Brendon Meynell's Roar Profile

Lara,
Well said! Finally someone that see’s the point of the writing in the article. It is time for all teams in World Rugby to wake up and lift their game. Look at the set up NZRU have with the Mitre 10 Cup, Heartland Championship etc there is really no other country that can (currently) replicate the success and level of competition offered at grassroots, and domestic level to that which is offered in New Zealand.

The point I was trying to make, that has seem to have gone over many heads, is that unless these other countries ‘lift’ their game and invest in all levels of the game instead of just at their highest level, the dominance by the ABs and NZRU teams will continue to grow.

World Rugby needs to step in / wake up as a whole and start replicating as much of the NZRU set up as possible if they want future players and the next generation of kids to be able to play at the elite level, and in as clinical fashion as the ABs.

Thank you for your comment, and to everyone who has commented on this article – that’s the good thing about the internet we all have opinions and websites such as TheRoar.com.au allows us to share all of those opinions.

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kdigit,
Completely agree with everything you said. There is no issues with one team dominating World Rugby at all – I think the issue (and what I was trying to get across when writing the article at 4am this morning) is it shows how clinical and consistent the All Blacks are – but does show the massive gap between the ABs and the rest of the world – in particular the SH teams.

For the other comments in which they are suggesting I am pushing for ABs to drop games – that is not at all what the article says. The article points out how dominant the team is, and how there is no one team that even looks like challenging them. They have dominated The Rugby Championship, the have dominated World Rugby over the past seven plus years, however there doesn’t seem to be that much improvement from other teams.

As mentioned in the comments yes other teams should aspire to replicate the success of the All Blacks as they currently stand, but is there any team out there that is actually making the improvements that are required? Take NZ out of the equation and World Rugby is truly a somewhat level playing field – but that can’t happen teams need to lift their game to the ABs to create a level playing field and that just isn’t happening.

Woodart,
I completely appreciate your views. And no one is doubting the support from the fans when it comes to one of the greatest sporting codes – however the fans will always be there. There is more to sport than simply the crowd numbers, international rugby is in trouble by way of on field performances.

How long will the fans turn up when no other team can challenge the All Blacks? When they want you to pay in excess of $50 a ticket to watch a 50+ point scoreline. The only challenge it seems to the All Blacks dominance is World Rugby piecing together a World team with the best players in it.

Once again thank you for your comment.

Just like Jaffamike I am an All Blacks fan. While I can’t speak for him by for me the International Game is in trouble, Australia continue to struggle (a win against Argentina is like beating the BYE in the NRL). Seeing how dominant the All Blacks are, especially over South Africa who are supposed to be the number two ranked team in the world is enough to raise concerns about where the international game stands at the moment.

Who can challenge them? There seems to be no international team at the moment who can twist the eight year dominance the All Blacks have currently, which has included two world cups and no doubt eyeing up a third. All teams are either well off the pace or just have no real idea what their starting line up will be yet alone who can challenge them.

International Rugby is in trouble and continued results like this would really do more damage than good.

Completely agree with you Rabbitz,
So many missed opportunities with so many anniversaries and milestones. For the past few years I have enjoyed seeing the ‘throwback’ liveries, unfortunately there isn’t much to look at. Oh well strap in 161 laps are waiting for us.