I want to ... move on

I want to be man enough to say I got it wrong. I want to be dignified enough to concede the horse I backed just wasn't good enough to win this race.

I want to congratulate Graham Henry and say well done on fighting the good fight, the best man won and you deserved to get another crack at this baby.

I want to commiserate with Robbie Deans and pat him on the back and tell him he gave it his best shot but lost out to a better bloke. A better coach.

I want to say I have faith in the New Zealand Rugby Union and the ability of its executive board to make a decision that is in the best interests of the game.

I want to feel that the process wasn't contaminated and that Deans had a chance based on his credentials, not how well liked he is by certain suit-wearing members of the establishment.

I want to be sure that there was nothing sinister in non-voting, seriously self-interested individuals like Steve Tew, Darren Shand and Chris Moller sitting in on the interviews for the position.

I want to feel assured that a voting margin of 7-1 against a man with Deans' superb qualifications didn't stink of political overtones, of a group of men casting a ballot to clear their own consciences, and not to elect the best man to coach the All Blacks.

I want to ask Ivan Haines why he felt so compelled to break ranks and vote against the bloc that had pre-determined to return Henry to his post.

I want to get a strong feeling that Henry has learnt from his mistakes, has realised the wrong turns he took in 2007 and is smart enough to acknowledge that for a guy whose team lost what was almost an unloseable match, he didn't get the one thing that really counted right.

I want to think that we'll never play our fullback at centre again in a major match, and that we'll stop giving away All Black jerseys as though they were merit badges for anyone who can hit a ruck with the right technique.

I want to get an answer to why we're so concerned with burning out our top players when we ask them to play so little rugby.

I want to understand why intelligent All Blacks don't understand the value of a dropped goal in a tight World Cup match.

I want to know why New Zealand has suddenly turned into a nation that accepts, well, not even mediocrity. Outright failure.

I want, more than anything to still believe in the integrity of New Zealand rugby.

I also want to believe in the Tooth Fairy, Santa and the Easter Bunny, but long ago came to terms with the reality of that situation.

Perhaps it's also time to face some realities concerning New Zealand rugby.

That is that the game is being led by a flawed organisation that has lost all perspective with the world in which it is operating.

For starters should the NZRU board have even made the call on the next All Blacks coach? I note with interest our old mates across the ditch have a different approach to the decision-making process. They have an interview panel made up of key rugby men who understand what it takes to be an international coach who then make their recommendation to the board of the ARU.

In essence it is they, not a group of businessmen whose job it is to make corporate-type decisions, who decide who has the best credentials to step into a demanding rugby role.

Something tells me – regardless of what decision the Australians come up with at the end of this week – that they have the process right. Certainly it's well above the whiff of self-interest that seems to pervade the NZRU's own democratic operation.

Remember, too, the NZRU is the same organisation that decided in its wisdom (or lack of mettle) to make the elite provincial competition a 14-team event. And now wonders why it's become a mediocre league struggling to grab the public's interest with many of the unions on the fast track to going broke.

But perhaps, concerning the whole Henry-Deans affair, it is time to throw the hands up in the air and just get on with it. The decision has been made, and now we must simply live with it. That is the honourable thing to do for all us Kiwis now.

We may not like the All Blacks coaching decision, but unfortunately we have to lump it.

Henry is here for at least another two years and I have no doubt he will make a good fist of the job. He certainly has the motivation to do so.

Deans will almost certainly be made Wallabies coach now (providing the ARU gets its head round the concept of a Kiwi guiding their national fortunes), and for the legion of supporters he has in our game there will at least be the consolation of being able to gauge how he fares with the enemy across the ditch. Well, I suspect.

All of which raises this intriguing thought: should Deans, as Wallabies coach, defeat New Zealand to return the Bledisloe Cup to Australia, what would the fallout be at HQ in Wellington?

Blood on the tracks, I'd think.

That alone should make the next test season compelling watching. Henry may have won the battle against Deans, but the war looks like being a long way from over.

- © Fairfax NZ News