With an injury to Martin opening the door for Metcalf to return in his preferred position, the 27-year-old made an example of the competition’s best team.
This was the kind of performance – well, 65 minutes of it at least – that stokes the fires of belief in fans as the Warriors were superb from the opening whistle, with an intensity and physicality Penrith couldn’t match in the first half.
Luke Metcalf impressed in the Warriors’ win over the Panthers. Photo / Photosport
Off the back of that, the backs were able to make their mark; Metcalf leading the way with a strong kicking game, while flashing his talents with ball in hand, nabbing two tries in the 28-12 win.
There might be concerns about the Penrith fightback from the 60th to the 75th minute, but this was fuel for the It’s Our Year brigade – and Metcalf’s role in that probably has St George Illawarra Dragons fans counting down the days until he dons the Red V.
Loser: A cause for concern in South Africa?
Exposed. Under pressure. Areas of the game they would have hoped to deal with better.
There has been some honest reflection from the All Blacks camp after their 38-21 win over the Stormers in Cape Town on Saturday morning in a contest that sets an uneasy tone for the long tour ahead.
Dave Rennie’s side drew the ire of a very involved refereeing group and struggled to adjust to the officiating, receiving three yellow cards in the contest.
Their scrum was roughed up, the Stormers’ driving maul consistently caused problems and – perhaps most alarmingly – they struggled under the high ball.
Anton Lienert-Brown and Simon Parker both sit off the field after yellow cards in the first half against the Stormers. Photo / Photosport
Their first outing of the tour, with several usual starters missing … many expected a scratchy outing from the All Blacks in this contest.
But perhaps not to that extent. The lengthy delays caused by TMO checks also didn’t make for enjoyable viewing.
The good thing about the tour is they don’t have to wait long to address things, with Wednesday morning’s match against Ma’a Nonu and the Sharks their next hit-out.
Perhaps in response to some of those issues, the All Blacks have brought in the propping combination of Ethan de Groot and Fletcher Newell, first-choice openside flanker Luke Jacobson – who will captain the team – while the entire starting backline has been changed.
Onwards and upwards.
Winner: A stark contrast
The announcement of a foreign professional sports team travelling Downunder for a pre-season fixture often brings unrealistic expectations.
When Tottenham Hotspur played Auckland FC a few weeks ago, unfortunately timed with the pointy end of the World Cup, fans would have been disappointed to see the club take it as a chance to give their wider squad a run, with plenty of high numbers on the field before a few of their bigger names entered in the final 30 minutes.
There could be no such complaints when Chelsea’s women’s team played an Auckland FC Invitational XI at Eden Park on Saturday afternoon.
Chelsea thumped the Auckland FC Invitational XI 7-0 in Auckland. Photo / Photosport
No, it wasn’t their best, in-season XI, but almost all of Chelsea’s starting lineup had international caps, including Ellie Carpenter (101 for Australia), new signing Katie McCabe (107 for Ireland) and Alyssa Thompson (32 for USA).
Against an invitational team of Kiwi players put together for the match, Chelsea showed their class in a 7-0 win.
Aggie Beever-Jones, who has 16 caps for England, scored a hat-trick inside 24 minutes. They led 4-0 at halftime, completely outclassed the Auckland side and potentially won a few new fans in the process.
Loser: Gianni Infantino
Everything around Fifa post-World Cup does not seem to be going to plan for the man in charge. Now, after his plan to sell a stake in future World Cup profits to private investors was scuppered, heat has come on the organisation’s president – largely out of Europe – with the position up for election in March 2027. Fifa has, unsurprisingly, supported the man at the head of the snake, but the next few months could provide an entertaining little sideshow.
Winner: Rugby’s unintentional hybrid
Speaking to Newstalk ZB’s D’Arcy Waldegrave last week, Wellington loose forward Du’Plessis Kirifi admitted it wasn’t his idea to move into the midfield in the NPC side’s clash against Auckland.
But anyone who saw him storm onto the ball from a long lineout, over the top of a defender to set up a try would argue that it’s an experiment worth the Lions pursuing – particularly in the modern day where hybrid players are becoming more commonplace.
Christopher Reive joined the Herald sports team in 2017, bringing the same versatility to his coverage as he does to his sports viewing habits.