Message to Cooper: If it ain't broke, don't fix it

OPINION: Hurricanes fans should have known better.

Just when things looked to be humming along, the side crashes.

The good news is they can still make the Super 14 rugby playoffs with a win over the Reds in Brisbane on Saturday night.

What made Saturday night's loss to the Chiefs in Hamilton was the fact the Hurricanes had no kicking game to match Stephen Donald, with Willie Ripia well off the mark.

Donald kept turning the Hurricanes around and that kept his forwards on the front foot.

There's an old saying of don't change a winning team.

Bringing back Piri Weepu at halfback didn't help the Hurricanes back play.

Sure, he's an All Black and a fine player, but he didn't slot into the running style of play the Hurricanes had adopted over recent weeks. Too often he took too long to clear the ball, often directing his forwards to pick and go when the situation cried out for the ball to be spun wide quickly.

Coach Colin Cooper has a big call to make this week and it wouldn't surprise if Alby Mathewson was back in the No 9 jersey.

The question then would be: Who is at 10 ... Weepu or Ripia?

I'd lean towards leaving Weepu on the bench.

Just about as disappointing were the Kiwis in the Anzac rugby league test against the Aussies. While the result wasn't a surprise the Kiwis have never fared well in the mid-year test the way they played was.

Mistakes gifted the Aussies three first-half tries and that was it game over.

GREAT seeing some Taranaki club rugby on Sky Sport last week.

The round five division one game was between defending champion New Plymouth Old Boys and Tukapa, with Old Boys winning 50-14. And just as good was seeing one of Taranaki's greats, Ross "Pascoe" Brown, featuring in the "Everyday people" segment. But if I ever hear commentator Morris West utter the phrase "Carters rural replay" again, it will be one time too many.

NOW that one hurt ... I could almost feel the pain.

Stirling Mortlock's head-on tackle on Blues prop Tony Woodcock on Saturday night in Canberra was the biggest hit of the Super 14 rugby season. Funny thing was the Brumbies wing came off worst, having to leave the field while Woodcock managed to pick himself up and battle on.

THERE'S been plenty said about the Taranaki Dynamos' injury list in this year's National Basketball League.

But with 10 straight losses and only five games left, it's time the players on deck rolled their sleeves up and got on with the job. Sometimes in sport you have to accept the cards dealt to you and box on.

While no-one is talking money, the top players are paid to be on court and they should be earning their pay. That means playing hard, both on attack and defence.

That hasn't always been the case, with little in the way of defence in some games. Perhaps the pay packets need to reflect that.

- © Fairfax NZ News