One of the biggest strengths of New Zealand rugby is the care taken to preserve the heritage and ethos of the All Blacks.
Sean Fitzpatrick, when he was recently in South Africa, spoke movingly about the value All Blacks place on their jersey; how for instance they refuse to swop the black jumper with an opponent unless they thought him to be worthy.
The most-capped All Black of all time sketched his own passage through the age-groups and how there had always been All Blacks involved in the squads, either as coaches or managers, always passing on the lore of the brotherhood of black.
Fitzpatrick’s words came back to me in Christchurch recently while paging through the Jade Stadium programme for the 72nd test match between the All Blacks and the Springboks.
The first message of welcome in the booklet was from the president of the NZ Rugby Union – former All Black captain Andy Leslie.
The next note was from the president of the Canterbury Rugby Football Union – former All Black captain Tane Norton.
The All Black team’s manager was Sir Brian Lochore – also a former All Black captain.
I don’t propose to labour the point as I’m sure you get my drift. The future of the All Blacks is rooted securely in the past and their success is down to this legacy as each generation passes on experience, wisdom and knowledge to the next.
Experiencing New Zealand’s passion for rugby close up again was instructive; especially an undercurrent of hysteria – most often expressed in columns ridiculing this national angst! - that the All Blacks might not win the World Cup.
The All Blacks won the inaugural World Cup in 1987 but have not won the championship since, losing the 1995 final to South Africa and bowing out during the semifinals in 1991, 1999 and 2003.
With a record of not having lost at home in the last three years (establishing a record of 26 consecutive victories) while suffering only four defeats (three to the Springboks and one to the Wallabies) they will go to France as overwhelming favourites.
Their coach Graham Henry has recognized the depth of expectation, accepted the challenge, and embarked on a bold (and stridently criticized) plan to ensure that the player holding up the Webb Ellis Cup at the Stade de France late on the night of October 20 will be dressed in black.
This has engendered the increasingly expressed view that all Henry has done is create too much pressure which will once again result in the All Blacks becoming the best team “between World Cups.”
It was an opinion I tended to go along with until a niggling little thought germinated as I watch the Blacks, as they’re referred to in New Zealand, going through one of their slick, high-paced practices.
Could it be that the team most locked into history has quietly been exploring the future?
There has been a lack of discipline in recent All Black performances (the word “wild” comes to mind) that has worried traditionalists but could it be that this was intentional?
Could it be that Henry, confident of his team’s ability to play possession-based rugby and blessed with the best flyhalf in the world, was encouraging them to push the envelope?
Those 50/50 passes, those crazy offloads, those odd angles and seemingly stupid kicks? Running from deep, trying to play faster and faster, upping the tempo, attempting things only seen in Sevens? Could it have been part of a grand plan?
It seems far-fetched but I would not be surprised to find out that the All Blacks have deliberately been trying to test the boundaries – trying to play a ‘new’ game while their opponents were trying to perfect and imbed old habits.
I might be way off beam but I do know which team I would back if there were five minutes to go in a World Cup Final and the only way to win was with a try.
*Disclaimer - Views expressed within this story are not necessarily the views of this Blog
