There’s something rotten in the state of our rugby
They say the fish rots from the head, but when it comes to New Zealand rugby which fish head are we talking about? Is the stench coming from coach Ian Foster, or from captain Sam Cane or from the leadership of New Zealand Rugby. My money is on all three and the whiff is overwhelming.
Let’s start with poor Cane, because his flaws were most obviously on display on Saturday’s dark night of the soul. It is time to relieve him of the captaincy for his sake, for the team’s sake and for the country’s sake.
The All Blacks desperately needed Cane to lead from the front against Ireland, strolling down main street like his virtual namesake in High Noon, eyes narrowed against the sun, an unflinching man leading a timid town against the invading shooters.
It did not happen. Cane blinked, blinked and blinked again. He was horribly exposed. In the opening stanza Nepo Laulala had just made up for his missed tackle with a turnover, when Wayne Barnes went back and awarded a penalty against Cane for taking out Josh van der Flier off the ball. Ireland kicked to the corner and scored from the lineout.
Poor discipline had got the All Blacks off to the worst start. And so it continued. Cane was pinged for not rolling away and Ireland kicked another three points.
Where was the back row when Ireland strolled over just before halftime with New Zealand horribly short of numbers? The answer is they were all on the other side of the ruck. Ardie Savea had been swept up by the Irish and Cane and Akira Ioane had also stayed left side. Where was the leadership? Why had Cane not moved across?
In the second half Will Jordan’s try has the All Blacks riding the momentum, but their captain then knocks on from the kick off. Ireland go to his side off the scrum and Cane is nowhere to be seen as they sweep up to the line. The captain is then hooked from the pitch. It should be a symbolic moment. Great players make a difference. But as has been evidence with the Chiefs, they got on a roll when Cane wasn’t there.
It has been all too clear how comprehensively the All Blacks have been outcoached in this series. In the second test their kicking game was a shambles. In the third test their lineout and their maul was taken apart.
‘‘We need to fix it,’’ said John Plumtree at halftime. Too late, mate, too late.
N ew Zealand’s best active coaches are Scott Robertson, Dave Rennie, Wayne Smith, Leon McDonald, Clayton McMillan and Joe Schmidt. I doubt if Foster would even make the top 20. And it’s not just the tactics that are failing horribly, it’s the culture.
I do not see Mā ori and Pasifika flourishing under the current regime, as they have flourished in
the past few seasons under Robertson, McDonald and McMillan at their Super Rugby clubs. Just the opposite, in fact, with the noble exception of Ardie Savea.
Then you come to the selection, which has just been a mess. I have written before of Richie Mo’unga being an employee who was effectively demoted because he took paternity leave. That was one scandal. Another was the jetting out of Aaron Smith at the end of last year’s tour against all supposed Covid regulations.
But take this last test. Why was
Samisoni Taukei’aho dropped when he had clearly outplayed Codie Taylor. It looked like a publicity stunt so Dane Coles could play a final test in Wellington.
Why was Laulala picked despite his obvious deficiencies? They were exposed by Ireland. He missed a first up tackle in the opening minutes of the first half and he knocked on in his own 22 in the closing minutes.
All this is symptomatic of a think tank that picks people out of position and expects it to work. Will Jordan has to adjust to defending on the wing in a high pressure test match. David Havili has to shift out of position when RTS comes on for an impossible debut. What a shambles.
And then there is the other fish head, the one at New Zealand Rugby. The rot started under the leadership of former CEO Steve
Tew and an entitled culture that intimidated people. And it has continued with leadership at board level.
For example, there has been the issue of conflicts of interest, which was rather starkly pointed out by an independent review into last year’s disastrous Black Ferns tour of Europe. That review cited conflicts of interests of which there were several. The most obvious of those to me is the deputy chair of the New Zealand Rugby board, Farah Palmer, being married to the Black Ferns assistant coach.
I watched Saturday night’s disaster with two leading figures in New Zealand business and governance. Both mentioned how quickly businesses decline if the culture is rotten. New Zealand Rugby has been rotten for a while. It is time for a cleanout. The country will accept nothing less.
New Zealand Rugby has been rotten for a while. It is time for a cleanout.