Nil Point!

I was not convinced we would win this one. I knew it would be close, but not which way it might go depending on refs and interpretation of the breakdown. All Blacks v Springboks games in South Africa are the Big Day Out games for AB fans here in the UK - afternoon kick-off and only an hour time difference. It usually means an annual pilgrimage to the Walkabout to bait our Jaapie Brethren, the hordes that inevitably outnumber even the ubiquitous ex-pat Kiwis in London, but this year it did not happen.

It felt like all my mates wanted to watch it apart. Each in a dark room. Alone ... just in case things went pear-shaped again. Personally, I had been to the Ikea in Tottenham Hale before the game, so I figured if I could survive that hell-hole, take that bullet for the team, then I could sit at home on my own couch with a pint and finally get some use out of my over-priced Sky Uk subscription.

Besides, I like Guinness - and chances are, waiting for a poured pint of Black Magic at the Walkie on Saturday would have been agony - like an English winger waiting for the ball.

So Carter is only human? He still recovered and kicked us well territorially. I am liking what I see now of the game plan adapting to the ELVs - we seem to have a few more options if things don’t work. Our 6,7 and 8 were tireless, we absolutely killed them in the breakdown and McCaw was everywhere ... sublime. And I enjoyed the spark Piri Weepu added when he came on. It seems Henry likes to keep him on the bench, fizzing ... then he revels in an appearance.

Maybe a reactive win than a full tilt blinding performance. We did score two great tries (and an opportunistic lurking Hooker score), but it was the huge, shuffling defensive effort that kept the Boks out. And it was great to not see too much high percentage, crazy stuff again.

One concern though: Can anyone remind when was the last time an All Black wing scored a try this year? It seems like forever. Where is Joe?

And so to the UK press. My favourite part of the weekend, when I see what the English scribes have been up to, or what planet they are on:

Lord Sphincter is up to his old tricks - I mean, I myself sometimes get signal interference on Sky in the heavy rain, but what channel is this guy actually watching!? The All Blacks were ‘nothing special’ and DC merely a ‘serviceable player’. Stop it, Steve-O ... my sides are aching. Besides, the last way an All Black would want to appear to an English fan is ‘serviceable’ - he might well end up in a hotel room getting ‘serviced’.

The Indy had Richie down as ‘giving the greatest displays in rugby history’. They also had a little preview of the game on Friday by the shabbily treated Brian Ashton - read between the lines and I think you see a guy very much in favour of the ELVs.

Aunty has us as ‘edging’ the Boks. 19-0? That’s a thicker edge than Brendan McCullum has ever swished his way to.

Good old Guardian lefties got a favourable report too, indeed the tone echoed Sky’s post match opinion of NZ rugby: “Crisis? What crisis?” Does this mean all rugby pundits here in the UK have a thing for Supertramp?

Congrats to Percy Montgomery too. He could not produce the fairytale 100th cap, but hell, 100 tests for South Africa? Pretty amazing when you think about the politics of their game. And they had a minute’s silence pre game for a recently departed Bok, who played a mere 4 tests for his country. Percy should get the back of a coin or bank note surely.

But maybe the best performance, the one that should be cherished the most for possibly saving the game for NZ game (or at least preserved our lead) ... it should go to the demonised Wayne Barnes for eyeing up Brian Habana’s trotter as it dabbed the chalk when he seemed to break free for a try. Mr Barnes can’t quite expect a lifetime of upgrades on Air NZ just yet, and I still can’t totally let go of his Cardiff effort last year, but well ... he was on the job.


80 minutes of the real season left. Off to Brisbane to beat the Wallabies. Hopefully, eh.

Nervous as the Nineties

No hiding this time. In 1999 I was living in the UK, but chose to spend my cash on a trip home rather than sojourns to sunny Huddersfiled to watch World Cup Games. Somehow the lure of Central America was greater than Hart's All Blacks. Not because I was anti the team; I just think that first 3 years in London had disconnected me from rugby a bit. Now, after another 5 year spell in NZ watching NPC & Super 12, I am fanatical again ... and this time round we have even managed to see the All Blacks play here and in France which can't be beat. Last year we even had primo seats at the new Twickers courtesy of the other half's 3 month stint as a contractor at the RFU. The ultimate mole!

Back in '99 I actually believed we had won the semi against France. I was with my mates Ewen & Jenn, travelling through Mexico & Guatemala during that World Cup, and the last report on the game we got was that we were up at half time, looking good and Big Jonah was going crazy. So while I was sunning it up in Tulum, blissfully ignorant of the final score for three days (news broken by gloating Englishman), AB fans were elsewhere venting their spleens. I didn't have a scooby. I still have the draw I took in my diary, taped on the inside back cover; it has NZ inked in as a finalist. Sad, eh?

Fast forward 8 years: I'm back in London, with a MasterCard maxed out to buy All Black tickets and after one score years, its time to correct our past failings, and put that crap about 'choking' to bed for good. I honestly believe we are as well prepard as we can be. Sure it would be nice to have Tana's old head in the back line, and a bit more game time with centre combinations, but the squad Ted has built up is the envy of the rugby world. I think only France can match us in the potential of their 30 players. Other teams like England and South Africa may try and batter their way through the knockouts, but us and Les Bleus are clear faves ... all we have to is get past those Wallabies. And I have a cunning plan ...

Reschedule the match for midnight - its past their bedtime!

In the UK press today: Guardian: "Since the last World Cup, Graham Henry's men have won 34 of 39 Tests, inflicted a record defeat on the British and Irish Lions and won the southern hemisphere's premier event, the Tri-Nations, three years in a row. They are unbeaten against European nations for over four years and in that time have handed England and France their heaviest home defeats." 'Nuff said.

And the Independent - just when I sometimes begin to nod approval at their coverage they write drivel like this "the Guinness Premiership – firmly established as the leading domestic tournament in the game and envied by every major rugby nation with the single exception of France, who have a thriving league of their own". The only thing I envy about English rugby is its modesty and humility.

Still, the rugby world must look different to them, they are looking up from seventh place. Swing low indeed ;0)