All Blacks back in town

Well, it’s been a while since I last posted on rugby – so long in fact, that the All Blacks have arrived in Dublin for the 2nd match of their Northern Hemisphere tour!

After their destruction of a supposedly strong Welsh side last week and quite a few injuries (Brian O’Driscoll, Paul O’Connell and Denis Hickie) I’m quite worried about Ireland’s chances. Haha – don’t get me wrong – even with a full strength side we’d be in trouble against this NZ side. Our hope lies in the fact that we’re facing a different side than they played in Cardiff, so not having played together might weaken them slightly. Who am I kidding?. Against Ireland, NZ’s record is won 16, drawn 1 )

Actually, last time they played here in Dublin (17 November 2001) we stretched them pretty good – we were ahead 16-7 at half-time, and BOD sent Hickie over to score a try immediately after the interval to put us 21-7 in front. Watching from the North Terrace, I vividly remember thinking “this is it – we’re actually going to beat the All Blacks!”. In front of me just to the right was a ~25 year old New Zealand guy crying. Shortly afterward, it was me. They ran in 5 tries in 20 minutes, and the fulltime score was New Zealand 40, Ireland 29 — painful.

We’ve come close on occasion (e.g. in Dunedin a couple of years back), but we’re still waiting to break the duck. Here’s to hoping!

I’ll be stewarding in Lansdowne on Saturday, so hopefully I’ll have a great view of a famous victory from the West Upper 😀 Enjoy the game.

The Speargate controversy

There has been much media interest in the now infamous spear tackle by Umaga and Mealamu on O’Driscoll.

Tana Umaga, along with hooker Keven Mealamu, upended the Lions captain in a spear tackle in an off the ball incident in the opening minute of the 1st Test. The tackle resulted in Brian O’Driscoll dislocating his shoulder, necessitating surgery and missing the rest of the tour. It has been reported that Umaga, the All Blacks captain, had spoken to his opposite number but failed to offer an apology. There has been speculation that it was a deliberate action to take the Lions captain out of the game. This has been denied by Umaga and All Blacks coach Graham Henry. The incident resulted in a citation from the Lions.

This snippet from the New Zealand Herald explains some of the Lions anger over the incident:

“The Lions also have an obvious cause for grievance over the curious workings of the citings commissioner. Willem Venter, of South Africa, who decided that video footage of the incident was inconclusive, and then flew out of Christchurch on Sunday morning. Clearly, the Lions, and rugby followers, deserved a fuller explanation of why Umaga or Mealamu was not cited. And why Venter could leave the country so quickly.

“Touch judge Andrew Cole’s part in the affair was also odd. He appeared ready to draw the tackle to the referee’s attention, but then opted not to.”

Since the incident, the Lions have been accused of over-hyping and spin, in order to detract attention from their Test defeat and poor performance. Let’s have the Head Spin Merchant’s take on that accusation:

“I suppose the media team should take it as a compliment – we all have our jobs to do, after all – but no amount of words can hide either the reality of a poor performance or the massive disappointment that every member of the party felt.”

(Alastair Campbell’s “Spin no shield in face of poor form and spear tackles” from The Times)

I’ll have to agree with my namesake there. Let’s talk about some hard to dispute facts. The tackle was:

  • an illegal spear with a definitely forceful driving down action
  • on the Lions captain and possibly best player
  • in the 1st minute, implying a possible game plan decision
  • a long time after the ball had gone away
  • 2 on 1

The defense.

  • Umaga had a reputation for good sportsmanship
  • All Blacks did not have a reputation for resorting to injuring key opponent players
  • Rugby is a hard game, and people get injured

Ok, so my (biased Irish) take on it is that the tacklers were way out of order. The incident happened so far off the ball it’s not amusing. It appeared malicious, although personally I doubt that it was a pre-agreed tactic. O’Driscoll is lucky – it could have been far more serious than a career-threatening severe dislocation. That the citings commissioner found nothing wrong is farcical, and detrimental to the image of rugby union.

So “Yes”, New Zealand, Clive Woodward is using this issue to spin attention away from his pathetic performance (you can find my thoughts on Clive and the Lions 1st Test performance here). However, Woodward’s use of the topic as spin does not give you a get out of jail card.

I’m disappointed in Umaga and the All Blacks – they have completely destroyed their “tough but fair” reputation – not through their actions on the pitch, but their failure to address this issue off the pitch in any reasonable manner. All we see from the All Blacks is spin of their own. Shame.

Aside: I don’t condone D’Arcy’s spear tackle on Tipoki in a previous game – a spear tackle of any sort is just as illegal. One might point out, however, that D’Arcy’s spear tackle had none of the features mentioned in the case above – it was 1 v 1, he lifted and dropped (not pushed) down Tipoki, and it was an on-the-ball incident, obviously without malice. Nevertheless, it was a dangerous tackle.

I’ll let Alastair Campbell have the last word on this one:

“We had lost our captain in an incident that the head coach and an experienced lawyer thought to be a dangerous and illegal act. Why should we not express our anger and explain what actions we were taking to get redress within a system that gives you only 12 hours for an initial judgment?”

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Lions tour trundles on

Well, Saturday's Test match was a disaster. We lost by only 21-3 points thanks to the good fortune of having torrential rain on the evening.

Clive Woodward
“I have been involved in rugby for a long time, especially as a coach, and from my point of view, last Saturday's Test match I would put top of the list in terms of the most disappointing nights I have been involved in,” said Woodward.

“Going into the game, I passionately believed I had picked the right team, but then to see it all unfold was very disappointing for everyone involved.

Going into the game, about a hundred thousand Lions fans passionately believed you had picked the wrong team, and to see it all unfold was bitterly disappointing for everyone involved, because we had the players to win the game, and you messed it up, Clive.

Clive Woodward
“I just had to take all the arrows, stones and feedback this week – that's all part of it – and just look forward to Saturday night.

You had to take the arrows, stones and feedback this week because you well deserve them with your selection policies. Don't play the “poor me” card.

Clive Woodward
“Clearly, things were not right, and from the Lions' point of view, it is not a development tour.

Clearly the wrong team was selected, and from the Lions fans' point of view, it is not an England tour.

Clive Woodward
“I have made changes, which I think was important to give those players who deserved a chance to try to get the Test series back on the road,” he added.

I can only hope that your changes are enough. I see that you're still going with Wilkinson, who is out of form, with Robinson, who is out of form, and with Thompson, who – well, “barn door, 10 yards”, enough said.

What's wrong with Hodgeson and O'Gara, the actual form outhalves of the tour, who can't make the test bench for some reason while you pick 2 out of form outhalves?

What about your promise to the fans and the players that you would pick teams based on form, not reputation?

Clive Woodward
“It was time to shake things up. There is not a single person who didn't try their best, but last weekend was a disappointment that I have got to take responsibility for.

You sure do, Clive, you are 100% responsible for that train wreck.

Clive Woodward
“I promise you there will be a completely different show, come Saturday night.”

I sure hope so. We've completely lost faith in this management team. And the players? Who knows?

—

I'm really surprised actually. I thought that a clever, World Cup winning, total manager like Woodward would be on the ball – he's demonstrated that that is not the case at all, and has shown a complete lack of intelligent management. He's even made similar mistakes to Henry on the '97 tour, which are widely known and well publicised by Austin Healy et al.

That's what disturbs me about this test series. If we had played well and lost 3-0 to a markedly better team, that I could live with.

BBC Sport – Rugby Union

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