Jack Tame: The All Blacks' big opportunity

A confession:

I didn’t want the All Blacks to lose, but I’m sure I’m not the only rugby fan who felt a little flicker of satisfaction or joy as they unraveled last weekend.

They were woeful. The Irish were superb. And for anyone who has ever prickled at the smugness with which the All Blacks and New Zealand Rugby sometimes present, the result felt like just desserts.

It’s true, I’m a lousy fan. At halftime I was slagging them off, but a few minutes later I screamed and screamed when Will Jordan sprinted off for that runaway try.

‘Go boy! Go! Go!’

I might be an All Blacks cynic but deep down, I still wanted them to win.

Crises call for cool heads. If the coaching staff had all been sacked this week, if half the team had been dropped and Sam Cane stood down as captain, there’s a reasonable chance we’d be furiously accusing New Zealand Rugby of overreacting.

But as All Blacks fans we demand an assertive response. A panicked reaction would have done little to help the team’s fortunes, but whether it’s the coaches, leadership team, or a wholescale tactical shift, something big still has to change.

So far we haven’t seen it. Ian Foster was contrite at yesterday’s media conference, but coy about his future plans. That approach can’t last for long. You cannot repeat the same action and expect different results.

The best explanation for the mystery at this stage is that New Zealand Rugby is working through changes to the wider coaching team. Employment negotiations take time. If the All Blacks do bring in new coaching talent, perhaps it will go some way to sorting their lineout and organising more creative attacks. Regardless, Ian Foster only has a handful of games to prove himself.

One final point.

There is still opportunity in all of this. Yes, it’s nice to support a team as dominant as the All Blacks. I’m a Crusaders fan and I don’t get sick of winning! But often the greatest sporting narratives are those in which an athlete or a team overcomes adversity. Victory against all odds.

Historically, the All Blacks haven’t faced too much adversity. But here it is. The team is at odds and ends. The players are being criticised. The coaches and their bosses are being hammered in the press.

Maybe they will falter. Maybe we’re watching the unravelling of a once-mighty team. Maybe Silver Lake has bought a dud.

Or maybe, through whatever changes are necessary, and through the pluck and determination of a unit that can only be truly tested when its back is against the wall, the All Blacks will find a way to rise up. They’ll fight. They’ll avenge their defeats. They’ll banish a

home series loss to Ireland to the annals of pub quiz trivia nights and truly live up to the reputation of the jersey.

Maybe it’s lunacy to even ponder a World Cup victory next year. But crazier things have happened in sport. And who knows? A year out, maybe the result against Ireland was just what they needed.

Lofty as it may be, the All Blacks owe it to us to do everything possible to try and realise that dream.

And we owe it to them, through our cynicism and scorn, to keep the faith a little bit longer.

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