The result could have been worse

Who’d ’ave thought beforehand that the All Blacks would meet such a dastardly smothering at the claws of lion cubs aspiring to be Aslans.

Well, I didn’t, but the ‘‘up yours’’ chevron sported by the Brits in pre-match manoeuvres to accommodate the haka should have told me something. It was a portent of things to come. The boys came out of the rabbit hole to become men and the men were forced back down it to become boys again.

It’s been said before by lovers of that other sport with the non-peculiar-shaped ball ‘‘it’s a funny old game’’. So too with this one.

The ABs will pick themselves up, dust themselves down and start all over again and next time round they will have my money once again, but what a game.

If there is one thing to take from it, it is that without the wisdom of hindsight afforded by the TMO, things could have been worse. It is conceivable that the two disallowed tries would have been accommodated by the human eye to increase the margin of defeat.

‘‘Go the ABs’’, and they did, but sadly in the wrong direction.

John D Mahony, Mt Pleasant

Great words by Kieran Read (Oct 28). They put the loss to England totally in perspective. The better team won. But what Read said is the mark of him as a person. He will finish as not only a great All Black and Crusader, but as a fine ambassador to the values he lives by. Graham Paterson, Redwood

The sponsor’s logo on the jersey says it all. AIG – All Is Gone. Several days of mourning would seem appropriate.

Ian H. Duff, Lansdowne

The tactics were questionable – kicking the ball out gives possession to the opposition. The ABs were over-coached, out-thought and outplayed.

Russell J. Wards, Kaiapoi