After everything that’s happened this year, it may seem a bit trivial to be discussing sport. But for a lot of us, the fact that there were any balls being kicked, any races being run, or any shouts of joy or despair at a TV gave a serious amount of hope that one day, things will be back to normal.

It’s easy to forget that this year started out with the excitement of an upcoming Olympics, before everything came crashing down in March. The global sporting shutdown was arguably the moment that most non-medical professionals realised just how serious this situation was. Like someone turning out the lights, each major sporting competition suspended operations over the course of around a fortnight - leaving an awful lot of people out of work before the lockdown had even actually started.

The Olympic Symbol is pictured at the New National Stadium in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo in March 2020. Photo: AFP / Yomiuri

Out of the ashes though, came a series of events that are worth talking about, so let’s have a look at what’s happened since:

• Aotearoa becomes the first country to open up stadiums - the second weekend of June was the one where we truly led the world. Fittingly preceded by an honour guard of essential service workers, the Highlanders and Chiefs took the field in front of 20,000 at Forsyth Barr Stadium. The next day, in stunning sunshine, the Blues and Hurricanes faced off at a completely sold out Eden Park. Kudos to the Blues, who recognised just how significant the sight of a full house would be, discounting adult tickets and letting kids in for free (also managing to pull off the feat on only a week and half’s notice).

Blues captain Patrick Tuipulotu. Photo: PHOTOSPORT

• Warren Gatland’s fall from grace - one year ago, Gatland was held in such high regard as a coach he was able to dictate the ridiculous terms to the Chiefs that have seen him get next year off to go back and coach the British & Irish Lions. After their miserable Super Rugby Aotearoa campaign that saw them go winless, the Chiefs are probably happy to see him go, although it’s put a huge dent in their plans going forward - not to mention any aspirations Gatland may have had to one day coach the All Blacks.

• This year we lost two of the greatest global superstars ever. Kobe Bryant was tragically killed in a helicopter crash back in January, while Diego Maradona succumbed to years of hard living in November.

• Black Lives Matter - whoever still maintains that politics and sport don’t mix needs to really shut up now, as athletes all over the US and eventually the world took a stand against police brutality against African-Americans. It was unsurprisingly led by the NBA, however the NFL had to shamefully admit they’d gotten it wrong by failing to recognise Colin Kaepernick’s anthem-kneeling protest a few years ago that saw him shut out of the league. Despite this, Kap tellingly still has not got a job back on the football field.

• …Aaaaand still! - the most intriguing sports person in the country, Israel Adesanya defended his UFC middleweight title twice this year. The first, against Yoel Romero, was a drab watch, however the second was a complete beatdown of trash talking Brazilian Paulo Costa. Adesanya was recently voted top of ESPN’s MMA power rankings, and has successfully cleaned out any real competition he has for the belt - will 2021 see him move weight class?

• The (Road) Warriors and Phoenix - both the NRL and A-League’s efforts to keep their seasons going deserve plaudits, but they could only do so with the cooperation of the NZ based teams. Both relocated to Australia for the remainder of their schedules, meaning that the competitions could fulfill its obligations to broadcasters and avoid a potentially fatal financial hit. The fact that the Warriors finished 10th is inconsequential, now hopefully they can return to Mt Smart in 2021 at some stage for a rightful heroes welcome.

• Women’s rugby takes a big hit - this is probably the saddest post-Covid tale. The Black Ferns were set up to play their busiest domestic schedule by far, with tests against all other leading nations in anticipation for next year’s World Cup. They were all wiped out, replaced by inter squad games that NZ Rugby deemed only fit to be curtain raisers for the Mitre 10 Cup.

• The Silver Ferns took on the men and won - intergender sports matches carry with them an awful lot of risk, but netball’s embrace of letting the women take on the men has been a revelation. The national team toppled their male counterparts for the first time in an official match last month, hopefully meaning this series becomes a permanent fixture.

• Team New Zealand leaves their wallet in the car - in news that will be relatable to all club sport battlers, it seems that the richest sports team in the country wasn’t able to pay their subs on time. The America’s Cup regatta is still scheduled to start on time however, with brand new Auckland Central MP Chlöe Swarbrick no doubt fizzing at the thought of rubbing shoulders with the government-funded yachting set.