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?
