Brewed for Sport: Vol 2

For the first time ever, Canada defeated the Black Ferns on Sunday 19th May in a close 22-21 win. They have played each other 17 times, the most recent being a 52-21 victory by way of the Black Ferns. This unfortunate loss has slipped us to 3rd in the World Cup rankings, the lowest since 2016. The two teams put on an absolute display in the garden city. A messy 2nd half led to 2 yellow cards going the way of the Black Ferns, and 1 for Canada. So despite finishing the game with a 14-women-squad, they got the job done and made history. Black Ferns co-captain Kennedy Simon noted that it was “just the little things that we could have fixed… we just have to go away, reflect on ourselves and make sure we show up.” She made sure to make it obvious that “it’s not over yet.”

It was a weekend and a half for NZ sport! There were a couple of tough gigs, ones that made it hard to be a sports fan in Christchurch/New Zealand, but also a few that made ya heart swell. Crusaders had their first loss to the Brumbies in 15 years on Saturday. To fuel the fire, it was 24 a piece with 5 minutes to go, but a last minute penalty meant that Brumbies managed to snag a try, take the win and in turn, further stamp down on any final sliver of hope for our boys in red (there is still hope!). On the same depressing wavelength, the Wellington Phoenix lost in their A-league semi final in extra time. We are still searching for our first piece of silverware. On the other hand though, UP THE WAHS! The boys got up and got their first win since April 6th (5 losses in a row), taking down the Panthers 22-20. This win may have been the bandaid we needed for the wound the Crusaders left. Equally as exciting, Scott McLaughlin (a Christchurch local) set the fastest speed record ever in the Indy 500 qualifiers. Propped himself into pole position for the Indy 500 with an average speed of - BRACE YOURSELF - 376.940kph. An absolutely freakish performance with an incomprehensible speed. What a weekend of NZ sport it was, and lucky for us, there is plenty more to come!

24 year old Christchurch local Will Stedman won gold at the Para Athletics World Championships for the 400m race. It could be detailed as cinematic stuff, as he surged across the finish line to beat his opponent with 5 meters to go. One of the most awesome things about this is that he took home Bronze in 2019, and Silver in 2023, so to see him go one better this year is extremely rewarding, and a clear testament to some off-season hard work. He beat last year’s defending champion (who is an Australian - even better) with a national record time of 53.36 seconds. Speedster! I was fortunate enough to go to school with Will, and it is confirmed that he is an absolute legend, and completely deserving of the position he is in. I interviewed him at our sports awards, and he was super humble about his career thus far (he had literally won a bronze at the Paralympics at this point) and still focussed on ways to get better. Things have really come to fruition for the man. Go Will!

Chris Wood, the All Whites captain and a member of Nottingham forest in the English Premier league, is going to miss the All Whites competing at the Oceania Nations Cup next month because he is getting married on June 17, and the tournament is June 15-30. He scheduled it in the only month he has off during the year, and made sure he didn’t clash with the FIFA tournament from June 3-11. The Nations Cup doesn’t count toward qualifying for the world cup, but does help to increase FIFA rankings and the All Whites have an eye on their ranking should they qualify for the 2026 world cup. When presenting this to the boys in the HBC, I asked what they would do if they were in this position. Sam, the cheeky bugger, began with “Well if you’re choosing between the most magnificent, best, amazing day of your life, and your wedding…” before quickly recovering to say he would 100% also choose his wedding day, to which Aidan supported. Maybe I am heartless, but if I was the athlete in this position, I’d be having some words to my spouse about the potential for a postponement… Maybe I love sport a little too much! What do you think? 

Brewed for Sport - 2011 Rugby World Cup 

Friday was my favorite day of Brewed for Sport this week. Thursday night, I saw that Dude Perfect had, in an extremely niche and random fashion, collaborated with the All Blacks. As I was watching, on my screen appeared Piri Wepu and Stephen Donald. Almost immediately, fond memories of the 2011 world cup came rushing back to me. From the injuries of Dan Carter and Colin Slade, to Piri’s terrible kicking performance in the final, to the most iconic kick I’ve ever witnessed, from a man who’s shirt didn’t even fit. For those who missed it, click the link and listen. Prepare for goosebumps. 

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