Editorial: All Blacks’ gloss is off, but does NZ really care any more?

The era of All Black supremacy may be over, but is it all bad? Photo / Matthew Impey, www.photosport.nz

EDITORIAL

Once upon a time, in a nation far far away at the bottom of the world, “the little country that could” punched well and truly above its weight, sporting the mightiest rugby team in the world.

With a slew of stats that have made them the most successful international men’s rugby side in history, including a full decade as the world’s No 1 ranked team (from 2009 to 2019), it is fair to say the All Blacks have captured the public imagination here and overseas like no other.

Their big wins were once cause for nationwide celebration; their losses could put an entire country in mourning.

Now the team are fourth in the World Rugby rankings, having clawed their way up from fifth last year, suffered their worst-ever defeat to the Springboks, and have posted their first-ever pool play loss in a Rugby World Cup. Sacre bleu!

Is the decline terminal? Who or what are the causes?

Increased commercialisation of the game, screening rights and times, and an endless season have been blamed for taking some of the shine off the game and making it difficult to sustain the same level of interest.

The latest losses have certainly caused initial disappointment but there doesn’t appear to have been the same sort of collective angst and national soul-searching we once witnessed. (Of course we’ve only lost one World Cup match so far.)

But it does beg the question, if we are brutally honest: Does anyone really care that much any more?

For the past few years, of course, people have had other far more important things on their minds.

The pandemic took centre stage, and its fallout appears to be even uglier and looks set to have a very long tail. Where only a couple of years ago, New Zealand largely rallied to the unashamedly sporting unifying call of “the team of five million”, disunity is increasingly obvious, the cost of living is biting hard, and there is social, political, and environmental unease. In the scheme of things, how the ABs are performing pales in comparison to many people’s personal struggles.

That said, sport has often been a positive distraction in hard times, a way to inspire, engage and unify.

The recent success and popularity of the Fifa Women’s World Cup, which New Zealand co-hosted, including the inspirational start by the Football Ferns in their win against Norway, has proved sport still has considerable pulling power.

So, are we just growing up a bit?

Is the era of rugby dominance coming to a close or at least losing its allure? Are we becoming more enamoured with other sporting codes – and women’s sport at that?

If so, that is to be welcomed and encouraged. We live in a diverse society, and our sporting opportunities should reflect that. Maybe rather than mourning the decline of the once mighty All Blacks, we should be celebrating the rise of other codes, and of course basking in the glory of the gritty and champion Black Ferns, who captivated the home crowds last year, winning the Rugby World Cup on home soil for the first time, their sixth such title.

We don’t need another hero. Maybe we just need to stop worshipping false idols. Or is even saying that the ultimate sacrilege?