KEY POINTS:
Sean Fitzpatrick for chairman. A forlorn plea, no doubt, but should the great All Black captain ever quit the delights of Europe and put down his columnist's pen, he could be just the man to lead the New Zealand Rugby Union.
His columns in the Herald on Sunday over the past two weeks have been rays of hope through the strange gloom of these Irish and English tours.
Fitzpatrick's insistence that never-ending All Black selection changes must end and that it is wrong to ignore overseas stars is a godsend. He was even forced to state the obvious, that great test sides are formed around established combinations which foster an honest belief and knowledge in each player's game.
Finally, a great man from the inner circle is repeatedly standing up for what so many others believe.
Fitzpatrick, a man who preferred to do his talking - and he did plenty of it - on the field, is making his mark off it now by offering no credit to his own side. The constant selection changes made by Graham Henry and his panel have diminished the All Black status and many people's enjoyment of watching them. It is a team with a murky identity dominated by its mad creators.
How, as Fitzpatrick asked, is Anthony Tuitavake to prove his worth if he is in and out of the lineup?
Most importantly, he asks, what is the exact relationship between boards and coaches? In the past, coaches have been left to their own devices but the administration now needs to get a grip on the out-of-control servants.
At the moment the butler is doing it all right, yet with approving lords of the manor looking on. It's doubtful if Fitzpatrick would ever want the chairman's role, but the NZRU needs a man of his standing, strength and vision.
The three tests this year have been as entertaining as they were soulless.
No matter how hard the All Blacks and their supporters celebrate, a procession of points against coachless and witless opponents has done nothing to invigorate international rugby. Ireland and England should have truly challenged these All Blacks but they only tested credibility.
The All Blacks continued to treat internationals as a trial rather than a test, while Ireland and England confirmed their status as Home Countries by leaving their coaches there.
What a shabby English tour, and you could only assume that the players who whipped away a duvet covering a teammate and his companion tripped over the thing or kicked it to an All Black.
As England's coach, the World Cup colossus Martin Johnson, kept up his long paternity vigil in England, a Dutch football player was fighting through heartbreak to keep fighting for his country's cause in the European championships.
What a heart-wrenching situation, as it is for all those who lose their little ones, and yet Khalid Boulahrouz somehow found the courage to play on.
Johnson should have led his men on this southern sojourn - he would only have been a day or two away from home. Coaching a national side means putting everything on the line for a cause, and Johnson failed to do that.
Instead, he was still treated with such deference that his dismay - revealed in a second-hand way - at events down here was handled like a sermon from the mount.
As for Ireland's Declan Kidney ... that his club team played a major final a fortnight earlier was no reason at all not to lead the tour.
Johnson should soak up his dismay then look at his own contribution to it. At least the players showed up, although only in fits and starts. England and Ireland were mis-led from the front. Every cloud has a silver lining, and in the case of England and Ireland it was their departing airline flights.
The All Blacks played patches of superb rugby and you can only prove so much against rotten opposition. On the face of it, they have a promising new squad.
The offhand treatment of the tough Jerry Collins must now come under scrutiny if the All Blacks are forced into battle with a rearranged and novice loose forward lineup. We may soon find out to what extent the brilliant Richie McCaw has propped up a coaching regime that was broken over a wheel that it re-invented in 2007.
The NZRU's insistence on ignoring overseas players will also face a big test if Ali Williams is out - Chris Jack would be the obvious replacement.
The constant lineup changes and the continual elevation of dubious, green talent might thrill a gushing audience. But a season after the World Cup shambles, the tried and trusted bonds and quality controls that make outstanding teams and forged the All Black name are still being scattered before an ill wind.
* Football's European championships continue to provide brilliant football, with classic quarter-finals involving Germany, Portugal, Russia, Holland, Turkey and Croatia.
The European champs surpass the World Cup for thrills and fairytale storylines, epitomised by boys-own tournament victories to Denmark and Greece during the past 16 years.
These championships have a light, bright feel so far. In contrast, overbearing expectations give the World Cup a cloying atmosphere - the standard of attacking football often descends in the knockout phase, although at the time of writing, Italy still loom with their potential for swarming defending.
The compact European finals have an advantage. The continent is home to many of the world's best teams - more than 50 European countries have about a dozen places to fight for in the World Cup finals where zones create more generous qualification standards. The absence of English hoodlum violence, or the threat of, has also lifted this tournament.
But there is another message. A fear of failure is the bane of sport's grandiose and over-rated World Cups. As the European championships have shown, to dare is to win and to lose is no disgrace.
The less we all care about World Cups the more they will find their rightful place so we can enjoy them for the right reasons.
