C'mon you Wellington fans
Stop bitching about your team's 15-14 loss to Canterbury in the Ranfurly Shield challenge at Jade Stadium last Friday night.
Sure, you didn't have all favours from a somewhat over-anxious referee in Bryce Lawrence but when it all boils down you deserved to come second.
The plain facts are
that Canterbury played smart, and Wellington didn't.
The boys from the capital seemed obsessed with the idea that the game could be won by continually hammering away close to the rucks and mauls.
Which was, of course, playing right into Canterbury's hands.
For when it comes to defensive strategies against that sort of approach they are top of the pops by a country mile.
When you pull on that red and black jersey putting your body on the line simply goes with the job.
Well, ok my old favourite Mehrts wasn't exactly the bravest in that department but when you consider his other talents he was allowed, wasn't he?
Why Wellington didn't adopt a much more liberal game plan is beyond me.
You didn't have to be a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that if they were to lift the shield for only the second time in 40 years-yes, 40 years- their best chance was to give the Nonus, Smiths and company the license to attack from just about anywhere on the paddock.
Just why they didn't defies logic, and that's exactly the reason why no excuses should be made for their defeat.
They simply weren't smart enough; end of story.
Canterbury, on the other hand, proved just how resilient they are in matches of more-than-usual importance.
They had just survived tough Shield challenges from Taranaki and Waikato by slender margins and here they were again, digging deep when it mattered most.
You can call it luck when you win once by a point or two but when you do it three times in a row then words like character and resolve roll easily off the tongue.
And mustn't it be comforting for Canterbury to know that their latest string of wins have come without famous rugby names like McCaw, Carter and Mauger gracing their teams.
Suddenly we are talking about the new boys on the block like Andrew Ellis at halfback and Kevin O'Neill at lock as possible test players in the not-too-distant future.
It used to be said that when Auckland rugby was strong New Zealand rugby was strong.
You can very definitely change Auckland for Canterbury now.
