Rieko Ioane is tackled during the match between France and the All Blacks last Saturday. The French and the Irish before them looked capable of winning every week. Photo / AP
Rieko Ioane is tackled during the match between France and the All Blacks last Saturday. The French and the Irish before them looked capable of winning every week. Photo / AP
OPINION:
It's good that the barber is back in business, because we have something important to discuss, more important than the shocking state of my hair.
It's also more important than the equally shocking state of the National Party, though we'll no doubt discuss that briefly too. We'll be amazedat the audacity of Judith Collins' pre-emptive strike on Simon Bridges and probably agree that when the time is right National will find a leader better than either of them.
But the subject I really need to discuss with him right now is rugby. Neither of us are experts but barbers are good listeners, possibly thinking talkers are not watching the cut. It's a chance to vent before pubs reopen next weekend. Pubs do not provide good listeners as a rule.
We already know the verdicts we will hear over a beer, the All Blacks know it as they emerge from MIQ. They will be avoiding a public bar for a week or two. Coach Ian Foster probably wants to spend Christmas in a cave.
And in a way, I think he will. The coach will go deep into his own character over the summer to work out something exciting. The last thing NZ Rugby should do is sack him. Foster is heir to the Henry-Hansen dynasty, which has brought rugby to heights of excellence never previously seen.
Watching the All Blacks get well beaten by Ireland and France this month, I kept wondering what was going through the minds of King Henry and his successor, Sir Steve Hansen. They were not just great All Black coaches, they set out to change the way rugby was played.
It has taken 10 years but at long last Europeans are playing the New Zealand way. Watching Ireland and France move the ball wide, hold on to it and keep the All Blacks on the back foot - not just for a furious opening 20 minutes but for the full 80 – I hoped Henry and Hansen were feeling exalted.
These games were not like England's victory in the semifinal of the last Rugby World Cup. That was an effort England could not repeat in a lacklustre final against a Springbok team the All Blacks had comfortably beaten in a pool match. Ireland and France looked capable of winning every week.
The Springboks, our toughest, bitterest old rivals, have still not adopted the New Zealand style and they also beat the All Blacks this year. They could have beaten us twice, we were lucky to win the first match that was reduced to a lottery of penalties by an English referee. The battle for rugby's soul is not finished.
Had the All Blacks completed their November tour unbeaten, the post-mortems on this season would have been fixated on the Springboks. Thanks to Ireland and France, the pundits know there are more varied and interesting ways to win than kicking high and causing havoc in the landing zone.
So the ball is back in New Zealand's court, to mix a sporting metaphor. Foster has to work out a way to put the All Blacks into an even higher gear next year. After two seasons in charge he has yet to put his mark on the team he inherited from Hansen. He will remember what happened in 2012.
That year should have been an anti-climax following the World Cup in New Zealand. Henry had retired in triumph, handing over to his assistant, a less impressive character at that time. Some of the World Cup-winning side had also retired. Hansen brought in new players and one, in particular, was a gem.
He'd found a nippy little halfback who was simply, startlingly brilliant. His speed to breakdowns was like nothing I had ever seen before. And his pass was lightning fast and long. Around him Hansen built a team that was better than Henry's. No other team could play at its pace – until now.
Aaron Smith is often praised but not to the heights he deserves. He should be up there in the pantheon with Colin Meads, Don Clarke, Richie McCaw and Dan Carter. Some players are not fully appreciated until they're not there. Smith, taking paternity leave, was clearly missed by the All Blacks on this tour.
The return of barbers means a good opportunity for clients to vent about politics and sport. Photo / David Beck
He is also a barber, I understand. I used to blame him for the All Black's execrable haircuts, a new one each year. But the bushy mullet most of the players sported in his absence this season was one of the worst I can remember.
It feels like I have something similar back there after three months in lockdown. I'd better stop babbling in the barber's ear and make sure he gets rid of it.
