Too many Kiwis seem to be basking in the downfall of Australian and South African rugby.
Social media is plastered with New Zealanders celebrating as union in Australia and South Africa tears itself apart. Admittedly social media trends aren’t always that well informed but it is a representation of broad public opinion nevertheless.
There are gleeful declarations that NPC sides are stronger than the Australian provinces. Then there are the protestations that all five New Zealand Super Rugby sides should be finalists this year.
After all, those five sides routinely beat Australian and South African competition for that matter. It’s as simple as that, isn’t it?
And it is not just the cesspit of social media clickbait either. The New Zealand Herald has already started a campaign of excuses should Johannesburg’s Lions, a hell of a team deserving of praise in every respect, win the competition.
Everybody knows New Zealand is the greatest rugby nation in the world. I say that without a hint of sarcasm.
The All Blacks have won three Rugby World Cups, more than anyone else. The Junior All Blacks have won almost every junior title over the past 15 years. New Zealand Super Rugby teams have been, and will continue to be, dominant, with few exceptions.
(AP Photo/Rob Taggart)
The NPC is the greatest semi-professional championship anywhere in the world and is fed by an amazingly developed and talented schoolboy competition.
Yet all that doesn’t appear to be enough for many Kiwis. I say many, because there are some who genuinely care about the game and the bigger international picture. Yet those supporters are sadly quiet at the moment.
If Kiwis really love the game of rugby, rather than just winning, there should be a groundswell of sympathy in New Zealand for the plight of the game in Australia and South Africa.
There should also be profound worry and concern.
One could easily argue that the strength of the Wallabies between 1991 and 2003 played an important role in the All Blacks’ successes in 2011 and 2015. Arguably no union in the world adapted as quickly to professional rugby as Australia. Alan Jones, Bob Dwyer, Rod McQueen and Eddie Jones all were pivotal in developing the professional game in the Southern Hemisphere and forging ahead of Europe.
The same could be said for Jake White’s Springboks, who strongly challenged the All Blacks at a junior level before going on to win the World Cup in 2007. Without that competition in the years before, would the All Blacks have seen off such a stern challenge from the French in 2011?
Even the most ardent New Zealand Rugby Union administrators and coaches would recognise that maintaining a strong game in Australia and South Africa is vital to the success of rugby in New Zealand in the long term. Perhaps this is why the NZRU and SANZAAR set up the so-called ‘farcical’ finals qualification system in the first place.
Yes, Super Rugby is a mess. Yes, SANZAAR has made that mess. But ensuring that at least one South African and Australian team make the finals is a necessity for all unions involved.
Unfair? Maybe. Unwise? Definitely not.
Too many New Zealanders seem to have forgotten the lessons of history when it comes to an arrogant, isolationist approach.
Those of us who are old enough will remember the cries from South Africa in 1987 and 1991 when the Boks were excluded from participating in the World Cups. “You haven’t played the real world champions,” went some of those cries, while others were along the lines of “The Currie Cup teams are better than the Wallabies and All Blacks”.
They were punchy assertions that made no friends in New Zealand at the time.
Needless to say, when South Africa re-joined the international system and met the Wallabies and All Blacks in 1992 they were soundly beaten.
Why? Quite simply because the game in South Africa during the 80s had been played in isolation without international competition. It had failed to develop and renew.
Similar issues were identified when English and French clubs tried to break away from the European competition and form their own. It was immediately recognised that the Irish and Welsh, in particular, were key cogs for the development of the game in general.
So many Kiwis are genuinely in love with the game of rugby. Their heroes, the Carters and McCaws, the Shelfords and Lomus are the greatest ever but manage to find a place in every neutral’s heart.
(Photo: AFP)
Why? Humility. Humbleness. Traits that, in the past at least, others associated with New Zealanders.
Yet there is an arrogance and unpleasantness emanating from an increasing number of New Zealanders now. The lack of care for the game’s death throws in Australia and South Africa. The lack of respect for the British and Irish Lions and European rugby in general which is so evident in the comments on these pages. It is very disappointing.
Is New Zealand truly in love with the game or just with winning?
Forget about the British and Irish Lions for now.
England are throwing everything into beating the All Blacks not just in 2019 but for ten years after too. It has become an obsession for the relentless Eddie Jones and the powerful English union he has harnessed behind him.
Unlike the French and Wallabies, who got remarkably close with very average sides in 2011 and 2015 respectively, England have the financial resources and player depth to facilitate the obsession.
At the provincial level, Saracens in London have just won back-to-back European titles. Their South African backers are quietly confident that they can take on the best of Super Rugby.
If New Zealand rugby is to remain at the pinnacle, if the All Blacks want to stay as the Everest for all opposition, then New Zealanders need to self-administer a healthy dose of humility. For their own sake.
zhenry
Guest
It's great that the Swedes are involving themselves in NZ/AU rugby, but have to point out that AU's rugby problems are AU's. What's more it's important NZ doesn't disadvantage itself by trying to help AU - NZ has already done this and our NPC (cradle of the ABs) suffers; not on as far as I am concerned, and look at the appreciation shown by AU's, and now they want unfettered access to all our players - psychopathic. Please see my comment below.
Birdy
Guest
What an amazing 3 days and almost 400 posts. The bottom line is that fans are illogical and passionate about who they support.And thats the way it should be. Let me tell you about my day of "fan " shame. When I was 22 , having never heard a kiwl accent or even knowingly met a kiwi , i travelled to the land of the long white cloud.Beautiful place , nice people, sports mad. My kind of place. Nothing is perfect though, every Irish joke became an Aussie joke and repeated everywhere and every time someone heard my accent. Next stop , i think in Wellington i went to see the Australian womens hockey team play NZ. NZ won but the crowd continually mocked the Aussie girls.At the end of the game a girl about 10 asked her father why Australia didn't win as Australia is a much bigger country. Her fathers reply was that Aussies were never good at anything. All in fun but saying it to convince a 10yo. Next stop watching the Wallabies narrowly lose , i think 13 / 12 to an unbackable NZ side. Same ridicule again, but thats sport. Next stop, the ferry crossing across Cook Straight. All the TVs switched on to the 3rd test . The ferry is chockablock full of kiwis and Canadians. I look around i listen for Aussie accents. I'm alone. Cornelson to my rescue, he scores 4 tries , the Wallabies smash the ABs. Out numbered 30000 to one on a ferry i gave and gave to every kiwi ln board. My disrespect forced the Canadians to support the ABs. Everyone, including the canadians wanted to throw me overboard. I survived my day of shame, I look back in disgust at my performance. Bull dust do I.Up there with my favourite sporting moments.
Jacko
Guest
Thank god Neutral as your replys are gibberish and anti kiwi anyway
Jacko
Guest
Human race doesnt exist then? Just the human bigotry?
Jacko
Guest
He carries the trans Tasman inferiority complex in spades Inferior at what? Certainly not rugby. But me replying to, and defending myself against your derogatory insults apparently is me being arrogant and lacking humility. It appears to me that you believe you can insult anyone you want to and if they dare fire back they are the ones with the problem. Stop insulting others and you may find you get insulted far less yourself
Jacko
Guest
But why is Me believing and backing my first choice no 10 over the first choice no 10 of another country being Arrogant or lacking humility? I am just as entitled to believe and back my players that you are to back and believe in your players......You say NZers dont accept that Farrell is better than Barrett. Well Barrett is the reigning World player of the year so why would we say anything different? One could say it is you who is failing to accept that the rugby world judges Barret to be better than Farrell. You are not the messenger....YTou are the instigator. You wrote this article....Take responcibility for the article you wrote
Jacko
Guest
Wozza read my posts then admit you are lying. I defend anti NZ I do-not rubbish all things Aus...Please read my comments...Thats if you can read as comprehension seems to have eluded you
Ds
Guest
Yes but it's fine for Aussie cricket fans to chant hadlees a w..ker for 15 years ? Or ya league players to racially abuse ours on the field through the eighties as documented by Olsen Filipaina ?
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Very true, just like the moronic fans of ALL countries let down the their respective countries and normal game loving fans. Just look at the image created by the 'soccer hooligans' of England.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yeah I know, maybe they should have played their SHers yesterday, then they might not have been dumped.. ' Farrell was deposited on his backside by a charging Waldrom. ' Ha ha, go the mighty Saracens... perhaps they were wanting to get on the plane early.
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Who cares rbose, stop jerking on off and get on with the game ffs...
Rhys Bosley
Guest
If you want to strengthen your argument rebel, it would probably helipad if you provided recent examples of Australian behaviour that is comparable to what we are seeing from New Zealanders. Just repeating "but the Aussies do it too" over and over, doesn't make it true.
rebel
Guest
You see what you want to see Rhys, that is clear and obvious to many. You even see me making excuses when none have been made. Keep up your crusade though, at least you're convinced.
The Neutral View From Sweden
Roar Guru
There are two great biographies about Stalin written by Simon Sebag Montifiore, perfect starts for anyone who want to know more about one of the fascinating persons to ever live. When you go deeper into Stalin and his deeds you never really reach the point where you can defend him, but you get some moments of understanding. Stalin was a very proud Georgian and all of his body guards and his most effective murder - Beria - was a Georgian too. An interesting detail about Stalin is that his spoken Russian was pretty poor and he had a very thick Georgian accent, but Stalin's writing in Russian was really good. He was also a very talented poet in Georgian and his poetry were widely read and much admired. They became minor Georgian classics, to be published in anthologies and memorised by schoolchildren until the 1970s (and not as part of Stalin's cult; they were usually published as 'Anonymous').
Fionn
Guest
DS, no you don't. You need citizenship for some roles and for grad roles, not for all roles in the APS. Jibba Jabba, if only more employers always acted the right way ?. As I said, I have no issue with unfettered Kiwi migration to Aus, I wouldn't even mind if Aus and NZ unified like we were originally going to, but I don't think many Kiwis would go in for that ?
Fionn
Guest
The first taxi I caught in Russia had a framed photo of Stalin in it... Roughly 50% of Russians hate Stalin and the other half respect him. Something like 85% of Georgians think he was a top bloke ?
Fionn
Guest
It's quite fascinating, actually, reading history books on the same subject by historians of different nationalities - it was equally interesting seeing how the Russians commemorate the 'Great Patriotic War' compared to the people of the Baltics. But that's understandable, it takes a lot to justify cheering for England, but you've got a good justification ?
Ryan
Guest
I call BS
Jibba Jabba
Roar Guru
Keep taking the medication reb...
Rhys Bosley
Guest
Stalin isn't my favourite evil dictator. I prefer Steve Tew.