Weathering the storms

You might not expect an All Blacks coach to praise his skipper for taking a shot at goal instead of going for the try against Fiji on Saturday.

But that’s what Ian Foster did after Sam Whitelock made the call to add three points and settle the game down in the second test.

It was a moment that turned the tide, a brave Fiji wilting and eventually finishing on the wrong end of a 60-13 scoreline.

But just as in the first test, Fiji can hold their heads high, competing at a level few expected them to, and giving the All

Blacks plenty to think about.

Until that penalty on the halfhour, they had been more than match for our boys.

I thought Sam said it all with this gem: ‘‘I’m yet to play an easy test match. ‘‘

That shows a lot of respect to Fiji, ranked 11 in the world, and it is respect they have earned after two fine performances.

Just like my Vodafone Warriors.

They were beaten 30-16 and plenty of people will dismiss that as being expected, especially against table-topping Penrith, but it was a brave showing given they lost four players in the first half and had to play all of the second with just 13 men.

We were down to a one-man bench inside 20 minutes, Tohu Harris out with a knee injury, Roger Tuivasa-Sheck failing a head injury assessment and Wayde Egan’s shoulder forcing him out. We lost centre Rocco Berry to a head injury just before half-time, although he had ice on his leg by then too.

We just can’t get a break. The loss was our sixth in a row. It won’t get any easier with Souths – who have won six in a row after beating the Bulldogs 32-24 on Sunday – to come this weekend.

As if that wasn’t enough, we have lost advisor Phil Gould to the Bulldogs, where he will be general manager of football.

Covid has meant we haven’t been able to make as much use of his expertise as we would have wanted, and he’s been allowed to pursue other opportunities.

And the league has all moved to Queensland to keep the competition going with more Covid in Melbourne and Sydney. That’s caused even more disruption for families. NRL players are said to be furious after an original decision that would have allowed their families to follow them was reversed.

Welcome to our world, we have had disruption for two years, including three moves this season alone. Now we are sharing the same bubble as our opponents this weekend.

But it’s the same old story, sure I am disappointed because I want to see us win, especially when the odds are heavily stacked against us.

But straight after the game I turned on the TV news and watched terrible flooding in the

South Island, where many of those affected won’t have seen the news, let alone the rugby or the Warriors, because they would still have been unable to return to their homes.

Watching your home and possessions being flooded is my idea of a problem, losing at football, not so much.

As most of us are having a moan at work about how we should have scored more against Fiji, or done better against the Panthers, these poor folk will be getting on to their insurers if they have them, and don’t forget, many people simply can’t afford insurance.

While they are sorting their sodden possessions and wondering what on earth they are going to do to get their lives back on track the All Blacks will be getting ready for the Bledisloe Cup in August, and my Warriors will be trying to figure out how to beat the Bunnies.

So it’s a case of waiting for another week and hoping my ‘Go the Warriors’ catchphrase will at last be rewarded, but my heart is actually with all those hit by the devastating weather.