Editorial: No end to flow of rugby talent

All Blacks winger Nehe Milner-Skudder

AS VICTORS of the Rugby World Cup, it was no surprise the All Blacks nearly made virtually a clean sweep of the World Rugby Awards - the exception being the coach of the year title.

It's not just that the All Blacks are good - they are consistently good, and that's in comparison to any team in any sport.

Their record can be put alongside any players in any code, their domination has been so complete. And there don't seem any grounds for concerns about the future.

A while back there was some worry that young boys were giving up rugby to play soccer and the national game would suffer. However, the flow of rugby talent coming through the ranks is as inexhaustible as ever. As the old hands we know so well wear an All Black jersey for the last time, a freshman player like Nehe Milner-Skudder rocks up.

Out of places like Taihape, home of the aforementioned, and the schools around New Zealand come an infinite supply of athletes with the right mixture of brawn, brains and bravery - with a dash of bravado.

Rugby - and the World Cup - has almost become one of New Zealand's festivals, a cultural opportunity for New Zealanders to be focused on one thing at the same time. We don't do festivals that much, and we don't come together as a country that often.

And I suspect this time round there was not quite so intense a psychological need for New Zealand to win as before. There was something around the New Zealand attitude that suggested equanimity would be the response to a loss, rather than national depression as happened in 2007. Fortunately, with an All Blacks win there was no need to prove the theory.