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Pro-rata to population, New Zealand must be the best sporting nation on the planet.
The latest stats show the Kiwis have a population of 4.565 million, behind Sydney’s 5.25 million, and just ahead of Melbourne’s 4.44 million.
Yet the All Blacks are the undisputed greatest rugby nation, winner of the last two World Cps, and the only winner of three, they have won the last 14 Bledisloe Cups, and 13 of 20 Tri-Nations/Rugby Championships.
They have produced world-class cricketers like Sir Richard Hadlee, Martin Crowe, John Reid, Bert Sutcliffe, Glenn Turner, Daniel Vettori, and Brendon McCullum.
Their netballers have titanic tussles with Australia as the two best on the planet, their rowers are world class, so too their yachtsmen.
Over the years New Zealand has produced middle to distance track legends like Jack Lovelock, Murray Halberg, Peter Snell, and John Walker, a long jumper in Yvette Williams, and shot-putter Valerie Adams.
And Sir Bob Charles – the first leftie to win a golfing major, with The Open in 1963 – who at 80 is still constantly breaking his age.
By comparison, the Warriors are woeful. They don’t possess the typical Kiwi fighting spirit.
Inaugurated in 1995, they have won only 241 of their 490 NRL games (49.18%), been in two grand finals – going down to the Roosters 30-8 in 2002, and beaten 24-10 by Manly in 2011.
But the rest of the time the Warriors have just been making up the numbers.
This season they ended their campaign in embarrassing fashion.
With four rounds to play, they were a genuine top-eight contender.
But they lost 41-22 to Souths at Mt Smart, lost 34-6 to the Cowboys at Townsville, lost 36-24 to Wests-Tigers at Mt Smart, and lost 40-18 to Parramatta at Mt Smart.
With so much at stake, losing three out of three home games at Mt Smart proved they aren’t rugby league smart.
Sure, they can appoint Stephen Kearney as the new head coach, demote former coach Andrew McFadden to an assistant, bring back legend Stacey Jones to the coaching panel, and sign the wandering Kieran Foran, but it won’t make any difference.
They haven’t got what it takes, the national DNA of an unbendable will to win is missing.
On this season’s roster of 34 players, 24 were born in New Zealand, and 18 of those were born in Auckland. The Warriors can’t be more Kiwi than that, but they can’t cut the mustard and shouldn’t be in the NRL.