COMMENT – By Ivan Agnew
Lydia Ko didn’t win the Olympic Games gold medal New Zealanders craved for her at Tokyo but she appears to have found the best way to overcome nerves by being nice and having fun.
Who else but our Lydia would have wished her Japanese opponent Mone Inami good luck when they were about to start their play-off hole to decide which of them would finish runner-up to red-hot American Nelly Korda?
What made it more special was that she wanted to make her recently deceased grandmother proud. I’m sure she was and always would have been.
Although Ko has not reached the prodigious heights her early teenage talent hinted at, she remains a special athlete whose progress we follow with avid interest.
With a LPGA win this year and many top 10 performances, her game more often than not delights as she has become the Miss Personality of the golf course.
Remember, too, that she was fully five strokes behind Nelly Korda going into that final round of the Olympics but had a share of the lead with five birdies on the first nine.
However a bogey on the par 16th ended her gold medal dream before another on the playoff hole saw her settle for bronze.
Waikato and defending champions Tasman lead the Mitre 10 rugby premiership as the only unbeaten teams after two rounds. But in a strange way Auckland’s second round 11-16 loss to Tasman reinforced the danger they present.
While first-five Harry Plumer uncharacteristically missed a simple conversion and penalty goal that could have tied that result, he’s playing the best rugby of his first class career, making crucial tackles, intercepts and scoring a grand winning try against Canterbury.
With powerful wings Bryce Heem and Solomone Kata adapting well to midfield slots and Warriors fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck likely to complete his transfer from rugby league to ignite the right wing, Auckland are blessed for backline depth with AJ Lam also performing strongly on the left.
Yet good as Lam is he could struggle to get a start ahead of Salesi Rayasi whose sidestep, pace and adventuresome spirit makes him better suited to the wing than fullback where Zarn Sullivan and Jordon Trainor’s positional game is superior.
With flanker Blake Gibson and 2020 All Black prop Alex Hodgman returning to fitness after missing much of Super Rugby, the Auckland forwards also look strong with under lock Scott Scranton producing a good, honest all-round game.
However it is the power and pace of the backs that offers greatest excitement provided they can emulate some of the cohesive passing skills the All Blacks did in their 57-22 Eden Park second test destruction of Australia.
Meanwhile don’t discount Waikato who made a sensational comeback to negate Wellington’s storming start with a 43-37 win and lead the competition by one bonus point ahead of Tasman.
While the Covid pandemic continues to seriously disrupt sport worldwide, it is important to remember that lives remain far more important than any sporting occasion. Hence outrage at New Zealand’s not meeting the original third test date against Australia in Perth is over the top.
In the meantime, let us relax and enjoy the amazing Sophie Pascoe and the New Zealand team’s bid for Paralympic glory in Tokyo.
Ivan Agnew is an award-winning sports writer
