OPINION
Six talking points heading into the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup.
Cruel but fair
The dropping of Mark Telea from the All Blacks team to play Ireland, because he missed a team curfew, was a bombshell.
All Blacks v Ireland: The six biggest talking points at Rugby World Cup - Phil Gifford
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Given that Telea has been one of New Zealand’s best players, the decision, made by the senior players’ group and not the coaching staff, is a massive call.
But for a decade the All Blacks have operated to a code of behaviour which made the players’ verdict unavoidable.
It dates back to 2012 when Aaron Smith, in his brilliant first international season, had starred in six winning tests. After the sixth, in Wellington against Argentina, he missed the Saturday night curfew.
A senior players’ group, led by Richie McCaw, decided he had to be stood down from starting the next test, in Dunedin against South Africa.
“It’s like your family,” said coach Steve Hansen at the time. “There are consequences if you break the rules. That’s the way we are living and we make no excuses for that. He broke a protocol that is non-negotiable, and the consequence is you don’t start if you break it.”
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Despite what might have been a reasonable temptation to find a sneaky way out for Telea, the senior players in Paris stuck by the team’s standards.
Let’s get physical
In what feels like another time and universe, but was actually Eden Park in July last year, an Irish team with 12 of the same players who will now face the All Blacks in Paris, was well beaten 42-19.
The All Blacks mapped a blueprint for success at Eden Park. At breakdowns and collisions, they matched power with power. At the head of the pack was Scott Barrett, making 19 successful tackles from 22 attempts.
Sadly the team as a whole were ill-disciplined in Dunedin and then listless in Wellington. Ireland thoroughly deserved their series victory.
But if the All Blacks’ forwards are breathing fire the way they did 14 months ago in Auckland, Kiwis don’t need to abandon hope for the Paris clash.
Great minds aligning
In a fascinating analysis this week in the Herald, the 1987 World Cup-winning All Blacks captain, David Kirk, concluded by writing: “The formula to beat Ireland is actually pretty easy to say – and, of course, very hard to do. We have to match their set-piece discipline, accuracy at the breakdown and immaculate decision-making, and add our own continuity and pace.”
There were echoes of the undefeated All Blacks coach of the 1960s, Sir Fred Allen, who would insist that “rugby’s a simple game, but some people like to complicate things and bugger it up.”
Doing the simple things right, and for longer, as Kirk would always tell the teams he captained, wins games. If the All Blacks can get the basics right, they have players like Will Jordan and Rieko Ioane who can score the tries.
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Channelling Henry Ford
Ireland, quite rightly, are living by carmaker Henry Ford’s dictum that “history is more or less bunk” as they head to the quarter-final.
Mindsets before big games are forever fascinating.
Is there more pressure on an All Blacks team that’s been dismissed through most of the last four years? Or is there more on an Irish side, who everyone from their hordes of fans in Paris to the New Zealand TAB (Ireland at $1.80, the All Blacks at $2) believe will win?
Ireland’s captain, Johnny Sexton, has been around so long he’s suffered through three Irish World Cup quarter-final losses, but far from wearing him down, time has made him even more spiky and determined to win. If his attitude spreads throughout his team it could be a brutal night for the All Blacks.
Spoiling the party
The last quarter-final, between France and South Africa, could wreck the party atmosphere that Paris always conjures up when Cup games are played there.
As a neutral observer, I hope France get through. The story of their captain, Antoine Dupont, playing in a headgear after suffering a facial fracture, is the sort of slightly insane rugby story that could become a sporting legend.
Meanwhile, from the other side of the draw
Wales versus Argentina? Warren Gatland’s a good guy. His in-laws used to be our neighbours at Waihi Beach. So, go Wales.
England versus Fiji? Talking of sporting legends. Fiji will surely carry the hopes of every non-English person with a passing interest in rugby. If this was Star Wars, then dour, boring England would be Darth Vader, and daring, exciting Fiji Luke Skywalker. The worry is that this time the dark side might triumph.
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