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Jock Hobbs said Friday, November 18th "was a great day to be a Kiwi." He was right . . . in fact, November was a great month to be a Kiwi. The New Originals, as Inky christened them, delivered the Grand Slam in some style. Three runaway wins against the Celts balanced by a magnificent game of rugby at Twickenham between 14 of us and 15 of them. And then to cap it all, against all odds, the Rugby World Cup is coming home. A pretty good month indeed. I was fortunate enough to have major business meetings in Cardiff, Dublin and London on consecutive weekends. Yeah right! Whilst zipping in and out of Europe to places as obscure on the rugby map as Mexico and Korea I was able to land in time to watch the first three tests and to enjoy the global rugby community which has a camaraderie and closeness you simply don't find in any other sport. A Grand Slam tour is a perfect vehicle to see old friends and to make new ones. In Cardiff we stayed at the Angel which has been renovated since Keith Murdoch's uppercut. The All Blacks paid a visit there during the week to lay to rest the Angel's bad karma. On the day of the game the pub was full of New Zealanders all anxious to go downstairs to see where Murdoch decked the security guard on his hunt for a cheese sandwich. Pat Walsh was in fine form and so were Keith Wood and Ieuan Evans who were somewhat apprehensive about the afternoon in prospect and the following week. Quite rightly as it turned out. I was surprised to see the almost total absence of New Zealand rugby writers at the game. It strikes me as bizarre that our newspaper industry did not have the funds to send our writers on what was obviously going to be a historic occasion. Given the amount of coverage rugby gets in New Zealand and the uphill battle newspapers are facing in this new media age, it amazes me they did not take advantage of this tour to nail down their credentials. TV and the internet provide real time access to the game but newspapers are still the best vehicle for informed comment, analysis and expert opinion. It was disappointing that we had to leave the on the spot stuff to the blind, one-eyed, prejudiced Stephen Jones and his ilk. How the Sunday Times continues to put up with this biased diatribe is beyond me. The Welsh were disappointing and speaking to David Moffett afterwards, he was concerned at their lack of depth and their lack of belief. Gareth Thomas was heroic but the rest played as if they had no real faith in their ability to compete. The Welsh have done well to come back and win the Grand Slam in 2004/2005 but they need their six injured Lions to be competitive this year. Cardiff was fairly quiet that evening; the Welsh public had inordinately high expectations and went to ground after this decisive defeat. We headed for a great restaurant (Le Gallois) and were guests of local rugby coach, Hugh Davis, and his partner, Rhodri. A long night ensued as eldest son, Ben, and schoolmate, Willy Josephson, climbed into the Bordeaux as the older blokes (me, Earl Kirton, Murray Mexted, Sean Fitzpatrick and John Kirwan) gloated quietly over avoiding what could have been a slippery banana skin. The rain was sheeting down (you can always rely on Cardiff) but somehow around 3:00 a.m. everyone found their way home including my old mate and half back from school, Paul Fitton, who managed the journey from Le Gallois via another club to the hotel without knowing the address of the hotel, the address of the club or which way was up. That good old rugby survival compass kicked in once again. From there it was on to Ireland via a quick detour to South America. Roger Downer, the President of Limerick University, was our host and we spent a very entertaining pre-match lunch with Mike Miller, the CEO of the IRB, and Sid Millar, the Chairman. Since Mike took over as CEO, he has brought discipline, objectivity and empathy to the IRB and they are moving the game forward in a progressive way whilst not relinquishing the traditions that make rugby so special. (He was noncommittal on the prospects for the venue for the Rugby World Cup 2011 but I felt I detected strong sympathy for New Zealand.) The biggest item on their agenda is the global season and he's leading the IRB in the right direction on this. It will be a game-breaker for players and spectators if we can finally get this right. 7,500 ticket holders were left without a seat at Landsdowne Road when an electrical fault on the North Terraces caused them to be closed on the night before the game. This was very tough on New Zealanders as most of the tickets had been bought on the internet by European based Kiwis. However, they caused little fuss and got on with it enjoying the local Guinness and watching the game alongside many Irish fans in the local pubs. Paul O'Connell and Anthony Foley were missing from that game and, like all good Munstermen, had a night on the lash that evening. They felt the All Blacks had moved on to a different place and were miles ahead of the Irish in terms of technique and athleticism. |
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The game demonstrated our depth. Ma'a Nonu was explosive and it was a pity that the papers next day focused on the alleged spear tackle rather than on the power and pace he brought to our attack. Still the Irish make good losers and Saturday night was another terrific night in Dublin. We traveled next morning to Limerick University and met the men of Munster. Munster is potentially a very strong proposition and brand and they are moving forward with an independent board mixing with their rugby leaders to safeguard the future of this proud province in the new era. Roger Downer and I met with their folks to talk about the positioning and marketing of Munster and we were impressed with their vision and determination. We only talked about their win over the All Blacks for 2-1/2 hours this time!!!! And, finally, Twickenham. What a day. Gut-wrenching, hard power rugby. I don't think England believed they could win. When Hodgson kicked the penalty instead of going for a lineout close to our line (15 men against 13) it showed that England had come here to play well and get close. They never dreamed of victory. I think they will from now on. Whilst we've beaten them three times out of three since their World Cup win in Sydney, there is no doubt they have a power packed front five and the makings of an aggressive back row. I believe they need to add a new backs coach to bring imagination, variety and flair to a safety-first pedestrian outfit. They have plenty of pace in Lewsey, Cueto and Cohen but they seem bereft of ideas to bring them into the game. They also seem to be playing 1990's rugby - smashing into the opposition rather than aiming for space and the offload. Whilst selection is obviously an issue, I think it's more down to coaching, reassessing where the game has moved to and moving forward. I'm sure they'll get this right over the Six Nations and they, along with France, will once again provide very tough competition in Rugby World Cup 2007. The bravery and courage of the All Blacks was absolutely incredible. Some mighty performances from the likes of Jerry Collins and Chris Jack. And a reality check for our coaches and our players. England have the depth, the will and the power to learn from this All Black's vintage 2005 and move their game forward. We will have to continue to innovate upfront, particularly at lineout time and around the tackle ball situation. Opposition will move more and more towards the blitz defense against our lightning fast backs so rapid ball clearance and variety at number 10 from Carter and McAlister will be vital. |
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We left Twickenham mightily relieved for a dinner at the Soho House. They had moved us into the private room because "they expected us to be somewhat rowdy given the result." Gina and the management of the Soho House helped fulfill this prophecy by giving us a couple of bottles of champagne on the house to celebrate New Zealand's victory. A long night of celebration followed resulting in some noisy signing from old school friend, Phillip Sycamore, now a High Court Judge (which is difficult for any of us to come to grips with) and Saatchi & Saatchi UK CEO, Lee Daley. Lee, a Manchester United supporter, is saved only by his wife, Jazz, who is beautiful, can sing, and can probably sidestep too. We held up our end as Moana (but alas no Moa Hunters) was with us and absolutely captivated everyone with three beautiful Maori songs. Husband Toby proved why as a singer he's a great documentary producer, and Cliff Curtis showed that not only could he act (Whale Rider) he could sing too. My eldest daughter, Nikki, held up the family's end with some strong 70's numbers. And all that was just a prelude for a tribute to everyone concerned with winning Rugby World Cup 2011 for New Zealand. To Jock Hobbs and Chris Moller we owe a fantastic debt. They worked tirelessly, creatively and relentlessly to bring this home. Magnificent planning, superb execution, terrific interpersonal skills and a colossal work rate. I was talking to Jock in Dublin five days before the vote and he was still actively generating new ideas, new arguments, and new initiatives to keep New Zealand in the frame. Colin Meads played a superb role as did Brian Lochore and, once again, we owe a lot to these giants of New Zealand rugby. Tana's inspirational leadership was incredible and the impact of him flying over to Dublin before an important game against Twickenham was not lost on the IRB. But the tipping point was the role of the Prime Minister. I have not in the past seen eye-to-eye with the Prime Minister on most issues. On this one, though, I believe she was the difference. From hosting the IRB delegates for a private dinner during the Lions Tour to flying in en route to Korea must have left an incredible impression. It demonstrated that the government of New Zealand was totally behind the bid and that the Prime Minister personally was not only behind the bid but was in fact leading it. From what I understand, she was flawless, credible and persuasive in her presentation and the nation can only be grateful. The reaction of the English press was diabolical and vituperative, led again by the one-eyed Stephen Jones. But let them winge. Hopefully, we'll go into 2011 as the holders and we can expect around a $500MM boost to the economy, 60,000 additional visitors and about 3.5 billion television viewers. And living in Auckland as I do, we'll at last see an upgrade to Eden Park. It doesn't get much better than this!
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