Full Show Podcast: 14 June 2025

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Weekend Sport podcast with Jason Vine
from News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:13):
The only place for the.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Big names, the big issues, the big controversies and the
big conversations. It's all on Weekend Sport with Jason Vain
on your home of Sport News Talks EDB.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Gott a good afternoon. Welcome into Weekend Sport on News
Talks EDB. Saturday, June fourteen, Happy birthday, Steffi Graff. I'm
Jason Pine Show producer Andy McDonald. We're talking sport until
three Sunny. Bill Williams is in studio after two o'clock
this afternoon. He's going to fight Paul Gallon in Sydney
on July sixteen. Gonna find out all about that and
the very real beef between these two. First up today,

(00:54):
though where else but christ Church? The twenty twenty five
Super Rugby Final will be played in the Garden City.
After an absolutely gripping game last night, Whol's.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Presentable The Crusaders a chun on it. I'm turning over
The Crusaders a chub don Y, the Crusade Judos.

Speaker 2 (01:31):
And another one vice that us playing in the background.
Two tries for Will Jordan highlighting the Crusaders twenty one
fourteen went over the Blues. I'll meet the winners of
tonight's second semi final between the Chiefs and the Brumbies
and Hamilton twenty twenty four Well and truly now in
the rear view mirror for the Crusaders, their captain David
Harvili is standing by the chat with US match commentator

(01:53):
Nick Biorliff. He's got any voice left this hour as well.
Your thoughts are welcome, of course, can anyone anyone beat
the Crusaders in christ Church? Only one more team is
going to get a crack at it this season, and
good luck to whoever that is next Saturday night. Other
matters around today after whatit o'clock, wantn't chat about secondary

(02:14):
school sport, in particular the case this week of five
year fourteens playing for the Marlboro Boys Verse fifteen. Now,
this feels to me to be a very easy fix,
but there may be contrary views. We'll unpack this after
one o'clock. How prevalent is this? What are you seeing?
Are there stories you can tell us about year fourteen's

(02:35):
playing sport coming back to school with the express intension
of playing sport. Look, there are many, many legitimate cases
of students coming back for year fourteen to complete their education.
But the lines get blurred, They get quite murky, even
you might say dodgy, when some of those year fourteens

(02:56):
are involved in secondary school sports. So that's an issue
we want to have a yarn about this afternoon, after one,
the US Golf Open has reached its halfway stage at
the tricky Oakmont Course in Pennsylvania. Just three players under
par after two rounds. Incredible. Ryan Fox will play the weekend.
He shot three over in the second round, five over

(03:17):
for the tournament. Going to wrap that after two with
Graham a Gars, Liam Lawson, two top ten finishers in
practice just in practice for Formula ones Canadian Grand Prix.
Cover that or for you and look ahead to qualifying tomorrow.
The race itself is on Monday morning, New Zealand Time.
Adam Peacock updating us on Australian sporting matters around one
forty five As per usual, Live I Sport This afternoon,

(03:40):
Big Game four in the NBA Finals underway at twelve
thirty Oklahoma City Thunder Indiana Pacers in Oklahoma City. The
Pacers lead the Best of seven series two to one,
and football's Chatham Cup has reached its third round. Bunch
of games to keep an eye on up and down
the country this afternoon. The show, as always is yours
to get involved in. If you would like to oh

(04:03):
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty, we'll get you through
on the phone nine two, nine to two. For your
text messages, you can send emails to Jason at newstalksb
dot Co dot NZP. Just go on ten and a
half past midday when.

Speaker 1 (04:18):
It's down to the line. You made a call on
een eighty Weekend Sports with Jason Pine News Talks V.

Speaker 2 (04:26):
The Crusaders' Homes Super Rugby playoff winning streak has been
extended to thirty one games. They've beaten the Blues twenty
one to fourteen and the semi final in christ Church,
meaning the w host next weekend's grand final against either
the Brumbies or the Chiefs. The Blues raced out to
a fourteen yer league courtesy i tries to Mark Talaya
and Ricco Yowani. The Crusaders leveled proceedings by halftime, though

(04:49):
Tom Christy and Will Jordan crashing over and Jordan scored
the winning try in the seventieth minute. The Crusaders then
withstood a Blues onslaught for more than six minutes after
the final hooter to eventually close it out. Crusaders captain
David as whether David, thanks for your time, Congratulations on

(05:09):
the win. Can we start at the end. You went
off with about what ten minutes to go, so you
had to watch on from the sidelines as the Blues
hammered away and hammered away and hamme it away your line.
How was your heart rate as your side repelled what
up to forty phases?

Speaker 4 (05:25):
Yeah, it's pretty high, I think is Yeah, a special
bloody defense hits on the boister. I guess ye go
bloody seven minutes deep into injury time, and yeah, it's
so stoked that we could get that turnover and you
get that one.

Speaker 2 (05:40):
What were the emotions when the turnover finally came. I
think about the eighty seventh minute Rivers Rayhanna boots it
out of the ground. You're into the final How the
emotions at that point.

Speaker 5 (05:50):
Yeah, pretty pretty happy.

Speaker 6 (05:52):
You're just thruly related for those for the boys that
were on there at the and that time to get
that turnover and miss huge defense set that ultimately won
us Again, what.

Speaker 2 (06:02):
Sort of conversations were going on in the first half
when you find yourself four team kneeled down.

Speaker 6 (06:09):
We're just really calm, decisive conversations between the leaders and
there's nothing that we haven't seen before been in those moments,
so really calm circle. We knew what we had to do.
The Blue started really well with a couple of tries
early and then we got the yellow cards, so they
had it a momentum. We knew we'd get our opportunities

(06:32):
and it was about making sure that we took them
when we got them.

Speaker 5 (06:35):
And I thought that our full pack.

Speaker 6 (06:36):
Reisted up in the huge moments to be able to
scrum for penalty, get in the corner and then get
us territory.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
There seem to be some real genuine feeling in this one,
the Auckland Canterbury rivalry, which goes back decades, as you know.
Was that something that you embraced during the build up
to this game?

Speaker 5 (06:57):
Yeah, for sure.

Speaker 6 (06:58):
I think the game in general been a semi final.
We're just embracing these are the Weeks who want to
be a part of right only you know, four teams
left at that point, and we just wanted to make
sure that.

Speaker 5 (07:11):
We can earn ourselves another Monday, and we did that.

Speaker 6 (07:13):
And Yeah, it was such a great performance and I'm
so happy for those boys that you.

Speaker 5 (07:19):
Got the job done in the end.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Sport is emotional, certainly for us as fans, and I'm
sure for the players as well. I mean, you're famously
calm in big moments, but I think I saw you
making a point to a j Lamb after Will Jordan
crushed over to score. Do you allow emotion to fuel
you at the right times.

Speaker 6 (07:38):
At the right time, certainly? I think you know that,
given it twice a few times sort of when they scored,
So it's something fair that you get the chance to
build it back.

Speaker 5 (07:48):
So but look, I.

Speaker 6 (07:49):
Think what really really pleased me was the way that
we just stayed in it.

Speaker 5 (07:53):
We could have gone.

Speaker 6 (07:56):
Either way in that first half, and then when we
really worked our way back into the game. Was so
happy that we could get in front and guys like
Will and screwed about they just stood up.

Speaker 5 (08:07):
In the big moments.

Speaker 2 (08:08):
Yeah. Two more tries for Will Jordan last night. Not
not really characteristic Will Jordan tries a I can go
from a yard out isn't really his normal mode of
scoring nine for the season now forty seven in Super
Rugby all time. He wasn't there at all last season.
Of course. Can you articulate Will Jordan's impact on this side.

Speaker 5 (08:27):
Yeah, he's huge.

Speaker 6 (08:27):
He's a massive game driver for us, and you know,
just having them on the park is a mess of
strike weapon and just a knowledge around the game. He
has a massive and he's another big driver as long
as River's very hard and like he's been driving the
big boys around the park and just getting the turchy
and then popping up when we needed to. And like
you said, he's been one on one, hell of a

(08:49):
score on streak and yeah, hopefully they're continuous.

Speaker 2 (08:51):
You mentioned Rivers there, how much of you enjoyed watching
the development of him and of course your other young
first five Tahachem outa before his season was ented by injury.
What have you made of their development during twenty twenty five.

Speaker 6 (09:04):
Yeah, it's been great. They started with a really really
strong preseason. Rivers had unfortunate Yes, ankle injury will keep
them out for sort of six weeks, but you know,
in history, our teams have been in world class and
these two are certainly living up to a few of
the names that we've had previous coming for them. So
they're only young. There's a lot to tog over. You

(09:28):
can see that they can handle depression. It's been great
to have play inside Rivers and he's are just relishing
his opportunity.

Speaker 2 (09:36):
Three yellow cards last night. David All for head clashes
as players, are you comfortable with the rules as they
stand around that sort of thing?

Speaker 6 (09:44):
Yeah, I think you know, the the game of the moment,
it's so high speed, the collision is right out there
and you get it wrong. So I think being able
to have that review of the TMO and they can
sort of behind the background. Obviously they got ten minutes
when they can decide, and I think the job of

(10:05):
the rest don a great job.

Speaker 5 (10:06):
It taking care of that.

Speaker 6 (10:08):
It's yeah, obviously no one tries to go in there
with the heat clision. Just at times you get court
finding situations and it's a high paced game with a
lot of high contexts. Yeah, sometimes you do get it wrong.

Speaker 2 (10:21):
And then there's the hihix of course with your mouthguard activation,
they got it wrong. Do they with Ethan Blackadder and
Scott Barrett, do they have each other's mouthguards in or something.

Speaker 6 (10:29):
Well, yeah, I don't know. I surely they don't have
the same dental record.

Speaker 2 (10:33):
But purely not.

Speaker 6 (10:36):
I think there was just a yeah, I think there
was just a mistake around the numbers. I thought they've
seen six on the head clision, but Ethan got back
straight back out of there, which is a handy.

Speaker 2 (10:48):
Absolutely, a lot's being made of the Crusader's incredible unbeaten
home finals record. You've heard the stat thirty one straight
home finals wins. Is there any pressure associated with that
or do you actually take immense pride in it.

Speaker 6 (11:04):
Now with others it's it's part of our history and
it's awesome to be able to have that, I guess,
But certainly when we're preparing for the week, that's got
the front of our mind. It's steal position and it's
a big game, regardless whatever the streak is, or you're
one or none, you going until final, so it's a

(11:26):
bit bigger than that.

Speaker 2 (11:27):
And there's no doubt twenty twenty four was well below
what we've come to expect from the Crusaders. How much
was last year used to fuel your twenty twenty five season,
and in hindsight, how much has it fueled you this year?

Speaker 6 (11:42):
Yeah, at the time, it will certainly not ideal and
not great for the franchise, but I think all that
it's done has probably set us up this year in
the years to come. So it's been huge learnings. It's
been the whole franchise is sort of made to get
better and you've seen some of these young guys come
through and experience a bit of hardship and a bit

(12:04):
of things not going your way, and that certainly helped
this year being able to win those tight games and
just use and trust our squad, which have done this year.
So yeah, really, I think it's happy the way that
we were checking and it just all started from the
coach of the preseason and how much wood they put it.

Speaker 2 (12:23):
And you've been in this team for a decade now,
integral to the success of the team over a long period.
How different a player and a person are you now
compared to the twenty one year old who first wore
this jersey in twenty fifteen.

Speaker 6 (12:39):
Yeah, now you say that blood he feels like he
needs to just squatly. Well, I think I think it's
just the way the club handles people, and it's a
tough place to leave. And I think the most thing
that I've been lucky enough to have the strong leaders
around me. Like when I first came in, you had

(12:59):
guys like McCaw and d C. Kieran, read, Jam Whitelock,
you know, the great New Zealand rugby and there, so
it was pretty easy just to sit there and be
a sponge and learn off the absolute best. So yeah,
I'm just I was just pretty lucky that I came
in a great time and sort of me and a

(13:20):
few other boys that aren't here now just tried to
carry that on.

Speaker 5 (13:23):
And yeah, we've seen it. I see a bit of success.

Speaker 2 (13:28):
Well, you've earned one more home game at Addington, You've
got your flash new stadium ready to go next year.
Will any part of you be sorry to say goodbye
to what has been your home ground, well your entire
time with the with the team, but of a fortress.
Will any part of you be sorry to say goodbye
to Addington?

Speaker 7 (13:46):
Yeah?

Speaker 8 (13:46):
I think it will be.

Speaker 5 (13:47):
It's it's been a great, great stadium for us.

Speaker 6 (13:50):
You know, it's only need to be up for a
few years and what they've done with it, it's been exceptional.
We've had been able to get in there and play
some awesome games in history and yeah we'll be said
to see it go, but also looking forward to Yeah,
it covered roof and a new chapter and the Crusader's history.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
I think all right, just to finish it, I know
you won't care who you play next week. You'll watch
the game tonight. I'm sure with interest. You've lost twice
of the Chiefs this season. Would you like to put
that right? Maybe next weekend in a Grand final.

Speaker 5 (14:22):
Look, honestly, it doesn't really matter.

Speaker 6 (14:24):
We've got what we're after their home final and.

Speaker 5 (14:28):
The Metal of the op Opposition movie is still on.

Speaker 6 (14:31):
Hell of a game, so.

Speaker 5 (14:32):
Something to look forward to you.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
Well, congrats on a hell of a game from your
boys last night, David. You've earned, as you say, another Monday,
another weekend, a grand final. All the best for the
week ahead, mate, Thanks for chatting to us this afternoon.

Speaker 5 (14:43):
Cheers, Thank you, and enjoy the weekend too.

Speaker 2 (14:45):
You enjoy yours, David, I'm sure you well, I'm sure
I'll enjoy your sitting back and watching the chief play
the Brumbies tonight to learn your Grand final opponent. David Havily,
Captain of the Crusaders. Very impressive guy. You can hear
why he's so highly regarded in the Crusader's environment just
by the way he speaks, watching him on the field,
he is just a glue in that team. Your chance

(15:07):
to react now, oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty
Crusaders fans feel fred to gloat, No problem with that.
Absolutely provide you the forum to do that if you
don't have any red and black blood and you just
want to comment on the game. Totally called that as well.
If you're the Blues or are part of the Blues

(15:27):
fan base, would love to hear from you as well.
Absolutely brilliant semifinal, not a tryfest, not a forty nine
to thirty seven, But semifinals shouldn't be, should they They
should be like that, an eighty seven minute slug fest
punctuated by moments of brilliance. Will Jordan has scored a

(15:48):
lot of tries forty seven to be precise and super rugby,
but a pick and go from the base of a
right one yard out probably wasn't on anybody's bing go card,
but it proved to be the decisive scoring play of
the night at the end forty phases as the Blues
palmel away at the Crusader's line, only to be repelled

(16:09):
each and every time. Plenty of feeling which spilled over
into in discipline at times and handbags throwing. But don't
we want emotion in our sport? Don't we want storylines?
Don't we want theater? I know I do say what
you like about Rico Yrwani, but he has kept this

(16:30):
game in the headlines all week through his social media
posts and just the way that he is. Sport needs characters.
We should not fence them in three head clashes last night,
three yellow cards. Everybody knows the rules, but the game
is so dynamic, isn't it? The last one? In particular
Hoskins Stitutu on Shae Fie hockey. I'm just I don't

(16:54):
know what Hoskin Setutu was supposed to do in that
situation fee hockey steps and how's he supposed to lower
his body position in time to avoid that head clash
to glancing blow as well. I know it doesn't matter,
it's still contact with the head, but I'm not entirely
sure what Hoskins Stutu is supposed to do. Bradon in

(17:15):
or On so Tou tou. Early on in the game,
Josh for Stur on Scott Barrett and then it was
that fast cool thing. Did you would have seen this?
Ethan Blackadder was told that he had to go off
for an Hia because his mouthguard had been activated. You
know they have these smart mouthguards now that if you
take a collision of a certain degree then you're told
you've got to go off by the pit side doctor

(17:35):
and the roof set to Ethan Blackadder, Hey, you got
to go off for an Hia, and he's like, what
what do you mean, I haven't I haven't taken any
hits to the head. No, no, you got to go. You know,
red Sex got to go. They got the number wrong,
supposed to be Scott Barrett and he just had that
head clash with Josh for Stur So surely it was
clear that it was Barrett who had to go with,

(17:56):
not Blackadder. Fortunately didn't matter. But man, and just before
we go to the lines, even if the Chiefs win tonight,
which they should, they won't go to Christich's favorites. Nobody does.
He won. Teams have gone to the Garden City now
to try and win a knockout game of Super Rugby
and none of them have managed it. Blues coach Vern
Coottter even tried to frame it as a burden during

(18:17):
the week. He said, you know they're going to lose
a some stage. Actually it's not a burden, it's a
badge of honor. The Crusaders defend that patch of grass
as if it's their own home. They welcome the home invaders,
but they never ever ever leave victorious. Oh eight hundred

(18:39):
and eighty ten eighty nine, two ninety two on text
text through here. Can't wait for Graham to ring up
and gloat. Good a Graham.

Speaker 9 (18:49):
Yeah, a great intro. Jason, Yeah, good interview with David
Averli too, top man. I'm just I'm just pitching myself
that we've got a home final because you know, a
few weeks ago it was the Chiefs Final, it was
all through all Rose Free to Hamilton. And now after
last week and particularly last night, I was there, of

(19:10):
course Titanic Battle. Yeah, and they had it all really,
I mean may not. You know, it's never any you know,
what do you call Hollywood rugby in christ Church conditions
at night? But in terms like you say, the emotion
and I just thought guys like Tom Christy and Scott

(19:30):
Barrett and all that, and I think rivers Rahanna, there's
you know, a lot of praise for his playtte first five,
and he's surrounded by a good men's like, David, are
you just talking to Yeah, no, I just I'm just
wrapped with one because I was, you know, I generally
thought the Blues were a threat, and they were. They
were all of that, weren't they.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
Yeah, they look in the first half, I was, I
was thinking, man, because I did not expect the Blues
to come out the way they did. I thought they
would try and soak it up a little bit. But yeah,
they bang banged with those two tries. And but then
interesting to hear David saying it didn't come as a surprise,
and I'm sure it wouldn't have to you either, that
they were just calm conversations after that. Okay, it's fourteen, Neil,
we're down fourteen nil, We've considered a couple of tries.

(20:10):
Don't worry, We're okay, we'll get back in this. And
by halftime it was it was all square. But yeah,
I thought the Blues played their part. But I mean
the end of the game just personified the Crusaders to me, Graham,
you know, take last year out as an outlier. Yeah,
just the way they defended their line for what for
six or seven noneers, I don't even You wouldn't have
any fingernails left, would you.

Speaker 6 (20:30):
Oh?

Speaker 9 (20:30):
I know, well I nearly dropped them to Christia chist
heart and blood pressure taken on. It was about halfway home.
So yeah, I said that joking leader someone after the game.
I mean, yeah, you're sort of waiting for golden point
to happen, aren't. You know? Converted to try unto the
post and they were hanging it. You know, they were

(20:50):
you know, bearrags against around their goalposts, so you know
they're going to kick it from there if they get
a try. So yeah, we managed to hold them out,
and yeah, it's tremendous soaking up of pressure. Yeah, and
it does.

Speaker 10 (21:04):
You know.

Speaker 9 (21:04):
I go back to two thousand and we played Canberra
and MERT's got the winning goal. You know, they tackled
that day and yeah that yeah, and I think defense
does win games where you've got to have a good
attack and yeah, yeah, so they'll all come together and
you know that was a high tension match last night,

(21:24):
no doubt about it.

Speaker 2 (21:26):
Yeah, good on your graham. Good to chat to your mate.
I look forward to hearing from you next Sunday, win
or lose, whoever, it is good to chat to your mate.
I mean, the Blues a week ago against the Chiefs
did exactly what they did last night. Just you know,
barreled away and barreled away, stayed patient and eventually Josh
Barry crashed over for the try. That night. Wasn't to
be last night, but they would have been full of
confidence even with you know, the siren gone. The next

(21:48):
mistake they make is the last thing they do this season.
But they still, you know, kept on banging away for
forty phases. Even the discipline, just forget the defense for
a minute. The discipline to be able to keep the
ball in hand and pick and go without making mistakes
as the ball gets a bit slippery and all that
sort of thing. There's a lot to be said for that,

(22:08):
Gary says, a constant procession of pick and goes. And
that's riveting to you, Piney, it is, Gary, it is.
I know it's not everybody's cup of tea, and maybe
you're watching the wrong sport for you, but for me,
the drama in the theater and the commitment of those
players on both sides, just the wholehearted commitment of both
sets of players is riveting to me. It is riveting

(22:32):
to me. Thanks for your text, though, Gary, I realize
it's not everybody's cup of tea. Twelve to twenty nine
call starting to starting to come, and please hold if
you are on hold at the moment, there will be
a spere line at some point in the next little while.
I think O eight one hundred and eighty ten eighty
nine two nine to two one text back in a moment.

Speaker 1 (22:48):
The biggest things in sports are on weekend Sports with
Jason Pain and GJ. Gunnomes, New Zealand's most trusted home
builder news talks.

Speaker 2 (22:57):
It'd be twelve fifty two full border calls. Let's get
to them. Term of your chiefs win tonight, which they should?
What chance do you give them next weekend? In christ
H's mate.

Speaker 11 (23:08):
Them every chance. I know we went down there this year.
I know we went down there this year and beat
them in and what a record they have thirty one
unbeating games.

Speaker 5 (23:16):
Wow.

Speaker 11 (23:18):
I can't think of any other sports team, professional sports
team in world sports there has a record like that
at home in the final series. The only team that
comes to mind is the All Blacks at Eden Park.

Speaker 2 (23:29):
Yeah, no, that's that's actually, that's the one that jumped
into my mind, Tim as you were saying that. But
again that's test matches. But in terms of that of
that of finals football, when you're playing the best teams
with everything on the line, to go thirty one and
zero is astonishing stuff.

Speaker 11 (23:46):
It's astonishing. And if you remember in nineteen ninety six
when this competition became professional, they finished last the Crusader.

Speaker 12 (23:54):
Yes they were.

Speaker 11 (23:54):
And then in nineteen ninety eight they went up talking
and won their first title and then won three in
a row on the road.

Speaker 2 (24:02):
Yes, they'd go and win one in Canberra. From memory,
didn't that down and down and down in Dunedin as well?

Speaker 11 (24:08):
I think that's right, that's right they did that. I
think they played the game a camera in the snow too.

Speaker 12 (24:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (24:14):
It was pretty cold that memory, it was. Yeah, it's
one one porter I think from memory. Yeah, but no,
you're right. It took them a while, didn't it, to
get the hang of having to play these games at home.
But then once they did, and and you know, as
we know thirty one and oh man, it's incredible. Was
so what do you reckon about your Chiefs tonight? You
reckon you'll be okay against the Brumbies.

Speaker 11 (24:31):
Look, I agree with what you just said that the
Blues were banging on the line and that's what happened
to us last weekend. You know, we couldn't hold them.
I couldn't hold them out and we try to beat
them at their own game. But I think with the
Titi back in the starting run up and Jacobson back
with the for the Chiefs, I think we should be
too good the Brumbies, you know, the Australia's only really

(24:55):
they could upset us. But man, if we get through
what a final that will be final, that will be.

Speaker 2 (25:03):
It is the final. Everybody wants Chiefs fans, Crusaders fans,
everybody listening to the show, I'm sure, and then they're
probably Brumbies fans listening, and you know, I don't know
that to be true, but I think everybody wants a
Crusaders Chiefs final. I think your boys would be okay tonight, mate,
Good to chat. Listen again next weekend, Mark, Hey.

Speaker 8 (25:21):
Hey Piney, Yeah, will Goordan came out with a bit
of mungle last night, didn't he.

Speaker 2 (25:26):
I actually thought that was interesting. Yeah, and David Havili
as well, who was famously calm, Like I say, after
Will Jordan scored his first try and got up and
he was he was up and about pumped up. And
then I saw Havevilli giving it to aj Lamb, which
I've never seen. I've never seen David Heavilly do that.

Speaker 8 (25:44):
Yeah, I think he Vidi's had a really good season.
That sort of puts in a few options for the
All Blacks.

Speaker 5 (25:50):
I thought.

Speaker 8 (25:50):
I thought last night it was quite good for the
All Blacks team because there's a lot of players playing
well there. And I thought to me, I thought the
Blues probably were a victim of the hard game against
the Chiefs last week. I thought that might have taken
out of them, and then they started really well. But
then you know, with the Crusaders doing the Crusaders thing,
they just sort of, yeah, finished over the top. I

(26:12):
just wanted to mention the yellow cards to me, there's
too much onus on the defensive player. You know, if
an offensive player runs in to the other person, to
the defender's head, it doesn't matter what the defender does
to mitigate it or what he positioned in he goes
to the bin. I mean, you know what I mean,

(26:32):
just because heads clash, Just because the heads are clashing,
there's no onnus on the attacking player to not hit
your head against the defender. It all goes on the
defender and they're getting And I thought that that last
yellow card was just as Justin Marshall said, it was
just an accident of rugby. And to me, if you're
going to do that all the time, it's really going

(26:54):
to have some negative offense on the game. And I think,
I think, and I know that they're trying to protect
the you know, the head, but you know, I think
it's gone a bit over the top and I think
there needs to be some sort of method. I don't
know how they do it, but just to stop that
that thing happening where if you're in it, because you
could get the you could get a position we're an

(27:16):
attacker runs and directly hits his head into the defensive
player to get them sent off. You know what I'm saying.
I know I'm playing Devil's advocating him.

Speaker 2 (27:24):
No, yeah, I do, because you're right, because there's you're
right the defender has to change their body position, but
there's no onus on the attacker to do exactly the
same thing. You're right, Mark, it's it's something which is yeah,
which is a bit of an anomaly, and three times
last night we saw it resulted in yellow cards. The
players will know the rules and David Avily, I think

(27:46):
was pretty diplomatic when he answered the question. But yeah,
it's got to be tough. Like I say, I don't
know what Hoskinstitutu was supposed to do at the end,
as you've said, and as yeah, as Justin Marshall said
on the television commentary last night. Thanks Mark, Brian, Hello.

Speaker 13 (27:58):
Mate, okay man, how are you very good?

Speaker 10 (28:01):
Brian?

Speaker 14 (28:02):
I want to see Rob Penny do the breakdown after the.

Speaker 2 (28:05):
Boys week, Brian, I think you'll be waiting a while.
He doesn't strike me as the break dancing type.

Speaker 7 (28:13):
Well, it would be amazing, wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (28:14):
It would be it would be imagined if he did it,
that would be that would go yeah to night, it
would the guy. I'm stoked for Rob Penny. You know
he was under so much pressure last year and you've
got to you've got to say the Crusaders organization were
very courageous in the face of a lot of public
opinion to keep him on and it's proven to be.

Speaker 15 (28:36):
The right way.

Speaker 10 (28:37):
Yeah.

Speaker 14 (28:38):
Yeah, but then again, it's not the coach on the
boys on the field's gonna he it on the field,
wouldn't them, is he?

Speaker 10 (28:45):
No?

Speaker 2 (28:45):
That's right, And he didn't have a lot of cattle
last year. And we've talked a bit about Will Jordan
this hour. I mean, Will Jordan makes a massive difference
to that team. I know one player doesn't make a team,
but doesn't he You know.

Speaker 14 (28:56):
That last trial that Will Jordan got that.

Speaker 16 (29:00):
I was sitting on the edge in my seat for
the whole time.

Speaker 14 (29:02):
Because the Blues just how many time today try to
that they had to make the tackles for that last
few minutes.

Speaker 2 (29:09):
Yep. Incredible. Yeah, it's incredible discipline and commitment, isn't it?

Speaker 16 (29:17):
Yeah?

Speaker 14 (29:17):
But more Penny doing the breakdowns. Dick said, do you
know what, after we beat the Chiefs.

Speaker 8 (29:23):
It will be just to make the night.

Speaker 2 (29:25):
It would bright. Look, I wouldn't hold your breath, but
I love the way you're thinking, And wouldn't it be
amazing just see Rob Penny breakdance. Look, he and Raisa
strike me as very different types of people. Even when
the final was went last night, they had a shot
of the coach's box. You might have seen this, and
it was just a smile of quiet satisfaction from Rob Penny.

(29:49):
There wasn't you know, first pumping or elation there was
around them. I think a few of his assistant coaches
were quite pumped up by all. But he sat there
and watched the last seven minutes after the siren and
just waited and waited and waited, and then a little
smile of satisfaction. So breakdancing, don't know, Brian, good to
chet to you mate, Kevin high mate.

Speaker 17 (30:10):
Yeah, look, I'd like to have a talk about the Blues. Yes,
now I'd like to know how come the Blues coach
has still got a job.

Speaker 2 (30:21):
Well, they didn't win it last year, Kevin. To be fair,
they won Super Rugby last year.

Speaker 17 (30:26):
Well yeah, that's right. But here's here's the thing. The
amount of penalties against the Blues last night was more
than the points on the board.

Speaker 2 (30:35):
Yeah, I'm not sure that's necessarily vern Cottor's fault. Kevin. Sorry,
I'll let you continue, but I'm not sure that's vern
Cotta's fault. And he looks, say they won it last year,
He's got them to win in a game of the
Grand Final this year. So you know, I think his records,
you know, speaks for itself in that regard.

Speaker 17 (30:50):
Yeah, well it does. But then you know, I played
senior rugby for many, many years, so you know, not
a Novicet. But here's the thing. What sort of coach
would allow the side the Blues I'm talking about throughout
the season that whenness points on the board, take them now,

(31:14):
he never rectiplied that. And then Parrett doing these aimless
picks up the center of the field for the opposition
to kick them back and Priss to lose ground. Now,
what the hell that's been happening all season?

Speaker 2 (31:32):
Now, Yeah, Kevin, I think I think his job will
be safe. I do have to move because I've got
to get Nick Buoley on the air from christ Urch.
But yeah, they'ld of a review. I thought the Blues
were absolutely superb last week and beating the Chiefs. Showed
an immense resilience to come back and beat the Chiefs

(31:52):
last weekend. And I thought they were well in last
night and look, but for that incredible defense from the Crusaders.
Would be having potentially a different conversation today. Appreciate you
called nineteen two one. We're back in a moment with Nebula,
our Crusaders commentator.

Speaker 1 (32:06):
Get caught off side.

Speaker 2 (32:09):
Weekend Sports with Jason Paine and GJ.

Speaker 1 (32:12):
Gunnerhomes New Zealand's most trusted home builder news talks'd be.

Speaker 2 (32:17):
The Crusade tenos.

Speaker 18 (32:20):
What a heart stopper, No fighter, no here lists. But
it's the Crusaders who fight the way w don't they
fight the way here at christ Church?

Speaker 2 (32:34):
At playoff Rugby.

Speaker 18 (32:35):
They host the final next week they've been at the
Blues tweety what points to fourteen?

Speaker 2 (32:42):
That is the voice of Nick Beiley, Well the the
slightly shattered voice of Nick Bili, a match commentator for
Crusader's home games, brilliantly capturing the action as always. You've
got a final to course, even nights from now, Nick,
will there'd be enough time for your voice to recover.

Speaker 10 (33:00):
Good afternoon final. Yeah, I'm just that's a pretty croaky
nick Yillie there last night. A couple of blood lemon
and honey teas. Since then on back to normal. But
gee was on an occasion it was. It was hard
not to get caught up and the emotion and the
excitement of it. A couple of Titans just going toe

(33:21):
to toe, what was it thirty eight thirty nine phases
they're deep into injury time, could have easily gone to
extra time, but just what we want in semi finals
football is an absolute ripper.

Speaker 2 (33:32):
Yeah, you captured a beautifully an absolute armrest. Well, none
of this forty seven thirty nine defense optional, Rugman, we've
seen at some stages of the round robin. What sense
did you get about the intensity lift in this game
compared to previous ones.

Speaker 10 (33:47):
I was huge, and talking to some of the players postmatch,
they said it was right up there in terms of
super rugby sort of knocking on the door as to
what they come up with or come up against when
they put on an All Blacks jersey, which says plenty,
and it was right from the outset. Finally, I thought
the way that the Blues just started, after how they

(34:08):
performed in Hamilton the previous week, they were right up
for it early, jumping out to that fourteen mil lead.
Every collision, you know, they were just fighting to get
over the advantage line. Both teams big hits. Of course,
we saw a couple of unfortunate instances where you know,
body position wasn't great from the defender and there were
yellow cards. But it was just, yeah, it was Some

(34:31):
of the collisions were just you could almost hear them
up in the commentary position, and that just extended, it
spilled over even a couple of occasions where you know,
the emotions perhaps got the better of both teams, but
it was it was just something I haven't witnessed certainly
this season in terms of the intensity, the physicality, and

(34:53):
no doubt that will continue into next week.

Speaker 2 (34:55):
Yeah, and driven by, as you say, the emotion. There
does seem to be some real feeling out there, a
number of skirmishes, the reef having to ask the captain
to calm their teams down. Soever Reese shushing the Blues
at the year is that theis Auckland Canterbury rivalry that
rugby has been built on for many decades in this
country actually real again.

Speaker 10 (35:15):
Yeah, it's a really interesting point you make, because I
get the sin so I got the sense pre game
that in this era of professionalism where you know everyone
or there's a lot of crossover, you know, in a
few weeks time with the All Blacks assemble and play France.
You know these guys are teammates, not rivals that that
had maybe dissipated a touch, but it did feel last

(35:38):
night like a throwback to the Halcyon days where there
was absolutely no love loss. You are my enemy and
I must get through you, and I will do everything
in my power to get the job done for my team.
And I know the crowd loved it. There was, you know,
a cacophony of booing when a Blues player would make
an era or a blunder, and just to just overwhelming

(36:02):
noise when the Crusaders did something well, and I think
they did feed off that rivalry of the glory days.
And actually, speaking of Crusader's coach Brad Moore back in
the day, you know he was one who was just
saying during the week in the build up that you
know he was there in nineteen eighty five at Lancaster
Park with Auckland wrestled with the Ran from the Shield

(36:23):
Away from Canterbury. You've got guys like Rob Penny, the
Crusader's coach, have been around that Canterbury and Crusader's environment
now for a long long time. So I think they
did lean into that red Blue Canterbary Auckland rivalry, and
I think it's probably fair to stay it, though there'll
be a bit of recency bias that there was another
chapter to that legacy.

Speaker 2 (36:44):
Indeed, and so the Crusaders into another final, which they
will host. With every passing week, Neck twenty twenty four
seems more and more like an outlier and an inexplicable,
unexplainable outlier. What on earth happened there last year?

Speaker 10 (37:00):
Well, funny you should say that. It was actually put
to Rob Penny that very question last week and his
simple answer was, well, we didn't have about a dozen players.
And the follow up question was is it as simple
as that? And he just said, yes, Look, I think
it goes a little bit beyond that. However, when you
take Will Jordan out for a season, He's scored two

(37:24):
tries last night, when you take Scott Barrett out for
the majority of a season, we take Cody Taylor out
for the majority of the season. The Crusaders were down
to their fifth choice, first five eighth, and we know
how critical that position is in terms of getting to
the final and lifting a super Rapie Trophy. It is
not necessarily an excuse, but it is important context around

(37:48):
the Crusaders twenty twenty four season. If you look even deeper,
there were six games last year, Piney that the Crusader's
lost by seven points or less, and that has become
such a staple of Crusader's rugby over the last three
decades that they find a way to win. Losing actually
became a habit after so many years of winning being

(38:08):
a habit. So look, they changed a few things. They
changed some personnel around the captaincy and the leadership group.
I think David Harvily has risen to that occasion. Not
to say that Scott Barrett hasn't still been a leader
up there for the Crusaders, but it's just easy to
workload off him, and there's just a real purpose to
turn things around after what happened last year. And look,

(38:32):
you've got to your hat to Crusaders at board level
land management too, for perhaps you know, making it, making
what could have been a difficult decision at least externally,
with all the noise and pressure going around, to stay
with Rob Penny and the status quo to back this
team and look where they are now. They're the proofers
in the pudding.

Speaker 2 (38:52):
So the life cycle of the wonderful Apollo Projects Stadium
was extended by another week. I asked David Harvily this earlier,
this hour. I'll ask you as well. Will any part
of you be sorry to say good bye to Eddington?

Speaker 10 (39:09):
Oh? The core of me? Won't I have to. I
tend to thaw out for a couple of hours after
being at a Polo Project stadium finding. But look, I
think Brad Moore actually made a really good point earlier
in the week, reflecting on the history of Polo Project
Stadium and adding to big picture would where would the
Crusaders be without what was formerly known as Ragpa League

(39:31):
Park posted twenty eleven earthquakes, with no Lancaster Park, no home.
They stood that stadium up in about one hundred days,
and there's been some cherished memories there. Yes, it's a
tough sell for the punter. It is extraordinarily cold, particularly
at this time of the year. But yeah, I think

(39:55):
I will miss parts of it based on the memories
that have been made there. But look, it goes without
saying undeniably so I cannot wait to be in that
central city enclosed arena to Kaha at this time next
year and move forward into a new chapter with a
permanent home for the Crusaders and Canterbury Sport and Canterbury Events.

(40:19):
It's going to be fantastic.

Speaker 2 (40:20):
Well, a year ago you had to watch on as
other members of the Gold Sport commentary team got to
call finals matches. You will be last man standing in
twenty twenty five, so the rest of the voice terrific
work last night. Look forward to your call of the
final seven nights from now mate.

Speaker 10 (40:34):
Thank you fining. It's an absolute privilege and thanks to
the Crusaders doing their part so I can have that
on and next week. Can't wait.

Speaker 2 (40:40):
Good on you, mate, mcdilly our Crusaders commentator. Another terrific
call from him and the team last night Seven to
one News Talks.

Speaker 1 (40:47):
EDB analyzing every view from every angle in the Sporting World.

Speaker 2 (40:52):
Weekend Sport with Jason Vye Call News Talks eNB. Question
from Louise on text money do you have any tackling
stats please for Nule, Blackadder, Barrett and Leo Willie from
last night. Well, thankfully, Louise and he's on the job.
Boby's dug them up Fletcher Newell eighteen tackles Scott Barrett
eighteen tackles Christian Leo Willie, twenty tackles Ethan Blackadder, Get

(41:16):
This twenty nine tackles Last Night twenty nine. A few
of those will have been at the end, but even
so that is a huge body of work. Thank you
for asking the question, Luise. Thanks for your calls and
your correspondence about last night's game. We'll we'll review chief
S Brumby's tomorrow on the show after one o'clock, Secondary

(41:39):
School Sport and Year fourteen's coming back to Play Secondary
school Sport.

Speaker 1 (41:46):
It's the only place to discuss the biggest sports issues
on and after fields. It's all on Wee Jam Sport
with Jason Taine on your Home of Sport.

Speaker 2 (41:57):
In New York, Sibby News Talk Sibby and a Weekend Sport.
Welcome into the show at seven past one on Jason
Pine with any McDonald alongside. We're a couple of final
texts about last night's game before we move on from
Glenn on the twenty twenty four Crusaders. Not enough, as
mentioned about the back office changes when Razer got the

(42:18):
top job, it wasn't just a coach the Crusaders lost,
it was the entire team around him. Then add in Whitelock, Richie,
mu Wonga, good Hue and Less they're moving on and
all the injuries dead right Glynn. Someone else has pointed
out to me that the Crusaders had to use upwards
of fifty players last year because of all the injuries

(42:39):
that they had. This year they've used just forty players.
So it's definitely a factor. And in Rob Enny's words,
as Nick Buley told us before, one the major factor
personnel and the other text is a question if I
can locate it heritors Den, says Pontier. If the last

(43:01):
game is at Apollo Project Stadium next weekend, where will
the Crusaders be playing between February and April, when Takaha
will still not be open. Denn, It's a good question.
I haven't heard an exact opening dates yet, and I
think anecdotally and christ Church people might be able to
help me out here or help us out here. Anecdotally,

(43:21):
it feels like they're ahead of schedule. I'm not saying
they'll be able to open in February when the Super
Rugby season starts, but it might not be too long
after that, And I would say, and I'm just spitballing here,
but I would say that what the Crusaders will ask
for is to have their away games front loaded next year.

(43:43):
We don't know what the opening event yet is at
the new stadium either at Takaha that hasn't been announced
yet either. There's a body of thought that it should
be a big concert, for example, rather than a sporting fixture.
Super Round, we know is being discussed to be held

(44:03):
in christ Church next year. Jack Mesley, CEO of super
Rugby Pacific, told us that on this very show that
they're targeting tech Kaha for super Round. Maybe that'll be
the first time we see rugby there. I think they'd
probably want to have a dry run before that, not
a dry run, but they won't have a game there
before they have super Around there, I would say. But
I think that that would be the answer that I'd

(44:23):
have den there might be other options. I wouldn't imagine
that the Crusaders would play anywhere else in christ Church
apart from tech Kaha in twenty twenty six. That's my
gut on it. I guess we'll find out more as
construction continues. Anyone who's been to christ Church and those
who are listening in from the Garden City will know
how good it looks right there in the central city.

(44:45):
You can't miss it now. It must be so exciting
to drive past it and look at it and think, Man,
next year we're going to be in that venue watching
sport with modern day comfort, a roof, you know, up
to date facilities, tremendous Kido Jason if spoken says this
text to some of the electri on that job and

(45:07):
their targets for the Crusaders first home game to be
played at the new stadium. They're very cagey about dates,
but they are firm in the belief that the first
home game will be played there. Thank you, thank you.
See all this is the good thing about the show.
We you know, we ask a question and normally there's
an answer. I love it. I love it. Eleven past one.

(45:29):
It was reported this week that Marlborough Boys College, one
of the top rugby schools in the South Island, has
five year fourteen students in their first fifteen squad this season.
For those of us of my generation and a bit
old who we're talking about eighth formers now, the year
fourteen phenomenon, which sees students return for a sixth year

(45:53):
of high school for sporting purposes, has long been a
source of contention in secondary school sport. In fact, the
practice was banned in rowing earlier this year after a
small number of schools allowed students to return to row
at the Marty Cup, the national championships. So they said
no more of that, but it still seems to be
going on in other sports including rugby. How widespread is it,

(46:16):
has it gotten better, has it gotten worse? And are
there any steps in place to prevent it. Let's bring
in principal at Wellington's wrong Attai College and Deputy Chair
of the College Sport Wellington Board, Kevin Carter. Kevin, thanks
for joining us on Weekend Sport. You've seen the story
concerning Malber boys. What was your initial reaction to the story.

Speaker 19 (46:37):
First of all, well, there are a number of reasons
why kids actually come back to school for a year fourteen,
so it's not a new phenomenon that students are doing this.

Speaker 12 (46:48):
I suspect it, just what's brought it to the attentions
to share? A number of a third of the office
fiveteen are year fourteen students. I mean The other flashboart
has been rowing, as you mentioned, where some schools have
had you know, I've out of a rowing eight as
year fourteen's and then they leave at the end of

(47:10):
Marty Cup. That does sound a bit dodgy, I think
to many people, and that's why the school's rowing community
has moved to sort of put an end to that
type of thing happening. But there are lots of legitimate
reasons why kids come back to year fourteen and in
particular academic ones. They don't have the qualification, they need

(47:31):
to do what they want to do in their next
stage of their life, and so they'll come back to
complete the qualification. And we've had students at my school
do that as well. Generally speaking, across sports teams, if
there is a year fourteen in a school team, there
might be one, and I don't think that's a problem.
It's when there's such a large number that it becomes

(47:53):
an issue.

Speaker 2 (47:54):
Yeah, And I don't think anybody would would say that
coming back to complete academic qualifications at an academic institution,
a secondary school was that. There's nothing wrong with that, Kevin.
It's obviously it's I think the right course of action
for many students. Do you think there is, though I

(48:14):
don't know, you a practice of students being encouraged to
come back for that year fourteen with the intent of
them participating in sport.

Speaker 12 (48:29):
Look, I couldn't comment on that. I have no idea.
I'd hate to think that that was happening if it was,
because it's wrong. It has to be about the academics.
There has to be some purpose in sports, not necessarily,
in my opinion, the right purpose for coming back to
school for another term or even you know, two thirds

(48:54):
of the or three quarters of a year. So I'd
hate to think that there were schools out there encouraging
students to come back solely to boost their sports team.

Speaker 2 (49:07):
Are there any hard and fast rules around year fourteen's
participating in sport?

Speaker 12 (49:15):
It's not hard and fast about year fourteens.

Speaker 16 (49:18):
It's about age.

Speaker 12 (49:19):
There are limits to the age that students can play,
although rowing has brought in some rulings on that and
the rugby age age limits have have been looked at
as well. So it's an age based thing. Is the
only is the only thing that restricts someone from So

(49:43):
you couldn't have someone who's twenty one playing in the
fear susteam for us.

Speaker 2 (49:46):
No, No, of course not. But I mean, should there
be a rule. Should there be a rule, just for example, Kevin,
that once you've had you know that five calendar years
from your year nine year beyond that point you don't
play school sport. Would that work?

Speaker 12 (50:03):
I'm sure that if that was put in place that
they'd be it would be able to be enforced, I think.
But the reality is, of course, let's not forget there's
not a lot of year fourteens, and it's only when
there seems to be this confluence of them in one
particular team that it seems to be an issue. So

(50:26):
if there was, you know, one player out of fifteen
and a verse fifteen who's in the year fourteen, is
there going to be a problem with that? Probably not,
But when there's five there might be seem to be
an issue.

Speaker 2 (50:37):
Has this been something you've been aware of in the
Wellington region? This is a Marlborough example, but it's just
the latest example. Has there been Has there been similar
sort of things in the Wellington region and in your patch?

Speaker 15 (50:49):
Not that I'm aware of.

Speaker 12 (50:51):
Certainly in my time as principal at my school, I
think we may have had two year fourteens over the
sixteen years that I've been principal who have played firstive
teen several years apart, and they've all come back for
the academic reasons and bona fide pupils of the school.
I know there is at least one Wellington school that

(51:13):
does have a rule that they enforce themselves. There will
be no for year fourteens in our fear susteen and
good on them.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
Would you like to see that even not necessarily you
know ingrained in law, but would you like to see
more schools follow suit in that way?

Speaker 12 (51:30):
I think it is something for the schools to think
about themselves, whether it became a regulation, as I say,
if it prevents five or six in a rowing crew
or a rugby team, that's something that people may have
to look at.

Speaker 2 (51:48):
When you're trying to attract students to your school and
I know you've got open days coming up, open evenings
coming up, and.

Speaker 15 (51:54):
We're hours this week.

Speaker 2 (51:55):
Oh there you go, well and always came to attract
attract new students to your school. How important is sport
and the offering of sport in that conversation?

Speaker 15 (52:05):
Oh, look at it.

Speaker 12 (52:06):
It's part of the wider picture of what happens at schools,
and you know, it is an important thing, and certainly
at our school it's something that you know, we encourage
kids to pay spots. Around eighty percent of our boys
play at least one sport for the school during the
course of the year, and so that's something we highlight.
And of course we also highlight, you know, the kids

(52:29):
that have done really well at sport, and when our
teams have done well, we highlight that as well. So, yeah,
sport's an important part of that attraction, but no more
important than the cultural aspects of the school and of
course the academic ones as well.

Speaker 2 (52:45):
Is there ego at play in the secondary school sporting landscape, Kevin?
You know, headmasters, principals, coaches chasing sporting success by whatever
means is available to them.

Speaker 12 (52:59):
I'm sure that whether it's ego or some other marketing tools,
that there is that happen, you know, scholarships being offered
to students to change schools and play in the use
of team and I mean it's one of the reasons
we have new to school regulations across the whole New

(53:20):
Zealand secondary school sporting scene that there are limits to
how many new to school players there can be in
sports teams.

Speaker 2 (53:27):
Yeah, so just explain that to us. So basically, you can't.
You can't buy in for one of a better phrase,
an entire sports team for a year thirteen year for example.

Speaker 12 (53:37):
No, you couldn't. You're different sports have different numbers that
you can have in your squads on a match day,
which which might be three or four for instance in
a rugby In a rugby team here in Wellington, it
is three players out of the squad of twenty two
that can be new to the school. And by that

(53:59):
it's within the last eighteen months of coming to the
school and no more than that.

Speaker 2 (54:04):
And you talked before about you use the word marketing,
which I guess it is. You know, you're marketing your
school to prospective students, and I guess you're a competitive
market Kevin. Where you are you got Scott's College just
down the road, You've got Wellington College and Pats Town
a Catholic school, and others as well. Is it competitive
to try and get students, not just good sporting students,
but good students to your school?

Speaker 15 (54:26):
Oh?

Speaker 12 (54:27):
Of course it is because all of our government funding
is determined by the numbers of students we have. Our
staffing is determined in the state sector, in state integrated sector,
by the number of students we have in our school.
And herefore marketing the school and getting kids through the
gate is really important.

Speaker 2 (54:47):
Well, you will forever be Artie Savier's school, Kevin, not
that I'm sure you use that as a as a
marketing tool. You might, but you'll always be Artie Savia's school.

Speaker 12 (54:57):
We will. And Julian Saves and Winston Rufus there you go.

Speaker 2 (55:02):
Yeah, it's an honor roll, honor roll, which is which
is It's very impressive. Kevin, thank you for joining us
this afternoon to add some perspective. I know our listeners
will have a bit to say. I appreciate your time. Cool,
thank you, No, thank you, Kevin. Kevin Carter a Wrongotai
College Principal and Deputy Chair of the College Sport Wellington Board.
Your chance to react now. I want to hear your
stories and your reaction to this eight hundred and eighty

(55:26):
ten eighty. As Kevin said, quite rightly, there are many
legitimate cases of year fourteen students coming back to complete
their education. But they are legitimate because of that reason.
Education that's what a school is. It's an institution whose
primary focus is to educate and prepare teenagers for the

(55:49):
real world. Now, yes, of course, extra curricular activities, including sport,
are an important part of that, and playing sport for
your school is something that the vast majority of high
school students take the opportunity to do. Kevin just said
what eighty percent of his due and so WRONGATAI do it?
I'd imagine at most schools it would be well over half.

(56:10):
And I know many of us have very fond memories
of representing our school on the sports field. I know
I do. I often think heack to know the very,
very poor cricket and football I played when I was
at school. But it is a part of the school experience.
Where it gets murky and dodgy is when students come

(56:33):
back under the rationale of completing their education, play sport
while they're there, and then mysteriously disappear after the season
is over, with their education record not complete it or
even improved. Another thing that putting year fourteens into sports
teams does is blocks the way for year eleven, twelve

(56:55):
and thirteens. For six and seven formers, those who are
legitimately there from playing in those teams. Imagine having your
path to a team that you've aspired to be a
part of blocked by year fourteens. I honestly believe that
in many cases this is largely about ego. Headmasters, sports coordinators, coaches,

(57:21):
not all of them, but some who feel better about
themselves if their sports teams are winning. Look, there is
nothing wrong with wanting your school to be successful in
everything they do, including the sport that they play. But
when you're bringing back older students to achieve that success,
that is ego driven, pure and simple. Nothing else that

(57:44):
is entirely driven by ego. Now, surely this can be
easily easily fixed. Easily fixed. Here it is you have
five consecutive calendar years to play sport for your school.
They start when you start secondary school in year nine
in the third form, and they end five years later.

(58:07):
And that includes switching schools five calendar years from the
year that you start secondary school to play sport.

Speaker 15 (58:14):
That's it.

Speaker 2 (58:16):
Make that the blanket rule and enforce it and this
problem stops immediately. Year fourteens can still come back, of
course they can, and, as I say, legitimately to improve
their education to complete their education, no problem, they don't
play sport. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty nine

(58:38):
to two on text. That's got the lines.

Speaker 20 (58:40):
Hello Simon, Hey Piny, good to hear this conversation. As
you know, I had a little bit of an involvement
in the Rongo Fife first eleven last year and the
year before.

Speaker 2 (58:51):
Yep.

Speaker 20 (58:54):
Last year was a revelation when we went to the
national tournament and saw the resources of some of the
secondary schools in Auckland, you know, like the academies and
the way that some school was set up, you know,
to promote the foster football, which is which is a
great thing. I agree with you that year that they

(59:15):
shouldn't be yes here at four the ends. It should
be an even balanced playing field. The thing with some
colleges though, they attract their their sports people through the
culture and the traditions, wrong size like that. It's like
that with with both it's football and it's great at

(59:38):
various other sports. And I think you heard how balanced
and how fair and reasonable Kevin Carter is, you know,
and that that attracts kids as well. But you're quite right,
there are some principles and there are some coaches that
go beyond what is fair and reasonable. It's hard to control.

Speaker 2 (59:58):
Yeah. Do you think a blanket rule should be in force? Simon?
I know, And it sounded in talking to Kevin Carter
as though schools enforce this internally, they make the decision themselves,
and he talked about one school there that is said
log at our school, Yeah, forteens don't play sport. That's
a decision we've made. Do you think it would be
helpful to have a blanket rule?

Speaker 20 (01:00:18):
Absolutely? Yeah, you know it's you mentioned, or I think
Kevin might have mentioned that one one player doesn't make
a difference. One plan does make a difference at times,
and if that that player happens.

Speaker 5 (01:00:32):
To be.

Speaker 20 (01:00:34):
Out of the range, you know, your your your, there
is that imbalance, and I think that you know, having
that that blanket rolling, I think would be a good thing.
It would avoid all the other stuff that crops up.
You know, it clarifies things.

Speaker 2 (01:00:53):
Yeah, dead right, Simon. Good to chat to your mate,
Go well, drive safe, always enjoy hearing your opinion. Text
here that Auckland one A Principles have agreed to no
year four teams playing from twenty twenty six. Okay, I
can only assume that's true. Texts came through, can only
assume that's true. If so brilliant, terrific so within the

(01:01:18):
Auckland system, which seems to get the spotlight on it
for trying to attract the best players not just from
inside the Auckland region but from outside it as well.
For them to have made that decision, kudos, great decision.
And so maybe it is something that just gets made,
you know, region by region to start with. Eventually it
may well be that somebody and the Ministry of Education

(01:01:41):
or whoever it might be, deems this worthy of a
blanket rule. But I love that from the Auckland one
A principles getting us getting so many texts through here
about example saying this isn't new. I know it's not new.
I know it's not new, but yeah, let's get to
the lines. If you want to make your point, give

(01:02:02):
us a yell. I eight one hundred and eighty ten
eighty JF Hi here look.

Speaker 21 (01:02:07):
Going back, I used to play first fifteen back in
the mid seventies for a school in Mikadow, and we
used to last. One particular team we played. You know,
these guys are about twenty and the laugh. Was that,
you know, they're probably second two or three years doing school.

Speaker 4 (01:02:22):
Seed.

Speaker 21 (01:02:24):
My point is that if it's restricted to age, you know,
it's apples with apples. It doesn't matter if they've been
at school for six years, but for five years secondary school.
But you know, if they're eighteen year olds playing eighteen
year old or the maximum age is eighteen, that gets
away with that problem.

Speaker 2 (01:02:43):
Yeah, it does it though, does it because you could
you can be eighteen in your sixth year of secondary school.

Speaker 21 (01:02:52):
Yeah, I understand that, but again, the physicality, you know,
growing up an eighteen year old is similar to any
other eighteen year old.

Speaker 2 (01:03:01):
Yeah. I again, I'm not sure that's true. I've seen
I've seen lot all shapes and sizes of fourteen year olds,
fifteen year olds, sixteen year olds. I think that what
I guess the heart of the issue, Jeff is if
they are there for you know, to complete their education,
you know, and it needs a sixthy year for them

(01:03:22):
to do that, then great, do it. But if they're
there for the express purpose or even you know, even
if it's not made absolutely clear, but if they're there
because the first fifteen coach or whoever it might be,
thinks that their team has a better chance of winning
rugby matches of that bloke's there, then that's the wrong reason.

Speaker 21 (01:03:43):
No, I agree with that it should be tied to
scholastic ability as well as sports.

Speaker 2 (01:03:48):
Yeah, good man, Jeff, great to hear from you. Eight
things indeed. Yeah, Look, there are many shapes and sizes.
I'm sure anyone who's got teenagers or who has been
around teenagers knows. You know, I remember our first fifteen,
not that I was in it. I stayed well away
from that, but I remember our first fifteen playing against
teams and you know, is that the other team at
full beards? You know, they're like they're like an All

(01:04:09):
Black's front row. You know, these guys aren't our age.

Speaker 13 (01:04:14):
Jeremy, Hello, Yeah, hey fine, I just listening to your call.
It's quite interesting the principle from Rogantide talking about academic
correct and who their goal.

Speaker 8 (01:04:27):
Yeah, so here's a career now on Sport.

Speaker 13 (01:04:31):
Hurricanes two or fifteen rugby league. So if you're not
quite on the pace and you come back for another
year and three or fifteen, what's the difference.

Speaker 2 (01:04:40):
Well, I guess you've had five years to do it.
And I know you'll say you've had five years to
do the education stuff as well. It's an interesting point
you make, Jeremy. Yeah, it's an interesting thing.

Speaker 13 (01:04:49):
I understand.

Speaker 8 (01:04:50):
You know, when you've got six.

Speaker 13 (01:04:51):
To eight players, that does seem suspect. But if you're
just outside you know the selection process and you're told, mate,
you just need more time, well back in the first
fifteen rugby in the college but is very competitive. You know,
it might lead you to a career in rugby.

Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
Yeah, Jeremy, it's a very good point. Could you do
that at club level? Could you go to a club
and get that? I know, actually, as I say these words,
I know that a lot of club rugby competitions don't
have an under nineteen grade or even an under twenty
one grade anymore, So maybe you've got to go straight
to prems or whatever it is. It's a it's a
very interesting point you make.

Speaker 13 (01:05:27):
Do you see a lot of club rugby played on
sky Sport? I know you see first fifteen played, so
you get you know, you get seen, don't you you do?

Speaker 2 (01:05:37):
Jeremy, Thanks for making the point, mate, I appreciate it
very much. Oh eight one hundred and eighty ten eighty
twenty nine to two back with more of your calls after.

Speaker 1 (01:05:43):
This The Voice of Sport on your Home of Sport
Weekend Sport with Jason Vain and GJ. Gunner Homes New
Zealand's most trusted home builder News Talks b.

Speaker 2 (01:05:54):
News Talks twenty six to two. Fascinating topic. Keeps a
test coming through. Back to the line, Shorty Mackis says
on text, nothing new Ponty. In the mid eighties, a
school in Hawk's Bay had a front row heavier than
the All Blacks, didn't lose a game in five years.
Some of the players had kids running around the sidelines,
and most of them had beards. Thanks Macca, I was
in the seventh form at Marlbra Boys in two thousand

(01:06:14):
and one, says this text. Part of the way through
the year, some big eighth formers suddenly appeared occasionally in
my classes. They were there solely to play rugby. The
teachers turned a blind eye to their absence from most classes,
and they didn't stay long enough to do exams. They
didn't even wear uniform on the few classes they turned up.
To thank you for your text. Keep them coming, Oh
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty Hello John.

Speaker 15 (01:06:37):
Yeah Bie I went to Nelson.

Speaker 2 (01:06:43):
College, good school, good school.

Speaker 15 (01:06:46):
Nineteen sixty seven. It's a while back, isn't that.

Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
I look just a little not that much before my time? John?
But yeah, but I look not that. I'm sure you
have fond memories right.

Speaker 15 (01:07:03):
There, Neil. Last year they had the one hundredth Quadrangular
tournament at Nelson and Nelson College won it at Nelson College.

Speaker 2 (01:07:20):
Yep.

Speaker 17 (01:07:22):
Right.

Speaker 15 (01:07:22):
And then so this year in about two weeks time,
but it's a quadrangular tournament between Nelson College, Wellington College,
longannu In Collegiate and Christ College. And this year it's

(01:07:45):
at Christ College, and I'm going to go to it.

Speaker 2 (01:07:51):
Good on your John, any year fourteens, any year fourteens,
and that Nelson College team or the other teams that
you're aware.

Speaker 15 (01:07:59):
Of probably will be I suppose. I don't know. I
don't agree with that, But anyway, that's the why it is,
isn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:08:09):
Well it seems to be, John, It does seem to
be all the best of your old school mate and
the upcoming quadrangular. I know that they are yet highly prestigious.
That and like I said before, there's nothing wrong with
wanting sporting success for your school. There's absolutely nothing wrong
with that within the framework that students who have been

(01:08:30):
there for five years are involved in it, or five
years or less are involved in it. You know, school
sport is cyclical. Anyone who's watched it knows this. You know,
a team that can be absolutely fantastic one year might
be full of seventh formers, full of year thirteens, and
they move on, and then it's the ones who are
left the year twelves who become year thirteen's and everybody

(01:08:53):
moves up a year obviously that they're then in charge
of that team and its success from there on. That's
why regeneration of senior sports teams at school is so important.
You can't have a team full of year thirteens, let
alone year fourteens, because how does that guarantee future success.
You've got to keep on bringing these kids through to play.
It's why every senior sports team needs to have or

(01:09:14):
should have in my view, year eleven's in it. Not
necessarily to get in big minutes or playing every week
or that sort of thing, but starting to regenerate at
the bottom end. And I know a lot of schools
are very aware of this, that they have to ensure
that that you know their first fifteen, their senior basketball team,
their senior netball team, whatever of my bay doesn't fall

(01:09:35):
off a cliff because your team is full of year thirteens.
And that's before you start talking about year fourteens. Mike says, Piney,
I'm your age. We had fourth year fifths still at
school eighteen nineteen years old playing rugby in the county's area.
One guy as a father interesting texts through here. I
worked for years at a central Auckland Catholic high school

(01:09:58):
and our principal would have meetings with all the young
year thirteens at the end of the year to encourage
them to return to play rugby the following year. Most
of these boys even had, you, we already even scholarship
level Cambridge qualifications. He used to pretend they were back
for academic reasons, but we all knew they were there
for the rugby. Fact of the matter is most of

(01:10:18):
these boys left school at the end of year fourteen
and walked straight into professional setups like the Blues. So
staying for year fourteen help their rugby careers, no doubt.
If you do a survey of all professional rugby players
in New Zealand, you'd be surprised at how many were
year fourteens. It's an interesting point, but doesn't make it right.

(01:10:41):
Is it the right reason to do it? To get
a player onto the radar of a professional rugby franchise.
Surely that's the club's job beyond school. And I know
the point was made before that ain't a lot of
club rugb beyond TV, but secondary school rugby is. But
it feels to me as though once your year twelve,

(01:11:02):
year thirteen, a seventeen eighteen year old be on the
radar of the high performance sporting teams in your region. Anyway,
it shouldn't need a year fourteen to do that. It
shouldn't need a sixth year at secondary school for you
to do that. Paul says, our son placed verse fifteen rugby.

(01:11:26):
We had billets stay from another school. One was a
year fourteen and he was very open about his reason
for being back, purely for exposure and to get scouted,
and indeed he had received interest from some NPC unions.
Others we have hosted have been scouted by Australian League teams. Look,
I think we all know it's happening. We all know

(01:11:49):
it's happening, but I'm not sure it makes it right.
I feel like if you've made it through your five
years of school and you need a sixth year to
catch the eye, then get that sixth year at club level.
Oh eight hundred eighty ten eighty nine two niney two.

(01:12:10):
On text, Steven says, gooday, Jason, just off to watch
Easton against kay Tier the final in the mong Nui
sub Union in the beautiful far North. What a part
of the country that is probably about as grassroots as
rugby gets. I would say twenty degrees in sunny should
be a ripper. Good on you, Stephen, enjoy that nineteen
to two. We'll take it. Come back and talk some

(01:12:32):
Australian sport with Adam.

Speaker 1 (01:12:33):
Peacock, the big issues on and after fields Call OH
eight hundred eighty ten eighty Weekends fort with Jason Fine
and GJ. Gunnerhmes New Zealand's most trusted home builder, News
Talks at Baby.

Speaker 2 (01:12:47):
News Talks ABS sixteen to two. Get real, Piney says
this test, get real. Club rugby is dead. The only
pathway to professionalism is from school. If you don't get
picked up straight out of school, most of today's kids
just stop playing as they see their chance has gone.
And they're not wrong because club rugby provides no pathway
to a career in rugby. That may well be true.
That may well be true. But what I would say

(01:13:07):
as a counterpoint is, if you are dedicated to a
career in rugby, you have three senior years at secondary school.
If indeed secondary school rugby is the pathway to the
professional game, or part of it, you have three years
there in which you can impress, improve and stake your
claim for a professional sporting career. Why would you need

(01:13:32):
another year? Maybe it's just that you're not good enough
for it. One Australian correspondent Adam Peacock with us, as
your week been, mate.

Speaker 22 (01:13:43):
Good pinty good. Played a ripping golf day yesterday and
up the North coast, so yeah, it's been.

Speaker 2 (01:13:51):
That's one. It's good that you go to golf as
your as your gauge of a good week. I love that.
I love that absolutely. What do you do well? Normally?
Something similar actually, but my goal's nowhere here as good
as yours?

Speaker 12 (01:14:03):
Hey?

Speaker 2 (01:14:03):
Can we talk actual sport with the elite players? Cricket
World Test Championship finalist Raightio South Africa. After the first
two days, twenty eight wickets fell. I thought this is
all over on day three, but the opposite overnight. South
Africa now just needs sixty nine to win with eight
wickets still in hand. Can Stark, Hazelwood and Cummins conjure
some magic for you and turn this around.

Speaker 22 (01:14:25):
Again to a miracle the way that Ada Markrom played
in particular overnight, And no, I they can actually because
this is I've been paying a bit of attention to
county cricket in the past few months since it's been on,
and the wickets have had a bit of spice early
and then flattened right out, and there's been some big,

(01:14:46):
big scores and yeah, the five hundreds and the likes
of South Africa've obviously not only taken advantage of the
wicket kind of flattening out, but played bloody well in
front of that attack. So yeah, if they get these runs,
they totally deserve it, and they've done it in style.
And Steve Smith mon't be out there either because he
badly shattered one of his fingers. He could be out

(01:15:06):
for a matter of months after dropping a catch, and yeah,
going off the field.

Speaker 2 (01:15:11):
Oh Man talk about insult to injury, so he dropped
a catch and wrecked his finger at the same time.

Speaker 22 (01:15:17):
Compound compound disflication of it was it's pretty gruesome. So yeah,
they're meant to be going to the West Indian or
they are going to the West did this for a
three Test tour, but it sounds like Smith and they'll
be cautious with him because obviously we wanted for the Ashes,
but he won't be back in this Test match, which
like all he's going to do is field anyway.

Speaker 5 (01:15:36):
But yeah, probably missus.

Speaker 22 (01:15:37):
The Windy's too all right.

Speaker 2 (01:15:39):
Day four underway at Lord's tonight our time, let's go
to state of Origin. Our second game is on Wednesday
night in Perth. The New South Wales comfortable when is
in game one the Maroons? Can they keep the series
alive in Perth for Game three back in Sydney.

Speaker 22 (01:15:54):
Yeah, they've got a bit of a I suppose it's
a bit of a boost with the fact that Mitch
Moses PingER car for training this week so he won't
play in the harms alongside Nathan Clear He promam messed
for Queensland. Jerome Lewi, the guy that Cleary one Grand
Finals alongside and was a big reason why Penrith's had
a lot of their success recently has come into the side,
so it's not really losing a lot. The big controversy

(01:16:16):
this week was everyone giving it to Queensland for not
sticking with their captain, but they had to make a
decision around Daily Cherry Evans because there was someone waiting
in the wings in Tommy did and the North Queensland
half back. So yeah, Billy and Queensland have copped it
for their pick and stick mentality going out the window,
but really, when you look at him with a bit

(01:16:37):
of clarity, it is actually probably the right cause. So
it's made for a good week of banter this week.
But looking forward to the game next.

Speaker 2 (01:16:44):
Wednesday, indeed, I mean you've watched a lot of Daily
Cherry Evans obviously and still a terrific player. Will he
play Origin again or is that said for him?

Speaker 22 (01:16:53):
Unless it didn't gets injured in this game, I can't
see him playing the rest of this series, and then
next year he'll be a year older and he's already
a bit long in the tooth, so it's in all
probably you never say never with Origin because injuries do
happen in rugby league, but in all probability here has
played his last Origin game.

Speaker 2 (01:17:12):
All right, well, I look forward to game two on
Wednesday night, hopefully the series stays alive. And finally to
the soccaro's great to have you join us at the
World Cup. I have not a sentence I thought i'd
ever say, but good to have you join us.

Speaker 22 (01:17:24):
Yeah, second time ever we're going to go to a
World Cup together, which is pretty cool. So after South
Africa twenty ten, yeah, look at a great result in
Saudi Arabia. It's got a little dicey in the first half.
If they scored two halfway through the first half, they
needed to score five Saudi Arabia, it could have got
interesting that we withstood that and then came up with

(01:17:47):
another victory. So Tony Popovich, since he's taken over in
World Cup qualifiers, undefeated, and it gets us to the
World Cup twelve months ahead of schedule, which is so
so happy for us because usually in the last couple
of editions it's been basically the last qualified. So now
they can plan accordingly, Polish can go and you know,

(01:18:07):
really look at the friendlies we need and play the
games that we need and have the training that we
need to come together as a unit at the World Cup,
and I think we can get out of the group
with the style of football we played because it is
a it's a compact, defensive style of football which gets results.
And yeah, hopefully we can go there like you guys
and play some knockout football.

Speaker 2 (01:18:29):
He still cops a bit of stick, doesn't he, Tony Poppers. Yes,
to say, unbeaten a soccer as coach guiding the team
to the World Cup with a year to spare as
playing style that that gets them a little bit of criticism.

Speaker 8 (01:18:40):
Yeah, it does, but.

Speaker 22 (01:18:42):
That's like that's on the label. If you're shocked at it, well,
don't be shocked at it.

Speaker 5 (01:18:49):
It should be.

Speaker 22 (01:18:50):
And it's hard international football. It's like these guys that
like your team, they're flying in from the Northern Hemisphere.
You've got thirty six hours sometimes to put it together
on the pitch what you want to do with them.
So it's one training session. It's it's really difficult. So yeah,
going to come up firstly with defensive principles that are
going to make your heart to beat, and then on
top of that you can add a few layers. But

(01:19:12):
that's what povilsh does and yeah, it's a proven success
for the Soccer US this time around. The greater question
is not in the in the realm of Tony Pobris.
Whats style of football or are we providing for the
national team And that's a whole other question.

Speaker 2 (01:19:28):
And I'm sure you've caught up with the whispers that there.
You know, there's windows, obviously international windows between now and
the World Cup in June of next year. September of
this year, there's a window and there's talk of a
trans Tasman doubleheader, a game here, a game over there
that probably suits us more than it suits the Soca Rus.
But I mean, surely we can make that happen.

Speaker 22 (01:19:49):
It's gon'd be good. I'd love that. Yeah, it's a
great idea, so minimal travel. We fell out of stadium,
you fell out of stadium and we get into it
in the sporting sense. Great writers, I can't see a
downside that. Hopefull it does happen.

Speaker 2 (01:20:03):
Yeah, let's hope. So always great chatting Australian sport with you, Adam.
Have a great week mate, We'll artchet again next Saturday.

Speaker 22 (01:20:08):
You too, fine chess mate, No, thank you mate.

Speaker 2 (01:20:09):
That's Adam Peacock, our regular Australian correspondent joining us every
Saturday afternoon about this time here on Weekend Sport on
News Talks AB where it's nine.

Speaker 1 (01:20:17):
To two from breaking down the Hail Mary's and the
Epic Fails Weekend Sport with Jason Zin News Talk ZENB.

Speaker 2 (01:20:27):
News Talks HEB six away from two. Another text three
here on our topic from earlier in the hour about
secondary school sport, et cetera. I just like to touch
on a previous call a message. It says there are
lots of kids at school who are just playing sport
to have fun, and for them to have to compete
with players who are spending another year to try and
kickstart professional careers is a bit unfair to those regular kids.

(01:20:47):
As you've said, you've got five years to play. If
you need more training than maybe you don't have the
right dedication in saying that. If players are coming back
to improve their grades to further their education and they
want to play sport as well, then I think that's
fine if they're getting the grades to match. I went
to a good school and we had lots of scholarship players,
but they had to sell in the classroom as well. Yeah. Look,

(01:21:10):
and I guess that's the difficulty, isn't it That when
you're at school you should be encouraged, I think, anyway,
to be part of every part of that school, academic
and extra curricular. And look, if you're coming back to
complete your education as a year fourteen and sport us

(01:21:30):
in something that you're wanting to pursue as a career
that you you know, you have any great dedication to,
but it's still something you like to get involved in,
then that avenue probably should be open for you, maybe
to play. And it might be that you you know
that you make the first fifteen, but you're not an
absolute star in that team or something like that, or
you want to play second fifteen or just social rugby.

(01:21:52):
I mean, we don't deny a year fourteen a place
in the choir, do we. If they want to come back,
they're looking to finish their education, they need an extra year.
We let them sing in the choir, don't we. Extracurricular?
I know it's a from kettle of fish, but yeah,
it's a fascinating topic and one I'm sure we will
revisit again at some stage. Just on four to two,

(01:22:14):
updating you from the NBA Finals where it's Game four
between the Indiana Paces and Oklahoma City Thunder. The Pacers
lead to one, and they lead at halftime in Game four.
Just to slenderly those sixty fifty seven. They had a
two point advantage at quarter of time and a three
point advantage at half time. Okay, see this is their
home court or is it an Indiana And it's an Indiana, Sorry,

(01:22:37):
my mistake. It's an Indiana. So the Pacers can go
three to one ahead in this series on their home floor.
So yeah, okay, see, perhaps a little bit up against it.
We'll keep an eye on that for you. After two o'clock,
joined in the studio by Sonny Berl Williams. Big fight
coming up home against Paul Gallon next month. They'll tell
us all about it. After two.

Speaker 1 (01:22:59):
The only place to discuss the biggest sports issues on
and after fields.

Speaker 23 (01:23:04):
It's all on.

Speaker 1 (01:23:04):
WI James Ford with Jason on your home of sports.

Speaker 20 (01:23:10):
Talk.

Speaker 2 (01:23:10):
Symby, Hello there, welcome into the show. Welcome back to
the show. It's seven past two. This is weekend Sport
on News Talk, said b Sonny. Bill Williams is here.
He's with us very shortly to chat about his upcoming
fight against Paul Gallon. It seems to have taken an
age to get here this fight. It will finally take

(01:23:31):
place mid next month in Sydney. Sonny Bill on the
show very shortly. Also this hour, we'll get you to
the US Golf Open. Whereas you heard, wayno saying the
news play here has been suspended. Only a few players
to all out on course brute of a course. Only
three players in the red numbers, Only three players under par,

(01:23:52):
Sam Burns, JJ Spawn, Victor Hovlin, everybody else even par
or below. Ryan Fox will make the Cup five over,
so he'll play round three and four of the US Open.
And Liam Lawson's had a good day in practice at
the Canadian Grand Prix. He's inside the top ten or

(01:24:16):
was inside the top ten in both practice sessions in
terms of lap time. Qualifying Tomorrow races on Monday. Our
Formula one expert out of the New Zealand Herald, Alex
Powell on that oh, eight hundred and eighty ten eighty
is our number. Call us at any time to make
a point nine two ninety two if you would prefer
to do that by text and we'll keep eyes on
the live basketball as well. They're underwe in the second

(01:24:36):
half Indiana and Okay see Game four of the NBA Finals,
Indiana with a sixty to fifty seven halftime lead as
they look to go three one ahead and bring themselves
to match point. I guess you'd call it if we
want to mix our sporting metaphors. But as we always
do it around about this time on weekend sport, as
we tick towards nine pass two, let's get you up

(01:24:58):
to date with some of the stuff that might have
escaped your attention, some of the things you might have
missed in the last little while, in case you missed it.
Starting in France and one of the big build ups
to Cycling's Tour de France, Tae Pagacha has sent out
a big warning shot to his rivals.

Speaker 24 (01:25:17):
He's already taken one stage of the Criterion Todo Forday
and this is about to be the second one. At
the top of the Coach de la Cry, there are
tears on the faces of the opposition for Gatcha punishes
the two stage wins for the world champion.

Speaker 2 (01:25:35):
Here, Bagacha leads the Dauphine with two stages to go
to the NRL. The Gold Coast Titans flipping the script
and running out to a big win over Manly Beryl
is in front of the post for it.

Speaker 25 (01:25:48):
Conor pulled candle in and away Randol SCO's.

Speaker 9 (01:25:53):
Gonna Gold Coast.

Speaker 10 (01:25:56):
A first jack of the.

Speaker 25 (01:25:57):
Year for Chris Reynold, and boy has he deserved that.

Speaker 2 (01:26:02):
Tonight a twenty eight to eight win Water bounce back
from their thirty point loss last weekend. The Titans to
cricket the World Test Championship Final has gone into its
fourth day. South Africa find themselves on the verge of
victory thanks to our heroic innings from Aiden, Markram ticked

(01:26:23):
leg side, crept all the way to the to andrew
a magical Markroum hundred his eighth in Tasma's cricket and
left South Africa going to win this game. It will
be his most important. South Africa now just sixty nine
runs away from victory, eight wickets in hand. Markram still

(01:26:45):
there unbeaten on one hundred and two. His skiper Timber
Thevooma is there on sixty five not out and across
the Atlantic, fern Allen also playing and heroic innings He
wasn't there for quite as long, but one hundred and
fifty one in Major League Crickets twenty twenty competition.

Speaker 18 (01:27:09):
It's a world record for phananen number of sixes nineteen
and it takes.

Speaker 2 (01:27:17):
Him to one hundred and fifty his nineteenth maximum. Oh yeah,
fast hands, head down and fetch it please.

Speaker 1 (01:27:29):
Analyzing every view from every angle in the sporting world
weekends for it with Jason Pine, they call eighty US talks.

Speaker 2 (01:27:38):
Envy eleven minutes past two. It's a fight that's been
ten years in the making but is finally about to happen.
After a decade of verbal jabs back and forth. Kiwi
Cross Code sporting legends Sonny Bill Williams and Australian rugby
league hard man Paul Gallon will finally meet in the
boxing ring at Kudos Bank Arena in Sydney on Wednesday,

(01:28:00):
July sixteenth from seven thirty New Zealand Time, powered by
Minuka Fuel. The fight will be live an Excuse exclusive
rather in New Zealand on pay per view from Sky
Arena and Sky Sport. Now two time Rugby World Cup winner,
two time NRL Premiership winner, Super Rugby Champion twenty sixteen
Olympian and boxer Sonny Bill Williams is with us in

(01:28:24):
the studio. Thanks for stopping in, Sonny. This seems to
have taken an age to arrive. Why has this taken
so long? This fight?

Speaker 25 (01:28:32):
Yeah, I don't know, man, it's I think over the years,
he's taken a lot of punch puts at me, his haying,
I'm this, I'm mad. I don't want to fight on
But to be honest, and to be quite frank, man,
when I was playing for the All Blacks for those years,
I don't really think about getting back into the boxing ring.

Speaker 23 (01:28:47):
So probably just timing. I guess, you know, life's about time,
and so we're here right now and I'm bloody excited
to get in the ring with them.

Speaker 2 (01:28:55):
How do you feel about Paul Gallon?

Speaker 23 (01:28:59):
I don't know.

Speaker 25 (01:29:01):
It's hard because over the years, obviously he's thought about
me a lot, call him out, call him out out
every chance he has. But I've never really thought about him, honey,
until now at the press conference where I finally got
to speak some truth about him. Where where when my
old mate then decided not to turn up, I think
that's when all the emotions kind of come out because

(01:29:25):
over the years.

Speaker 23 (01:29:26):
No, not really, he's not. I don't really have a
poster in my house of poor or anything like that.

Speaker 2 (01:29:32):
Bro, he didn't come to the pre fight press conference.
What did you make of that?

Speaker 25 (01:29:36):
I just think that's what type of individual he is,
and how he looks at me and my people that
you know, obviously he thinks he's better than us. I've
been in dressing rooms with these type of characters before,
where they love to suck suck up all the oxygen
and then if you speak, you know, you're not really heard.
So I think for me it was a reflection of

(01:29:58):
him thinking that myself Polynesians are dummies in his eyes,
you know. And and we held the press conference together.
It was actually better with probably with Adam there, But
at the same time, it was quite disappointing because I
had a few questions I wanted.

Speaker 23 (01:30:16):
To ask him.

Speaker 2 (01:30:17):
Well, I guess you could ask them in the ring
when you get in there in a month or so.
You haven't been in the ring for a while, three
years since your last fight. Yeah, I say. The only
opponent you would have come back.

Speaker 25 (01:30:26):
For it had to be big. Look, I was retired, man.
We tried to make this fight happen three years ago
after I lost to Mark Caun't. I'm a realist, you know,
I'm I'm not. I didn't make my name in the
boxing ring. I'm not a boxer, but you know I'm
athletic enough to be able to get in there and

(01:30:47):
you know, win some fights. So I think the reason
why this scrudge match is so big is because of
you know, the animosity that's been brewing for the last
ten years. And like I said, every opportunity he has,
he's taking digs at me. So after the Mark can't fight,
like I said, we tried to make the fight happen.
It got right down to the final while final hurdle

(01:31:12):
pretty much almost gonna announce it. And he's come back
and said he wanted a bigger piece of the buy
instead of fifty to fifty. So that was the question
I wanted to ask at the press conference. What have
you been doing in the last three years? You know,
what are all these rumors? What are these people calling
me about saying that you're on performance hunting drugs?

Speaker 6 (01:31:27):
You know?

Speaker 23 (01:31:28):
And that's the worry that I had because the last.

Speaker 25 (01:31:31):
Three years I've been training for life and when you
train for when you're training to get in the ring,
it's a different field, of different buzz, of different mentality.
So going from going from changing nappies to you know,
potentially get in the ring and punching someone in the
faces being quite easy because of the animosity that there
is between me and.

Speaker 2 (01:31:50):
Poor I was going to ask about that because having
been out of the ring for so long, how long
does it take to get fight fit again.

Speaker 23 (01:31:57):
I'm not too sure.

Speaker 25 (01:31:58):
You know, people think, okay, because I've had a few fights.
I'm a full time boxer. I've had ten fights over
in fifteen years. So for me, it always come easy
because it was at the end of a season, for example,
and I was naturally like I was almost there fitness wise.

Speaker 23 (01:32:16):
Now three years out of doing.

Speaker 25 (01:32:21):
Professional sport, it's been really tough. The mind and the
heart is there, but the body has been struggling quite
a bit. So I think that's the difference when you
get a little bit older, my bro. So, yeah, this
camp has been really, really tough.

Speaker 2 (01:32:36):
Eight two minute rounds. Does that suit you?

Speaker 16 (01:32:40):
Yeah?

Speaker 25 (01:32:40):
I think it's it's more of an equalizer. You know,
there's been enough. There's been a lot said about the
two minutes, especially from my old mate. But to be honest,
I don't know anyone anything, you know, when they came
to me, I had these rumors. I had these phone
calls saying, you know, he's been in the ring, he's
on these things that you should get on which I
will never touch. And you're going to get a phone

(01:33:02):
call two weeks later, our copper phone call about it. Well,
if you want me to get off my couch, you
want me to change my mindset for training to life,
to training to fight, well, these are the these are
the boundaries that I need that to be in place.
And obviously the two minutes are there. But the drug
testing story hasn't happened, happened, so I'm not too sure
what's happening there. He's come out, he said he'll take

(01:33:22):
drug he'll be drug tested, but nothing's happened. No Asada
has called me, No one's wrong me about your whereabouts,
And that's what usually happens in a professional sitting.

Speaker 23 (01:33:33):
So yeah, it's.

Speaker 25 (01:33:35):
It's one of those things where I think that the
people involved understand that there may be a chance that
something might come up and then the fight will be
caught off. So for me, it's it's a bit of
an equalizer, you know what I mean.

Speaker 2 (01:33:45):
So, do need that to happen before you'll fight them?
Or are you just going to acpect?

Speaker 25 (01:33:50):
I don't think it's going to happen. I don't think
it's going to happen, to be honest, And that's hence
the reason why I was adamant and having these two
things in place. So one of them is being ticked off.
So we're going to get in the ring and find out.

Speaker 2 (01:34:04):
Is that your last fight is just the last hurrah?

Speaker 19 (01:34:06):
Yeah?

Speaker 23 (01:34:06):
I think so ber, I think man, I think so bro.

Speaker 2 (01:34:11):
My how's the final five kids?

Speaker 8 (01:34:12):
Man?

Speaker 2 (01:34:13):
How are you going?

Speaker 5 (01:34:14):
Yeah?

Speaker 25 (01:34:14):
Everyone's good man, it's five kids, it's five blessings. It's
the hardest job in the world, but it's the most
rewarding job in the world, you know. So I've gone
up to Gold Coast. I'm training in Joy's camp along
with his father, and it's been tough. But for me,
I needed to step away from you know, I'm naturally

(01:34:36):
a soft teddy behbro, So I needed to get into
that mental state where it's be killed because my last
fight I looked at Mark like just one of the
sorts one of the brothers. Okay, we're gonna get in.
We're gonna have a bit of a fight.

Speaker 6 (01:34:47):
You know.

Speaker 23 (01:34:48):
Nah, that's not gonna happen like that. So that's why
I've taken myself out of.

Speaker 25 (01:34:55):
My family environment and I'm up there training, training hard daily,
just really to give this.

Speaker 23 (01:35:00):
Guy a good hiding.

Speaker 2 (01:35:02):
And it's just the Warriors year.

Speaker 23 (01:35:04):
I hope, So, man, I hope. So I think let's
let's see a Warrior's bulldogs. Fine, good one, wouldn't it.

Speaker 2 (01:35:11):
Well, before that can happen, we look forward to Wednesday,
July sixteen. You and Paul Gallon in the ring in Sydney, Sonny,
thanks for stopping in. All the best for the month
they head and for the fight on July sixteen. Ask
thanks man, take care now you take care as well.
That's Sunny Bill Williams joining us in studio. So there
you go. Kudos. Bank Arena, Sydney, Wednesday July sixteen, from
seven thirty It's New Zealand Time Minuka fuel powering the fight.

(01:35:32):
It's available live and exclusive here in New Zealand on
pay per view from Sky Arena and Skysport. Now, look,
I wouldn't say I'm the biggest boxing fan going around.
But I reckon, I'll have a look at this. I reckon,
I have a look at it. Paul Gallon. I saw
lots of lots of footage of him during the week
as I was getting ready to have a chat to
Sonny Bill Williamson. Yeah, he's He's like granite, isn't he.

(01:35:55):
You know, he's a he's a hard man. He is
a hard man. But I can tell you Sonny Bill
Williams is in is in pretty good shape as well.
I can tell you. I'll just be I think it's
be interesting to see what happens. Sonny just said he's
not a boxer. And a lot of these guys, you know,
they obviously, Paul Gallon made his name in rugby Lee
Sonny Bill Williams and rugby le again rugby, but they've

(01:36:18):
become boxers at the back end of their sporting careers
and here they are set they have a go at
one of those one of those where you hear them.
You used to hear them talk a lot, you know,
Paul Galliman say yeah, Sonny, Bill Williams, I want to
fight you, and Sonny was so well, I'm here, let's
do it. But it never came to pass, and you
kind of wonder whether time it had moved on it
wasn't going to happen because it wasn't going to happen

(01:36:39):
now would never happen. But this July sixteen, Wednesday, July sixteenth,
looking forward to to seeing what happens. It'd be interesting
to hear thoughts if you want to phone them through
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty nine, two ninety two
on text. The two minute rounds is interesting that there's
been a bit of comments about that, whether that devalues
this in any way, Like, I don't know, two minutes

(01:37:01):
still a long time. Eight two minute rounds. Yeah, it's
not twelve three minutes or anything close to that. As
I say, I'll be having a look at it. Seventy
one sixty four Indiana lead. Okay, see in game three?
Oh sorry, game number is? What are we up to?
Game four?

Speaker 12 (01:37:19):
Game four?

Speaker 2 (01:37:20):
Thank you Andy. Game four of the NBA Finals. Seventy
one sixty four Indiana Pacers lead. They're in the third quarter,
quite early in the third quarter, still seven minutes to go,
so plenty of time. The Indiana crowd are enjoying themselves
as they watch their pacers look to take a three
to one lead and move to within one victory of

(01:37:43):
claiming the NBA Championship. Okay, see, with plenty of time
to get themselves back into this one, and then we
will definitely obviously have a Game five regardless of what happens,
and that will be back in Oklahoma City, that is
on Tuesday, back in Oklahoma City, and then we basically
alternate from here. This is the second straight game in

(01:38:05):
Indiana to the first two were in Oklahoma City, and
then we just alternate from here. So Tuesday, Game five,
Game six if required as Friday, and then a decide
in game seven again if required, would be on Monday,
Dune the twenty third, two twenty two. It is our
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty nine two niney two

(01:38:28):
is our text line, Steve, Hello mate, how are very good?

Speaker 15 (01:38:33):
Steve?

Speaker 10 (01:38:35):
Hey?

Speaker 7 (01:38:35):
I thought this was a serious sports show.

Speaker 5 (01:38:36):
Grave.

Speaker 7 (01:38:40):
What do you guys covering with these old men Sunny
Boy Williams and Paul Gillon. They'ren't even real boxes, bro,
you know what I mean? He doesn't speak for the
for the salmon people. I don't know what he's on about.

Speaker 12 (01:38:51):
You know.

Speaker 7 (01:38:51):
It's an absolute joke, you know. So it's probably over
here just pumping the fight to make you some money.
But he doesn't speak for the symn moons, bro, I'll
say that now for free. He's a has been gone.
It's all about money and that's all of That's all
it is.

Speaker 5 (01:39:07):
It's a joke, So I take it you.

Speaker 2 (01:39:09):
I'd be tuning in then, Steve.

Speaker 7 (01:39:11):
I had broke and I'll be following it. And I
just thought, this is just a couple of old boys
trying to make some extra coin off the fact of
some hardworking people of some bers hype story that really
doesn't matter. I mean, these guys are nowhere near and
I you know the IB for w A or WBC rankings, Well,
what's you were talking about them?

Speaker 5 (01:39:34):
There?

Speaker 7 (01:39:34):
They're absolute joke, you know. I mean, day over take it.
Actually take both of them out one round, one round each.
So it's just a waste of people's time. And it's
all about Sonny Bill Williams getting attention for himself. And
if he really wanted to fight Paul Galli.

Speaker 2 (01:39:53):
Oh he's gone. We just lost. We just lost. I
did not do I did not cut you off on purpose.
I did not do that. I was enjoying that chat.
We just seemed to lose Steve there. My apologies to
that for that. Oh eight hundred and eighty ten eighty
is our number nine two ninety two on text two
twenty four Back after this, the legendary Sports Cafe is back,

(01:40:15):
but not as you know it. Now officially an award
winning podcast, Sports Cafe Ish is a return to form
for hosts Rick Slitzo, Lee Hart and Mark Ellis tackling
the big sporting issues of the day. The Sports Cafe
trio welcomes a stellar lineup of guests, not limited to
some of New Zealand's sporting elite both past and present.

(01:40:35):
Expects a limit to be pushed, have it to be created,
and plenty of laughs along the way. The guys will
reminisce and lay blame upon some of the historic moments
from the iconic Sports Cafe TV show. With the unique
blend of humor and insight, Sports Cafe Ish promises to
be a wild ride. Don't miss out on the fun,
the chaos and the unforgettable memories. Tune into Sports Cafe

(01:40:58):
Ish now on iHeartRadio or wherever you get your podcasts now.

Speaker 1 (01:41:02):
One Crouch Hold engaged weekends for with Jason Time and GJ.
Gunner Homes New Zealand's I was Trusted Home Milder News
talks A Bailey.

Speaker 2 (01:41:12):
Two twenty seven play has officially been suspended for the
day at the US Golf Open due to dangerous weather
and darkness. Thirteen players haven't quite completed their second rounds.
Among them is the currently sixth placed South African Thristan Lawrence,
who's on the final hole. Sam Burns leads by one shot.
He's three under par after firing the low round of

(01:41:33):
the championship a brilliant five under sixty five. Ryan Fox,
of course, beat Sam Burns in a playoff at the
Canadian Open last week. The key we is set to
make the cut. Ryan Fox is five over Pars, so
the cut is projected to be seven over. Rory McElroy
going to be there as well, but he's six over.
Scottish Sheffler four over, so that gives you an indication

(01:41:53):
of the course. Someone who won't be there. Veteran Phil Mickelson.

Speaker 26 (01:42:00):
Just mess it would have been his twenty seventh made
cut at the US Open, tying m with Sam Snead
and Hale Irwin for the second most. But as it
stands right now, Nicholson is on the outside looking in
and will that be his last trip around as a

(01:42:23):
competitor at a US Open. What a career for Phil Nicholson, truly,
the only thing missing on his resume is the United
States Open. He has done so much in this sport,
and you are looking at a man who's most likely
walking off the course at a US Open for the

(01:42:44):
last time in his career.

Speaker 2 (01:42:46):
Yes, a bit a swite for Phil Nicholson, as he
otherwise is grime. I guys has been watching on with
interest and analyzing things. He joins US now grime just
three players in the rid numbers. Could this tournament be
won with an overpass score?

Speaker 16 (01:43:02):
Well, it was back in two thousand and seven Jason
Wyn Anghel Cabrera won the US Open with a score
of five over pars, so that wouldn't be surprising at all.
I think the only thing that might actually change that is,
as you mentioned, torrential rain late in the day, storms overnight,
so there will be more rain, but we don't know

(01:43:24):
how much that will soften the course up. How to
continue to get firmer and faster. I think the odds
on where that even par or worse would win. But
now I think this opens the door for a few
more guys to hold some fairways. And if you can
hold the fairways, you can hit good shots into the greens.

(01:43:44):
They will definitely be softer and a bit slower. So
I wouldn't mind betting there'll be a couple of low
scores out there tomorrow that will really stir things up
heading into the final round, and possibly Scotty Cheffler or
John Brahm or Brooks Kapta or Jordan Steif. Maybe the
guys that post low numbers that come from behind.

Speaker 2 (01:44:05):
Give alluded to it there. But what does make this
course so tough?

Speaker 16 (01:44:11):
Well, first of all, it slopes the fairways off and
slope left to right to left. You're not hitting at
a flat target. The greens are incredibly firm and fast
run at speeds even when amateurs are playing club events
at eighteen Would you believe they've actually run them when

(01:44:33):
you consider that we put on greens that are about
ten and the PGA two puts on greens about twelve
and Augusta maybe thirteen, so they are severe. And then
you toss in the bunkering, which is very penal and
put five and a half inch rough on the golf course.
So it's a nightmare. If you miss the fairway or

(01:44:55):
you miss the green, you're in rough up to your
ankles just trying to hack it out to get into
the bunkers. Often you're impeded from going forward as much
as you want to. So every single shot on this
golf course is a challenge and it just wears it people,
grinds them down. You've seen even Scotti Scheffler lose his

(01:45:16):
temper and pound his club down after hitting an indifferent shot.
Rory McElroy smashed one of the team markers, so there's
all sorts of weird things going on. Even Shane Lowry
picked up his ball on the green to clean it
and forgot to market because he was so frazzled in
his head. So it just gets to you. And it

(01:45:37):
is recognized as America's hardest golf course. The members are
proud of that, and there's a very good argument that
it might be the hardest in the world day in.

Speaker 2 (01:45:48):
Day out, And isn't that what I guess many of
us would like to see Graham, the world's best golfers
challenged by the world's toughest golf course.

Speaker 16 (01:45:59):
Well, there's two schools of thought. One is that why
would you embarrass these players who are the elite goals
in the world and you're turning them into, you know,
looking like club golfers. And the USGA says, we're not
trying to punish good players, We're just trying to identify them.
So you can take the argument either way you want.

(01:46:21):
But if you turn up at a US Open, particularly
some of the harder courses, this one in particular, you
can expect a grinding experience. There's nobody that bounces out
of here full of energy. Let me tell you that.

Speaker 2 (01:46:37):
I guess another way of asking the question, if this
wasn't a major, how many of these guys would front
up for this tournament.

Speaker 16 (01:46:46):
Well, there are some guys who like a challenge, so
you would find that you get a pretty decent fit.
But there'd be other people that just couldn't be boved
because you know, they know they just don't have the
game to deal with it. But the US Open is,
you know, it is the mental grind of the year.

Speaker 15 (01:47:05):
The Masters says.

Speaker 16 (01:47:06):
Springtime in America, the launch of the official golf season
best presented golf course in the world every year. The
PGA is a very fair championship, I would say as
a major. The British Open is still raw and blustery
and played on the Lynx courses on the ocean, and
the weather can be a big factor. And the US

(01:47:27):
Open is just sheer hell and it's four days of grinding.

Speaker 2 (01:47:32):
Ryan Fox is there, of course, and he's having a
wonderful time of things, as we all know, with a
couple of wins in the last month or so. Five over,
he's probably a bit far back to contend. What would
be a good result for him in rounds three and four.

Speaker 16 (01:47:46):
Well, I don't think he is too far back to contend.
I think with this rain and if they get more overnight,
I mean it was torrential belting down that is definitely
going to soften up the course, which is going to
make it play differently from the first two days. Now,
if you hit it in the rough, it's going to
be bad or worse because the ruff's going to be

(01:48:07):
high and even more juicy. But if you can keep
it in play in a softer fair way helps you
do that. You know, it wouldn't surprise me if we
see a couple of sixty five or sixty six is
there and really turn this thing on its head. And
I would say any player from plus five on going
into tomorrow's round, if conditions hold up the way I

(01:48:29):
just described, is not without a chance. Because the players
that are under par at the moment, Burns, JJ Spawn,
and Victor Holin, none of those are one major championships before.
This is new territory for them. Hovelin has performed well
in the past and has won big events on the
PGA too, but his game is very much a daily consideration.

(01:48:51):
He's very erratic at this stage of his career, so
there's not a lot of experience on top of the leaderboard.
So you can bet the guys like cheff for at
plus four, John Rammitt plus four and others like kept
Cred plus two are going in with a lot of
high hopes into that third round.

Speaker 2 (01:49:10):
It makes Sam Burn's second round astonishing, doesn't it. Sixty five?
You mentioned they might be sixty five once the weather
plays apart, But to shoot sixty five today, that's some round,
isn't it.

Speaker 16 (01:49:22):
Yeah. I like Sam Burns a lot. His best friends
with scottis Scheffler, and you know gets over shattered in
that relation relationship. Although he has beaten Cheffler in a
PGA Tour event before. He is the number one putter
on the US Tour this year. That's why he's where
he is. If he can keep the ball in play,
he's one of the guys that I won't say he's comfortable,

(01:49:44):
but he's one of the guys that can deal with
the speed and undulation of these grants, which he showed
with that sixty five today. Now it'll be hard to
follow that up for him tomorrow. As I said, the
pressure is going to really be on. But he deserves
to be where he is, there's no question about that.

Speaker 2 (01:50:01):
And Phil Mikol said, we heard some audio there before
of him missing the cut will be.

Speaker 7 (01:50:06):
For him.

Speaker 16 (01:50:09):
Well fifty five on Sunday here, which is Father's Day
in the United States. His exemptions have run out. His
last exemption for this event was when he won the PGA,
the PGA Championship, what was it five years ago, just
before he went to live So he's facing either a

(01:50:30):
special invite from the USCA, and they'd been asked about
that and they said, well, we'd prefer him to try
and qualify. So that's his other path because winning on
the Lift Tour doesn't get you in the US Open.
But he can go to Open qualifying and try and
get him that way. Or he might just say, look,
I've played what is it, thirty one of them or

(01:50:50):
something or other, been runner up six times. It's not
in my destiny. That'll be it. So it'll be his decision.
But it's not going to be easy for him to
get in now because he's either going to have to
get lucky or work all the way through qualifying events.

Speaker 2 (01:51:05):
All right, Always appreciate your analysis and your insight. That's great.
Magas joining us to run an eye over the first
couple of rounds of the US Open at the very
very challenging Oakmont Course in Pennsylvania. Play officially suspended for
the day due to dangerous weather and darkness. Sam Burns,
we just talked about their leeds by one shot three under.

(01:51:27):
He shot a sixty five in a second rounder. Here
is his philosophy on on taming the savage set up
at Oakmont.

Speaker 27 (01:51:36):
You know, for this golf course, you really just have
to free it up. It's too hard to try to
guide it around here, and you're gonna hit some of
the rough. You're gonna hit someone in some bad spots,
you know, you might as well do it authority. So yeah,
it's gonna be a fun weekend. Yeah, and fun is
one way of describing it. He knows he's not safe.
Sam Burns at this legendarily tough course. I mean there's
no there's no just kind of give me hole. There's

(01:51:59):
no haul where you can just kind of get up
there and just hit.

Speaker 19 (01:52:01):
It.

Speaker 27 (01:52:01):
Acquires a lot of focus on every shot. Every shot
is difficult, you know, it's just pretty He takes him.

Speaker 2 (01:52:07):
That is Sam Burns who Ryan Fox beating that playoff
last weekend at the Canadian Open. So Ryan Fox will
make the cut. It is projected to be seven over.
He is five over the card after his first two rounds.
He shot a seventy two yesterday. That's two over seventy
three today. Just have a quick look at his round
today and see how it played out. So he had

(01:52:29):
bogie's on one, two and six, Ryan Fox. But then
Birdie ten, another bogie at eleven, Birdie at thirteen, Bogie
at fourteen, Berdie at fifteen, and the bogie at the last.
So very much a title of the tape as far
as the as far as this golf course is concerned.

(01:52:51):
But as Graham said, maybe he's not too far back
to contend anybody within seven or eight shots. With the
weather coming and maybe things softening up a bit, who knows.
So look forward to seeing how Ryan Fox goes. He's
playing the weekend at a major. I mean, it's a
pretty good ticking in the box, isn't it. Nearly halftime
in Game four of the NBA Finals Series, Indiana with

(01:53:16):
an eight point lead over OKCE eighty six seventy eight.
They lead as we approach three quarter time, remembering that
Indiana can open up a three to one lead in
the series if they get this victory on their home court.
They have to go to Oklahoma City to win in five,
or could come back and win it in six. But
at the moment eighty six to seventy eight ahead, with
time almost up in the third quarter, twenty to three,

(01:53:38):
whomen come back. It's to Liam Lawson and his really
impressive day in free practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Our motorsport expert Alex Powell going to break it down
for us after.

Speaker 1 (01:53:50):
This, would you be the TMO have your say? On
eight hundred and eighty ten eighty Weekend Sport with Jason
Pine and GJ. Guvnerholmes, New Zealand's most trusted home builder
News Dogs they'd.

Speaker 2 (01:54:02):
Be seventeen to three. Liam Lawson's log two top ten
finishers in practice for Formula ones Canadian Grand Prix. The
Key with Racing Balls driver finished eighth and tenth respectively
on the first day of the race weekend.

Speaker 28 (01:54:15):
It's positive as close as usual at the moment. Personally,
it's been a fun day. It's a cool track. It's
been a place of once it come to you for
a long time. So just very very close. We need
to keep pushing the limits and finding everybody speed we can.

Speaker 2 (01:54:29):
Qualifying tomorrow morning. The race itself goes at six on
Monday morning, New Zealand Time. Let's bring in our Formula
one expert from the New Zealand Herald, Alex Powell. Alex,
thanks for stopping and how happy will Liam Lawson be
with his day afternoon?

Speaker 29 (01:54:42):
Piney hope you will. I think he will be content
with his day. But it's also you do have to
look at practice with a grain of salt that you
don't win anything on a Friday.

Speaker 2 (01:54:52):
Tell us about that, because I I am interested to
know how accurate and indicator practice is to the way
that a weekend might play out for somebody.

Speaker 29 (01:55:03):
So generally, practice one you get to grips with the
trad and what your strategy might be, how you set
your car up. Practice two is generally quite a good
indicator of how qualifying's going to be because it'll be
similar conditions, the time of the day it's raced, and
everything you've learned you've just come in from a session
before that. In terms of how a race relates to practice,
I mean, it's very rare that you see anything like

(01:55:24):
that because just the conditions of a race are different
to anything you get in the sport anywhere else.

Speaker 2 (01:55:28):
So just for clarity during practice, are they all out
there together? Are there fewer cars on the track? How
does it work?

Speaker 29 (01:55:34):
So you get an hour an hour to where you
basically do whatever you want. Not all cars will be
on the track at the same time, but that is
a possibility you can do. You know, you control something
with your wing or your tires or you fuel load,
come back into the perch, make a couple of changes,
and then go back out. You've got an hour to
do whatever you.

Speaker 2 (01:55:50):
Want and what each lap is timed, and that's what
we find with these results. Of course they don't mean
anything to do they but that's how your track lap
times and how we're Williams today.

Speaker 29 (01:56:02):
So generally at the end, towards the end of a
session you'll have what you'll call a push lap where
you'll just try and set the fastest time. I thought
Liam Lawson was very good today. There was a very
good battle between Isaac Hadjar and Liam. They finished, you know,
a couple of tenths apart each time. Obviously, this season
has basically been the story of Liam being out driven

(01:56:23):
by Hadjar, and again this is only practice. We might
know what's going to happen tomorrow in the race. But
for me today it felt as close as it's been
between them, and that I'm reading is a really good
sign because we know that Liam's had a bit of
a knock this year with what happened to him at
Red Bull, and it wasn't going to be enough. It
was going to be a winning out his confidence back.
But the issue is that in that time Hadjar has
just really been probably the standout driver on the whole grid,

(01:56:45):
not just at racing balls.

Speaker 2 (01:56:46):
Do you think that Liam uses that either openly or
privately as a motivator as well.

Speaker 29 (01:56:53):
I think he's very motivated as is. It's not I've
covered Lim since he was seventeen years old, and he's
always been very aware of the sacrifices that other people
have made to get him to where he is. Like
his parents sold his tap else when he was young
to fund his gokarting career and it only gets more
expensive after that.

Speaker 23 (01:57:11):
So he knows.

Speaker 29 (01:57:13):
What's at stake and that's not just unique to lem
Laws and that's a trait that most drivers out of
New Zealand share because we're not a very big country.
We don't have the benefactors that are prepared to put
millions of dollars into a kid to get them to
F one. So whether or not being dropped by Red
Bull is just another motivator forum.

Speaker 2 (01:57:31):
I mean, it's probably for him to say and not us. I,
as you've said, are taking these Oh I'm taking these
results with a grain of salt because they are only practiced.
But I have to go down to nine to find
max for stapping. Is that significant or not?

Speaker 12 (01:57:46):
So?

Speaker 29 (01:57:47):
Red Bull have actually had a very bad run of
Friday practices all season. Yeah, so generally that car is
so temperamental the RB twenty one that only really maxims
get anything out of that Friday. They'll try and try
a few things and learn what works and what doesn't work.
They'll churn it up overnight and then the Saturday, so
Sunday morning our time will be when you really see

(01:58:07):
what it is and through practice three and into qualifying.

Speaker 2 (01:58:10):
Just while we're on max for step and he collided
with George Russell the Spanish Grand Prix couple of weeks ago,
issued with three points on his super license, which basically
means he's one more infringement away from a race.

Speaker 6 (01:58:21):
Band.

Speaker 2 (01:58:21):
I think he's got two races to avoid that before
some of the points drop off over a twelve month period.
If he were to drop out for a race, who
would take his seat.

Speaker 29 (01:58:31):
It's very interesting and there's a lot of chat around
who's going to do that. So from the people I've
spoken to, Red Bull don't at the moment have a
clear preference one way the other out of Liam Lawson
or Isaac Knja. It's understood that Liam's experience in the
RB twenty one and combined with hajjarz An experience in
Formula one would mean Lawson is actually slightly ahead if

(01:58:54):
they did need to make that change. However, the real
I mean red Herring and all this is in Betwel.
Earlier this week, Arvid Limblad, who is an F two
driver with Red Bull was given dispensation to get his
super license early. So super licenses what you need to
be qualified to get into F one. It's actually sort
of like an anti max for stap And rule that
the Fire have bought in because of Stappen was in
that car at sixteen, so they brought in the super

(01:59:15):
license rule that you have to be eighteen to get
Limblad Scott has at seventeen. Red Bull Wine have done
that for no reason. You know they will very clearly
have a plan. So whether or not that's limb Bladd
comes in later this year for a race or two.
Here they're like what Brendan Hartley got when he came
in and would that be at the expensive lim Mawson?
Would that be expensive Yuki Sonoda, and then you see
Isaac cantcha and move up. It's all a bit musical chairs.

(01:59:37):
So to answer your question in short I think in
the unlikely event that Stappan gets banned, I would like
to think Liam Lawson would get another shot, And that
seems to be how the cards are falling at home.
But we just don't know anything could happen over these
next couple of days.

Speaker 2 (01:59:51):
Of course, as you alluded to, and as we all know,
Liam started the season with Red Bull dropped into the
Racing Bulls team. Yuki Sonoda took that seat. How's he
going not flash?

Speaker 29 (02:00:02):
And you do fail for Yuki like he is a
good driver, like all these guys these I mean, in
theory the twenty best drivers in the world, but you
put anyone next to Max Forstappen and they're just going
to struggle because of the way that team set up.
And like Yuki has become a bit of a figure
of fun for Kiwis as you know, the guy that
I don't know. As a coping mechanism, we just try
and tear him down to make our guy feel a
bit better. But it's not very nice to see guys

(02:00:23):
struggle like he started last in Spain, and like we
know he's a better driver than that.

Speaker 2 (02:00:29):
And in a wider sense. PS Three Norris, the two
McLaren drivers one and two and the driver's standings at
the moment they're they're opening up quite the gap, aren't
they back to for Stapan and then George Russell and
the Mercedes are the McLaren's just faster.

Speaker 29 (02:00:44):
Yeah, I mean there's nowhere around it that they just
have a very good car in combination with two very
good drivers. And then ps three everything year about him.
So Pstre raced in Formula two at the same time
as Lem Lawson. The whole point of Formula two is
everything is supposed to bears, even as it can be,
so that you get things like reverse good races where
just to level the playing field. Oscar Pstre was so

(02:01:05):
far in front of everyone else in that championship it's
not even funny. So if he isn't the world champion
in a few months time, whilst a few months at
the end of the year, I would be very surprised.

Speaker 2 (02:01:14):
How often has Liam raced the circuit before?

Speaker 29 (02:01:17):
Never So Formula two and for me three don't really
go to Canada. It's quite expensive to move everything around,
so when you go to places like the Americas in
the Middle East, you don't really get the same calendar
sharing that you'd get with F one. So this will
be his first proper race in a single seater at
this track.

Speaker 2 (02:01:31):
And in terms of the race itself, how challenging is
it to pass? How challenging or not is it to
move up the field if you qualify outside the top ten?
Could you be in the top ten during the race?
What's the situation with the track in that regard?

Speaker 29 (02:01:46):
So Canada is quite it's not a I mean, the
way the cars are built now, they're so big, so
overtaking is quite difficult in general. But Canada has three
drs zones where you can open your back wing up
if you're in a one second of the card front
of it gives you a little bit of a boost
to go past them. So Canada's got three of those,
which in theory means it's good for overtaking. However, we
know that as we've seen in places like Imila, in
place like Monica, when Monico's the lawn to itself. But

(02:02:08):
overtaking this year hasn't really been at a premium, so
we will just have to wait and see how they go.

Speaker 2 (02:02:13):
All right, So qualifying nice and high is I mean,
it's it sounds stupid to always, but yeah, always good
to qualify as highup the grid as you can. So
are we looking at Liam in the top ten and
qualifying tomorrow fingers.

Speaker 29 (02:02:23):
Crossed, fingers cross from as always he had. That's actually
been quite a frustration from the season, I think, because
he is generally very good over one lap, but for
whatever reason, something will just go against them and he's
you hear him when he speaks afterwards, and he'll know
exactly what went wrong, and it's just when they keep
piling up like that, like we saw Monico when he
when he called f the top ten, like finally he

(02:02:44):
had a week end where everything just went his way
and that's when he got his best finished. Like that's
not a coincidence. So if he can have everything sort
of go fall in his favor, then there's no reason
why he can't get resolve like we saw Daniel Ricardo
last year in that same car qualified first.

Speaker 2 (02:02:56):
All right, well, let's hope for similar things for Liam
Lawson tomorrow morning. Thanks for your analysis and your expertise
this afternoon. Alex really appreciate it. Jess Bloney, Now, thanks mate,
that as Alex Powell read him at ensaid here co
dot MZ is excellent coverage of Formula One, including Liam Lawson.
So third practice is tomorrow around four to thirty New
Zealand time, that's am and then qualifying from eight tomorrow

(02:03:16):
morning and then we'll find out where Liam is on
the grid for the race itself six o'clock Monday morning,
New Zealand time. It is seven and a half to three.
News Talks INB.

Speaker 1 (02:03:26):
The scoop for the track field and the court on
your home of sort weekends for it.

Speaker 2 (02:03:31):
Where's Jason Vine News Talks NB four to three. That's
the show. We're back tomorrow midday to three including a
big look at whatever happens tonight and Hamilton chiefs V
Brumby's thanks for listening, Thanks Jena McDonald for producing as always,
what's our exit songs that I mate.

Speaker 30 (02:03:44):
Well Piney of course, it's twenty years since Michael Campbell
did the amazing feed of winning the US Open, so
we went back twenty years on the New Zealand Music
Charts number one at the time. Oh we were a
sad bunch back then, but the number one song was
Lonely by Acon, so that's what's I don't know what
was up with our mental health back then. But that's
all right, that's the song we're going out with.

Speaker 2 (02:04:04):
Don't mind it. See tomorrow midday folks, Well.

Speaker 10 (02:04:06):
No hearty, so.

Speaker 2 (02:04:17):
Mister so loly, so loly, so lo.

Speaker 1 (02:04:28):
Sly mister lonely For more from Weekend Sport with Jason Fine.
Listen live to news talks it be weekends from midday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio

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