Category: Sports

2022 COMMONWEALTH GAMES

Day 5 of the 2022 Commonwealth Games will feature preliminaries of the men’s 200 back, women’s 200 fly, men’s 50 free, women’s 50 back, mixed 4×100 medley relay, and the men’s 1500 free. The men’s 1500 free prelims have just two heats, which will take place at the end of this morning’s session.

Today will mark yet another women’s backstroke thriller, as we’ll get to see Australian Kaylee McKeownthe Commonwealth Record holder, and Canada’s kylie masse go head-to-head in the women’s 50’s back. Although it may not happen this morning, the Commonwealth Games Record appears poised to go down in that event, as both McKeown and Masse have been well under the record mark of 27.56. For that matter, Australian sprinter Mollie O’Callaghan has been under the record mark as well, coming in at 27.46, while Wales’ Medi Harris ties the record with her seed time.

Without Canadian youngster Summer McIntosh, the women’s 200 fly field is wide open, seeing 6 swimmers seeded at 2:07 and 2:08. Those swimmers include Alys Thoms, the Commonwealth Games Record holder and reigning Commonwealth Games champion in the event. The top seed coming in is Australian Elizabeth Dekker, entering at 2:07.01.

The men’s 200 back has reigning Commonwealth Games champion Mitch Larkin of Australia leading the field by a slim margin over England’s Luke Greenbank. Meanwhile, the men’s 50 free has TTO’s Dylan Carter 1st on the psych sheet by a wide margin.

MEN’S 200 BACKSTROKE – HEATS

• World Record: 1:51.92, Aaron Peirsol (USA) – 2009
• Commonwealth Record: 1:53.17, Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 2015
• Commonwealth Games Record: 1:55.58, James Goddard (ENG) – 2010
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 1:56.10

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Luke Greenbank (ENG) – 1:56.33
2. Brodie Paul Williams (ENG) – 1:57.88
3. Bradley Woodward (AUS) – 1:57.99
4. Pieter Coetze (RSA) – 1:58.08
5. Craig McNally (SCO) – 1:58.36
6. Joshua Edwards-Smith (AUS) – 1:58.74
7. Mitch Larkin (AUS) – 1:59.59
8. Jay Lelloitt (ENG) – 2:00.65

England’s Luke Greenbank led men’s 200 back prelims this morning handily, swimming a solid 1:56.33. I have led English teammate Brodie Paul Williams, who touched in 1:57.88. Greenbank built his lead over the field on the first 100, flipping in 56.50 at the 100m mark, then swam to 59.83 coming home.

Greenbank has set himself up nicely to go after the Commonwealth Games Record tonight. The record stands at 1:55.58 and was set in 2010.

Notably, reigning Commonwealth champion Mitch Larkin out of Australia was 7th this morning, though he still safely advanced to tonight’s final by over second. Larkin just never seemed to have it this morning, taking the race out in a very pedestrian 58.02 on the first 100, then came home 1:01.57.

New Zealand’s Andrew Jeffcoat was also notably off this morning, swimming at 2:03.57. Jeffcoat was seeded to make finals fairly easily, however, he added 5 seconds to his time this morning, fading hard as he split 32.04 and 32.21 on the final 2 50s of the race.

WOMEN’S 200 BUTTERFLY – HEATS

• World Record: 2:01.81, Zige Liu (CHN) – 2009
• Commonwealth Record: 2:03.41, Jessica Schipper (AUS) – 2009
• Commonwealth Games Record: 2:05.45, alys thomas – 2018
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: alys thomas (WAL) – 2:05.45

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Elizabeth Dekkers (AUS) – 2:07.62
2. Laura Stephens (ENG) – 2:09.60
3. Abbey Connor (AUS) – 2:09.69
4. Holly Hibbett (ENG) – 2:10.49
5. Brianna Throssell (AUS) – 2:10.92
6. Mabel Zavaros (CAN) – 2:10.94
7. Keanna Louise Macinnes (SCO) – 2:11.15
8. alys thomas (WAL) – 2:11.43

Top seeded Elizabeth Dekkers of Australia was dominant this morning, coming in half a second off her seed to time to take the middle lane for finals tonight. Dekkers swam a great race, splitting 32.26, 32.95, and 33.35 on the final 3 50s respectively.

England’s Laura Stephens was out just 0.10 seconds slower than Dekkers on the first 100, splitting 1:01.42. She didn’t hold up quite as well as Dekkers, splitting 1:08.28 on the final 100. 17-year-old Australian Abbey Connor took 3rd this morning.

Reigning champion and Commonwealth Games Record holder alys thomas nearly missed out on the final, taking 8th this morning with a 2:11.43. That time was a far cry from the 31-year-old’s personal best of 2:05.45. Thomas was out quickly, splitting 1:01.88, but fell apart coming home, splitting 1:09.55 on the final 100.

MEN’S 50 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 20.91, Cesar Cielo (BRA) – 2009
• Commonwealth Record: 21.11, Ben Proud (GBR) – 2018
• Commonwealth Games Record: 21.30, Ben Proud (ENG) – 2018
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Ben Proud (ENG) – 21.35

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. Lewis Burras (ENG) – 22.09
2. Tom Nowakowski (AUS) – 22.42
3. Ben Proud (ENG) – 22.44
4. Dylan Carter (TTO) – 22.48
5. Josh Liendo (CAN) – 22.49
6. Jonathan Eu Jin Tan (SGP) – 22.53
7. Lamar Taylor (BAH) – 22.59
8. Tzen Wei Teong (SGP) – 22.62
9. Grayson Bell (AUS) – 22.64
10. Dan Jones (WAL) – 22.65
11. Mikkel Lee (SGP) – 22.69
12. Flynn Southam (AUS) – 22.79
13. Adam Barrett (ENG) – 22.89
14. Clayton Jimmie (RSA) – 22.98
15. Cameron Gray (NZL) – 23.00
16. Stephen Calkins (CAN) – 23.01

Lewis Burras out of England led prelims of the men’s 50 free this morning by 0.33 seconds. The time wasn’t too far off Burras’ seed of 21.77.

Past Burras, the field was pretty lackluster this morning. Tom Nowakowski was 22.42 this morning, touching a little over half a second off his seed time. Commonwealth Record Holder Ben Proud was well off his personal best of 21.11, swimming at 22.44 for 3rd. Dylan Carter was also well off his seed, taking 4th in 22.48. Josh Liendo was in a similar boat, swimming at 10:49 p.m., which is nearly a second off his best time.

WOMEN’S 50 BACKSTROKE – HEATS

• World Record: 26.98, Xiang Liu (CHN) – 2018
• Commonwealth Record: 27.16, Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 2021
• Commonwealth Games Record: 27.56, Georgia Davies (WAL) – 2014
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Emily Seebohm (AUS) – 27.78

Top 16 Qualifiers:

1. kylie masse (CAN) – 27.57
2. Bronte Job (AUS) – 27.65
3. Medi Harris (WAL) – 28.03
4. Kaylee McKeown (AUS) – 28.09
5. Mollie O’Callaghan (AUS) – 28.13
6. Lauren Cox (ENG) – 28.30
7. Danielle Hill (NIR) – 28.32
8. Olivia Nel (RSA) – 28.79
9. Vanessa Hazel Ouwehand (NZL) – 29.05
10. Cassie Wild (SCO) – 29.19
11. Maddy Moore (BER) – 29.29
12. Emma Harvey (BER) – 29.38
13. Rebecca Meder (RSA) – 29.55
14. Gemma Atherley (JEY) – 29.93
15. Bella Hindley (ENG) – 29.99
16. Tatiana Tostevin (GGY) – 30.06

The women’s 50 backsaw kylie masse turn in a speedy 27.57, touching just 0.01 seconds off the Commonwealth Games Record of 27.56. It’s highly likely Masse takes the record down tonight, however, there’s a good chance she won’t be the only one under the mark.

Australian Bronte Job had an awesome race this morning, tearing to a new personal best of 27.65. That swim got Job into semis with the #2 seed, and suddenly puts her in medal contention.

Kaylee McKeown, the Commonwealth Record holder, cruised through this morning’s prelims, swimming at 28.09. Wales’ Medi Harris was just ahead of McKeown.

After missing the women’s 100 back, Mollie O’Callaghan was back in the backstroke action, taking 5th this morning in 28.13.

MIXED 4×100 MEDLEY RELAY – HEATS

• World Record: 3:37.58, Great Britain – 2021
• Commonwealth Record: 3:37.58, Great Britain – 2021
• Commonwealth Games Record: N/A
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: N/A

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Australia – 3:45.34
2. England – 3:51.08
3. Canada – 3:51.43
4. South Africa – 3:51.66
5. Scotland – 3:52.32
6. Wales – 3:53.05
7. Jersey – 4:00.49
8. Guernsey – 4:04.02

Australia was dominant in the mixed 4×100 medley relay this morning, roaring to a 3:45.34. By default, the swim marks a new Commonwealth Games Record, as the event hasn’t been competed at Commonwealths before. After a bit of a lackluster race in the 200 back prelims earlier in the session, Mitch Larkin led the Aussie team off at 54.32, leading all backstrokers.

Sam Williamson was also the fastest breaststroker in the field, splitting 1:00.40. Alex Perkins handled fly for the Australians, splitting 57.94, and Madi Wilson threw down a fantastic 52.68 on the anchor. The Aussies still have the potential to be much faster this morning.

England’s Edward Mildred had a really nice swim on the fly leg of their relay, splitting 51.58.

MEN’S 1500 FREESTYLE – HEATS

• World Record: 14:31.02, Sun Yang (CHN) – 2012
• Commonwealth Record: 14:34.56, Grant Hackett (AUS) – 2001
• Commonwealth Games Record: 14:41.66, Kieren Perkins (AUS) – 1994
• 2018 Commonwealth Champion: Jack McLoughlin (AUS) – 14:47.09

Top 8 Qualifiers:

1. Sam Short (AUS) – 15:02.66
2. Kieren Pollard (AUS) – 15:23.46
3. Toby Robinson (ENG) – 15:33.59
4. Luke Thomas Turley (ENG) – 15:35.65
5. Daniel Wiffen (NIR) – 15:37.53
6. Eric Georges Brown (CAN) – 15:38.83
7. Advait Page (IND) – 15:39.25
8. Kushagra Rawat (IND) – 15:47.77

Australian Sam Short handily clocked the top time of the morning in the men’s 1500 free, swimming to a 15:02.66. Top seed Daniel Jervis notably did not swim the race, leaving this field without it’s clear favorite. Both Short and Ireland’s Daniel Wiffen entered the meet with 14:57s.

For his part, Wiffen swam a comfortable 15:37.53 this morning. In a rare occurrence for these Games, India advanced two swimmers into tomorrow night’s final.

For the first time in 13 years, and just the fourth time in the history of New Zealand sports betting, the All Blacks are underdogs going into a match.

If the home series defeat to Ireland, and four losses in the past five outings, wasn’t a stark enough illustration of the national side’s struggles, then the NZ TAB odds for Sunday’s (NZ time) test against South Africa sure paints it brightly.

The All Blacks opened, and remain, at $2.00 in the head-to-head market for the Rugby Championship opener in Mbombela, with the Springboks slight favorites at $1.87.

And while many may feel that it could even be somewhat generous to the visitors, it’s worth remembering odds are set to attract equal action on both sides of the book, and the greatest propensity for locals to back their own team.

But in just being an outsider, the All Blacks are in such rare territory.

They have played 340 matches (including non-tests) since the TAB first offered sports odds in 1996, and the betting agency have only three previous instances of them not opening as favourites.

Those times? All clashes against the Springboks in South Africa. For a record of zero wins and three losses, at that.

Think of All Blacks defeats – and, no, that hasn’t been as hard of late – but in hindsight, despite how galling or gut-wrenching, how big the margin or how big the stage, they had typically still always gone into the game as expected winners.

Let’s rewind to those three exceptions.

Two of those underdog instances came on successive weekends in 2009 – the last time the All Blacks faced back-to-back contests against South Africa in the republic.

Having already lost their season-opener 27-22 to France in Dunedin, before claiming a 14-10 revenge win in Wellington, a new-look team then scored an unconvincing 27-6 win over Italy in Christchurch, before Stephen Donald guided them to at 22-16 win over the Wallabies in the Tri Nations opener in Auckland.

The All Blacks had shut out the Boks 19-0 in their most recent clash, in Durban the year before, but still, with the Springboks coming off a series win over the British and Irish Lions (albeit losing the third test), and Dan Carter sidelined with an achilles rupture, Graham Henry’s men were installed at what remains their record-high opening price at the NZ TAB of $2.60 for the test in Bloemfontein.

Sure enough, in front of an electric crowd, with a mistake-ridden performance in the dry afternoon conditions, the men in black paid the price, falling to a 28-19 defeat.

Ironically, despite the defeat, for the following weekend’s test in Durban, the All Blacks opened at the slightly shorter price of $2.50, perhaps due to being away from the highveld and an expected hit-back factor.

However, there was to be no such response. On an evening which finished one-try apiece, the Boks enjoyed a whopping 72% possession and Morne Steyn punished the visitors’ ill-discipline via the tee. The sharp-shooting first-five scored all his side’s points for a record-setting effort against the All Blacks, who fell to a 31-19 loss.

Prior to those two games, it was a further 11 years back when the All Blacks first went into a game without the favorites tag.

That was in the ill-fated 1998 season, where New Zealand had thumped an understrength England in two tests but then went on to lose their remaining five.

After going down 24-16 to Australia in Melbourne, 13-3 to the Springboks in Wellington, then losing the Bledisloe Cup in a 27-23 loss to the Wallabies in Christchurch, the All Blacks were priced at $2.30 for their next assignment, a fortnight later in Durban, against a Springboks side on a 12-test winning run.

And on an evening in front of 52,000, the visitors silenced that home crowd by going to the break up by 12, and leading 23-5 with quarter of an hour to go, only for the Springboks to storm back with three late tries to hand John Hart’s beleaguered side a heartbreaking 24-23 loss.

Now, back in the republic with their backs against the wall, will it be a case of history repeating, or can the under-fire underdogs make history this weekend?

AT A GLANCE

All Blacks opening as underdogs at the NZ TAB

$2.00 v South Africa, Mbombela, 2022

$2.50 v South Africa, Durban, 2009

$2.60 v South Africa, Bloemfontein, 2009

$2.30 v South Africa, Durban, 1998

Sam Cane calls them the “big rocks” – the foundation stones of any turnaround that is going to play out as the All Blacks head into a daunting pair of matches against the world champion Springboks to open the Rugby Championship.

On the surface it’s an unpromising situation indeed for Cane and his New Zealanders who have lost four of their last five test matches, including a devastating 2-1 home series defeat against Ireland in July that threatened to turn their nation of rugby followers inside-out .

There was a lot to regret from that, and indeed the twin defeats last November. The All Blacks forwards have been off the mark, the defense sporadic, kicking game often aimless, set-piece work messy and attack lacking clarity, sharpness and a discernible plan. On the plus side, at least Ardie Savea and Will Jordan played well.

Since the final whistle in Wellington, the recriminations have flowed and the consensus from seasoned observers has been they need to stop back the detail, simplify the plan and let the players run out with uncluttered heads and clear minds.

Cane has more or less agreed with that, by pointing out, to answer a query from stuff, the “fixes” in the All Blacks are not as widespread as some may realize. In fact as the All Blacks skipper looks at it, you mend a couple of key things, most of the problems go away.

“It may seem like there’s a lot to fix from the outside, but in camp we’ve got a couple of really clear focuses, and often when you get the big rocks of a forward pack right, a lot of those smaller things which may seem like issues sort themselves out,” he said from the team’s training base in Ingwenyama, just out of Mbombela.

“The hardest bit after the last game was actually going home for a week. As much as we needed the break from it all, it was so good to get back in Wellington for that two-day camp and start putting the work in to fix things. It didn’t feel like you could really move forward till we started getting things right.”

New Zealand Rugby, in their wisdom, have tried not to throw the baby out with the bathwater. They’ve shed a couple of assistant coaches, kept the boss Ian Foster in place at least for these two matches in the republic, and they’ve brought in Jason Ryan from the Crusaders to take the forwards.

Cane, contrary to speculation from some quarters, has remained as captain.

Asked about the balance of keeping confidence up ahead of such a daunting challenge, the skipper reiterated his “we’ve got this” stance.

“It’s important we don’t focus on all these things that are going wrong because the truth is there are not heaps of things that are going wrong, and with top teams there are small margins between games,” said Cane.

“For example the last game we lost by 10, but we let in two rolling maul tries which as an All Blacks forward pack is something we don’t see as acceptable. We fix something like that and that’s one big rock sorted out. So we focus on what we need to, and there is a lot of stuff we are doing well, so we focus on that as well instead of just drilling down on what’s not going well.”

Cane also gave a massive tick to the addition of Ryan, who has been brought in to address supposed player concerns about the direction the forwards were getting.

“Jase has been outstanding,” said Cane. “He has come in and taken control and found his feet from him straight away. He’s clearly very knowledgeable and knows what he wants out of our forward pack. I feel like we’ve made some good strides already the last couple of days.”

There has also been plenty of conjecture around just how much damage the absence of South African teams from Super Rugby has done. Cane’s response to a question directly related to that indicated it’s a real thing.

“Super Rugby is certainly different these days to pre-Covid. That’s just the reality,” he added. “If you speak to any of the Kiwi boys, we always enjoy playing the South Africans to test ourselves physically. Although we pride ourselves on playing skilfully, the physical side is a component that a lot of our boys relish as well.

“We knew a long time ago how tough these two games were going to be when we looked at the first five matches of our schedule. But it was always exciting because 1, it’s been a while; and 2, I’ve never in my 10 or so years had two test matches back to back in South Africa. As an All Black you love tests and times that really challenge you – and this is certainly one of those.”

Back on the singles court Tuesday night for the first time since last month’s Wimbledon final, Nick Kyrgios picked up where he left off with a dominant Citi Open win.

Still donning his tennis whites — at least his shirt and cap — Kyrgios rolled past Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2 in just under an hour. The Aussie was a different class once he settled into the evening session match, saving an early break point before dominating from 3-3 in the opening set.

“I came out a bit slow, obviously very different conditions to Wimbledon,” said Kyrgios, who later admitted it took him a long time to get over his four-set final defeat to Novak Djokovic. “I think it was just a bit of nerves as well. I won the tournament in 2019. Seeing my name up on the stadium and then knowing I didn’t play well here at all last year — I lost the first round and I was just going through such a dark time in my life.

“I’m just so happy to be here with my team, the love and support from the crowd. I’m just really happy to be out here playing some good tennis again.”

Kyrgios finished with 12 aces and an 82 per cent (28/34) win rate on first serve, along with a few tweeners. He also revived the tradition that served him well in his 2019 Washington title run: asking a fan in the front row where to serve on match point.

Though Kyrgios missed the target on first serve, apologizing to the fan, he fired an unreturned second delivery to wrap up the comfortable win.

The unseeded Aussie improved to 9-0 in opening rounds this season and 22-7 on the year. He will next face 14th seed Tommy Paul in the American’s opening match at the ATP 500 event. Another home favorite — fourth seed Reilly Opelka — could await in the third round.

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Kyrgios has advanced to the semi-finals or better in four of his past five tournaments since April, but is seeking his first singles title of 2022. He has won two doubles titles with countryman Thanasi Kokkinakis, at the Australian Open and on Sunday in Atlanta , where a knee injury forced him to withdraw from the singles competition.

Kyrgios is teaming with Jack Sock in Washington, and the pair earned a 6-4, 6-4 upset of third seeds Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer on Monday evening.

“Having guys like Jack and Thanasi, these guys are much more than friends for me,” Kyrgios added. “They know I’d do anything for them. I’ve been there for them and they’ve been there for me. I can’t give credit to those guys enough. My girlfriend, my physio, my best friend… I can’t give those guys enough credit because I really wouldn’t be here without them.”

Chanel Harris-Tavita faces a race against time to play one more game in the NRL before he walks away from the sport, while Jazz Tevaga is unlikely to play again this season.

Warriors interim coach Stacey Jones said on Wednesday that it has been confirmed as a medial collateral ligament injury in Harris-Tavita’s knee which will sideline him for around a month.

Given that there are only five games left in the season, it is possible that the 23-year-old has played his last game for the club.

“He has done his MCL, so that’s a three to four-week injury,” Jones said.

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“We’re hoping that Chanel is going to get back out on the field before the end of the year.

“Certainly, from where he was after the game, to where he is now, he’s feeling a lot better.”

Harris-Tavita wants to explore other things in life at the end of this league season and has chosen to give up footy for an indefinite period.

Given what he’s meant to the club over the past four season, it would be a cruel way for him to bow out, but that’s become a possibility with his latest injury.

In his absence, Jones chose to go with Wayde Egan at five-eighth for Saturday’s game against the Rabbitohs. Preferring the specialist hooker to the club’s young halves Daejarn Asi and Ronald Volkman.

“I know we’ve got other options there with Daejarn Asi, who played a couple of weeks ago,” Jones said.

“But there are parts of his game that he needs to get sorted more, based around defense.

“It was more a case of Wayde did a really good job and I also thought Freddy Lussick did a pretty good job, he was very brave in the middle with his defence.

“We then get an opportunity to give Taniela (Otukolo) an opportunity to come on the bench.”

While Egan will wear the No 7 jersey this weekend, it won’t be a long-term option for the club, especially as Te Maire Martin and Luke Metcalf are joining the Warriors next season, to add to the club’s halves stocks.

“It’s a week-to-week thing for Wayde,” Jones said.

“He’s an out-and-out hooker, but he’s a very smart player that can do a job in the halves.

“I thought the way Reece (Walsh) played at the weekend, they both complimented each other really well and Shaun (Johnson) with his kicking game was pretty spot on.

“So the balance of those three worked really well for us on the weekend and a week of training together is going to make them better.”

As for Tevaga, Jones says the shoulder injury he picked up against the Storm last week is expected to rule him out for the remainder of the season.

“He had scans yesterday,” Jones said.

“Hopefully in the next few days they’ll work out whether he needs to have an operation or not, but it is unlikely he’ll play again for us this year and Jazz is going to be a massive loss for us.”

Meanwhile, the Warriors have announced former Hull FC, Wakefield and Leeds head coach Richard Agar will join the club next year as one of their assistants.

“Richard has tremendous experience in top level coaching and will add huge value to our coaching team,” Warriors CEO Cameron George said.

“He’ll provide terrific support for our new head coach Andrew Webster in his role alongside his fellow assistant coaches Stacey Jones and Justin Morgan.”

North Melbourne is torn over whether to pick courageous midfielder Ben Cunnington in the AFL or ease him back into football through the reserves.

The Kangaroos veteran has not played since round 19, 2021 after battling testicular cancer.

But Cunnington is set to finally be available to play this weekend in a major boost for the club.

Caretaker coach Leigh Adams is weighing up whether to bring Cunnington in for the AFL clash with the Sydney Swans at Marvel Stadium on Sunday, or ease him back via the VFL against the same opponents at Arden St.

The 31-year-old was tracking well to return last month before tweaking his calf at training, and last week tested positive for COVID-19.

“He has to get through main skills, then we’ll have the discussion with the performance team whether we think it’s best for him to have a run around in the twos for a week or bring him straight back in,” Adams said on Wednesday .

“I’m pretty sure I know what his preference is and the coach’s preference, it will be just what’s best for his body going forward.

“At this time of year, it’s a great story for us and the motivation for the group and for the footy club.”

Adams admits the coaches face a tough decision but will be guided by the medical staff.

Cunnington was still one of the Kangaroos’ best midfielders before his cancer battle and he has been sorely missed by the club this season.

He has played 227 games for North since being taken with pick five in the 2009 draft.

“The last thing we’d want to do is he breaks down and he’s out for the rest of the year,” Adams said.

“It’s probably going to be the VFL, even though we’d love it to be straight back in.

“Deep down I know he’d love to play seniors, particularly being a game in Melbourne this weekend and we travel next weekend.

“To have his support network and his family that have been through so much with him at the game would be fantastic.”

North sits bottom of the ladder with a 2-17 record heading into the final three games of the season.

The Kangaroos will remember their 1996 premiership victory on Sunday with club greats gathering to celebrate the famous Grand Final win over Sydney.