New Zealand: the pressure is on

@zhenry,No wonder NZ media is the worst as you say,being owned by Australian media.Look what the Aussies did in UK.You only have to read the Guardian as not much coverage in Oz.

ZHenry ...I just don't believe that there is any Australian influence at work, here. Sure, we'll always be happy to put fuel on the fire, but I don't believe we start the fire in the first place ...however, could well be wrong, and I have no first hand knowledge of the media in any country....I think part of it is just the psyche - NZ has never struggled as a Rugby nation, Australia has, we have an attitude of having a go and seeing where it takes us - sport, for the most part in Australia, is not life or death for sportsmen, (it can be for some supporters and spectators), but in general, we tend to be pretty fair competitors.. I don't think that winning is as far ingrained in the national psyche for Rugby in Australia as it is in NZ - and that is probably where the problem lies - the Wallabies can sit quietly for three years over every World Cup cycle and only worry about the spotlight at the right time, whereas the spotlight never seems to go off the AB's - so the weight of expectation is that much greater - journos tend to respond to what their reading market wants, so you have to assume the pressure is coming from within the NZ public, not some newspaper boardroom in Sydney or Melbourne!

I welcome intelligent critical analysis of anything but your post and your comments are 'not'. Just about all the comments apart from yours have got something to offer. Sounds patronising but I suggest you read them. Unfortunately you could be a NZer although I favour 'not' but if you are; God help NZ.

'Your press' does not exist Gatesy the rugby media in NZ is totally AU owned. If you are interested made some further comments about this above. Thoroughly agree with your approach.

I am replying to Nick_KIA, he does not have a reply caption. My comment recognises the negativity in the NZ character, and it is also recognised by the NZ education system and is something they are working on. Nick_KIA maintains the one time NZ owned NZ media was just as bad as the present AU owned lot, I completely disagree, and I would not express that ownership as Nick_KIA has: "and before the filthy AU media bought up our hack journalists." He is probably trying to be cryptic, I prefer to emphasise that NZ allowed AU interests to take over their media and the degree to which the ABs are negatively framed (both subtle and blatant) and NZRU policy is manipulated to agree with the ARU has never been at such an extreme level. But is to be expected if you allow AU interests to own your information system. The emphasis should be put upon the idiocy of NZ allowing such a thing to happen. Some NZ journalists, who comment on here, are keen to be derogatory about the suggestion that AU ownership has a negative influence, they think it unfairly reflects on their professionalism. No it is not an unfair reflection it is a true reflection of where the present NZ media is at, the worst in the world.

Your press is your own worst enemy - every four years about now, you all get the jitters and put a hex on your players - it's started already - anyone see Justin Marshall's piece today? YOu'd think he would know better - then the coach and the team go into their inevitable huddle and hide away - it's a self perpetuating philosophy. If I were Graham Henry, I'd be saying 'forget what you read, fellas, believie in yourselves, we'll train hard and believe we can win, read all the newspapers, give lots of interviews, sign lots of autographs, have fun and win..(and stuff the journos).

I dont think so Infidel! ;) THE Bay will sweep all before them.

We just gotta stay one step ahead of the aussies in this RWC and I think this can be achieved. thank goodness some one else will knock France out!

This type of rugby writing is allways the way the All Blacks have been talkeda bout in NZ. Thye are only as bad as their next loss. Ugly wins are poured over looking for why and hand wringing because it means the next loss is coming. A perfect win is a releif This is accentuated come WC time. Some argue this is why the ABs are able to maintain such a great winning proprtion. But it might make WCs harder to win. This psychology is at play in the public and probably in the team. It's existed since before the WC and before the filthy Aus media bought up our hack journalists.

I think you'll find that's the last time they played. Or the Wobblies for that matter.

Ford did mention about drifting across field and Saders did go away from their game plan (also mentioned by Sader players and coach) but it was how Ford presented the article: A convoluted self biting deformity. Go to the SMH Heaven site and you don't get that sort of NZ annihilating writing applied to the AU scenario. The main cause of it in my opinion is that NZ has no media of its own, it is all foreign owned (mainly AU) and Fairfax Board members comprise core ARU support. If you have worked in media the manger appointed editors have the power. There is an annihilating aspect to the NZ character but the extremity of it is played on by the AU ownership.

Who cares at this point in time - the thing is still a few months away ... in the meantime the NPC kicks off tonight and personally can't wait for my lads to get stuck into the magpies on Sat afternoon while celebrating their 125th jubilee ... if the bad weather stays away I reckon there'll be about 8,000 + there for the start of the new competition

Must have bumped his head when he got into bed.

"I’d love to claim this (1987 inaugural cup) as a genuine title, but to me it seems hollow." Why? Because it was held in the amateur era? How does that diminish the achievement? Do you also invalidate the Wallabies and Springboks titles in 1991 and 1995 for the same reasoning? I'm always happy for new people to join The Roar and voice their opinions by submitting an article, it's one of the great things about this site. However you need to elaborate further on why you believe a World Cup victory in the amateur era doesn't compare to a title in the professional era. I don't agree and my reasons have nothing to do with the advancement of sports science, nutrition, video analysis, strength and conditioning since the game turned professional.

The ABs would definitely be better off if the Cup were being held in Aussie. Now all the Matilda's are gonna say, "Oh Yeah? Then how come the Crusaders were beaten?" The ABs will be under the same kind of pressure the Saffers were under when they won at home but without the politics involved. And for Ohtani to try to talk about a city's misfortune as pressure and make out that rugby's just a game is evidence of his intense anxiousness. Ohtani, not all Kiwis are anxious. Some of us believe that the Wallabies really do have a scrum problem. Some of us believe that the ABs will shut down Genia/Cooper the same way the Saders did. To win the Cup at home will generate pressure like the bottom of the Mindanao trench - colossal. And it won't be on any of the other Big Six teams the way it will be on the men in black. I'm optimistic. I think they'll handle it, and if they do the best team will win, and that's the All Blacks.

40 years , whew, I won't have too many facilities left by then to have to worry about it..

What has that guy been watching for the past 7 years. 5 tri Nations titles, 7 Bledisloes, 88% winning record. Just imagine what GH would do if he did produce a game plan....Laughed my arse off at that one

Yes that Ford article was simply a bizarre rant. Henry has out coached Deans year after year and has revolutionised the way the AB's have played season by season.