KEY POINTS:
At the end of a year when three world championships and the America's Cup were up for grabs, the nation's trophy cabinet is empty. After near misses, steady efforts and a horribly upsetting upset, the Herald asks a panel of heavyweight pundits from the worlds of rugby, netball, cricket, yachting and league what needs to be done to bring home some silverware in the future.
RUGBY
John Hart: Former All Blacks coach
What needs to be done to ensure we do better in 2011?
One thing that was proven this year is that there is no model. If you look at the successful teams in the World Cup, they weren't necessarily the best teams going into the competition.
It is all about being able to handle a knockout competition.
We've got to look at the Cup as part of the cycle of rugby - not the cycle. We have got to get away from our obsession with winning it and have got to get back to playing every match as a serious test match.
Hopefully you can join that with the odd tour where you can get development of players for depth.
I don't think we can continue to just focus on the World Cup and think any one model is correct.
Look at England getting to the final this year. They had done nothing all year and had terrible form. Their players had played on average probably 30 games in the year and they get to the final.
It really is a national obsession, isn't it?
Yes. And as a result we are putting too much resource into it and too much pressure on it. That has financial ramifications but also psychological ramifications.
The great challenge this country has in terms of rugby is to run a great event in 2011, to show the rugby world we are a great rugby nation and that we can put together a great event. If we win the event at home then it is a bonus.
But if we go in saying we must win it ... I think we've seen this year by saying the World Cup is more important than anything else, we've destroyed the other competitions and effectively created a malaise in the game.
Is rotation the way to go?
Rotation should be more based on the physical requirements of the game than the selection process of a game. There is a time when some players may need rest but that is an individual rather than a collective situation.
The way we have seen rotation in the past two years has the net effect of reducing the aura of the jersey. It gives a lot more players All Black status and, ironically, may well have been one of the reasons we are getting a [large] exodus of players. Players who are former All Blacks have a lot more opportunity to market themselves.
And reconditioning?
I was opposed to reconditioning from the principle of the damage it did to the Super 14. If there were some players who needed a rest then that's what they should have done. But to take a whole block out of the competition and destroy it was a real negative.
Conditioning is all about playing. You have got to play games. I think I saw statistics that our players averaged 12 games for the year. That is not really enough.
10-man rugby dominated in France. Do the All Blacks need to change their style?
No. If we executed our style with control then I don't think there was an issue. We have an ability to play the game at a different level and a different pace to other sides. We clearly had the best players this year. It was more about tactically saying there is a time to move the ball and there is a time to put pressure on the opposition.
Should coaches be appointed now with a brief to build towards the next World Cup?
You've still got to build because it is part of the culture and part of establishing confidence and combinations.
But I've often said, if you are going to have a four-year cycle, you should have it two years before a World Cup and two years after, rather than four years from Cup to Cup. That focuses everything on the World Cup. Presumably we'll always have the talent to challenge for the title? There is no doubt we are losing a lot of players and that is a concern, but we do have a great habit of unearthing talent and developing it. Hopefully that will continue but the number of players going overseas is really a big issue for the game.
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YACHTING
Peter Lester: Yachting commentator, elite coach and former top yachtie
There's still no word as to when the next America's Cup will be. Is the uncertainty hurting Emirates Team New Zealand's chances of mounting a decent challenge?
It makes it really hard for them to plan. It is difficult for teams like TNZ because they don't have a billionaire owner. It is all very well for [Ernesto] Bertarelli and [Larry] Ellison, they can bankroll the deal themselves and are not really relying on sponsors. But TNZ have always relied heavily on their sponsors. So it must be a real concern for Grant Dalton.
Obviously TNZ need an event to attract sponsors to?
Yes. The uncertainty and delay that is going on at the moment is probably Dalton's worst nightmare. But the Cup is a funny old beast. Although what is going on now (the court case between Bertarelli and Ellison) seems vitally important to the sailing community, there are plenty of examples of stuff like this going on before. Not least in 1988 with the big boat challenge. I just hope it gets resolved soon, but it does look like the event will slip back to 2011.
So there's not much TNZ can do right now, but what do they need to do to go one better in the next regatta, whenever it may be?
Obviously you need to have good yachties who are ready to race, who have had a lot of exposure to international competition. I think Dalton did a good job of that with Dean Barker and Ben Ainsley leading up to the last Cup. They weren't sitting behind desks pushing pens, they were out there competing on the world stage. I think that formula will continue.
But the bottom line with the Cup is that it is a technology game. You can have the best sailing crew in the world but if you are in a slow boat you are not going to win. If you are in a fast boat and your sailors are going good enough, you'll probably win. That's how Alinghi were last time. They didn't sail extra-well but they had a slight speed advantage.
TNZ seemed to have made some good gains in that area. For starters, they didn't almost sink and their mast didn't break.
Given where they were in 2003, which was really a train smash, a disaster, to win the Louis Vuitton Cup and to almost get to a position where they could have won the America's Cup in a slower boat was a phenomenal achievement. TNZ have wonderful assets in terms of technology and people, and how they use those people to come up with good equipment. At the moment Dalton has protected those assets but he'll come under increasing pressure if there is a big delay because those assets are expensive. It must be very hard for them right now. But, in terms of the formula that was put in place after 2003, they got a hell of a lot of it right. They have certainly got back to where they need to be one of the top challengers at the next Cup.
So, overall you'd rate the last challenge a success?
Absolutely. Sure they made five mistakes and you could argue four of them might have been avoidable. But mistakes come from pressure. Looking back now you'd say they made those mistakes because they were a little bit off the pace.
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NETBALL
Yvonne Willering: Former Silver Ferns coach
The Silver Ferns went pretty close to winning the World Championships. Is there any need to axe coaches and players and start all over again?
The country certainly didn't go into mourning quite the same as with the rugby. Part of that was probably because we weren't sure the Ferns would win anyway. You don't want a kneejerk reaction but there should be an evaluation process. This year the focus was entirely on the Championships but next year will be looked at slightly differently.
What effect will the transtasman competition have on the Ferns' prospects?
It will provide an opportunity for other players to show their worth because they will be in active competition against Australians. With respect to developing players for the Silver Ferns, it is very much a positive as more players will be exposed to the tough competition that Australians provide. But my concern is what happens to the tier of players underneath that. So we certainly need to make sure we do our development work as well.
Have we got the players coming through to compete in four years' time? Hopefully. But if you were to ask me who would win a test series against Australia next year, I'd say Australia. The majority of their players are only just coming in to it and you'll see them there for the next four years.
Should we be blooding players next year with the next World Championships in mind or should we just concentrate on winning every match?
I still think that playing for the Ferns has to be earned. You don't experiment. Experimentation should be done at a lower level. I would still like to see the best players selected but I think you'll find that some players just won't make themselves available because there isn't a World Championship at stake next year.
What about the coaches? Do we need to give them four years to build up to the next champs?
I think we should take each year as it presents itself. Otherwise you could be saying you'll only take players up to a specific age because they won't be there for the next world champs. There is too much focus on the world championships and not enough on representing your country.
What about the style of game? Does it need to change?
We need to have a few more options. Irene van Dyk provides us with one option but maybe we need to look at other options in the shooting circle. There has been plenty of talk about giving her mobility but her greatest strength is her height, her standing jump and her shot. You don't want to take that away from her by trying to make her a running player. Australia have come out and said there is a predictability about us. We don't need to panic but we have got to expose more players to opportunities.
Irene is 35. She'll be 39 in 2011. Is it time to start looking for the next Irene?
We don't want to find the next Irene, we want to find the next goal shooter.
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LEAGUE
Frank Endacott: Former Kiwis coach and veteran of two World Cup campaigns
How are the Kiwis going to turn around their disastrous tour of the UK in time for next year's World Cup?
The first thing we need to do is not make a knee-jerk decision and sack the coaching staff. We need to show support to the players and the coaches. I hate to say the word but we are rebuilding a new team at the moment. That has been forced on the new coaching staff. They will have learned a lot from the tour. With the addition of four or five senior players next year, I think we'll be a different proposition.
The Kiwis have shown the ability to bounce back from some pretty horrible floggings?
Absolutely. And in the Tri-Series over the last couple of years and in the World Cups we have actually performed very well. I see us as a definite contender. I know we have been disappointing recently but I think the lads will learn a lot from it. Have we got the talent to replace the likes of Ruben Wiki and Stacey Jones? Yes. We have the talent but what we have lost is the raw heart of the team and the experience. That doesn't get replaced overnight. This year we maybe needed to lose a few games to gain long-term success. I wouldn't like to see panic. These coaches are contracted to the end of the World Cup and I think that should be honoured.
Is Roy Asotasi the best bloke to captain the side?
Roy is a great bloke and the best forward we've got at the moment but I have never seen him as a captain. He is a very good on-field leader as a player but I think captains are born. There was no natural captain in the team that just toured the UK.
So who should get the job?
I'd go for a combination of Nathan Cayless and David Kidwell. If you had those two as co-captains and just let Roy do his job then I think it'd be a different ball game.
We were also missing the likes of Sonny-Bill Williams and Benji Marshall on the last tour. They'll surely make a difference?
Sure. But we are not going to rely on one or two players. There are five or six who could go back into the team. The first thing you've got to do is pick the right team. That's where I reckon the coach should have a major say.
Is Gary Kemble really the right man to take the team forward?
He's got a year under his belt now. It has been a tough year but it will be the way he responds that determines whether he's going to be the national coach long-term. I have got confidence that he will come back.
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CRICKET
Ross Dykes: Former NZ and Auckland selector and former Auckland player
The Black Caps made the semis of this year's World Cup. That's hardly a disaster?
No. Before it started you'd have said if they got into the top four they would have done well.
We've made a few semis now. Is it realistic to expect us to do better than that?
It's a goal that should be held, but I don't think it should be immediately viewed as a failure if we don't get there. I get a bit toey with all these people who say it has been a terrible year for New Zealand sport. That's a load of crap. It's been a bad year for New Zealand rugby.
But you couldn't say any of the other sports had exceeded expectations?
No. And I don't think the cricketers exceeded expectations. They'd probably admit that they didn't perform at their best at the sharp end of the World Cup.
Things did kind of fall their way a bit with Pakistan and India getting knocked out early?
Yes, but unlike India and Pakistan, they weren't bad enough to lose in the first rounds to a minnow.
How's the talent pool looking for 2011?
There is talent coming through. I heard an ex-cricketer on the radio saying the standard of first class cricket isn't anything near what it was a few years ago. That's quite wrong. It is higher and it continues to get higher as each year goes by. Looking back on my playing days from the mid-60s to mid-70s and then selecting Auckland and New Zealand for the next 30 years, I have seen a dramatic improvement in the quality of cricket. Therefore there must be players who can step up.
I wouldn't be pessimistic about the future. The Bonds and the Hadlees don't come along every second year, but we will continue to churn out some pretty capable players who, once we give them the experience, will be useful international cricketers.
Care to name anynames?
It is a bit difficult. You can look at the young kids and say there are a few of them who will come right, but there are also a few guys who have played a bit of cricket already. Not everybody matures at the same time. Look at a guy like Tim McIntosh in Auckland: he might be a late maturer. When these cricketers grow up and realise what life is all about their cricket changes and they develop a much more mature attitude.
What about playing stocks overall - aren't people drifting away from the game? When I played the average age of a senior cricketer was about 28. Today it is about 22. There are other things that drag people away, and we are a success-driven society these days.
So will the elite players still filter through?
I think they probably will. It must have an effect, but if we in cricket are doing our job right and identifying the talented youngsters, they now have a clear career path and hopefully they will stay in the game.
Is Twenty20 the way forward?
It's very much a part of the future of cricket. We have to accept that people no longer have the time they used to. If you can get your cricket done in two and a half hours or after work, then great. It's also a much easier and simpler game to play and a much easier game for parents to support.
Are you optimistic that we'll do well in 2011?
Absolutely. When haven't we performed well at the World Cup? We have done remarkably well over the years and to say that we are chokers in the semifinals, I'd turn that around and say 'haven't we done well to get to the semis so many times'. And there will come a time when things will go our way and we'll break through that.