Inga Tuigamala: Hope for our game in Marseille victory

Opinion

Sometimes it is nice to be proved wrong.

That's what Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith did to me last weekend.

I, along with a number of others, have been critical of the All Black coaches this year, but the sign of a great coach is being able to get your team to perform under pressure and that's what they did in Marseille.

I have to congratulate the coaches. The lineouts were great, the defence has been great and they showed that if you have a willingness to attack you can still be rewarded.

It wasn't just the All Blacks season on the line.

Rugby, I hate to say, has become farcical this year. It has been highlighted by the November internationals but the rugby in the Super 14 and Tri-Nations was not that good either.

Last weekend in Marseille, the All Blacks showed what a compelling sport it can be with their five-try victory. But let's not pretend that because the All Blacks came up with this amazing display, all is suddenly rosy in the rugby world.

There still needs to be an urgent appraisal of the game's laws.

The reason that game was so good was that you had two teams willing to attack. It did not work out for France, but do not underestimate their contribution to the spectacle.

Under the current laws, if you have one team hellbent on playing negatively, it is very difficult for the opposition, no matter how good they are, to counteract that.

The All Black team had been labelled average during this Northern Hemisphere tour, but they are still full of world-class players and I would like to pay tribute to the three that have stood out for me in 2009.

Conrad Smith has had a wonderful tour and has showed just how precious he is to this team. He is such a smart player and the glue that holds the backline together.

Mils Muliaina is quickly establishing himself as an all-time great. I love his enthusiasm and I love the way he prepares himself for a test. For me he's the ultimate professional. Yes, he had a couple of games this year where he wasn't at his best, but even the greats have their off days.

And what more can you say about Richie McCaw? The guy is incredible.

It shows how much the All Blacks mean to him that he will captain the side against the Barbarians this weekend when everybody assumed he would take the opportunity to have a rest.

I never got to play for the Barbarians. I was asked once, in 1991, but my wife was about to give birth to my son so it was never an option. I did, however, end my All Black career playing against the Baabaas in 1993.

That was a typical Barbarians match, with lots of running rugby.

I will be interested to see how this match plays out. The All Blacks have placed great stock in the fact nobody has crossed their line in Europe and will want that to continue, while the Baabaas will no doubt try to play their traditional, expansive game.

* Inga Tuigamala played 19 tests for the All Blacks