KEY POINTS:
Peter Bills in Auckland talks to the All Black coach about the wider issues affecting - and endangering - the international game
The World Cup is just weeks away but it's far from the only issue on All Black coach Graham Henry's mind.
"This is a great
game, it's been a great game for 100 years," Henry says.
"We just can't let it dwindle away into something that's not a great game to watch and a great one to play."
Time to take a stand
"I am worried about the game as a spectacle. In recent years there has been a lot of time-wasting which is part of the game plan [of some teams] to slow the game down.
"We played a test this year against France and I would have gone home at halftime if I hadn't been the coach. There is a frustration that the game is allowed to carry on that way; it annoys me.
"I think people also get irritated by the spectacle because we are not strict enough on how we referee the game."
Just look at English football
Henry sees dangerous, precise parallels between the way the English rugby clubs are going about their business and English soccer clubs who have recruited legions of foreign players to the detriment of the England national side.
"The English [soccer] Premiership is becoming more important than international football. But when club football becomes more important than playing for your country I think that's a real negative. If international rugby withers in importance, that will take a huge amount of enjoyment out of the game worldwide.
"The international game has always been the pinnacle in rugby for 100 years. This [whole matter] has serious implications that need to be addressed right now if that situation is going to continue." Hope in the rule book
"We have really got to have a hard look at ourselves and how we play this game. I am sure the people involved in the new laws have got a very good understanding of that. So it's probably going to be a better game in 2008 than it is in 2007 because there are a few areas in the game that need sorting out."
Especially the scrum
"What annoys me is when heads are below hips and so the scrum is obviously going to go down. It is part of the tactics so that the team with scrum dominance can't enjoy that advantage. But if referees insisted that front rows were square, and shoulders were above hips, you wouldn't have a problem."
The damage of the big dollars
Justifiably, Henry also sees huge dangers in the growing trend of the Southern Hemisphere nations' best players being lured away by the financial pulling power of clubs in England and France.
"I think this issue is a real worry for the game around the world. The loss of so much expertise from countries like New Zealand and South Africa is one thing. Young, up-and-coming players need a mentor, experienced players to learn from. I think it's a concern for New Zealand [and South African] rugby and it's also a concern for the countries these guys are going to because more and more, particularly in France and England, there are fewer and fewer French and English players playing in their top competition.
"I was told there were only three or four No 10s playing in the Premiership in England who were English. That is an indictment on the future of the game in those countries.
"If it continues the way it is, it's going to be to the detriment of international football. New Zealand's standards are going to decrease and the same will happen in South Africa.
"Standards in [Britain and Europe] will decrease too because they are not going to develop players. So I think it's a vicious circle and the IRB needs to take a very strict lead. I know it's difficult because there are laws that govern these things."
Downsize or die
The All Blacks' coach believes that the major clubs in England and France should agree to a quota on the number of Southern Hemisphere players they employ.
"Otherwise" he warns, "the English game is going to die. It really is. And much the same will happen in France.
"It would be a real worry for me if we had half the players in our Super 14 who weren't eligible for the All Blacks. How the hell could we develop players? It would completely ruin our competitions.
