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Much comment has been made about the Wallaby forwards not meeting the challenge of Samoan and All Blacks forwards.
Many commentators view attacking the Wallaby soft underbelly as the blueprint to beating Australia in the rugby World Cup.
Some background. In previous generations of men, pubescent boys were taken from their mothers (which still occurs in indigenous societies) and put through a right-of-passage process, which in effect facilitated the boys making the psychological shift from being a boy to a man.
In the process, the boys faced their own mortality (in a controlled environment) facing the fear of the unknown, thereby steeling them for the rest of their lives.
In Samoa and New Zealand, this steel is known as “mana”.
Generation Y’s elite rugby players in Australia are metro males, who have a high awareness of self-image and are concerned with creating their own brand.
Their lives are driven by every different type of technology. In a sense, they are treated like rock stars.
Understanding the need for right-of-passage disappeared, as soon as the industrial revolution commenced and men lost their community with other men.
Except for military service, Generation Y has had little opportunity to go through a life-defining right-of-passage, and has little desire to assert manhood in an increasing feminine world.
Mana is a foreign concept to Generation Y. The metro male gets his status by the type and number of boys’ toys that he has.
In contrast, the Samoans come from a culture characterised by a high-level discipline around the family unit with strong connect to spirituality.
In this age, they view rugby as a vehicle for their right-of-passage – being their way of measuring themselves as men – the greater level of fearlessness, the greater level of mana.
It is interesting to see the Samoans in the Australian team, like Digby Ioane, who play with such fearlessness. Who will ever forget the fearlessness of another Samoan – Willie Ofahengaue?
Similarly, the concept of “mana” is part of the fabric of life in New Zealand. All Blacks are revered in day-to-day life.
The greater the level of fearlessness in their play, the greater level of “mana”, they are attributed by the people of New Zealand. This is the Maori way and is best reflected in the fierceness of their haka.
Mana sets the All Blacks apart from the rest of the rugby world and it provides tiny islands such as Samoa (and Tonga and Fiji) with the ability to “punch above their weight” – attack the Australian Metro underbelly and beat us.
New Zealand has very cleverly channelled the best islanders through their systems into the All Blacks – with every player seeking his own mana.
Until the Wallabies develop their own mana, they will never consistently defeat the All Blacks and in this day of professionalism, will struggle against other Pacific Island sides – especially when they can field their best players.
Mana is not an attitude – it has to be earned. It is a primordial strength known as fearlessness. The greater the fearlessness, the greater the mana.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.