Over the last few years the gap between the All Blacks and the rest of the world has shrunk into non-existence.
It feels like only yesterday the topic of an All Black versus Rest of the World exhibition match was being thrown around to spark a rugby rebirth after the New Zealand national side strutted to their second consecutive World Cup title in 2015.
Fast-forward only five years and we have Argentina recording their first Test win against the team many called unbeatable for the best part of a decade.
The reasoning for the All Blacks’ fall from grace? Their own backyard.
The All Blacks have demanded excellence in all facets of the rugby arena both on and off the field since their inception of the famous ‘no dickheads policy’ implemented by Sir Graham Henry many years ago. However, this policy has been unravelled in recent years by their very own countrymen starting their demise – the New Zealand Warriors.
The loss to Argentina had been brewing well before this year’s defeat, with a few lucky escapes over recent years.
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
In recent seasons the All Blacks have slowly filtered individual talent into the squad rather than hardworking effort-on-effort players, partly due to the social media ‘brand’ of an elite sportsperson now required to excel in a professional environment.
Back when the under-20s NRL competition was in full swing the New Zealand Warriors were the benchmark, recording the most titles of any team over the competition’s existence largely thanks to the recruitment strategy implemented. The Warriors recruitment officers would walk into the prestigious boarding schools scattered across the country, where rugby is the only subject, and lure the most talented, flamboyant rugby players gifted with incredible athleticism.
The lure no teenager could resist? “We will put you on TV.”
In a sporting world where social media has risen to unthinkable heights, what better way to excel your brand as a teenage athlete than to be seen training day in, day out with the NRL first-grade squad, travelling across Australia and New Zealand and being put on television playing rugby league, all while still completing high school. It’s any teenager’s dream come true!
In response to the mass exodus of teenage talent turning their back on rugby in New Zealand to focus on the bright lights of the NRL bubble, New Zealand Rugby Union redirected their recruitment strategy by fighting fire with fire.
“We’ll put you on TV if you play first XV rugby.”
These days in New Zealand first XV schoolboy rugby is televised free-to-air, and with the collapse of the under-20s NRL competition the basket is full of talented athletes ready to introduce their brand on the world stage.
This is, however, a double-edged sword New Zealand Rugby Union has not been able to handle in recent years. Since the introduction of schoolboy rugby onto television the athleticism standard has risen remarkably.
On the other hand, the talentless but hardworking teenage first XV player who doesn’t know what quitting means during a match is pushed into an apprenticeship after high school due to not having enough YouTube hits.
By filling the heads of the superior teenage athlete ready to introduce their brand to the world through social media, they’re not being given the chance to learn the value of losing. They’re not learning how to adapt and overcome in a certain period of the match when things aren’t going their way.
This is the fatal flaw in the current All Blacks squad that came to the fore during the loss to Argentina.
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