A song and dance about something

BY MARC HINTON

OPINION: The All Blacks are a disgrace. And, no, I’m not talking about their performances in the just-completed two-test series against France. That I can forgive.

I'm referring, of course, to their continued reluctance to sing their country’s national anthem before a test match. Something has to be done about this – and quick – before what's left of our reputation is in complete tatters.

It's not enough that visiting international rugby teams suffer indignities like having bottles hurled at them as they salute their fans in the stands and being assaulted in our streets as they make their way back to their hotels.

But now when they glance across prior to belting out their own anthems with trademark gusto, pride and enthusiasm, they are confronted with a bunch of stony-faced All Blacks, their lips pursed tighter than a bank's coffers and their eyes all glazed over, as the words of God Defend New Zealand ring out around the stands, but not in centre-pitch.

What must they make of it? A group of proud young men about to represent their country on the biggest stage, and they're incapable even of singing the one true symbol of their nationhood. It is called an anthem for a reason, after all. You're supposed to let rip, regardless of whether you think a high note is the warm feeling you get after you score a try.

But not our lads. When it comes anthem time they look like they do when they walk into their once-a-week media session. As though they'd rather be somewhere else.

OK, there are the odd exceptions. One or two players actually sing along, and a couple of others can be seen mumbling something under their breaths, though for all we know they could just be repeating their coaches' last-minute instructions.

But for the most part there is rigid disinterest in the verses of their country's song.

This behaviour has been going on for some time now. As long as I've been covering the All Blacks, which dates back to before the start of the professional era.

And it disturbs me. Never more so than now.

The eyes of the world are on us, whether we like it or not. We're little more than two years away from hosting the Rugby World Cup, which has grown so big and so driven by the commercial imperative that in many ways it represents a potential last chance for one of the ''smaller'' nations to ever host the event.

Granted, things like ground security, player welfare in the streets and even the prevention of livestock being carried into stadiums might seem like greater concerns than a mere national anthem. But as the wise man once said, image is everything.

And right now the image of the All Black as a proud Kiwi is for me in tatters.

What message does it send out to the people who have shelled out serious bucks just to freeze their butts off in the stands on a mid-winter's night and watch what has been — thus far anyway — some pretty ordinary fare on the rugby front?

What message does it send to the thousands upon thousands of fans who hand over their Pay TV subscriptions each month just for the right to witness the feats of these pampered professionals?

More importantly, what message does it send to the hundreds of thousands of kids who worship these young men as shining gods in their world?

Not a great one, that's what. That their country's anthem doesn’t mean anything to them. That they're professional rugby players and they don’t have to feel proud Kiwis.

Granted, that may be a misconception. But more and more it's one the people I speak to are drawing as they watch these fellows 'dis their national anthem.

I call on Graham Henry to do something about it.

I know he'll say it's not his place to interfere here and that what a player does before a game while the formalities are playing out is their business. So long as the individual is ready to play, and all that jazz.

I say bollocks to that. I say it is Henry's business. He's the head of this organisation. The man his players listen to.

And I reckon he should tell them from this week on that it’s compulsory to belt out the anthem before a test. No sing — no play.

Extreme? Yes. Necessary? Maybe.

I just don't buy the excuses that are inanely trotted out. "It's how I like to prepare for the game." "I'm singing it deep inside." "I like to soak up the atmosphere."

Just sing the god-defending anthem, people!

I'm serious... If it's good enough for them to get so excited, and so organised, about a haka that is only a  symbol of their country's heritage, then they should also be expected to produce similar unity and commitment at anthem time.

I know. No sing — no haka. That would really fix it.

And Henry has the power to solve this in one memo. He tells his players what to do just about every minute of their waking day while they're with the All Blacks. He tells them when they need to be tucked up in bed by, the things they should be eating and, often, what they should be saying.

Why not just add singing the anthem to that list. It would certainly make a lot of ordinary Kiwis — folk who still believe the All Blacks are a team not a brand — a heck of a lot happier.

Before the All Blacks play every test match there is a song, then a dance. For me they take only the latter seriously. It’s time to fix that.

Believe me this is not a song and a dance about nothing either.

* What do you think? Should the All Blacks have to sing the national anthem. Post your comments below.

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