New Zealand players celebrate after New Zealand's Shane Smeltz, partially visible at second from left, scored a goal, during the World Cup Group F soccer match between Italy and New Zealand at Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit, South Africa, Sunday, June 20, 2010. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)
With the end of another year approaching and the usual glut of articles surrounding Australia’s top sporting moments, I cannot help but feel a list of 2010 worst Aussie sporting moments might be more appropriate. Luckily it’s easy to compile such a list.
Type ‘New Zealand’s top sporting moments of 2010’ into Google and you’ll discover that 2010 really was the year little brother New Zealand truly trumped Australia.
Rugby League
2010 was the year the Kiwis won the Four Nations rugby league and the Australian league fan had to finally accept that maybe the previous couple years of strong showings internationally were not just flukes. To top things off, the aggregate crowd for the three matches played in New Zealand far surpassed the three matches played in Australia. Let’s also not forget that the NZ Warriors took out the under 20’s comp and the overall club championship.
Rugby Union
The joy of beating the All Blacks on the siren with a sideline conversion is a hollow reward given that there are primary school children who have yet to see the Bledisloe Cup in this country. Also, let’s not forget the Black Ferns women’s rugby team who took out the World Cup. Then of course there’s the Delhi Rugby Sevens, where after trailing by 10, NZ came back to claim gold in the final against Australia.
Netball
Speaking of comebacks in gold medal finals, full marks for the kick in the guts the Silver Ferns gave to the Diamonds by winning their gold medal match in double overtime in what will go down as the greatest game of Test netball to date.
Football
Which leaves us with football and the fact that the Wellington Phoenix became the first team to play in the semi-final of another confederation’s finals series, with the Oceanian’s knocking out a couple Asian Confederation Aussie teams in the process.
But of course the ‘bottom’ moment of the year must be left to the 2010 World Cup. With Australia and New Zealand heading into the tournament with vastly different expectations, New Zealand left with the bragging rights of being the only unbeaten team in the tournament, while Australia exited the tournament after just one game.
So while honourable mentions go to the Australian cricket team and Mark Webber, the kudos must go to New Zealand for finally getting one up on big brother and truly giving Australian sport a 2010 to forget.
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