Game best forgotten - but the company was good!

Game better forgotten
Originally uploaded by timbo262

I really do want to forget this game of rugby every happened but it's hard to ignore the situation NZ rugby (and it's supporters) are in. Although some may deny it, we have a problem that is not going away quickly!

I'd like to think the worst thing that happened on this cool night in Sydney at the wonderful (but less than central) ANZ stadium was the guys struggling to get the All Black flag as straight as the Aussie one - but this was just the beginning.

It's boring for non-rugby (shame on you) lovers so I'll cut to the chase (and this is just my opinion). We can no longer cope with hemorrhaging our best (young) talent to overseas teams. Where before now we had the depth to cope, with younger players leaving for overseas experiences and more money bench players are having to step up and are just not ready to do so. Worse still the new bench players (taking over from old bench players) are so young and inexperienced they are thrust into an environment they are clearly not ready for.

I won't go on but... I really felt on that winters night in Sydney I saw less real All Black quality players than I've ever seen in an AB side - and I like to think I've seen a few.

Solution - IMHO we need to allow overseas players to return to play test level rugby giving them the option to gain valuable experience from the other hemisphere and bring that back to the local game. I've seen how the northern hemisphere teams are playing over the past 10 years - they are not behind and in fact in front in some aspects of the game.

Oh and one other thing, stop letting the best NZ coaches take their skills to other international teams. Warren Gatland (Wales) and Robbie Deans (Australia) had no choice but leave NZ - it's a disgrace we let them go!

Happier times for All Black rugby not on the immediate horizon but we will pull through it and come out better. For what it's worth I think the AB's will win against Aussie in Auckland tomorrow - that will keep those in-denial kiwis happy at least in the short term!

Cheers
Tim