KEY POINTS:
Stop the bleating now, pahleeese! All the hand-wringing that Graham Henry left messages instead of talking to players about their rejection from the wider All Black training group. It is too much.
A year ago, Henry and Co were being lambasted for mollycoddling the players in the Cotton Wool Club; for cosseting them during the much-maligned conditioning programme.
Now a few of them find out on their voicemail that they belong to the "Don't Come Monday" class - and the complaints' register runs red hot. What was Henry to do if players' mobile phones were turned off, or calls were diverted to the message service? Was he supposed to hit redial until he got an answer?
Players are known for ditching their phones or being casual about taking calls. Did some get the message in plenty of time and ignore the offer to ring back?
Or maybe they saw the caller ID on the screen and chose not to answer - preferring to listen to the message to see whether it was good or bad news first.
At least Henry tried to give them some advance warning, unlike the times we waited in the lounge under the stand at Athletic Park with players, families, friends and officials to discover who had impressed the selectors after the All Blacks trials. The joy of those who succeeded in making touring parties was balanced by the sadness and sympathy for those who missed the cut.
It was a cruel experience for them and awkward for the rest of the room, before regular conversation returned. It was much the same in 1987, when the first World Cup All Blacks were revealed at a televised dinner following a trial at Whangarei, and attendees like Brent Anderson and Andy Donald felt the blade of elimination. No one in the room felt comfortable with that.
Now a message for those who had been All Blacks last year - not this season, last season - is not good enough for some. There is no easy way to tell players they are not required. Explanations at that stage are unlikely to be of any comfort.
But they are finding out their fate before it is broadcast publicly, they are being given a little time to digest their fate. Contrast that with the insensitive treatment shown to Ian Kirkpatrick when he was demoted from captain from the 1974 tour of Australia. He discovered his fate at the same time as everyone else at the Athletic Park announcement.
"I never got a warning or a quiet word beforehand, that just wasn't the way they did things then," he said.
Kirkpatrick is now a mentor at the Hurricanes. He may not have agreed with Jerry Collins and Chris Masoe being ignored for the All Blacks, but the phone messages would likely win his approval.
