The Huddle: Where do the Kiwis go after losing to the Kangaroos?

They have to pack the scrum.

Oh.

Stop the clock. They won't get there.

Oh.

What a finish! [cheering] A full time score line, Australia 24, New Zealand 22.

Oh, we had a good edge about us last week. You know, we come off three losses, and well, we used that.

Andrew, they're the rules.

Yeah.

They're known as the rules.

It's rubbish, mate. He hasn't served a ban. He got a two-match ban-

Well, what-

... but he hasn't served

... what you doing now then? Did you knock her off?

Do you want to see the

If you're gonna, if you're gonna talk shit-

Come on. Come on

Right, on the Sports Huddle with us this evening, we have Andrew Alderson, Newstalk ZB sports reader, and Alex Powell, the Herald sports journalist. Hello, lads.

Evening, Heather.

Evening, guys.

Hey, well listen, the news has just broken in the last hour and a half that the judge has thrown out the bid by the rugby guys to stop the league guys using the Chiefs name. Alders, what now?

Well, it's pretty much dead in the water, isn't it, as, as a result of that, I would've thought. I mean, legally, I think that makes sense. It's, uh, I thought they might've had a case with the, the, the colors and maybe the merchandise issue, but it was a relatively flimsy premise. You already had the premise, the, the precedent of the, uh, the Blues and New South Wales and the Blues of, of Auckland or the Auckland region in, uh, in Super Rugby over the years. The Kansas City Chiefs, Exeter Chiefs, uh, might've been hard to stack up.

Yeah. I, I reckon we're smart enough to tell the difference, Alex, don't you think?

Uh, just to slightly disagree, I mean, we do have a precedent, you know, from even back to 2001 when the Football Kings had to change their name because the Sydney Kings, uh, the basketball team, uh, challenged it.

Mm.

But yeah, you're right. It, it was hard to see the way that this would go in favor of New Zealand rugby when they are playing a different sport in a different country.

Now, on the, um, the rugby league last night, Alders, that was gutting, eh? They were almost there, the Kiwis, and then just, just fell apart at the last minute.

Oh, that's, uh, that's a tough result for them, but I suppose it gives them parity. It gives them ... Uh, you know, they had a lot of position. That bodes well for later in the tournament. You know, was it a moral victory like, uh, like England in the, uh, in Cricket's Ashes? Possibly. Uh, difficult with, uh, Calebonga breaking his arm-

Mm

... though. That's, that's pretty damaging to the campaign. But you know, Australia held in there, didn't they? And, uh, yeah, had plenty in it, that game, from what I could see. And, and particularly the, uh, area that stood out as well was Casey McLean with that try. Everything but the ball in his hands-

Mm

... uh, were in touch.

It was amazing, eh?

Amazing athleticism.

Yeah.

I, I think it's one of the areas of the game that's just ... In both codes, you know, rugby and, and in league, uh, it's just, uh, it's just so athletic now in that regard. You, you wouldn't have seen the elements like that back in the, in the 1950s, I suspect.

No. I reckon, Alex, it's, it, it is a ... It, that, that Calebonga loss must be a massive disruption for the squad because