Graham Henry has seen it all before - young men climb towards the stars only to fall when they reach out for the beer glass along the way. Some, such as Jimmy Cowan and possibly Zac Guildford, have been saved but everyone would be happier if Dagg didn't fall into that trap in the first place.
Salvation adds depth of character and all that - but no one has much of an appetite to witness the fall and rise of Dagg. If he could just rise and skip the bit where he threatens to throw it all away... that would be better.
He's seen his best mate, Guildford, forced to address his failings in the most public way. When Guildford melted down after Brisbane test this year the All Black coaches appealed to his sense of destiny. It was all there for Guildford they said, he just had to screw the nut and retain his discipline off the field. The same message has been given to Dagg whose potential appears greater.
When Graham Henry was asked about Dagg and Jane's 'big night out' he was keen to dismiss the inquisitors - claim it had all been dealt with and everyone had moved on.
Richie McCaw provided a better picture of the disappointment felt by team-mates.
"I think if we are realistic about putting everything into winning this thing it's about making good decisions and we've probably had an incident that's probably not a good decision. As Graham said, we have dealt with that. The guys are pretty committed about doing everything they can to win the thing. That's the way it's been all the way through and I'm sure it will continue."
The frustration evident in McCaw's answer was not so much linked to the one incident. Hang around the All Black camp long enough and it is impossible to avoid the sense that Dagg, Guildford and Jane are a permanent concern for management. That the All Black management team found Jane and Dagg splashed on the front of this paper a couple of weeks back wasn't necessarily a major surprise. If asked to nominate a shortlist of likely late night casualties - they'd almost certainly have put Dagg and Jane in the mix.
Everyone wants that to change. Jane has proven himself to be a world-class performer. When his head is right he's a serious joy to behold. His talents are freakish - his ability to surprise is endless and given his game is not based exclusively on top-end speed, his career could run to the next World Cup.
Dagg is the man on the rise and has provided the All Blacks with the youthful exuberance they needed to progress as they have. He is one of, maybe the only outside back in world rugby, with the ability to break a defence from a set piece. What he brings can't really be coached as assistant coach Steve Hansen said:
"He's a young man who has no fear about doing what's right in the moment but has a canny knack; his instincts for rugby are brilliant and if he trusts those then he's always going to be a great player."
His instincts need to be as finely honed off the field as they are on it. His decision-making is excellent on the field - suspect at times off it. He's lucky like that - the easy thing is to say no to a night on the turps but only a select few can blast their way through the Wallaby defence.
