I Love It When A Plan Comes Together

We’re not quite there yet, but as the All Blacks prepare to repeat their World Cup triumph of 24 years ago against the same opponents, I just hope some of the naysayers are gaining an appetite for humble pie.

Let’s face it, if we couldn’t win the Webb Ellis trophy, most of us would rather see anyone but Australia take it. So, at the very least, our second-most preferred result as been achieved.

Personally, I decided weeks ago that if someone else had to capture the trophy, I’d like it to be the French, since they’re (historically) the best side in the world yet to win it. I’d rather they didn’t beat us to do it, but c’est la vie, as they say.

But now that the AB’s have a hand on the silverware, maybe it’s time to start giving them their dues. They’ve already answered many of the criticisms thrown their way over the past four years and especially last few weeks.

1. Robbie Deans should be the All Black coach.

I vividly remember the outrage when the NZRFU decided to persevere with the three wise men after they achieved our worst ever result at the last World Cup.

How dare the selection panel defy public and media opinion by sticking with these villains?

Well, turns out the panel knew something everyone else didn’t. Not only has Graham Henry enjoyed a 12-3 head-to-head advantage over his rival in those four years, he has now comprehensively outcoached him in the game that meant the most – the RWC semifinal.

Essentially, “Ted” managed to convince his bosses there was no need to throw the baby out with the bathwater, that the disappointment of losing in the 2007 quarterfinals might actually be part of the journey towards winning next time round.

Sure, they might have made some mistakes, but what’s the point of making them if you don’t learn and improve on them going forward.

At the time, I thought the RFU, a body not known for its progressive thinking, made an incredibly gutsy call by showing some loyalty to their coaches and I hoped it wouldn’t back fire on them.

They’re a win away from being proved correct.

2. Rotation doesn’t work.

Oh shivers, did I actually say the “R” word out loud?

Somehow, they have become the most despised three syllables in the Kiwi vocabulary.

Yet in basketball, rotation is used as a legitimate strategy to rest your starting players, bring in some fresh legs off the bench or change tactics. It also keeps your reserves engaged and ready to step up if one of your stars is forced out of the game.

It makes sense in rugby for the same reasons, especially over a schedule where 100kg bodies collide at speed every week for 12 months of the year.

The days of fielding your “best” lineup form 80 minutes of every test are long gone, people. It’s time you recognized that.

And how the hell do you even know what your best lineup is unless you give your fringe players a chance to prove themselves in the test environment anyway?

This is a classic example of the mass rugby hysteria that grips New Zealand.

Why would you risk playing studs like McCaw and Carter against bunnies like Tonga, Japan and Canada? Especially if they’re carrying niggles that could benefit from the rest.

OK, I buy the need to build team continuity to a point, but not at the expense of losing one of your kingpins. If Carter wasn’t warming up to play the Canucks (who we should beat with one hand tied behind our backs), would we still have him?

Maybe.

So we’re going to be critical of the three wise dudes, maybe we needed MORE rotation, not less.

3. Richie McCaw’s foot is about to fall off.

I don’t know about you, but I always think the things you don’t worry about are the ones that’ll kill you. You know, the proverbial bus with dodgy brakes rumbling towards you like one of those “Final Destination” movies.

So while everyone was talking about McCaw’s stress fracture, no one saw Carter’s groin (like an elevator cable) hanging by a thread of tendon, ready to snap.

The fact that medical staff know about the foot and have a management strategy in place gave me confidence that he would make it through this tournament. I may still be wrong, but it’s looking fairly good so far.

Does Matt Todd’s presence at practice mean he’s about to be dragged in as cover? If Richie’s injury is as bad as they say, his Crusaders team-mate probably should have been there all along, but as host nation, we did have some ability to call in replacements at short notice anyway.

McCaw is a tough hombre and if he has to produce a Buck Shelford/Mika Vukona/Willis Reed/Curt Schilling performance (google those last two, but they’re pretty macho too) to get us across the line, he’ll do it. Modern medicine is an amazing thing.

4. David Pocock is the best openside flanker in the world, better than Richie.

Look at the damn scoreboard.

Everyone says the breakdown holds the key to winning. No one really seems to understand it and the best exponents are all cheats.

But we won, so we must have done something right.

Besides, if McCaw can even compete on one foot, how good is he with two?

But, to be sure, this is a rivalry for the ages.

5. The coaches did a lousy job of developing depth at key positions, namely first-five (Carter) and openside flanker (McCaw).

So, let me get this straight – rotation is a bad thing, but so is not blooding backup players? Make up your minds.

Henry got caned after Carter went down, and Colin Slade, Aaron Cruden and Stephen Donald were whistled up as replacements. Why hadn’t he done more to cover his bases?

Well, all three have had their chances at all levels over recent years. Ironically, Donald is probably the most qualified to fill the void, since he’s had the most opportunities at this level, but he’s taken a pounding in social media after being called up as third cab off the rank last week.

He’d still be my first choice (after Carter), simply because he has made just about every mistake possible and I’d expect him to take those hard lessons to heart. But Cruden is the people’s choice and that counts for a lot in a position where confidence is everything.

Initially, I liked the Slade/Weepu combination used against Canada, but Weepu’s emergence as a leader at halfback is hard to argue against and Cruden certainly hasn’t let anyone down.

Some think the NZRFU should have extended an invitation for Nick Evans to come home from the northern hemisphere, all is forgiven. Seems to me we tried that with Luke McAlister and it ended badly.

There are good reasons why the rugby union chooses not to reward players who chase the big bucks overseas and one is that those competitions are simply not as good as ours. They don’t make our players better and they certainly don’t promote loyalty to the All Black jersey.

5. The All Blacks don’t have world-class halfbacks.

Not sure where this one came from. Think it originated from some disgruntled Pommie journalist (where are your teams now, by the way?) and somehow picked up momentum.

We may not have a George Gregan or Will Genia or Fourie Du Preez, but since Carter’s departure, Weepu has certainly staked a strong MVP claim.

He’s always had the talent to be a star in either rugby code, but has been his own worst enemy in terms of staying fit and healthy. You never like his chances of going the distance and watching him wobble to the sideline early in the semi just reinforced that feeling.

Luckily, the rotation (there’s that word again) of Weepu, Jimmy Cowan and Andy Ellis offer different strengths that can be utilized according to opposition. What we lack in star quality (supposedly), we make up for in depth.

OK, I know. We haven’t won a thing yet (just bragging rights) and the always-unpredictable French still stand between us and the trophy. Everyone is dismissing Le Bleus as unworthy finalists, but this is a tournament and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

I read somewhere (think it was another disgruntled Pommie journo) that this shows winning the Six Nations is harder than making the World Cup final. I’m struggling with that logic – I thought it showed exactly the opposite.

France struggled to get out of RWC pool play after losing to two southern hemisphere teams, then knocked off two northern easybeats (I’m exaggerating ... slightly) to reach the title game. They got the soft side of the draw and you get the feeling they planned it that way.

Meanwhile, the world’s top three teams somehow landed in the other bracket, ensuring there would be a distinct North v South flavour to the final.

Anything can still happen, but you critics – you know who you are – better be ready. I’m just saying.