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MARSEILLE - Lopsided tests such as the one looming between the All Blacks and Portugal do rugby more harm than good, according to New Zealand hooker Anton Oliver.
Enhancing his reputation as a player willing to offer his views on all manner of rugby issues, Oliver broke ranks from the squad mantra today.
He described mismatches like the one about to unfold at Lyon on Saturday as an unfortunate element of the World Cup, with both sides having little to gain but plenty to lose.
Many are predicting the mostly amateur Portuguese team to leak more than 100 points on Saturday.
"I don't think big scores are good for anyone," Oliver said.
"They're not good for the team who receives them, they're not good for the team that actually dishes it out and I don't think it's that great for rugby in general.
"Participation and spreading the word is great, however the gap between some of the best teams and the ones that are just starting out ... there's no way around it but you don't want to see scores over 50, 60 or 70. Anything over that is not really good for anyone."
Oliver lamented the fact that New Zealand coach Graham Henry had been forced to issue a directive for his team to show "sensitivity" to Portugal. He didn't want the All Blacks to "humiliate" their opponents at scrum time, with safety a particular priority.
"That's almost patronising," Oliver said.
The former All Blacks captain pointed to soccer as the best model of a World Cup, with up to 15 teams capable of winning that tournament from the outset.
He wasn't sure if reducing the number of teams in rugby's version was the answer but believed other ways of improving the standards of smaller nations had to be looked at by the International Rugby Board.
Sevens remained a good way to promote the game in nations still learning about rugby, he believed.
The attitude of the Portuguese to playing New Zealand may have been encapsulated by their fullback Pedro Leal when he reflected on the 10-56 loss to Scotland at St Etienne on Sunday.
"We wanted to avoid a defeat bigger than 30 points, we are proud having scored at least one try," Leal said.
"After an hour, we got weak because we are not used to play like professionals. At every match we play, we're always the smaller team, but we tried to tackle them low and they fell."
Most of the All Blacks didn't watch that match, preferring to spend their day off in Marseille pursuing other interests.
However, Henry made the trip north from Marseille to watch.
He didn't share Oliver's stance on minnows at the World Cup, believing their was a place for them.
"I hope they value the experience, I think they'll be a better side for the experience," Henry said.
"What they're doing here with 20 teams is good for the minnows of the game and develops their rugby."
He awaited with interest the IRB's findings on whether the tournament should be reduced to 16 for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, but wouldn't offer an opinion on it.
Playing in a romp against Los Lobos, or the Wolves as Portugal are named, may not be of great help to those All Blacks players seeking selection in Henry's top team.
The coach said yesterday that he would return to his top team for the test against Scotland in Edinburgh on September 23, with the second-choice lineup to face Romania in Toulouse a week later.
Meanwhile, Henry said he had spoken to assistant coach Steve Hansen, who flew home to Christchurch over the weekend to spend time with his sick mother.
He said Hansen had yet to make a call on when he would return.
"He was in good heart, so was his family," Henry said.
"He'll make the decision when it's appropriate to return."
- NZPA
