NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Your Views: Is it worth the ABs playing the French?

30 May, 2007 01:00 AM6 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Opinion

KEY POINTS:

Exasperated All Black coach Graham Henry has slapped the International Rugby Board for their lack of leadership, a failing he warns puts the sport in jeopardy.

The under-strength French side which arrived yesterday in Auckland were the result of an "organisational chaos" which the IRB and the French
Federation had allowed to fester.

Here is the latest selection of Your Views:

Andrew
Boo Hoo for Graham Henry. When the sport is only played professionally by around 8 countries, and half of them have their winter at a different time of year to the other half, what does he expect? In Europe, clubs don't bend over backwards for the coach of their national teams. 22 national players being wrapped in cotton wool (or "reconditioned") at the expense of club games would never have been allowed in Europe. Stop whingeing and enjoy the world cup you're about to win.

Darron Gedge
This business of third rate teams coming down under is ruining the game. Im not interested in watching the All Blacks slaughter France C on Saturday. How can a poxy club game be put before an international. It is test rugby that makes the players famous (and in turn well paid) in the first place. Unless somehting is done Rugby will go the way of the Dodo.

Chris
Forget the Mid Year Tours.What they should do is have NZ/Australia/South Africa/Argentina play in a southern hemisphere kind of 6 nations, include teams like Japan and the Pacific Islanders (or rotate Samoa 1 year, Fiji the Other, Tonga the other??)....and then leave the Northern Hemisphere games for end of season...And some might think aww I liked the tri nations though, u can involve that, but only using the 3 teams games to be part of it...like a mini competition mixed up with the whole idea, or even dump it, i mean 6 nations would be more better...That way all games will be at full strength, maybe some easy games but still, it'd be test match quality, and we'll be helping the cause of a even playing field in the future (regular games for japan, argentina, pacific islands) But guess we now know what it feels like....didnt we rest a few players when we went to England last year? sure we won them good but they moaned about it....what goes around comes around...IRB is going the way of ICC:money before quality

Jumbo (Hawkes Bay)
Graham Henry has one team to coach, and has a narrow focus on that team. He has already trashed the Super 14 in the interests of that team, but the Super 14 is an out of season competition, which impacts little on normal club and provincial competition. Good on the French for not letting Graham Henry and Bernard la Porte trash their regular competitions in the interests of one team. Any sport is essentially about as many people as possible getting out and doing their thing. A sport that thinks it is all about a million people sitting on their bums watching just thirty perform is about entertainment. The empty rugby fields and club rooms are testimony to the success of destroying a sport by turning it into an entertainment. May be the French are a lot smarter than Graham Henry and his bosses.

Phil
Despite tales of hissy fits the French have sent a weak side down here for the same reasons that the other Northern sides have. To be competitive in the World Cup by concealing whatever silly rule bending ploys they intend to use. That way they hope neither the refs nor the Southern Sides will develop counters to their negative tactics.Since it probably won't make a jot of difference - oh it may turn a 63-0 drubbing into a 26-3 game, I dunno why we bother to play any Northern sides at all.From a spectators point of view watching a Southern Side play a Northern one is diabolical, the games lack fluency because of the negative spoiling tactics and the result is rarely if ever in doubt. The only time the Northern sides get up is when the Southern team they play is having a slump. Never because their team is good.This will get much much worse now that every young Kiwi bloke who has ever pulled on a jersey for their club is getting a run in the English and French divisions. Until the next step which will be the Northern countries forcing the IRB to let them play Southern men in their national sides. But what else do you expect from the ECC - egoistic couch consumers?

Lorenzo Seiuli
Graham Henry has no right to get upset about playing a depleted French side who are saving key players for World Cup time or the European club tournament crosses over to our International calendar so are unavailable. No matter the reason, Henry & co did exactly the same in the Super 14, kept out 22 All Blacks out of a competition that's regarded as probably the best in the world and he justified it by saying, 'It's for the World Cup' It didn't matter what anyone had to say about it, whether it was the opposition coaches in the Super 14 had to say or the press had to say or the fans or even the damn News Corp Limited had to say, Henry & co didn't care, they didn't care about the slump in ratings or the slump in crowd attendances or the fact that your average Jo Bloggs who has supported his team in the NZ Super 14 was being ripped off of quality Super 14 Rugby, No, Mr Henry & co stuck by their guns. So your damn right I say Henry, what goes around, comes around. What difference is there to what France is doing to what you did? Did France not say 'it's for the World Cup' Now Henry, you know how we all feel. Did our media not say your end of year squad in 2006 was a second string team?

Chris
From what I've read the French asked the NZRFU to cancel the tour but were told by the NZRFU that it must go ahead.The NZRFU have been aware the French RFU wouldn't be able to send a full strength team due to their Semis and Finals.The NZRFU have known about it for months Graham Henry has known about it for months so why the hell is he whingeing now. He should be having a go at the NZRFU for forcing the French to bring an under strength team and for forcing the All Blacks to play against such a weak team.The public should also have a go at the NZRFU for still charging full price even though its a weak French C team and they wonder why they aren't selling out Eden Park or any of the venues for these friendlies. If you remember back to last season 2 of the 3 Tri Nations games in NZ werent sold out.Maybe Rugby isn't as big an obsession as it was 30 years ago?

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New ZealandUpdated

'Hardly seems a priority': Greens react to moa de-extinction plans

09 Jul 06:00 AM
New Zealand

'Looked pretty serious': Accident closes Hamilton intersection

09 Jul 05:29 AM
New ZealandUpdated

Fresh school holiday measles scare as infected people visit supermarket, library

09 Jul 05:16 AM

From early mornings to easy living

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

'Hardly seems a priority': Greens react to moa de-extinction plans

'Hardly seems a priority': Greens react to moa de-extinction plans

09 Jul 06:00 AM

Marama Davidson says the money could be better spent on saving endangered species.

'Looked pretty serious': Accident closes Hamilton intersection

'Looked pretty serious': Accident closes Hamilton intersection

09 Jul 05:29 AM
Fresh school holiday measles scare as infected people visit supermarket, library

Fresh school holiday measles scare as infected people visit supermarket, library

09 Jul 05:16 AM
Auckland superette worker stabbed by group of screwdriver, knife-wielding teens

Auckland superette worker stabbed by group of screwdriver, knife-wielding teens

09 Jul 05:10 AM
Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP