The hysteria across the ditch has reached unprecedented levels but are Kiwis being rational?
As Aaron Smith said: “It’s actually gone… it’s ridiculous how ruthless it’s actually been.”
What he started saying is that it’s gone too far.
Maybe there is a theme here. Jacinda Arden’s lockdown went too far. Property prices rose too far. The All Blacks’ winning streak went too far. The criticism has gone too far.
In many ways it is understandable that a sense of perspective has been lost. After all, no other nation has won back-to-back Rugby World Cups or dominated the game of rugby for a decade.
Richie McCaw and Dan Carter are destined to be legendary figures of the game. Keven Mealamu, Jerome Kaino, Kieran Read, Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith are just a handful of the others not far behind.
Seriously, how can any of those players be replaced at all, let alone seamlessly or easily?
No side, not even the All Blacks, can afford to lose that quality of cattle in such quantity and not fall back.
And that is before you consider the leadership gulf that poor old Sam Cane has fallen into.
Where McCaw had the benefit of half a team of vice captains, natural leaders, Cane has… Sam Whitelock, I guess.
Certainly, the type of poor discipline and composure that has characterised this All Black vintage usually is rooted in a leadership deficiency. Just ask the Wallabies.
Sam Cane can’t lead a team on his own anymore than Michael Hooper can.
There is also more than a hint of Kiwi supporters being ‘fair weather’. If you are an All Black supporter under 25, the chances are you don’t remember much of being second best.
For a time, New Zealand was second best to the great Wallaby side of 1999-2001. It was second best to Martin Johnson’s England in 2003.
Can Ireland in 2022 be compared to those sides? Arguably, yes. They certainly have a bloodyminded and aggressive tandem in Andy Farrell and Johnny Sexton. Whether they can go on to win the Six Nations and then the World Cup is another matter.
(Photo by Joe Allison/Getty Images)
But one thing is certain. None of the sides mentioned, including Ireland in 2022, could have lived with the All Blacks in 2011 or 2015. McCaw’s men are the greatest side to play the game and will take quite some beating.
There was a degree of inevitably in all this but it’s worth making the observation that perhaps things are worse than they needed to be.
The lockdowns and associated international border closures have not been good for New Zealand, let alone its greatest export, the All Blacks. That much is inescapable.
No country, no export industry, can flourish while isolated. And make no mistake, rugby is an industry. While the Northern Hemisphere sides were interrupted momentarily, they quickly got on with international competition by comparison to New Zealand. Consequences flowed.
Graham Henry and Steve Hansen also let the side down. Yes, I’ve said what I believe many are thinking. Two men who won the William Webb Ellis trophy with access to the greatest players ever to take the field had too much influence on the coaching appointments of their successors.
Where renewal and innovation was required, nepotism struck. It’s as simple as that.
I didn’t see Henry and Hansen advocate for Robbie Deans or Dave Rennie, so why did we expect them to advocate for Scott Robertson? Winning Super Rugby trophies has never been a criteria for national coaching positions in New Zealand, has it?
It’s hard to say if Razor is the man who should take over right now. But if Ian Foster was considered the answer when he took over then the question that was asked should be obvious to all.
Then there is the commercialisation of the All Black brand and the packaging of its tapu and mana for private equity. It is no secret that the sale deeply unsettled many players and the process was handled appallingly. The rough waters since are no coincidence.
It is entirely possible that private equity will step in sooner rather than later. It may even choose the next coach. Razor Robertson is surely a marketable man! While many Kiwis may welcome that in the short term, the wider implications of such a move are unhealthy.
Regardless of what happens in South Africa, the consequences of growing stale while isolated right after selling your soul will remain.
Yet when all is said and done, the All Blacks just aren’t as good as they used to be, and there is no shame in that.
Jacko
Roar Rookie
Im not going to hate on my team. To much total BS to bother with here and other articles. ABs will never win again according to some so its all just too over the top for me to even bother. Ive never liked traitors. Thanks for thinking of me Perthstayer LOL.
WEST
Roar Guru
Not expecting any miracles, probably take some time
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
Ah Ballymore - where you go to grab a beer from the bar 5 minutes before half time, and are back at your seat 5 minutes before the end of the game - good times
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
look at NSWRL back then - 2 men in the tackle, quick play the ball, a proper backline with centres the same side, now there's left & right side, the wrestle, chicken wing, atomic drop, suplex, the iron Sheik camel clutch, gutwrench power bomb, crippler crossface, 450 splash. And in rahrah - rucking meant no one laid on the wrong side of the ball and if they did - they only did it once. quick ball, scrums seemed to have no problems & nowhere near as many resets - running rugby which is what we want to see. Now it's 30 man wrestlemania with a ball
wre01
Roar Guru
Interesting comment! It does feel as if Foster has looked at the Boks a little and thought “it worked for them against the Lions…” I feel like Andy Farrell and Sexton suckered the All Blacks- won the kicking battle and then choked them with rush defence (often off-side) in the right area of the field. As you say, where was the All Blacks positive game plan and innovation?
wre01
Roar Guru
I sometimes wonder whether I’m just getting old and grumpy but… Jeez, you watch some of the highlights from that era. Real entertainment. I don’t think League has half the problem we have in Union as evidenced by State of Origin year after year.
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
rugger didn’t get too much airtime in the 80’s & 90’s in South Oz, was thinking back to the NSWRL in the 80’s with Parra and their backline, the Bulldogs as the entertainers or Dogs of War then the Raiders & Bronco’s squads in the 90’s. Watched on utyoob the Lions Tour ’97 in the Republic – brutal, think it was better than the ’09 series.
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
I think Ryan needs more time WEST. I’m sure there will be sone improvement but in all fairness, they are starting from a low base. The forwards were shocking in Wellington and the backs had no cohesion relying on individual brilliance again opponents who played as a team.
chucked
Guest
Some good points in the article. I've lived through the Highs of NZ Rugby, 1987 - 1990, 2010 to 2016 - the lows of NZ Rugby - woeful decision to select co coaches Hart and Wylie, worlds worst lineout thrower Anton Oliver, costing us test after test. Carlos Spencer missing a 4 man overlap and giving Mortlock a 80m intercept pass that cost us 2003 RWC Semi. I've watched AB's come up consistently with New Tactics to negate Law changes or improvements in other teams. But i've never seen them play such dumb Rugby as under Foster. Smith box kicks aimlessly, to noone generally. If he had Ben Smith at FB we would have over 50% chance of getting the ball back - we lose possession on every occasion. Ireland, France all practice the rush defence - its not rush defence, its playing offside. Sadly no ref's police it, but I watched in the last two Irish tests on dozens of occasions Smith getting good ball, passing to Barrett and he just shovelled it onto the 2nd 5 who was enveloped by tackers and the non stop 'decoy' runners (worlds rugby look at that too). Grubbers, chip kicks, I mostly loathe them, but in these circumstances use them. Also we must be the only team who don't employ Rush defence ourselves, why is that? We don't do Decoy runners, why is that? Barrets first touch of the ball in the 3r test he kicked for the winger. Fakatava's first touch of the ball in 2nd test he box kicked, Ireland kicked back and we lost 20 metres. Our tactics are losing ius games. AB'S are a team that can win with 40 % of possession and win handsomely - just stop the stupid tactics
WEST
Roar Guru
Curious to see what Ryan can do with our set piece, stop the rolling mauls. Apparently the crusaders haven’t conceded a rolling maul try this season or something?
wre01
Roar Guru
In my opinion the peak of the sport was 1996 to 2003. Those super rugby games on the hill at Ballymore with John Williamson belting out a tune. Old shorts, traditional jumpers etc. There was also the Lions series in 2009 which in my opinion had the greatest game of all time (the 2nd test). Things went badly off the rails somewhere between 2016 and 2019 with unplayable rule changes and money coming into it from all angles.
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Jacko, where are you? These comments need a good tongue lashing. . (I shouldn't rise but I received a flogging for similar sentiment)
Perthstayer
Roar Rookie
Outstanding article. Thanks.
piru
Roar Rookie
Stop eating the mushrooms you find in your shower, mate
Kent Dorfman
Roar Rookie
i thought you all follow the cricket now (or women's netball))
Dusty10
Roar Rookie
Agreed! It frustrates me that players like Gregan, Larkham, Horan, Eales, Kefu, Finegan, Roff, and the one-and-only George Smith are conveniently 'forgotten' by many, particularly our cousins across the ditch. I was shocked to hear Jeff Wilson and Mils Muliaina suggest Gregan and Larkham during a discussion of the 'greatest' super rugby players of all time, as the Kiwi rugby community tends to think about rugby in a similar way to the USA's approach to world history; nobody else exists! By any measure, Smith was the most outstanding 7 of his generation, and that's including bloody 'Sir Ritchie'. I keep reminding people of this, and my kiwi friends just look uncomfortable when I raise it, but the video footage doesn't lie. Just go back and watch that great Wallabies side, or even that great Brumbies side, from the early 2000s. Smith dominated McCaw in their match ups, and not just because the Brumbies were on top.
Riccardo
Roar Rookie
Ssshhh Kent... We're in therapy...
BleedRedandBlack
Roar Rookie
Hi wre01, you're right, being sucessful domestically hasn't been a genuine criteria since Wayne Smith in 1999, and even he had been an AB assistant when he got the job. Hart also had AB experience when he got the job, though he was only was only kept in 98 because Henry had gone to Wales. Since then NZ have chosen a succession of head coaches with international experience, with a steady evolution from overseas to AB's, and with success not being important. Mitchell was an assistant with England, Henry a failed head coach with Wales and the Lions, Hansen an assistant with Wales then a failed head coach with Wales who got the AB head coach role on the basis of his time as an AB assistant. Foster got the job purely for that reason. As the evidence shows, the principal criteria for NZR atm seems to be experience in the AB's, with other international experience secondary and domestic experience/success a very distant third. That system cost Deans in 2001 and 2007, and cost Robertson in 2019. Robertson has refused to be part of Foster's regime, has no international experience, so NZR are being asked to put in a coach on the basis of a criteria they value the least. The problem is that NZR's criteria are bonkers. That Foster can get the AB head coach job having failed for a decade as a head coach with Waikato/Chiefs is bizarre, and we are now seeing the consequences of using an assistant who has never been able to stand on his own two feet. That Robertson cannot get the job despite having utterly dominated NZ and Australian domestic rugby for the last six years, and South African and Argentinian domestic rugby for the three years available to him, is equally nuts. If NZR were honest about what they want they would state that without international experience, either with the AB's or with another International team, you cannot be AB's head coach. If they were competent they would say that without sustained success as a head coach you cannot be AB's head coach. So we are left with a situation that NZR are neither honest nor competent.
Rod
Guest
You guys need to give the AB's a little more breathing space. It's hard for any national team to hold the standards that have been a marker of NZ rugby for so long. Come to Aus and get a reality check
Spew_81
Roar Rookie
Agree, the main coach sets the game plan for the assistants to follow and has ultimate say over the players who are selected to carry out the game plan. So it’s a bit tough to blame the assistants. The main coaches’ head should be the first on the chopping block.