KEY POINTS:
Not only have we been subjected to the humiliation of a World Cup quarter-final defeat, the nation now has to face a New Zealand Rugby Union independent review of the disaster.
Agggggggghh. Club Med Ted and his All Blacks have got plenty to answer for in the court of public opinion but please, spare us the official inquiry theatrics.
Is there anything worse, more boring or pointless than an official independent sports review of a balls-up? Who needs it?
Let's have a quick review of sporting reviews. First and foremost there was the America's Cup review conducted by a Team New Zealand board member which managed to rustle up a section entitled "positives" and blamed the "management structure" for the hopeless 2003 campaign.
Most of us, even those with landlubber tattooed across the forehead, observed that the boat had trouble moving forward without the aid of a bucket. Quite clearly, the people in charge didn't have a decent handle on events but the report turned these people into structure. How convenient.
Those in favour of reviews could probably point out that the 2007 America's Cup campaign was far more successful in that it sunk without actually looking like there would be a real sinking. We still lost.
At least TNZ believed they were bright enough to sort out their own problems, which is more than can be said for the rugby union. And for my money, the World Cup review will be nothing more than the chance for an excuse making exercise, with the independent element used as a false cloak of credibility and authority.
A grandiose World Cup campaign defied the well-held principles of how to put a sports team together.
It failed despite all of New Zealand's major opponents, bar South Africa perhaps, being at a low ebb. Heads must roll, starting with Graham Henry's, because they have not been up to the job.
Whoever was responsible for allowing Henry to pull the top players out of the Super 14 must also quit on the spot.
They know who they are - I am not quite sure where the real responsibility lies although former boss David Moffett claims CEO-elect Steve Tew is the man most responsible - and should offer their necks right now. Bugger any reviews - it was an outlandish scheme which has failed miserably.
The last independent rugby review of note decided that there was nothing wrong with Rico Gear skipping off to play for Nelson, even though he was involved in a ruse.
There are a couple of instances in this country where it is fairly clear that a naive independent reviewer conducted a once-over-lightly inquiry in which he had the wool pulled over his eyes by those with an interest in recreating history.
So let us have sport without independent reviews. Because if these independent people, whoever they may be, are so clued up, how come they aren't running the sport in the first place? And if the people who are running the sport can't work out what went wrong, what are they doing running the sport in the first place?
There are many theories about what went wrong with Henry's team and I'd defy any reviewer, or anyone else, to come up with the perfect answer as to why this World Cup campaign turned to custard.
Personally, I think the All Blacks of today are way too pampered.
All Black pre-tournament holidays in places such as Corsica should be banned. If they want a break in Europe, a Slovakian trailer park is the go. Bobbing about like Brad Pitt is way too distracting.
The World Cup is a rugby war, and it's difficult to get in the mood when the most dangerous manoeuvre available is trying to avoid the dessert trolley.
The All Blacks were great when the motels they stayed in weren't. Our greatest triumphs were based out of joints where the room service consisted of a receptionist handing over little cartons of milk.
It also seems that the more reconnaissance the All Blacks do, the worse they get. The New Zealand Rugby Union knew enough about Europe to put out a Lonely Planet guide but the team still ended up getting lost in Cardiff.
Travelling rough is good for the soul. Losing your luggage and turning up at the wrong hotel are all part of the great adventure, and good for the spirit. Getting ushered about like you are Elizabeth Taylor is a trip away from reality.
Travel blind and rough, I say, but these are only theories of course and not ones that will probably find their way into future rugby planning. Others will have other theories. There are a lot arriving at this desk from France, for instance, which suggest that the New Zealand media repeatedly destroys the All Blacks by writing them up and the opposition down. Naughty us.
You might also wonder at the effect of all those promotional gimmicks. Painting the plane in 1999 proved a disaster. Sending the troops off to war this time armed with little capsules of dirt appeared to help them dig a big hole for themselves.
No doubt 2011 will roll along and someone will suggest smearing our heroes with pavlova gathered from every club rugby prizegiving in the land. And even if they do, it shouldn't ruin the campaign.
Because in the end, the decisions that really matter - about selections, tactics and attitude - come down to the coach, and the new coach should be chosen on what the NZRU knows he can do right, rather than what they think the old mob did wrong.
Sports reviews are arse covering exercises, so the people at the top can say they did everything possible to prevent whatever happened ever occurring again. Reviews are a load of ticks and crosses to stick in the files as insurance, to wave about if it all goes wrong the next time.
Robbie Deans is a certainty as the next All Black coach and so he should be (with Colin Cooper a possibility as his assistant).
Deans is out on his own as the leading candidate. He has a history of success like no one before, and has even tasted World Cup coaching action in 2003.
There might be the odd question about the style of game Deans has promoted, which hasn't always utilised the explosive power available within the New Zealand ranks.
But if ever a man knew how to put a campaign together, it is R. Deans of Canterbury.
And he'd know a heck of a lot more about it than the independent review crowd.
What you fear is that the results of the review may actually turn into a shackle for Deans, that the administrators will feel obliged to do something with the findings, and those somethings will tamper with Deans' plans.
It is Deans who should be left to determine what is to be learnt by the Henry years, if he feels the need to rake over the coals of the past four years at all.
Obviously, the scuppering of the Super 14 must never be allowed to happen again. Deans - whose champion Crusaders were burnt by Henry - would not be of a mind to repeat that I suspect.
So the Henry years are over, his methods irrelevant to the new man. In other words, the NZRU should scrap the pointy headed review caper, appoint Robbie Deans right now, and let him get on with it.
