Demise of men in black greatly exaggerated

Last updated 09:19 09/06/2008

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David Kirk

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Reports of the All Blacks' demise have been greatly exaggerated. The schadenfruede the British teams showed - the lot of them - when the All Blacks were dumped out of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in the quater-finals was well-cellared bile from Chateau Loser.

England made the World Cup final - good luck to them - but they were and are ordinary and the ensuing Six Nations soon demonstrated that.

Something very odd happened to Ireland at the World Cup, which is still to be explained, but they are a pretty reasonable international team.

They showed that on Saturday night in their 21-11 loss to the All Blacks. Wales have their moments and they certainly did themselves justice in the Six Nations this year, but it is hard to avoid the reality that they are, along with Scotland, irredeemably second division.

The unbridled joy, the cant, the bilious, blow-hard self-righteous bollocks that came from officials, players, commentators, Uncle Tom Cobbley and all in the British Isles when the All Blacks were dumped out in Cardiff last year was hard to take.

All Blacks current and past were accused of being arrogant, born-to-rule pretenders who got their just desserts. As if being number one in the world for four years didn't count for anything.

Well Earth to the UK.. come in... come in... are you receiving loud and clear? The message is the All Blacks were the best team in the world last year and they still are.

No excuses for losing in the quarter finals, they played badly on the day and didn't deserve to win. But the team didn't deserve the holier-than-thou, gleeful metaphorical effiigy burning they had to put up with either.

New Zealanders reacted unusually to the loss. It is of course now five World Cups since New Zealand won and the reserves of passion finally ran dry.

Rather than rant and rave, find fault and criticse, New Zealanders turned their backs and looked away.

Too much hope and desire had been committed for too long. Enough was enough. The rugby public in New Zealand felt let down once too often.

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They lost the will to deeply care.

This for me was a far more damaging state of mind than the normal grieving process we have been through all too often before - denial, anger, depression, acceptance.

We went straight to resignation.

Late last year the National Provincial Championship final between Wellington and Auckland was played in front of empty stands. Summer couldn't come quick enough. Top players moved on to graze in financially greener paddocks, hardly a hand was wrung.

The one thing that did ignite a brief flair of the old anger and bitter competitiveness was the reappointment of Graham Henry as All Black coach. The mono-oculars from Canterbury, which is all of them, were of course outraged. To be far a fair few others were too. Anyway this was good old civil war, we hadn't lost the passion for that. But as for the All Blacks, "not sure I can be bothered next year" was the recurrent refrain.

Well now it is next year and the Super 14 has been won by a New Zealand team (for the 10th time in 14 years in case you've lost count) and a new All Black team has been selected.

Didn't they do well?

Ireland are a class team. Athletic, aggressive, organised and with a great goal kicker. The All Blacks assembled on Wednesday for a Saturday Test match, just like the good old days.

Time enough to say hello to the blokes you've never played with before and work out the lineout calls, then it's off to the ground to play the best the Northern Hemisphere can come up with. And win.

The All Black front row was just about 100% brand-spanking new - a handful of caps between them - and, along with two other inexperienced test players, Brad Thorn and Jerome Kaino, they dominated a powerful Irish scrum and lineout and the physical confrontation at the tackle.

The All Blacks have also rebuilt the backline and on Saturday's performance they have got most of it right first up.

Ellis was tough and intelligent, he will need to get out of the habit of a running a couple of paces before passing and no doubt his kicking game will develop but his ability to clear the ball, use his loose forwards and make his tackles was first class.

Ma'a Nonu was perfect at inside centre for the conditions, whether a drier ball and faster ground will challenge his decision making remains to be seen.

Conrad Smith and Tuitavaki made virtually error-free transitions to the big time.

So it is on to England next week and it is highly likely they will do worse than Ireland.

For a nation that did exceptionally well away from home in the 19th Century, it has been pretty much downhill ever since.

Not since Martin Johnson led a full strength English team to Australia and New Zealand prior to the 2003 World Cup, has England had any success in this part of the world.

And, judging by performances in the Six Nations and Heinekin Cup, that is not about to change any time soon.

*David Kirk was captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and is the CEO of Fairfax Media.

Do you agree with David Kirk? Will the All Blacks find England an easier proposition than Ireland? Post your comments below.

- © Fairfax NZ News

Next David Kirk story:

Boks master 'no-risk' approach

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16 comments

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katman #16 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

"Well Earth to the UK.. come in... come in... are you receiving loud and clear? The message is the All Blacks were the best team in the world last year and they still are."

Actually, earth to Captain Kirk... the IRB begs to differ. They reckon no.1 last year was the Springboks and they still are. But don't let the facts get in the way of an entertaining piece.

hamster #15 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I was gutted after the 91, 99, and 2003 world cup exits, but not as much as our loss in 1995 (that really hurt, but was softened by the fact that the boys were sick). In 2007, for the first time, I felt we were genuinely stuffed by the ref, and that hurt more than simply watching the All Blacks play poorly. I beleive they did more than enough in that game to win, and were denied by some major blunders from the officials. It's easier to say: we were beaten by a better team on the day, but in Cardiff I don't think that was the case, and for that reason, I can't see how Grahma Henry and the players can be blamed for that loss. This current All Black team, with McCaw, Carter, So'oialo, Williams, Mealamu, MacDonald, Muliiaina, Sivivatu, Sommerville and the new boys (should not forget Rocokoko and Woodcock to come back as well) is not a weak side by any means, and can easily knock over any other team in the world. I will not be the least bit surprised to see them clean out England, South Africa, and Austrailia this year to remind everyone of their status as consistently the best side in the world. Yeh, the ABs are rebuilding, but when you look at other sides, Australia for instance, we still have tonnes of class and expereince that they would die for - hell, the best openside in the world, the best no.10, two of the best full backs, arguably the best scrum, most devastating attack, and one of the best defensive teams around - that's one hell of a foundation to start 'rebuilding' with.

Tim Fellows #14 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Great stuff, David. I'm glad you decided to speak out.

Brett #13 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Its comments like this from New Zealanders:

"Well Earth to the UK.. come in... come in... are you receiving loud and clear? The message is the All Blacks were the best team in the world last year and they still are.

This is why the British public and press were so happy to see the AB's lose in the World Cup quarters.

Earth to David Kirk, and alot of other Kiwi's it seems - South Africa are the best team in the world at the moment. You have to win the World Cup to achieve this. In addition, they are ranked Number 1 by the IRB. Winning the Super 14 does not make you the best in the world.

You just dont get it do you? Read the above article again and it just might dawn on you why people couldn't stop themselves from having the last laugh after your loss at the World Cup. Humbleness is a trait that is admired - not blatant arrogance like the above.

Harross #12 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I agree 90% with Kirk especially that the AB's have been unfairly maligned by the envious UK press. As far as I can see the AB's haven't shown any signs of Arrogance at all - except for their willingness to field completely different teams from week to week during the last grand slam tour. However judging by the results during that tour the change in personnel reflected a fair assesment of the relative abilities of the AB's vs their opposition. On a related topic, I your "B" team can win against another countries top side then you have every right to play them in a test - however it does make test match rugby meaningless when NH countries send their B sides on tour to get absolutely thrashed.

Brett #11 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

It's comments like this from David Kirk:

"Well Earth to the UK.. come in... come in... are you receiving loud and clear? The message is the All Blacks were the best team in the world last year and they still are."

that made the rest of the world so happy when the All Blacks were dumped out of the World Cup.

Earth to David Kirk - South Africa are the number 1 team in World Rugby - they are the World Champions (you need to win the World Cup to become this) and they are ranked number 1 in the IRB rankings.

Come on New Zealand - come back down to earth, you just dont get it do you.

Steve S #10 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Talk up the All Blacks as much as you like, the true test is in the Tri-Nations and you know it. South Africa and Australia are the only teams which can truly test the NZ "Number 1" ranking.

Chris #9 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

I can't believe that David Kirk actually believes what he has written, and conclude that he is just trying to stir up yet another argument about which hemisphere plays better rugby. Either that, or he thinks that New Zealanders are genetically superior or something, and hence born to play better rugby. Disturbingly Hitler-esque to be honest, particularly so from the CEO of a media corporation. He reminds me of Stephen Jones (who is Welsh by the way), except Stephen Jones is at least funny. As for the rugby, well yes, the ABs are fabulous at the moment and England aren't so fabulous. But it'll change. Currently the Saffers are the best. The ABs were the best for the previous few years, preceded by England, preceded by Aus, etc etc. If you carp on about kiwi racial superiority, you'll just end up looking stupid. Again.

Danny #8 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

Having lived abroad over the past 12 years I have been let down by the AB's on occassion (i.e. World Cups). I too turned my back on the AB's post 2007, however Saturdays's game showed true grit and composure and with that in mind my black shirt looks to be dusted off and ironed in the not too distant future.

Logan Anderson #7 05:26 pm Jan 28 2009

England will find the All Blacks a tougher proposition than Ireland did. The 'auld rules' will help the poms a little, and may prevent what otherwise might be a slaughter in good conditions and with sensible refereeing.

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