KEY POINTS:
Ex-pats really know how to put the boot in, don't they? Former New Zealand journo Ian Borthwick, now a writer for the French sports paper L'Equipe, has questioned this country's ability to be a gracious host when the Rugby World Cup 2011 rolls around.
He says the fans
may well be the biggest impediment to success, that the quality of the fans has disintegrated and that New Zealand supporters have become boorish and arrogant. He says there's no way that New Zealand can get close to providing 36 thousand fans to sit and watch Romania play Portugal or the USA play Georgia, as happened in France. Other writers have been quick to chip in, agreeing with Borthwick and using the opportunity to rubbish the All Blacks, New Zealand and New Zealanders in general. Which is all just a little bit hurtful really.
I've got used to Stephen Jones banging on about the All Blacks - he's easy to dismiss as a little bit obsessive and a little bit freaky and a whole lot of ugly - he considers Lawrence Dallaglio a gentleman for God's sake.
But when your own kind start turning on you, that's different and gives you reason for pause. Are we boorish and nasty? Really? I know we were pretty revolting to John Hart and not much better to John Mitchell. And the image of the little Canterbury fan holding up the sign that read 'I hate Auckland' is seared into the national consciousness. So we've had our oiky moments. But surely we can get it together enough to be exemplars of graciousness and hospitality when visitors make the trek to the ends of the earth in 2011.
It's our geography that provides the first challenge of course. France was able to fill its stadiums because the rest of the world isn't far away. For Portugese and Romanian fans, it was a mere hop across a couple of borders to get to see their teams play and newly wealthy on euros, a weekend away and prohibitively expensive tickets to the game wouldn't have posed a problem.
Those same fans aren't going to be able to support their teams in 2011 unless they commit to a three-week tour and that's quite a different proposition.
But all is not lost. We just have to think smart.
Look at all the people who bet on the Melbourne Cup who don't know the first thing about racing but for one day of the year want to be a part of the fun.
Look at the sevens - the party atmosphere is fantastic, mainly generated by people who wouldn't know the difference between league and union. It's all about picking a team and supporting them.
What about providing entertainment packages? You can sign up for a food and footie package - the cuisine of the country you're supporting and then a ticket to the game. Or do like the Aussies did and have people born before June support one team; those born after June support the other side. You'll only find out who your team is the day before the game. Have competing business sign up to committing to filling one hundred seats each and assign them a team - Keith Hay Homes has Argentina; Jennian Homes has Portugal; Lockwood has Fiji and so on.
Law firms, banks, oil companies, radio stations - we could all adopt a team and support them. Play two games on one day, so the place is filled with four lots of supporters, not just two.
It surely won't be that hard to fill the grounds with cheering spectators provided we put our hearts and minds towards the goal of giving the players and spectators a splendid couple of weeks in New Zealand.
And we have got four years to think about transforming the life and death attitude we have towards rugby and making the game fun. And maybe then we'll be successful - and not just as hosts.
