KEY POINTS:
There was one major factor in the debate over whether Graham Henry should have been reappointed as the All Black coach, and that was Robbie Deans.
Take Deans out of the equation, and you had an interesting race which Henry should have won by a very long neck.
With Deans in the hunt, though, it should have been a straightforward decision. A man such as Deans, with that extraordinary record of his, just HAD to be appointed over a man who shattered rugby's foundations then failed to provide the ticker-tape that might have bound them back together.
Henry failed dismally at the World Cup. And no, it wasn't just a matter of one game going wrong as some of his pathetic minions claim.
The quarter-final loss against an ageing and limited French team guided by an eccentric coach with an eye on political office was a long time in the mis-planning, even though many of us believed the standard was so poor everywhere apart from South Africa that the All Blacks would still cruise into the final. South Africa were the only credible hurdle at the World Cup in 2007, although Henry's cronies have done their fanciful best to rewrite history.
Henry and his co-coaches went against all common sense in preparing the All Blacks for a tournament on which, by their own actions, their reputations rested.
To continually change selections and deny star players game time all year goes against all convention in preparing footballers for big occasions. They also put rugby's credibility on the line by raiding the Super 14 franchises.
To take such a radical and dangerous approach should have also attracted the mandatory risk, that to fail would mean automatic dismissal because a man of Deans' stature was waiting to take over.
Instead Henry, a man of fast starts and even quicker fades, has now been handed his first serious tilt at a comeback.
Whatever may lie ahead, however, should not obscure the fact that the 2007 World Cup year involved incompetence on the part of the All Black bosses.
There were holes galore in the All Black plan, from taking two substandard centres to the World Cup, to the shock quarter-final appearance of Keith Robinson, a man so broken down that he can no longer play at all.
They also failed to understand the importance of Aaron Mauger to their own plans, and ignored their one in-form back - Doug Howlett - in favour of the lackadaisical Sitiveni Sivivatu.
Over and above everything else, they manoeuvred their best players out of their best form. It is difficult to know how these men might have got it more wrong.
For those who argue that Deans, as John Mitchell's assistant, remains tainted by the World Cup semifinal defeat in 2003, you can only reply that his culpability is surely less than what head coach Henry must bear for a quarter-final exit in 2007. Surely.
The rest and reconditioning programme played virtually every All Black out of top form anddrove fans away and sponsors and broadcasters to anger.
Henry's reappointment, to my mind, confirms that rugby in this country is being sailed and assailed by a ship of fools. The only good news for All Black fans is that Henry versus Deans is a choice most countries would kill for. But it is scant consolation.
While it is fair to argue that Henry and his gang will have learned their lessons, it is an argument that does not hold water when a man of Deans' truly impeccable - indeed utterly sensational - record is waiting for his chance.
What a black moment for rugby union in this land, and a mighty victory for dunderhead thinking. Even in this tragic hour, the union has chosen to tie itself even further into Henry's plans by partly shouldering the blame for the World Cup failure. Wrong again, dear NZRU, because your all powerful coach is the one who must shoulder that responsibility.
Of course Henry, in his typically conceited way, returned home claiming he had done nothing wrong. Now he concedes to mistakes, partly.
At his lowest point, Henry has survived by making it up as he goes along. No one should be convinced that he actually believes he got it wrong, just as no one should have been convinced of his pro-media outpourings as he zeroed in on a perceived John Mitchell weakness.
Henry played an easy card in conceding the Super 14 raid was a mistake, because it will never be repeated. But he withheld an ace, claiming rotation had not spun the players out of form. This, to those wanting a return to settled lineups and test nations throwing everything including the kitchen sink at each other, was worrying and disappointing news.
How did Henry win out? The longer the so-called "thorough process" went on, the more likely it was that the NZRU would find ways to get Henry back, hoping that he might salvage his and their reputation. A nod there, a phone call here, a suggestion over there, and the train of thought would have been on the desired track.
And the old headmaster Henry has proved a master over the years at finding favour among influential masters.
Over time the heat went out of the World Cup debate, the abject disappointment and reality of the disaster had worn off, and Henry's elves had been given enough time to chip away at sound thinking. So, hey presto, Friday the 7th turned into Friday the 13th.
It should add up to a dreary outlook, yet the world is full of alternatives these days.
Of the two rugby codes, rugby league is by far the better television sport, and the English football premiership is the jewel in the sports satellite crown. Rugby has far bigger problems than who should be the All Black coach. The game itself was, in the main, a turgid kick-orientated bore at the 2007 World Cup.
This is, to my mind, a very sad moment for rugby - Henry's bizarre reappointment at the expense of Deans would have been a case for outright despair in days of old.
And yet the good news is that rugby is not the be-all and end-all - or even unduly important at all - for many of us. And even less so after yesterday's betrayal of good faith, common sense and Deans' sensational record.
