Winners and Losers: Don’t panic, the All Blacks are fine - Christopher Reive

Winners: Liam Lawson does the near-impossible

One of the rare on-track overtakes successfully completed in the Spanish Grand Prix was an important one for Kiwi Liam Lawson, who clawed his way back in front of Alpine’s Franco Colapinto around the 10th lap of the race. Lawson lost a place to Colapinto off the starting line and spent the first 10 laps trying to get it back, eventually pulling off a risky move but doing a superb job not to exceed track limits in getting it done.

That move saw Lawson move into sixth place – after issues for McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Sir Lewis Hamilton saw them fall down the grid early – and he maintained his position from there. It was his best result as a Red Bull driver and continues his strong season.

On the plus side, the track making overtaking near impossible meant Lawson got plenty of screen time in those opening 10 laps as the battle between himself and Colapinto seemed the most likely place for someone to successfully pass another driver.

Losers: All Blacks end tour on a dampener

It’s never good to save the worst for last, but that’s what the All Blacks did for their series against the Springboks. A 43-28 loss in the booming rugby hub of Baltimore, USA, where they were beaten by the South Africans in every area of the game. The South Africans couldn’t lose the series, so they showed more desire to throw the ball around and broke the line of the tiring All Blacks’ defence with pure pace a number of times. The Springboks were more powerful, more disciplined and more up to the task than a tiring All Blacks squad already weakened by injuries. Ending a tour on such a sour note offers up plenty of fuel for people disappointed in both the result and dropping the series 3-1.

But the reality is that this tour served an important purpose for an All Blacks team looking to fast-track their growth towards next year’s Rugby World Cup after just three tests with a new coaching group in charge and a playing group in a state of flux – some of whom hadn’t played professionally in South Africa previously.

Coming into the tour against a well-established Springboks group, there was plenty to gain from the four tests beyond the results and the reality is they weren’t too far away. Winning the first test at Ellis Park saw expectations for results rise, but the other two tests in South Africa were one-score games; a couple of moments where the Springboks executed and the All Blacks didn’t.

Going in, the areas of concern were clear: set pieces – both scrums and lineouts – and being tested by the high ball. The scrum was under pressure throughout the tour but improved, the lineouts often struggled with Eben Etzebeth putting pressure on the throw to the point where the safest option was to throw short to a prop, while the aerial troubles continued. It’s a tactic the Springboks use well as they can contest everything, knowing how strong their scrum is. Until the All Blacks can show otherwise, teams will continue to hoist the ball high into the air and bring pressure on the attempted catch.

One element that was missing from the last test – and the second half of the third – was the presence of captain Ardie Savea. The importance of his experience and leadership in this group was made clear when he left the field in the third test and the All Blacks seemed to panic after falling behind down the stretch. Similarly, in the fourth test, the group were a bit frantic at times – giving away silly penalties and lacking execution in some basic moments to let the South Africans take control.

The Springboks showed exactly why they’re so much better than every other team right now; they rarely make a misstep in any area of the game. They’re a big, physical unit who can go through teams or around them and their set piece is a well-configured machine.

The All Blacks now know exactly what level they need to bring themselves up to over the next year – and after that four-test tour, they should have a good handle on the players who will help them get there. Every fixture this year is an important building block towards the World Cup in 2027.

These sorts of journeys, following a team trying to move forward and problem-solve on their way to an end goal, are part of what make sports so entertaining. If you’re fixated on simply winning every immediate fixture – or the idea that because they’re the All Blacks, they need to be the best in the world at all times – you’re missing part of the fun. But if you are one of those fans, then don’t worry, two tests against the Wallabies await.

Winners: The Black Ferns continue to win

Patchy as it was, the Black Ferns remained unbeaten this season with a good win over France, where their defence was tested. The New Zealand women were better at the scrum against France than they were against South Africa and showed their strike power.

However, they might not have been as clinical as they would have liked, turning plenty of ball over with some loose offloads. They were without regular playmaker Ruahei Demant, who is out of the European leg of their tour due to a calf injury, as Hannah King started at first five-eighths.

The Black Ferns are now set to have their depth properly tested over the coming weeks – first with Scotland this weekend, before headlining at Twickenham against England the week after.

The side are currently without co-captains Demant and Kennedy Tukuafu (hamstring), while Ayesha Leti-I’iga (calf) was unavailable for the French test, Kaipo Olsen-Baker (shoulder) hasn’t played their last two tests and Layla Sae (knee) hasn’t played this year.

Losers: Warriors on the ropes

The Dolphins are the hottest team in the NRL right now, but Warriors fans will have been expecting more from their team after hosting the opening round of the playoffs at Go Media Mt Smart Stadium.

The Warriors built a 12-0 lead and were happy to be conservative in building points through penalties. Sure, it’s the finals and you want to put points on the board, but the regular season saw the Warriors score more points than any other team in the competition. Backing their attacking ability has been among the keys to their success so it was a surprise to see them continue to opt for shots at goal.

Not maximising their chances meant they didn’t have enough points on the board when the fast-finishing Dolphins came for them and they now host a sudden-death semi-finalon Sunday evening against the Newcastle Knights at Eden Park – a ground where the Warriors have won just once in six fixtures.

The time has been and gone for a team of the Warriors’ calibre to not play to their potential. Now, if they don’t play to the level they’ve proven they’re capable of, their title hopes could come to an abrupt end.

Losers: The Los Angeles Rams

Fans in Melbourne were not overly impressed by the LA side’s decision to only travel to Australia the day before the historic clash against the San Francisco 49ers at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

While the Rams have been invested in the Australian and New Zealand market since 2022, fans didn’t really seem to care about that. They wanted to see the players out and about – whether in person or in social clips – shining a light on their experiences Downunder.

So, it was a masterstroke by the 49ers to do exactly that. Players were out in the community and fielded plenty of hyper-local questions from media at press conferences to appeal to the local crowd. The team do not have home marketing rights in Australia – those are owned by the Rams, Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders – so made the most of their seven days in Australia.

Granted, the 49ers fans travel well and they have plenty in Australia and New Zealand, and the Rams had lost any neutral fan before they even set foot in Melbourne.

They then looked sluggish during the game beyond the first quarter, were handily beaten 27-7 and, to add injury to insult, have now lost star defensive recruit Myles Garrett to a knee injury.

The match was the first of a possible three to be held in Victoria over the next four years, so expect teams to take a few lessons away from the NFL’s first regular-season foray Downunder.

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