Tantrums and troubled times
The history of the All Blacks is littered with colourful stories of ego-driven agendas, squabbles and partying. Richard Knowler reports.
Don’t think All Blacks players are immune to the odd tantrum.
A bust-up between Scotland coach Gregor Townsend and Finn Russell, which resulted in the latter not being picked for the opening Six Nations games against Ireland and England, has highlighted how combustible relationships can be in international rugby teams.
Face it, most of us like a bit of tittle-tattle. The Townsend-Russell feud went up several levels when the latter spilled the beans to an English broadsheet about where it all went wrong between him and his coach, suggesting he may not return to the national side until Townsend has departed.
It seems this isn’t going to be resolved in the near future.
Initially the Scotland Rugby Union controlled the story, saying first fiveeighth Russell had been reprimanded for drinking late at the team hotel and had later returned to his French club Racing 92.
Russell later gave a different version of events. The real problem, he said, was Townsend’s shoddy communication skills and lack of empathy. It’s a messy situation.
But it’s not as if the All Blacks are immune to such issues. Here’s a look at past scrapes between coaches, team-mates and administrators.
JUSTIN MARSHALL v GRAHAM HENRY
When veteran halfback Marshall suspected the All Blacks selectors were going to pick Byron Kelleher ahead of him for the series against the British and Irish Lions in 2005, he planted a tin helmet on his melon and went on the attack.
Marshall believed he had been in superior form during the Super Rugby season, and deserved to be ranked as the top No 9. Henry, however, couldn’t guarantee he would start.
So Marshall told All Blacks coach Henry he was unavailable for the squad for the three-test series.
In his autobiography, Marshall said he delivered the news during a phone conversation with Henry and then waited for a reply. Silence.
‘‘I think he must have literally fallen off his chair,’’ Marshall said. ‘‘Eventually, he [Henry] said, ‘That’s unbelievable. I find your response absolutely unbelievable."’
As it transpired, Marshall changed his mind about a week later. A frank conversation with another All Black, Anton Oliver, resulted in him later advising Henry he was available for selection.
Marshall started the first test in Christchurch and was used as a replacement in the next two in Wellington and Auckland. The latter game was to be his 81st and final test.
NORM BERRYMAN v JOHN HART
Berryman, who died of a heart attack aged 42 in 2015, famously walked out of an All Blacks camp and hitchhiked up back to his home town of Whangarei.
The popular Crusaders and Northland midfielder/wing, who played one test against South Africa in Durban in 1998, decided he had had enough of the way the squad was being run by coach John Hart. So he elected to go walkabout. If this had been any other player, the fans would have gone ballistic with rage.
But this was Norman Rangi Berryman, the genial fellow from the Far North. Instead of being vilified, he was hailed for standing up for his principles.
Berryman later told the NZ Herald he received a memorable tune-up from his mum: ‘‘Boy, if you’d had your recorder on then, bud, you would have made some money.’’
JOHN KIRWAN RATTLES THE CAGE
John Kirwan went on the offensive before the New Zealand Rugby Union (as it was known back then) named a replacement for All Blacks coach Alex Wyllie after the 1991 World Cup.
Kirwan, a major supporter of his ex-Auckland coach Hart, believed his old mentor was the right person to take the All Blacks into the next era and said as such to a reporter from
TVNZ. When asked if Hart wasn’t the convenor of selectors, whether he would contemplate not playing for the All Blacks in 1992, Kirwan replied in the affirmative.
By offering an honest appraisal of who should replace Wyllie, Kirwan became the lead story for most news organisations for the next few days. Talkback radio blew its top.
Kirwan later noted in his book that he believed he was ‘‘set up’’ in what, at the time, he regarded as his worst media experience and said there was no intention to disrespect other contenders for the job.
Hart missed out. Laurie Mains was appointed as Wyllie’s replacement.
CAVALIERS v THE ESTABLISHMENT
South Africa beckoned and the majority of New Zealand’s prime rugby beef couldn’t resist following the trail of gold to a country ruled by the pale faces in 1986.
Apart from David Kirk and John Kirwan, a squad of All Blacks under the flag of the Cavaliers darted off to the Republic for some code, sunshine, braais and a tidy amount of brass in their pockets.
Back in those says the Springboks were in isolation, due to the apartheid laws. They were desperate for international competition, even more so when the All Blacks tour of 1985 was spiked.
Up rolled the Cavaliers, only to return home following a 3-1 series defeat. Upon their return to New Zealand they were banned for the first two tests of the season, against France and Australia.
The majority of the Cavaliers returned for the final two tests against the Aussies, but were unable to prevent a 2-1 series defeat.
RUNNING AGAINST THE GRAIN
Among those who made themselves unavailable for selection to represent the All Blacks against South Africa during the apartheid years were Graham Mourie, Bruce Robertson, Ken Gray and Bob Burgess.
Kirk and Kirwan also ruled themselves out of the 1985 tour prior to it being canned.
ON THE LARGE TO LONDON
Young men and women. Booze. Bright lights.
We’ve all been young once. So it’s not a big deal if a group of All Blacks want to hang loose and unwind.
Usually you would expect this after a game, perhaps later in a tour but Dan Carter, Aaron Mauger, Leon MacDonald, Piri Weepu, Jimmy Cowan and Jason Eaton had other plans soon after arriving in Wales.
Fair play to them; they didn’t dither after the long journey from New Zealand, choosing to loosen their ties, roll up their sleeves and immediately get down to business and hit the bars.
At 5am, possibly with a doner kebab from Cardiff’s glorious Chippy Alley in their bellies, they decided to spend $700 on a taxi to London where they hoped to join a throng of other Antipodean and South African revellers for a Sunday session at a boozer called The Church.
Soon after arriving they got cold feet. A train took them back to Cardiff. And an appointment with All Blacks captain Tana Umaga who went ballistic, and ripped them to shreds. Umaga 1 Party Animals 0.
KEITH MURDOCH v ERNIE TODD
Manager Todd won this showdown, shipping All Blacks prop Murdoch home from the 1972-73 tour for allegedly thumping a security man at the Angel Hotel in Cardiff. Murdoch who died in 2018, aged 74, didn’t bother going back to New Zealand apart from the occasional visit. He spent the rest of his life in Australia, and never played again.