Chris Rattue: Time for Black Caps to harden up

New Zealand Black Caps captain Brendon McCullum is bowled by Mitchell Starc of Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Photo / Brett Phibbs.

Time to harden up

Brendon McCullum's side had an outstanding World Cup tournament. But spare us all this nonsense about being proud of how they performed in the final. Who cares if they were polite? Their batting was rubbish in the ultimate game. No professional sports person or their fans should be so ridiculously proud of that.

The New Zealand cricketers need to harden up before they venture back across the Ditch for the test series which begins in November. They might even get a bit of spite back in their game. They surrendered in the final, and took this whole nice-guy business too far.

Of course Australia overdid the sledging - they have been cricketing trash since who knows when. But that isn't going to change and their notorious send-off party included at least one of their rising players. A passing of the Haddin-baton you might say.

If Australia are poor winners, then rightly or wrongly the reaction to defeat is coming across as another case of New Zealand being poor losers. Rugby is littered with World Cup excuses - French thuggery, a useless referee, a poisonous waitress who has never been found. In yachting, it was Oracle's (unproven) technological skulduggery. Now it's foul-mouthed Aussie cricketers. Here we go again with yet another smokescreen while avoiding any praise for the winners, a ruthlessly sensational Australian outfit.

Piutau should be certainty for Cup

If he's good enough for the World Cup squad, pick him. That's the way the All Blacks need to view Charles Piutau, whose shock decision to quit New Zealand after this season is a further taste of things to come.

The 23-year-old is off to Ulster for two years and a pot of gold, creating uncertainty over his 2015 World Cup selection as the New Zealand Rugby works through its bag of tricks to keep top players on these shores.

There is no moral high ground left for New Zealand rugby to stand on with this. They have bent over backwards for the code-hopping Sonny Bill Williams and allowed their senior players to set a precedent via sabbaticals.

But this isn't a moral issue. It's about winning the World Cup, which comes first, second and third in New Zealand rugby priorities. And by playing here this season, Piutau qualifies. End of story.

If everyone is fit, a highly regarded outside back is going to miss out on the World Cup squad but for my money - for what it's worth - Piutau should be a certainty. He is not only that good, but has the head for these heights. Piutau has the sort of power that gives New Zealand its advantages along with the versatility that the All Black selectors openly crave. The other outside back utilities don't have Piutau's physical presence.

The opinion that counts, of course, is that of Steve Hansen, and he shouldn't allow Piutau's departure to affect his judgment in any way.

This is a watershed moment for the All Blacks because Piutau has taken the overseas money while he is on an almost certain rise to regular test status. But gone are the days when senior All Blacks thought they ruled the roost from the back of the bus in a world of serfdom. The younger generations don't cop that stuff any more. The world is their oyster, and time waits for no one. They are born to rule, not beholden to tradition. They also have agents who like a decent cut and will come and go as they please.

In a quiet corner, those agents will tell you that the lustre of the All Black jersey is overstated anyway. Yes, there are still Richie McCaw types around, but few players have his job security and earnings. A lot of players are more than happy with a brief test career that bumps up their asking price. All professional sport is reliant on stars, and these players know their value and the savagery of a selector's pen.

Every selection at World Cup time counts. As the last tournament showed, who knows which players will emerge as vital to the cause by the time the big games arrive. And in 10 years, no one will excuse Steve Hansen a World Cup tumble just because he took a pointless stand over Charles Piutau.

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