Paul Lewis: Eating humble pie but happy to do so

So all the pessimists, all the doomsayers who thought the New Zealand bid for the Rugby World Cup 2011 had about as much chance as a marshmallow in a blast furnace were wrong.
I mean, some commentators actually believed that Japan were going to stroll away with the hosting of the 2011 Cup.

Tsk, tsk, tsk. Can you imagine? One commentator even came right out and said that, faced with Japanese money and the political element of spreading rugby's gospel through Asia, this guy... oh, all right, all right, it was me... said the NZRU bid may be doomed.

At least I didn't say it had turned to custard because, man, then you'd really have egg on your face. And you'd be mixing metaphors.

The last time I was this wrong was when I watched a certain game of cricket and expressed the belief that a certain bowler was not of international class. Ewen Chatfield went on to have a highly successful international cricket career and became one of New Zealand's highest test wicket-takers.

Just thought I'd get that out of the way while I am about to have a helping of humble pie that would choke an elephant; and genuflect in the direction of Chris Moller and Jock Hobbs; and say mea culpa and express, wait for it, admiration for their strategy and execution.

They were right, weren't they? They lobbied directly and in a very straight rugby way. No flashy PR campaign, no Peter Jackson dressed in a King Kong suit and doing a haka, no Kiri Te Kanawa belting out Ten Guitars while making a pavlova; no over-the-top promises.

Instead, plenty of knowledge of their audience and a quiet, clever pushing of buttons and invoking of rugby philosophies and practicalities to rugby people in a rugby way.

Moller has been quietly working the New Zealand bid for a long time now, long before it actually got written down on paper and presented in slides. This is a triumph for him and a lasting legacy of his time with the NZRU. However, if you look at Jock Hobbs, you'd have to be a hard man or woman to resist giving him a bit of a standing ovation.

Let me say at the outset that I have never worked with Hobbs. I have operated mostly in that curious orbit in which the media sometimes find themselves - satellites circling planet rugby and central figures like Hobbs.

To those outside his immediate circle and the world of rugby, He can sometimes seem a distant, even stiff figure. He is a lawyer and perhaps the lawyer's need for precision in all things and the need to use language to speak truly whilst not necessarily shedding light is plain to see. Even when he was All Black captain, he was someone who did not take easily to his media duties.

Even if the person being interviewed is not all that forthcoming when the tapes are turned on and the notebooks flipped open, they are often good value when the formal bits are over and you can have a bit of a laugh and a joke with them.

Hobbs did not often drop his guard, however, and remained hard to get to know. As a player, he was a typical, grafting, ball-hunting openside flanker. His was a style of play - and he has carried it into administration - of utter commitment and tenacity, often flinging himself at the ball on the ground in an era where men and their boots were allowed to, er, contest the ball rather more than is allowed these days.

In fact, it was concussion that ruled him out of leading the All Blacks in that inaugural 1987 World Cup and a rare irony that he has now been so pivotal in winning (the hosting of) the 2011 Cup.

To be honest, 1987 also threw up a flanker by the name of Michael Jones - pound for pound possibly the most talented rugby player and certainly the most talented forward I have ever seen - and it is likely Hobbs may not have played much in 1987 anyway.

It was Hobbs who really did the business when the NZRU secured the signatures of the All Blacks and gave rise to professional rugby in this country - and globally - in the face of competing interests. His reward: he lost his seat on the new board - a decision which ranks right up there with the guy who turned down Elvis Presley and that plonker who didn't rate Ewen Chatfield.

He returned in 2002 after the hosting rights debacle and New Zealand's inglorious fall from grace from co-hosting the 2003 World Cup with Australia. Those are significant achievements to add to Hobbs' rugby CV. Small wonder he appeared close to tears with Friday's verdict.

When the history of rugby in this country is written - or, rather, written again - the name of Hobbs will be sprinkled throughout many of the most meaningful modern moments. He will be highlighted as one of the prime movers and shakers in rugby's history. And not just in New Zealand.

But while we're on World Cup hosting rights - why do it this way? These kind of mystery political machinations are much loved by the blazers in the IRB.

Why not take bids for future World Cups now and allocate them? All you need is a set of criteria - financial, security, stability, stadiums, ticket prices, benefit to the world game, etc - and you can allocate the Cups in a much more open and accountable way. Allocations can be reviewed regularly and/or in the light of developments affecting the criteria or a new entrant with a compelling case for hosting.