Back to drawing board for defeated All Blacks

NORTH Otago won. So did the Otago Spirit.

That almost pales into insignificance, unfortunately.

The exit of the All Blacks from the Rugby World Cup on Saturday night, beaten 197 by a firedup, physical and simply better England team in the semifinal, was a deflating experience and a big letdown at Labour Weekend.

The men in black conceded a try after just two minutes and never got a foot in the match.

The dream was to win a third World Cup in a row but it was not to be for the All Blacks, who will appear in the game nobody wants to play — the dreaded third and fourth playoff — on Friday night.

What happens now for the All Blacks?

Is their era of world domination over as richer and bigger countries come to the fore, and all our children are playing basketball and futsal?

That seems unlikely, but winning World Cups is not easy, and the All Blacks do not have a guaranteed right to win all of them.

What is going to be most interesting over the next couple of months is who is going to coach the All Blacks.

Steve Hansen is standing down after eight years. The smart money was on assistant coach Ian Foster taking over. But his stocks took a hit after 80 minutes in Yokohama and he is no longer a certainty.

Many fancy Crusaders coach Scott Robertson for the job. He is the new breed with his modern ways and is said to be popular with the players.

But can a breakdancer be an All Black coach? Does he not need a couple of years of adversity to harden him up and add to his skills?

Lurking in the background are popular southern men — former Highlanders coaches Jamie Joseph and Tony Brown.

The duo have just coached Japan to the quarterfinals of the World Cup, and Brown is already tipped to be part of any future All Black coaching team, led by either Foster or Robertson.

Joseph is a head coach and that is what he wants to do. He has not committed — publicly, anyway — to the Japan role next year until the All Black job is sorted out.

It is going to be a fascinating couple of months. Hopefully, by then, the Yokohama performance will be a distant memory.

A England will be playing in its fourth Rugby World Cup final, seeking its second title and first since 2003.

It will meet either Six Nations rival Wales or twotime champion South Africa, who clashed in last night’s second semifinal.

PHOTOS: GETTY IMAGES Black night . . . All Black captain Kieran Read reflects on the 197 loss to England in the Rugby World Cup semifinal. From top: English players Henry Slade (left) and Ben Youngs celebrate; All Blacks (from left) Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett and Jack Goodhue look downcast; All Black coach Steve Hansen trudges off the field.