Surviving the shadow of the valley of death

OPINION: After a season full of slings and arrows, it seems the outrageous fortune of several NPC teams has ended up being much ado about nothing, writes Nathan Burdon in this week's Straight Up.

In the end the NZRU decision to retain the NPC's status quo into next season was about as predictable as a certain mayor's one-man cavalry charge earlier in the week.

This year's NPC was, even if we take off our own Ranfurly Shield-tinted goggles, a truly inspiring competition.

It reminded many of us about the reasons why we fell in love with rugby in the first place – the passion, the desire and the commitment displayed by men who genuinely play for the jersey on their back rather than the cheque in their wallet.

Is the NZRU guilty of putting the whole episode in the too-hard basket, of yet again bowing to popular pressure?

Ultimately, yes.

No doubt, this year's competition drew the public's interest in a way that the Super 14 never has and the All Blacks are increasingly struggling to do.

But much of that had to do with the axe that was hanging over four of the unions.

Will those thousands of "supporters" who marched and signed petitions bother showing up to watch their teams struggling away at the bottom of the competition again next year, or will lethargy creep back in?

Really, the NZRU made the only decision it could. In all conscience there was no way it could break up the NPC without replacing it with something that was at least as good – and there were no guarantees that the mooted 10-6 split was going to be as good as the 14-team round robin.

The only hope was that it would be shorter and cheaper – not really a glowing endorsement.

I'm pleased the NZRU will retain the 14 teams for another season, because in those 12 months we should see the full benefit of the wider base that the 14-team competition is creating.

The likes of Manawatu and Counties Manukau were competitive this year. Next season they need to start winning more than the odd game.

MEANWHILE, we are into the final test involving two teams that have never laboured under the weight of a tag of consistency.

Leaving Pakistan alone for the meantime, can we ever expect the New Zealand team to provide consistent results?

The short answer is no.

Realistically, this country just doesn't have the depth to put together a team capable of being a force for any length of time on the world stage.

Our most senior batsman, Ross Taylor, is world class but he does not have enough old heads around him.

Instead, it's up to him to steer the ship when he should be concentrating solely on understanding and developing his own game.

Unfortunately, by the time we build a decent batting lineup our ageing bowling attack will have shuffled off into retirement, leaving Tim Southee as Taylor's bowling equivalent.

Thankfully, the only thing more bipolar than the New Zealand cricket team is the average New Zealand cricket supporter, who is capable of swinging easily from wild confidence into the depths of despair and back again, all within one test-match session.

Bring on the summer.

» Nathan Burdon has been the Southland Times sports editor since 2003 and has won numerous journalism awards, including provincial sports writer of the year.

nathan.burdon@stl.co.nz

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