Hugh McGahan: The quest for greatness a long way from fruition

It's not what they would have been considering but the Kiwis are in the regrettable position of waiting for the outcome of this morning's fixture between Australia and Great Britain and hoping the Australians play to their ability. I say that in the hope the Aussies do not do the unthinkable and lose to the Pommie boys.

But I think the New Zealand team will need to do a little soul searching if they are to develop into the team they are trying to be. They want to be known as the best Kiwi team ever but they have a long way to go. The Great Britain game last weekend wasn't the type of performance that should be on the record of the finest team ever - it was an anomaly at best.

Great sides might lose games against an opposition that lifts itself but the great sides do not capitulate as the Kiwis did last week. The desire was not evident, the passion had dissipated and so too did the ability to compete on level terms.

They were a mere shadow of the team that started the Tri-Nations and I know they will be disappointed with that effort.

Unfortunately, the French also exposed some weaknesses in New Zealand's second-tier players. Coach Brian McClennan opted to start without Stacey Jones and, with a couple of forced changes due to injury and suspension, the Kiwi team fell short. Not until the injection of Jones, Tony Puletua, Louis Anderson and David Kidwell did we look like a team with purpose again.

There also must have been previous fallout between David Solomona and referee Karl Kirkpatrick - all evening a running battle ensued when Solomona was near the ball. The Kiwis were on the receiving end of dubious decisions from Kirkpatrick but more so when Solomona was either involved in a tackle or had the ball in hand.

Confusing is the best way to describe the referee's performance in that game but Solomona was his own worst enemy at times with some over-vigorous play and overenthusiastic ball distribution when it was not required.

This extra pressure added to the stop-start nature of New Zealand's play and a foundation wasn't set until the last 10 minutes. The score would suggest the game was won comfortably but it wasn't.

The French will cause you concern if you give them a chance. I was impressed with the skills and motivation of this French outfit and with the majority of the team involved in next year's Super League competition, Jones has no reason to doubt the players he'll be joining for Les Catalans' inaugural season.

McClennan now has a real job in turning this mentally exhausted team into a more than competitive opponent. Confidence must be reinstalled and, if we are lucky enough to play next weekend, we will have to forget about whether Jones can or can't play.

The mindset needs to be what has to be done to win the final; a job which will test the capacity of McClennan and assistant coach Graeme Norton. Dealing with the minds of professional players is different to amateurs and everyone knows McClennan's record locally. He has this ability - it's a question of whether he truly has belief in himself to lift this team again.