Love of rugby transcends corporatism and individuals

Comment – People often ask me if I even like rugby. They read a column critical of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) or All Blacks coach Ian Foster and argue the points are invalid because I clearly don’t love the game enough.

Ian Foster has had his contract extended by two years.
Photo: © Photosport Ltd 2021

It’s not a new phenomenon. Ricki Herbert was always fond of that line of thinking during his time as Wellington Phoenix and All Whites coach. Or am I still able to refer to the New Zealand senior men’s football team by that name?

Herbert would often ask reporters: are you a football person?

If you were, then you should know better than to criticise your own. If not, then your observations could be dismissed, because your heart’s clearly not in the game.

But I digress. I do like rugby. Kids’ rugby, club rugby, women’s rugby. I mean, is there a finer team in any code across this country – in terms of playing ability and likeability – than the Black Ferns Sevens side?

Where I struggle with the game is at the supposed “top” level.

Friday at 4.30pm is the traditional time to dump bad news. The pub or family start to beckon journalists by that stage of the week, so out come the press releases that organisations hope won’t gain a lot of traction.

Right now, it’s hard to know what day of the week it is. They all kind of roll into one, as we process the day’s soaring Covid cases, wonder what’s for lunch and dream of the day when our children disappear back to school.

What better time than to tell us Ian Foster has had his contract extended by two years.

Foster, by my estimation, is a flawed and unconvincing character, whose team displays the same traits. I’m yet to be remotely impressed by the All Blacks’ performances under his watch and can see no justification whatsoever for his retention as head coach.

But then those were my sentiments when he was appointed in the first place, so nothing’s changed.

I have to say, though, that his retention turns me off. It makes me want the team to struggle and for NZR to look like fools.

The latter’s no trouble, it has to be said. Barely a day goes by without some administrative bungle from head office.

I get that these are unusual and uncertain times, but there are people out there providing clarity and leadership.

We receive daily email updates from our son’s school, detailing events that are now cancelled or postponed, plans for the next few days, tips for home schooling and people to contact if there are any questions. Emails with further details arrive from the teacher.

How is it that these people can provide certainty and yet NZR remain forever perplexed by their circumstances?

The way NZR sought to treat Rugby Australia in recent days was shabby and amateurish. It was high-handed and unbecoming.

Yes, the Wallabies are a poor side, but that’s no excuse to treat their players, coach and administration as irrelevant.

I get very tired listening to and reading about the exceptionalism of NZR. I get irritated by their seeming inability to plan and to lead and to treat stakeholders with respect.

Like news of their faith and admiration for Foster, it turns me off the game.

New Zealand Rugby would go a long way to restoring interest in their flagship team if they simply got on with the task of staging matches.

We don’t want to hear about how challenging the past two years have been for them and Foster. We don’t want to hear about how hard it will be for the players to be on tour this year, when teams such as the New Zealand Warriors have been domiciled in Australia for what feels like forever.

We don’t want to hear about their dissatisfaction with venues and schedules and revenue sharing and we definitely don’t want to hear about their financial problems.

They tried to publicly bully the New Zealand Rugby Players’ Association into accepting a private equity partnership with American outfit Silver Lake and failed abysmally.

When you can’t even get your employees to support you, it’s little wonder fans feel a bit lukewarm too.

If the sight of a half-empty Eden Park a couple of weeks ago doesn’t tell NZR that even ardent supporters have had enough, then nothing will.

There is so much to like about rugby, as I’ve written many times.

It is, at its best, a unifying force. A game that brings communities together and celebrates diversity and teaches tolerance.

Few finer sights exist in this country than full playing fields on Saturday mornings, replete with kids and mums and dads and siblings and grandparents of all different shapes, sizes, colours and backgrounds. This is the rugby I love and miss terribly during this time.

You can love rugby without having any regard for NZR. You can love rugby and not have any confidence in Ian Foster. You can love rugby and not really care about the All Blacks anymore.

Rugby is bigger than all these people and they would do well to remember that.