrew. It must be hard work now, sort of
building up to Wales. It's not really two terms used,
you know with Wales building up to Wales, do you
especially when you come up? I mean, how different it
could have been this week?

Speaker 2 (02:32):
Eh, yep, yep, it would have been a huge week
and the well shown up to much. I see they
beat Japan only just at the weekend. Yeah, frustrating, Mike.
Look overall what thirteen played is it ten wins and
three losses from memory, which on the face of it
doesn't look too bad. But they should have never lost

(02:54):
to Argentina. In Argentina, they shouldn't have been blown away
by the spring box. And if they'd played consistent on
the weekend of Twickenham after a twelve new lead, you
did not throw away a twelve new lead.

Speaker 3 (03:05):
They should have they should have beaten England.

Speaker 2 (03:07):
As I mentioned last week, Mike, they've got this third
quarter atis where they go into the dressing room and
then come out and they're all at sea. I think
that suggests again, and I think we mentioned it on
the show. I think it suggests again there's a disconnect
between what the coaches want in game plans and what
the players are playing.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
What do you make of it, Jason, I am less
confident about the World Cup in twenty twenty seven now
than I was when Razor took over two years ago.

Speaker 3 (03:40):
That's a good point, Jason, because I was sitting there
yesterday looking at the world rankings.

Speaker 2 (03:44):
And in a World Cup, say semi final, would you
back this All Black team to beat South Africa, France, England,
Island at full strength?

Speaker 3 (03:51):
No?

Speaker 4 (03:52):
Absolutely not. The fourth quarter things interesting too. The All
Blacks haven't scored a fourth quarter points in the last
four test matches, so they haven't scored a point between
halftime and the sixty minute mark for the last four.
The big problem for me, guys is that I haven't
seen improvement under Scott Robertson. I think it would be
very hard for you to sit there, hand on heart

(04:12):
and say that he has improved this team over the
last two years. I feel like he's chips in on
Richie Warner to come back and make a massive difference,
which is firstly not absolutely certain that he will and
second a lot of pressure for one bloke. You're right, Saith,
there's there's just a disconnect. Where are the flowing attacking
moves that used to be the hallmark of All Blacks rugby.

(04:34):
It's there are so many places to try and focus
on improvement. But that's the thing we haven't seen. We
haven't seen improvement of the All Blacks under Scott Robertson.

Speaker 3 (04:45):
Look at the look at the stagnant attack, look at
the aerial game.

Speaker 2 (04:48):
Yet hasn't improved. And that's been a bug ber the
last couple of years since these rule changes came in.
Around my high kicks, Mike, Yeah, she was. There's plenty
to go through Peny to work on that. Overall, that
game wasn't too bad, but there's a lot of kicking.
And the TMO was in the referees there the whole game,

(05:08):
which they have been during these test matches, and I
assume the TMO was there for foul playing, for deciding
on tries. It's just gone too far.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
Yeah, just correct me if I'm wrong, Jason. Don't they
have an interim CEO? And if they do have an
interim CEO, does that mean they can't find anybody or
they just want to take their time of what's going on?

Speaker 3 (05:25):
Do we know?

Speaker 4 (05:26):
Yeah, Steve Lancaster is the interim CEO at the moment,
he applied for the job apparently and hasn't been given it,
so he's on an interim basis. Yeah, presumably they can't
find the candidate with all of the skills required, and
if someone has all those skills required, they're not interested
in the New Zealand rugby job.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
They'd rather be doing something else.

Speaker 4 (05:45):
So yeah, it looks as they will drag into the
new year before we find out who's going to take
the top job.

Speaker 2 (05:50):
You look at the all blacks, Mike, and as we know,
with business and sport, it's all starts at the top, right.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
They need a new CEO and there with a firm hand.

Speaker 2 (05:58):
They need a CEO who can straddle business world but
also community rugby, which in some parts of the country
is dying, if not dead. Provincial unions as well often
have concerns that need to be raised. And fair enough,
it is a very very difficult job. I know there's
been a whole heap of key we candidates have either
turned the job down or have had some real second

(06:19):
thoughts about it. They wanted a New Zealander, but it
sounds like this Englishman who is running Six Nations is
apparently the front runner for this job. The people I've
spoken to and Rugby say if he's appointed it will
be a complete disaster.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
Interesting is it politics? Is politics at play in the job?
Would I look at it and go Jesus look at
the politics. I can't be bothered as there?

Speaker 3 (06:38):
Well it can.

Speaker 2 (06:39):
It can be quite political. You know, you've got a
You've got a fairly new board.

Speaker 3 (06:43):
I think. I think David.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
Kirk is a is a is a strong personality, has
done a good job so far, I think, and he's
onto it. But that that is a key and there's
other executive roles that remain unfilled.

Speaker 3 (06:56):
That is a key, key job. They've got to get
it right, mate, Can I argue just just I've heard
from impickable sources that you were on the sports field
on the weekend, well a court, the pickleball, pedal ball,

(07:18):
and you lost.

Speaker 1 (07:19):
No, that's that seeing that's why you journalists have the
reputation you do, the amount of fake news pedal.

Speaker 3 (07:27):
What is it? Is it? Fake news? Donald? Is it?

Speaker 1 (07:29):
It's It's just it's just it's just embarrassing that sort
of fake news.

Speaker 3 (07:32):
And I also understand like you used to do to
me in the early nineties on those magnificent grass courts
at Hagley Park. You were grunting and screaming and yelling
to put off the opposition. What was really because it's
got nothing to do with the force you're hitting the
ball with, because you've got tiny little arms and there's
no power there.

Speaker 2 (07:52):
What was what?

Speaker 3 (07:53):
What was fantastic? I'd like to listen. I'd like to
bring in the impeccable source to corroborate my story.

Speaker 5 (08:04):
I just want to I just want to ask Andrew,
because we've got we've got shared common we've got some
common ground. Now, Andrew, when he played you, did he
hog the baseline and just shout and scream the whole
time to distract you?

Speaker 3 (08:17):
Yeah, and try and just try to grind you down. Yeah, Now, Kate.

Speaker 2 (08:22):
In the early nineties, he would turn up in these
skin tight white pants shorts that the Onnie Parron skin
tight white shirt. He had a mustache back then, and
he drove a rag and he drove a rag top
Mix five and he'd arrive at the public courts and
people would think, what a whanker does.

Speaker 3 (08:40):
He still does he does? He still turn up dress
like that?

Speaker 5 (08:46):
No, I wouldn't allow any of that Thankfully he did
not turn up dress like that. But there was so
much noise that I got embarrassed for the surrounding environment
that I might need to issue an apology.

Speaker 3 (08:57):
Were there were there are other people on courts beside you, well, no.

Speaker 5 (09:01):
Just people walking past, And I thought this is getting
a little bit. But the other thing where if he
misses a shot, which okay, rare, but if he does
miss a shot, he's so angry at himself, the court,
the racket, everybody. Did you get that?

Speaker 2 (09:14):
Did you remind him it's not the US Open final,
It's just a social game on a Saturday or Sunday.

Speaker 5 (09:20):
I tried to say that so many times.

Speaker 2 (09:23):
I tried to say, just relaxed.

Speaker 1 (09:27):
Could we at least concede that the talent came back?
Almost instantly, Catie, the.

Speaker 5 (09:34):
Talent came Oh yeah, no, no, no, I think I think
the old muscle memory was there, or so you kept
telling me as soon as you hopped on court. You
were like, no, no, I'm back, I'm back.

Speaker 3 (09:43):
And also who won? Who won?

Speaker 5 (09:47):
We didn't actually play a game. We were trying to
just do some hits and and sort of learn the
art of pickleball.

Speaker 3 (09:51):
But yeah, won that. Yeah, yeah, he would have won that.

Speaker 5 (09:55):
Yeah he would have been if that had been a game,
I would have won.

Speaker 3 (09:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:00):
Wow, all right, thanks for I thought you had pilates
or yoga.

Speaker 2 (10:06):
I do.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
I'm on court as we speak.

Speaker 1 (10:09):
Goodness, goodness sake. Thanks very much for organizing that, Andrew,
that was absolutely fantastic. My apologies, Jason. I I try
and elevate the conversation in general around this particular segment,
but you know there are those who sort of drag
it down just a little bit.

Speaker 3 (10:21):
So we are we done? Or the more questions? You
had a question before?

Speaker 1 (10:24):
No, I didn't. Selby and Selby and Trump by the way,
fire four, Selby's up five four and the champion a
champion snooker.

Speaker 3 (10:32):
It's Donald Trump playing snooker.

Speaker 1 (10:35):
Are you Are you on the bulletin tonight or is
this your month off?

Speaker 2 (10:40):
That's and again we're of nearing December. Mate, you'll be
on leave next week surely.

Speaker 1 (10:46):
Well, if I am, you're going to feel really bad
about this, aren't you.

Speaker 3 (10:50):
Well?

Speaker 1 (10:52):
Nice to see you, guys, Andrew Seville and Jason Pine.
It is n Kate Hawksby.

Speaker 3 (10:57):
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