Olympics wrap up in Paris, All Blacks’ Wellington losing streak continues

With the Olympics coming to an end, it’s a good time to reflect on what it’s meant for Pacific athletes. Meanwhile in New Zealand, both the Wahs and All Blacks lost, so it wasn’t the best weekend for fans of the oval ball codes. Let’s get stuck in!

1. Olympics breakdancing highlights extravagant games

The Olympics Closing Ceremony marks the conclusion of the Paris Olympics. And what a month of competition it was!

It was my first time covering an Olympics in any capacity, and it was quite empowering as a Pacific journalist to cover our Pacific athletes at the games.

And in the last week of competition, our Pacific athletes were represented in several different sports that brought the prospect of a medal. David Liti competing for New Zealand was proud to represent his Tongan heritage, just falling short of medal contention in weightlifting.

While Samoan shot putter Alex Rose made history by becoming the first Pacific athlete (from a Pacific nation) to compete in a track and field final at an Olympics games.

And I know they’re not Pacific players, but how good was it to see that stacked USA men’s basketball team win gold!

The Olympics is a time for the world to celebrate sport, their countrymen and countrywomen and to see some of the best athletic performances from world-class athletes.

But it’s also a good time to witness the emergence of the next generation of athletes, and the farewell for some of the world's best. A huge congratulations to all the competitors!

2. NRLW kicks off with strong performances

The NRLW has kicked off in Australia and the competition hosts the most teams in its history (12). The Cronulla Sharks women are currently sitting on top of the table, winning three from three.

Several Pacific and Kiwi athletes are spread across the twelve teams, including some of the Black Ferns best like Stacey Waaka (Brisbane Broncos), Tyla King (Newcastle Knights) and Niall Williams-Guthrie (Gold Coast Titans).

At the weekend, the Brisbane Broncos thrashed the Titans 44 to 4 in Brisbane.

One of the NRLW’s most destructive players is Tongan powerhouse Mele Hufanga, who scored four tries for her Broncos side. She has now tied her record set last year, for the most tries scored in a single match.

3. All Blacks continue five-year winless streak

The curse of the Cake Tin continues, as the All Blacks have not tasted victory in Wellington for six years now, after losing to Argentina on Saturday night. The final score was 38 - 30 to the Pumas.

Argentina are no slouch on both sides of the field, shutting out the All Blacks attack with their brutal defence, and breaking the All Blacks defensive line with their exciting play.

The All Blacks’ looked flat in most parts of the game, unable to answer the intensity of Argentina.

In their clash this week at Eden Park, the All Blacks will need to fix their attacking options and adapt to the strong Argentine defence to complete more scoring opportunities.

Watch the full sports wrap on Pacific Mornings here:

4. Warriors season over?

The Warriors season may finally be over. The golden point loss last night to the Dolphins took away any hope from fans that the Wahs would make this year's finals. The Dolphins won 34 - 32 in a nail-biter.

Despite the match being tightly contested between both teams, the Dolphins were able to ice the big moments, with Sean O’Sullivan kicking a two-point field goal to win the Dolphins the match.

Jamayne Isaakos also had a perfect night on the kicking tee, which gave them the edge in the end, given the Warriors’ ongoing goal-kicking woes.

The Warriors’ will need to produce some strong performances in their final games. They face the in-form Manly Sea Eagles this Friday, and will need to front up on defence to nullify the Sea Eagles’ relentless attack.

5. The Tribal Chief wreaks havoc

Yes, my WWE fandom continues. The Original Tribal Chief Roman Reigns returned to action at the latest episode of Smackdown, laying waste to the “new” Bloodline.

We last saw Reigns’ interrupt Solo Sikoa’s match at Summerslam last week, costing him the WWE Universal Championship against Cody Rhodes. Sikoa was bent on revenge, calling out Reigns’ throughout Friday’s episode of Smackdown.

In his last address to the crowd, Sikoa’s call out to Reigns was answered. Roman Reigns, donning the OTC (Original Tribal Chief) t-shirt ran to the ring, laying waste to Sikoa’s henchmen.

Reigns then confronted Sikoa in the ring, the pair exchanged blows but Sikoa eventually escaped the ring. Sikoa would yell at Reigns from afar, exclaiming he is the “Tribal Chief”, but Reigns continued his beatdown on the Bloodline, ending the show.

Matty’s Golden Point

Matty’s Golden Point is a piece of advice shared on 531PI’s Pacific Grandstand show.

“Tired doesn’t mean nothing, tired is only in the mind, you tell yourself you are tired, you gonna be tired. I don’t get tired.”

2024 Paris Olympics Gold Medalists Lebron James.