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Be afraid New Zealand, be very afraid. The Wallabies’ resounding victory over our first XV in Saturday’s Tri-Nations decider was more than a random result of immaterial consequence in the context of a Rugby World Cup year.
This trans-Tasman trouncing, exposed the mental fraility of our men in Black to the entire watching world. It is the headspace or the mental muscle – the top two inches – which is the dreaded choke factor.
Question: What the hell has Graham Henry and the other coaching retreads been doing since the epic Rugby World Cup fail of four years ago to work that underbelly of mental-flab into peak condition?
This year’s 30-man Rugby World Cup squad reflects the most experienced body of New Zealand players ever assembled for such a mission. If ‘experience’ was Henry’s answer to the missing link, Robbie Deans scribbled a big black ‘Fail’ on Saturday’s test paper.
In post-match comment, king Henry and his knight in waiting, Richie McCaw, were as perplexed as the rest of us as to how the All Blacks unraveled so remarkably across 40-50 minutes of Test match acid.
Says Henry: “I think they just had more edge than us and we suffered because of that. We did not do the business in the finish.”
Somebody slap that man. How is it, on the eve of the pinnacle tournament being hosted in our country, the birthplace of where it all began, that our Aussie counterparts possess “more edge” than we do?
Henry’s concession is an indictment on Saturday’s elect 22, and coaches and management, even right down to the bloke who drove the Black bus to Suncorp Stadium. Nobody, but nobody, at this moment in time, should possess more edge than us.
But here’s what really annoys me. There was nothing in the Wallabies’ well-executed game-plan that wasn’t already signaled, in Neon Lights.
Coach Deans’ introduction of well-known enforcers, Dan Vickerman and Radike Samo into his mix had mongrel all over it.
Hard-man Rocky Elsom was retained in spite of the fresh appointment of inspired captain James Horwill. Decoded, these strategic adjustments stated, “We’re getting ready to rumble.”
The next Aussie storm-warning came in the form of an extended Wallaby stare-down of the All Blacks cut-throat haka.
If you didn’t see it, watch the replay. It was an unnerving and genius response.
So it transpired that 10-minutes into the first half, the All Blacks back-row comprising Read, Thomson and McCaw were damaged and decimated. The former two hobbled off hopelessly before half-time.
And for some unfathomable reason, McCaw and Co looked so utterly flustered that we can only deduct they didn’t see the Wallaby onslaught coming, or the Aussie “edge”, as Henry so aptly puts it.
The extent of Wallaby distain, however, was best exemplified in the actions of a player not remotely renowned for throwing his weight around. Because Quade Cooper doesn’t have any.
His persistent harassment of captain McCaw, including the knee-nudge to the head, was indication aplenty that Deans had commissioned his cowboys to smash their clueless counterparts to pieces. And even Cooper wanted in.
Yet, for the wealth of so-called All Blacks experience on the field, it took a half-time break, to figure out just what was going on.
Replay this situation in the ’80s.
Blokes like Buck Shelford and Sean Fitzpatrick come to mind. Any such level of trans-Tasman disrespect was stomped on. Literally. It was identified and extracted at the root.
But not so amongst the present PC breed of plastic warriors.
So how does one remedy the intangible aspect of the All Blacks game? How do you mentally shunt XV men into battle-mode as and when required, to do what Henry calls, “the business”?
Does anyone know? Graham Henry openly admits that he doesn’t.
Or, is it that it’s New Zealand’s rabid rugby public that needs to change?
Are we just too unrealistic as a nation to expect our time-honoured men in Black to win every time? Are we demanding too much of our first XV to dominate at all costs in the arena of rugby’s elite?
Maybe the All Blacks have grown up and it’s time we do too?
Yeah that’s it. It’s time, we as a nation, conform to the new-age societal norms. Uphold ‘participation’ as the paramount virtue and ‘winning’ just the optional extra but certainly not the goal.
Temper your expectations New Zealand. It appears that our top team has settled for the spirit of average.
Let’s just focus on being humble hosts. Show our visitors a good time. Let our contribution to Rugby World Cup 2011 be remembered as friendly fluffy hosts, in the image and likeness of our friendly fluffy rugby team.
After all, winning isn’t everything. Is it?
P.S. Stop doing the cut-throat haka. You don’t mean it.
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.