Richard Boock: Time for wizard's vanishing act

COMMENT

It's true there are times when it's best to follow the plan, to persevere in the face of all obstacles and to push on regardless of setbacks, humiliations and disappointments.

But this isn't one of those times.

In fact, if the person who first came up with the saying about not throwing good money after bad wasn't thinking about Carlos Spencer when he made the remark, well - all we can say is that it was an eerie coincidence.

Lord knows we've defended Spencer. If he wasn't called a genius once during his career it would have been a hundred times, so often did the power of his exhibitionism overwhelm the structural flaws in his game.

After all, he was the man who brought rugby the banana kick, the knee kick, the pass to himself and the no-look off-load. He also introduced the raccoon-skin-hat hairstyle, although it's fair to say it hasn't yet proved as popular. But Saturday night was the last straw.

Just as Spencer's frailties often seemed to be exposed at the top level and at the worst possible times, the match against Canterbury again underlined why he is so manifestly unsuited to test rugby and why Graham Henry and Co better start looking at their options.

In a game Auckland had to win, probably with four tries or more to stay in the title race, Canterbury received almost more possession from Spencer's directionless field kicking than from set-piece play.

It's been said before, but the proof was in the pudding at Eden Park, where Spencer's inability to deal with defensive intensity effectively scuttled Auckland's chances, in much the same way as the All Blacks were hamstrung during last year's World Cup semifinal.

There's no denying that, when allowed, Spencer can be one of the most magical players in the game, a rugby equivalent of the guy who pulls rabbits out of hats, makes audience members disappear and bends spoons by merely looking at them. But when pressed for space and time, the veteran first five seldom seems to have a decisive option, a shortcoming that often leads to spontaneous acts of the hare-brained variety and critical turnovers for opposition teams.

Often, against Canterbury at least, he opted for shallow kicks in the hope of his side regaining possession and breaking down the defensive screen, but almost every time they led to costly, and sometimes dangerous, turnovers.

And if he's not unleashing a hopeful kick, he's slewing across opposition defences with ball in hand, trying to probe for an opening, but restricting his outside backs and robbing them of time and opportunity.

His goal-kicking is not reliable enough at the top level, he can't kick at all with his left foot and cannot pass effectively to his right-hand side, flaws that opposition teams can easily identify and exploit to their own advantage. And that's not even considering his somewhat volatile temperament.

If Spencer was a young buck, with his career ahead of him and his future still wide open, it might be worth trying to improve his tactical appreciation and correct some of his more woolly-headed habits.

But he's in the autumn of his career and, like an old dog, will find it almost impossible to change such fundamental inclinations at this late stage.

With that in mind, it's easy to understand why Henry is so keen to see Daniel Carter playing at pivot during the NPC, and why he'll almost certainly have his eye on North Harbour's Nick Evans and Luke McAlister.

You get the feeling that it's time for the wizard's apprentice.

High point

Auckland beat Canterbury 29-10 in the NPC rugby final to keep the northern flag flying ... in the women's ranks, at least.

Low point

Can't really go past the result on Saturday night at Eden Park, when Auckland's NPC playoff hopes were dashed despite having won the championship last season, and the fact that they were carrying a dozen past or present All Blacks.