Wynne Gray: The Mealamu debate - Against

Keven Mealamu... views are mixed on his sin. Photo / Getty Images

Are you jokers with us or agin us? It is a question All Blacks assistant coach Steve Hansen likes to pose to the media in his own inimitable style.

We had a version of it before this trip, when Hansen suggested reporters covering the latest Grand Slam quest should not leak details of team selections until they were made official.

Hansen had similar ideas when he coached Canterbury and the Crusaders.

Forget about promoting the sport, encouraging dialogue and embracing new fans, Hansen chose the siege mentality route.

He has gone down a similar path this week with his statements about suspended hooker Keven Mealamu.

Hansen was full of praise for Mealamu's character, value to the side, lack of previous and best of all, the rationale that "everyone knows that if Kevvy said he didn't do it, he didn't do it", line.

Red herring comes to mind - watching the replay shows that Mealamu did do it.

He lowered and leaned his head to the left and drove into England captain Lewis Moody's melon.

The reasons remain unclear, at least until an appeal is concluded. Whatever the cause, Mealamu led with his head.

Case closed, the only arguments about the length of suspension.

Hansen loves to play the patriot card with the media. He and the fourth estate are not bosom buddies, but the former policeman tries ultra-hard to coerce them.

He likes compliant reporters, those who accept his words at face value, those he would describe as really patriotic New Zealanders - although others might class them as cheerleaders.

Mealamu is a good bloke with an easy charm, a family man with strong religious principles. Another red herring.

Those traits have nothing to do with his illegal physical attack on Moody. At best it was poor technique and careless, time for a spell of reflection on the sidelines.

Mealamu made much of his clean record, without mentioning how he clouted Brendan Cannon, in retaliation, in 2004 and went to the sinbin.

A year later he and his captain Tana Umaga were involved in the infamous flip tackle incident which ended the tour of Lions' skipper Brian O'Driscoll.

Somehow the All Black pair escaped being cited then, but Mealamu has been nicked this time.

So why are the All Blacks so blind to the camera's evidence? Why are they trying to defend the indefensible?

They can argue that Dylan Hartley should have faced the beak as well for his misdemeanour. Irrelevant. No connection. The case against Mealamu was made and proven.

Hard to cope with? Yes. Out of character? Yes. Puts them in a bind because Andrew Hore has not played for six months because of injury? Yes, though the selectors did not have to pick him for the tour.

But Hansen likes asking others to front up. This was a chance he and the management missed to acknowledge an error then move on.