In a million years Swimwatch was never intended to be a personal blog. We did this, we did that, or as Jane calls them, “we packed up the car to go to Waimarama” stories. Swimwatch had a purpose, to comment on issues affecting swimming. Occasionally we strayed into other sports, and if the injustice was serious, such as the ridiculous American Supreme Court’s abortion tyranny, we dabbled elsewhere.

But today we break new ground. I have a Waimarama story. Yesterday I tested positive for COVID. There they were two bright red lines on my RAT test. Bugger. Are there any other symptoms, you may be asking? Well, here are the full gory details.

·        I’m breathless and tired. Right now, that is the most significant and concerning symptom.

·        I have a cough, but no more that a very mild cold.

·        I have a runny nose, but also no more than a mild cold.

·        I’m going to the loo more often, but they say that’s a side effect of the five-day course of Paxlovid they have put me on. And just a thought for anyone still tearing into Jacinda on the subject of health reform. Consider this. Within half an hour of testing positive I was prescribed and taking Pfizer’s Paxlovid treatment. The cost of each course is $850.65. I got mine, without a cash register in sight. That alone is worth my vote next year.

And so, from someone who I’m told is “at risk of severe illness and are more likely to need hospital care due to underlying risks,” I will sign out of this in-depth medical report.

But, before I leave, I must congratulate sport’s journalist Mark Reason. He has published an opinion piece on the Stuff website that tears into Sam Cane, Ian Foster and the NZ Rugby Union. Reason identifies exactly where responsibility for the current mess needs to fall. The examples used by Reason are as shocking as they are relevant.

Without a doubt when things are at their worst, character is tested most. We are about to see, this week, whether New Zealand rugby deserves or is capable of doing well in next year’s World Cup. Deal with this like grown-ups and New Zealand has a chance. Blink and take the easy option and that trophy is headed somewhere else. My guess is France. Le jour de gloire est arrivé.