mens
international
These are all good things.
We wanted to know if it was All black people are good and it’s safe to say they played against the Springboks South Africa were polite.
It’s not terrible, it’s not amazing, but it’s hardly embarrassing.
We haven’t seen 43-10 on this trip. Sure, it looked like boys against men at times, but it’s to the All Blacks’ credit that they won the first Test and were competitive in the other two.
I can’t fault their efforts. They are not as big or strong as the Springboks, but they never stop trying.
The series highlighted several things that New Zealand not much I can do about this so close to the Rugby World Cup.
We have long valued the wrong things in our rugby. Because we play Super Rugby Pacific, we value tough forwards who can run, catch and pass.
We are less concerned about their scrum or lineout strength. We want them to be mobile and good with the ball in hand.
That’s fine on that level. Works even against mediocre Test opposition. But the flaws were revealed against a champion team like South Africa.
As I’ve written many, many times, the New Zealand model is to give the ball to a big kid or a fast kid and watch them go. From junior rugby all the way up, we prioritize athleticism over substance.
As I said, the folly of that philosophy is exposed in a series like this one.
The other thing that stands out for me is the Chiefs. The best All Black teams of my life were dominated by Auckland/Blues players or Cantabrians/Crusaders. Top teams, used to collecting trophies.
This All Black team is full of bosses. They look like good guys and are good players, but they don’t win anything.
We lack provincial or super teams to match those of the past.
Think back to the All Blacks tour of South Africa in 1996, which has been mentioned a lot in recent weeks. Craig Dowd, Sean Fitzpatrick, Olo Brown, Robin Brooke,
Michael Jones and Zinzan Brooke have destroyed opposition forwards at Eden Park for years.
Think of some of the tight ends who have been a major part of the Crusaders’ success over so many years: Brad Thorn, Sam Whitelock, Chris Jack, Greg Somerville, Owen Franks, Nepo Laulala, Joe Moody, Luke Romano, Wyatt Crockett and Ben Franks to name a few.
Combinations are important. Art is important. It’s just important to be a tough bastard.
Well, at least that’s how it is in South Africa.
We have made a different bed for ourselves and will have to lie in it for the foreseeable future.
So despite the structural inadequacies of New Zealand rugby and the fact that the All Blacks don’t have a dominant domestic team to build around, the team is doing quite well. In fact, I’d say a damn better sight than they could have had this time last year.
In many ways, they achieve a lot without much.
The Springboks are old and playing at home. World Cup in Australia next year could be a different kettle of fish.
At least for now, the All Blacks are clearly inferior. I doubt it was a surprise to anyone, least of all their coaches.
There’s only so much they can do with the players they have, but everything I’ve read since Sunday’s (NZ) 29-24 loss suggests the staff have the appetite to improve the squad and the know-how to do so.
Sometimes you have to be shown where a level is before you have any hope of climbing it.
