Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Ian Smith: Return of NPC provides welcome winter warm-up
Ian Smith • August 4th, 2025 1:51 pm
Photo: Photosport
With the Warriors going through what I guess you'd call a mini slump, back-to-back losses and a bit of an injury crisis as well, and that top four spot looking exceedingly dicey, rugby took its chance to make some ground - well, in my house anyway.
There was hardly an All Black in sight. Blanket coverage from Thursday night until Sunday night of heart and soul rugby dominating.
Win, lose or draw - those traditional colours, with the club socks as well, were paraded out - giving identity checks to all of us who doubt the future. The future is now.
A mixture in the squads of excitement and youth. The future there with those veterans literally on their last legs, desperately clinging to the side of the building as they go down and wait for the inevitable to come around.
Could the All Blacks win the Rugby Championship without Ardie Savea? | The Bunnings Trade Rugby Run
But at the same time they're adding substance, character and experience to the dressing room, as well as a good deal of niggle, as those legs start to cramp up a little earlier than they used to.
Eight thousand-plus at Rugby Park in Invercargill was brilliant to watch. It was the other side of the ledger compared to headquarters in Auckland for the blockbuster opener between Waikato and Auckland - what a game that was.
Hey, it's wet and it's freezing in some parts at the moment.
Times are tough as the country bites the bullet on fixing some stuff, so it's understandable everyone and everything takes a hit - not to mention the attraction of the couch and a $3 beer.
Matt Burke jokes that Wallabies have Bledisloe Cup in the bag for 2025 | Scotty & Izzy
Maybe someone out there can give me an answer too on how a bloke - in this case, Hawke's Bay's Jonah Lowe - standing under a high ball, eyes on the ball, hands pointed in the direction of the ball looking to take it, can end up in the bin for ten minutes and having an HIA himself after another bloke - in this case, Counties-Manukau's Etene Nanai-Seturo - jumps higher than him and lands awkwardly from said height, makes contact with Lowe's head and walks away from said contact after expressing concern for the contact?
No logic, no common sense, but hey, I guess it's all part of the general mix.
On the subject of refereeing, I wonder how that group last weekend now feel about their incorrect decision, just my opinion, of the Lions clean out knowing they killed a series that the Wallabies could quite clearly have won.
Tune into Ian Smith on Sport Nation Mornings, 9am-12pm Monday to Wednesday.
