KEY POINTS:
Here is a selection of Your Views:
Cook Islands
f the issue was raised by a prominent kiwi that has been involved in rugby then perhaps some may sit up & listen. I like to think the NZ public are a lot more understanding and don't, as has unfortunately occurred in the past; look for 'fall guys' after a test loss.I'd put the whole issue down to nothing more than propaganda from an Australian rugby network that are worried about the strength & spirit of the All Black Captain & team.
NeillR
I have advocated something similar for some time. There are a number of factors in favour of strengthing the domestic/transtasman competition, not the least of which is that the season would be shorter, allowing players to play for NH teams as well, if that was their desire.The NZRU would make up for lost revenue by not having to pay out massive player salaries, but this is a factor that doesn't seem to be taken into account. I don't believe the travel is the reason many players are moving off-shore because it's been around for the length of the competition, but we have recently seen the introduction of a salary cap - and that seems to have been the catalyst for players to look elsewhere.The solution - let them earn Pounds, Euros and Yen then, to be eligible for the All Blacks, they must return in time and, be playing in the NPC/TTPC (whatever they want to call it).
jc
I concur with some of moffats ideas. I have thought that the tri-nations has been boring for a number of years - of course there have been some great matches, however the concept of playing the same teams multiple times year in and year out leads to apathy from fans and even players I believe. I have always thought that the tri-nations should be done every second year, missing out the world cup year, allowing for tours from other nations.As for the super 14, I have actually not been to watch a match or seen a full one on TV this past season, which is a first for me. It is hard to get excited about it. There is too much rugby.
Darcy
Richie McCaw is a wonderful captain, he practices what he preaches, better to win up front where it counts than by mouthing off to the referee to influence the game.
Rijk van Schoo
I agree that both the Super 14 and Tri-Nations competitions be canned. The competitions have prejudiced South African sides for far to long. New Zealand sides have had the benefit of only having to spend a maximum of two weeks in South Africa for the past ten years! South African sides however have continually had to spend up to five weeks on the road for the Super 12. The competitions have inherent bias and should for that reason be cancelled. South Africa will be better served playing more regularly against England, France, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Italy and Argentina in Europe. The time zones are better, the distances are shorter and the financial rewards are also a whole lot better. So yes I agree that Australia and New Zealand should be left to play by themselves in the Pacific. South Africa would then only have to play the Wallabies and All Blacks once every four years during the World Cup.
Mike (England)
I'm sure that's exactly what South Africa want. Teaming up with the 6 Nations would be perfect for them. Less travel and more sponsorship income.
James Bunting
Everyone here has already commented about Eddie Jones' track record as a coach and it speaks for itself.McCaw has a record as captain/vice captain of a team that has won more games in international rugby union in the last 4 years than any other side, particularly away from home (take note Australia). Tana Umaga was not a "mouth" type captain either.Last week's MCG All Blacks were a team that have had a very nasty run of injuries/leave lately. Robinson, Williams, Toeava, Smith, Sivivatu, Howlett, and MacDonald should hopefully all return to the mix before the World Cup (and with any luck before July 21 at Eden Park).The All Blacks are the world's best side, bar none, as they win far more games than they lose, and losses are part of professional sport.
Sam (Sydney)
I'm not convince playing SA teams is a bad thing, if Colin Meads can play a test with a broken arm, Flavs can endure one return trip to SA pa.Chris when a NZ play in SA (it's usually straight after the Perth game) there is this wonderful device called a Tape/DVD recorder, then watch it in the morning.I do agree Aus rugby is woeful, you wouldn't find an Australian who would even know the names of the teams in the new Aus Competition, limit them to four teams
Don't base a team around the NH NPC team (the only team never to have won the NPC) Play the Super 14 there next year. That at least will show the world if NH has enough support. If that works then base the base a Pac Is team in Manukau. I still maintain that the best solution is to double the size of the Super 14 to about 28 teams play two divisions with promotion relegation, 6 NZ, 6 SA, 5 Aust, 3 Pac Is, 3 Argentinian, 2 Jap, 2 Can, 1 US. Huge sponsor dollars, interest in the bottoms teams fighting to stay in division one and intrest in the 15th -20thranked teams fighting for promotion. players stayng in the Islands and Argentina because they have a comp, Rugby supporter tours to die for.
Col J (Brisbane, Australia)
Moffo's half-right, which is more than he usually managed as a sports administrator. Yes, let's let the South Africans go to the northern hemisphere, where they want to be anyway. We (NZ and Australia) can still play tests against them every second year or so. But 5 Australian teams? Moffo is kidding, surely?
How's this for a mix that just might refresh super rugby? 4 NZ provinces, plus the NZ Maori, plus the combined Pacific Islands, plus an Agentinian team like Tucuman, plus Queensland, NSW and the Melbourne Brumbies (there's no financial future in Canberra)? The tri-nations test season could be NZ, Australia and Argentina (big improvers of late), then NZ and Australia play an extra match afterwards to make the Bledisloe an annual 3-test shindig.
Macca (Bris)
Don't feel bad Richie, nobody thinks much of his opinions anyway. Took the Reds from Bad to badder. Aussies went the same way too.Just a thought while you are trying to catch a breath from doing 3 mens work get the halfback and hooker to talk. If the Ref tells them to shut up tell him to tell Gregan to do the same. A little verbal from you won't hurt might help you catch your breath from all the work you do on the field Keep up the good work we believe in you and the team.
Paul (Auckland)
I cannot believe this was even put on the website. Its despicable. The All Blacks have just won how many tests in a row and we lose one - and we are already questioning his captaincy? I am so sick of talkback and negative media in New Zealand. Why cant we just support our team and realise that Richie is an honourable captain who leads from the front and actually is gracious in victory and the very odd defeat, he is the perfect role model for kids in NZ and i believe that Saturday night is the best thing that could have happened to the ABs right now. Carter is clearly only playing at 60 per cent form. But when his form returns, look out world. And I think that may be when we need it most. I bet everyone will shut up when we win the RWC! Go Richie and the ABs!
Bruce
I think Eddie Jones has a point. Richie McCaw was pretty passive throughout what was a terrible All Black performance. Contrast his leadership on the field to the likes of Gregan who was in the ear of the referee throughout the match and never fed a scrum for some 31 minutes. Richie showed that he was not street wise, and in a game where it is clear the rules are up for discussion before each kick off you have got to be a heck of a lot more assertive than we saw. It's the reason why Australia (which is a pretty average team all things considered) didn't get blown off the field at scrum and ruck and maul time.
Jamie
I think Eddie's comments have no foundation. However I think on Saturday the All Blacks had no change in tactics during the game, when plan A wasn't working, plan B wasn't implemented and that goes back to the captain. He also missed two vital tackles (first time I've seen him do that) and as such it stands as his worst All Blacks test (he makes those tackles we win) even though he was everywhere else during the game. The more concerning thing for me was the All Blacks visible lack of desire to beat Aussie - another thing that I've not seen in an All Black team for sometime (worrying). We hit the lead and never thought we would loose (me included) and never showed the killer instinct that the All Blacks are renowned for.
Arron
I don't think it's true that referees don't respect McCaw. This guy carries himself with so much grace, respect for the ref, and professionalism. Look at last week having to deal with Jonker the Plonker's wacky interpretations ruining the game and his backs dropping 80 per cent of the ball, did he ever get flustered? What about the week before when the ref and the touch judge missed the obvious (and possibly crucial) carried back incident. Richie politely asked the ref the question and then accepted the (blatantly wrong) explanation. I don't know how he keeps so much composure.
Joseblues
Edward, Edward, Edward. Surely by now you'd make most of that old adage "better to be silent and thought the fool than to speak and remove all doubt..."
Mr Jones has had the misfortune of being exposed as a less than average coach whose records with both Australia and Queensland reflect his lack of understanding of the modern game. We need to take into account that he no longer plays a part in the game and therefore his comments need to be published in an area where there is real interest for Mr Jones, next to the adult entertainment section.
Kaiviti (Fiji)
No one wants to employ Eddie Jones nor listen to what he says. The ABs lose one test after a gazillion tests and he blames the captain. No wonder Gregan hated his guts.
Michelle (Auckland)
Eddie Jones needs to get a life! Richie McCaw is a fantastic captain and the Australians are obviously just scared at how good a player he is as they know that players like him will win NZ the world cup. Eddie Jones is a has-been and should stop making silly comments like the ones he has been making since the weekend! I mean seriously - who is going to listen to a man like him when the Queensland Reds sat very close to the bottom of the Super 14 table this year when he was the coach! You're just jealous Eddie! Jealous and worried that 2007 is the year that NZ win the world cup under the captaincy of Richie McCaw!
Matthew Gordon
To even have a debate on this issue you have to agree that McCaw is consistently offside. Eddie Jones has already won if people are rushing to defend McCaw as captain rather than realise this is another tactic to detract from McCaw's effectiveness at the breakdown. Richie is more important as the best flanker in the world than he is as captain. Expect a media blitz from Australia, South Africa and England to influence the referees in the lead up to the World Cup.
Aloha (Hawaii)
Eddie Who? Please! If Mr. Eddie know what he was talking about he would still be coaching the Wallabies. Shows you how much he knows. Anyway, you know what they say about wimpy dog, it barks the loudest!
Srumma
Ritchie's captaincy is debatable this year. He hasn't shown that leadership roll of questioning the referee's decisions as a captain should do, missing tackles does not give the team inspiration, but we have witnessed how good a player he is. If there was a captaincy change I think it should be in the forwards, probably Carl Hayman. I think even though he is off to England at the end of the year, because he leads from the front and leads very well as we all know, but at the end of the day Henry has the last say.
Fili (Sydney)
No, absolutely nothing wrong with McCaw's captaincy but we won't even take any garbage from this 'Nobody' Jones who lost a World Cup final in their own backyard and couldn't even beat the weakest of Northern Hemisphere teams, something like 8 losses in a row only a couple of years ago? Hang on, he also coached the dead last Reds in his first stint at this year's Super XIV, before spitting the dummy like the crybaby he's always been. McCaw is his own man and he will lead as he sees fit, no matter who is officiating. He doesn't need to be arrogant like the Gregans and the Mortlocks. Our lineouts may not be perfect either but the All Blacks record speaks for itself. Eddie Jones keeps talking crap out of his mouth. Cheers.
Duncan (Melbourne)
Eddie, Eddie, Eddie. How's the job hunting going? He may have some points, but any comments from outside the team really have no weight. As for McCaw, the man is everywhere. Still by far the best, and I bet if he was playing for the Aussies, we wouldn't be hearing this. You don't see McCaw intentionally hit another player with a forearm to intimidate. As for the penalties, as he is first there, if the support does not get there in time to support him he often finds himself in a penalisable position. Why was George Smith not penalised as much? He wasn't there to do his job. McCaw is the best, and the best is the captain. The ABs had a very average game mainly through attitude. Which will not happen again. Judge after the cup!
Boomshanka
Eddie Jones' comment rates as highly as the Red's performance in the Super 14.
Ex-pat (Washington State, USA)
Well Eddie Jones has done it again, opened his mouth and his brains fell out.
Jason Harrison
Interesting opinions from Eddie Jones, until you remember how well the two teams he was last in charge of did - bottom of the table wasn't it Eddie? However, as usual the players as with past defeats seem to realise all the things they should have done tactically after the fact. When Richie can start to realise a change of game plan is needed during the match, and not afterwards, we might be okay.
Vesi Tagoiaega
There is nothing wrong with Richie Mcaws captaincy. Maybe Eddie Jones should keep his mouth shut. The next time we play them we will thrash them and the Boks too.
Eric (Queensland)
If I was been sacked because of my poor results for the Wallabies in the last few years, there is no way to open my mouth and launched an attack to Ritchie McCaw's captaincy and questioned the All Blacks performance and their reconditioned programme. Sorry Eddie, get a life. Your results speak for itself. For a fact, you are the worst coach in the history of Australia Rugby Union ever. You've got to remember, you owe me and my fellow Queenslanders an apology for helping South Africa Super 14 team to put 90+ points to my Queensland Reds this year. Think before you speak mate. From very sad Queensland supporter.
Sunil Kumar
He is one of the most respected and the best captains NZ Rugby has ever produced.
Blue
Outspoken pah! The guy strikes me as somewhat bizarre and all those who believe him and that is being nice. Tell him to look into his own camp. I can't believe he actually said these things. Making him eat comments like that makes the taste of winning even sweeter.
Louix, All Black supporter (Auckland)
Personally I think Richie McCaw is a captain who leads by example with his outstanding work rate and awesome support play. Maybe he doesn't have a mouth like Gregan but he has the support of the senior members of the All Black team so I see no problem. The only reason why he gets penalised so much is because coaches like Eddie Jones ask the referee's to target him as they have no other strategy to cope with his play. Richie McCaw for Prime Minister.
Cynbin (Christchurch)
Eddie Moans - er - Jones has a cheek with his comments of Richie McCaw's captaincy. He should remember how his Queensland Reds team went in the Super 14 competition 2007 before opening his big mouth.
Wayne
Yes it was obvious that our scrums were dominant but Gregan still managed to persuade the ref otherwise, and there was no input from Rithie, he just let Gregan the non captain rule the game and the scrums. And please do not smile in defeat, it makes you look like Taine Randle.
Simon
Hey Eddie, its still two months before the world cup, what is the point of peaking now and showing the opposition all your cards? Carter, McCaw & co. have plenty of time to start hitting their straps, anyway what would Jones know, its not like he's a good coach, just ask Queensland Rugby!
AB Fan (Singapore)
How easy we fall into the trap of casting blame at the first fall. On Saturday the ABs lost because they did not play as well as the Wallabies. So what are the lessons? ABs are not infallible; it is asking too much for players to travel so far and play such tough games in such a short period of time; that the poorest performance on the filed was that of the referee; why are motor mouths like George Gregan allowed to influence the referee; can someone explain to George Gregan that the ball is supposed to go into the scrum and not be held up like a flag. Why can we not have referees rule in a way that fans can understand what is going on? How come the public does not get to know how referees are scored for their performance? What is Graham Henry going to do about locks, centres, and lineouts? And many more. As for Richie McCaw, lay off. If the press starts to play the game of laying all these problems at his door, then he will indeed loose support - on and off the field, and that cannot be good for the ABs in a world cup year.
David G
Eddie Jones latest high jinks should probably be read as a ringing endorsement of McCaw - it has been a long time since Jones got anything right. McCaw is quiet on the field and leads from the front - as we saw in Durban when he lead the catch-up. And Mortlock is a similar captain to McCaw - letting his deeds do the talking. Eddie Jones seems to be confusing the Wallabies admirable resolve on Saturday with Gregan's yapping at the ref. A coincidence - nothing more. Most of Australia's influence over Jonkers came during the week, when they clearly hounded him about the ABs front row. They won't get this leeway from the likes of Kaplan and Jutge. Eddie Jones is doing the Wallabies cause a great disservice by targeting Richie's captaincy. Keep it up little fella.
Max (Perth)
Please don't listen to Eddie Jones - no one in Australia does. Richie McCaw is a champion and bad mouthing someone of his stature is probably all Eddie can do to get published these days.
It's funny that on a week where Australia played their best game in years, Eddie brings up something like this. Why couldn't he just give Australia a wrap? It's taken almost two years to remove Eddie's influence from the Wallabies, and we are only now starting to be a genuine threat. Maybe if we got rid of him a year earlier we could give the World Cup a shake.
Sydney All Black Supporters Club
Perhaps if Mr Jones had applied the same rapier sharp analysis to himself and his team's performances he would have enjoyed some success (perhaps even beating the fearsome Welsh - not) and wouldn't have been dumped twice inside 12 months.
Brenda Wallace
I don't understand why anyone in New Zealand should be concerned with the comments of a former Wallaby coach who coached a team who finished bottom of the Super 14 this year and has a less than impressive coaching record of the Wallabies. Moreover you can not determine a captain's ability to lead there team by how much they talk to the refs. It is a sad day in rugby if any referee is influenced by what a player on the field has to say. I believe that Stirling Mortlock and Ritchie McCaw have the same captaincy styles, which is to lead by example. It is how the team responds to this form a leadership that should help determine maintaining captaincy. The All Blacks have an extremely impressive record since the world cup and one loss should not be a signal to start making rash changes and completely lower the moral and confidence of the team. Ritchie should stay and we should not be influenced by anything Australia says.
Fiona Mills
Yeah right, and Mr Jones' track record speaks for itself. As a NZer living in Aussie, he is only heard when there is nothing else to say. Be quiet and as my mum said 'if you don't have anything nice to say...keep it shut'. They are only jealous they will never ever have a McCaw type player in Australia!
Gem (Auckland)
Eddie Jones got fired because he couldn't coach the Wallabies so I don't think he should be saying things about Richie McCaw. The All Blacks lost because they did not play as well as the Wallabies. We have some work to do before the world cup, but once we find our centre we will be fine. One loss and we need a captain - I don't think so!
Ray (Washington DC)
Shaky against the Springboks? If the All Blacks were shaky against the springboks, what were the Wallabies when Jones headed the team? The rector scale would have been in the red!
"Mrs McCaw" (Auckland)
I think if there is an issue around the captaincy, it is that Richie's never really been tested as a captain. With both the All Blacks and the Crusaders having been so dominant in recent years, as well as the emergence of the "leadership group" in the national side, the man has not really ever been tested. However, as with all members of the side, I'm sure Richie will have learned from the weekend. He leads by example enough, I think he will eventuate like a Steve Price sort of character.
J @ Maroubra
Ok, I'm devastated too re: the ABs vs AUS at the MCG but I'm sure the ABs and coaching staff are too. Now let's not forget Australia's current record against the ABs has been rat and aside from the rugby purists (most are ex-Private School, Rugby Union is known to be a' tad snobby' in Oz - wankers aye). In this defeat we should all unite behind this current ABs team and stand tall and proud, we as NZers are a small country in the South Pacific who love their rugby, this ABs team is currently ranked No.1 in the world. C'mon NZ stay staunch, heads up, 'forward always', even James Brown (RIP) is singing it from his grave 'Say it Loud ... I'm Black and I'm Proud'
Now in regards to Richie McCaw's captaincy and leadership skills, he is truly worthy of this role and as for Eddie Jones saying that Refs have lost his respect, well as the saying goes over here in Oz 'opinions are like arseholes, everyone has got one' but in Eddies case he is one. I never liked the guy and he is main reason why I am turned off Australian Rugby.
That said the Aussies will try to win their games through their Press/Media Manager by conjuring up interview(ees) to 'talk it up' in the hope that if enough people read it and/or keep hearing it, then hey maybe its true, but we all know that it is just the Private School Club tickling each others arses like in their school days thinking that they have one over us mentally.
Hey, did anyone see John Mitchell interviewed by the panel of Aussies before the MCG match? I know NZRU treated him badly, but two years of coaching in Australia and now he's 'talking it up' like a 'fair dinkum Aussie' saying how 'we' (the Aussies) will win and that the ABs weak blah blah ... the Wallabies are so good blah blah. You have turned into a sad and bitter man John, to think with all your achievements and worldly experiences you are so immature to have signed off on your country like that. You really disappoint me. Maybe the NZRU saw something about you then that is raring its ugly head now, sad bro.
Oh well, let's finish on a high note by saying this loss will give us the reality check needed to get this current ABs team captained magnificently by King Richard to lift both the Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup trophy this month and then go onto lift the Webb Ellis and bring it back home to Aotearoa. Stay Black!