Failure came one day at a time

Mick Cleary
Wednesday, June 13, 2007

WHY has New Zealand not won the rugby union World Cup since the inaugural tournament despite consistently having the best team in the world over the past 20 years? Well, let me see. Could it have anything to do with Australia (twice), South Africa and France, the teams that beat them — and, on all bar one occasion, decisively?

There's your answer. They were not good enough. The Springboks cut it fine in 1995 — so, too, waitress Susie as she went about her alleged food-poisoning mischief — but in all the other games, NZ was soundly beaten. And by whom? By the better team on the day.

The World Cup is not about being the best team in 1994 or 1998 or 2006, or even about being the best team a few months before the event, or in the pool stages. It's about fronting up when it matters. Effectively, it means winning on three consecutive weekends. No matter how far ahead of the chasing pack one team might be, it still has got to beat the opposition, the weather, the referee and the bounce of the ball across three consecutive weekends. If it dips below its peak of excellence just by a little bit, then it will cop it.

David Campese did that to NZ in 1991 with a virtuoso display at Lansdowne Road, Dublin. Campo lanced to the corner once himself, NZ hanging off and hanging off until it was too late. And who can forget that over-the-shoulder pass that sent Tim Horan over the try line?

Eight years later, France rose from the depths at half-time to overhaul a NZ side trapped in the headlights. The French overturned a 24-10 half-time deficit. Did the Kiwis choke? Not really. They just couldn't cope with France's deep, primeval instinct for survival. Dwell on the positives of the afternoon rather than on desperate soul-searching and inwardness. France was brilliant. Enough said.

In 2003, Australia showed greater tactical awareness and mental fortitude than its opponent. Just as NZ had faced down the supposed threat of a Springbok uprising in the quarter-final — one of the most disappointing games I've seen — so the Wallabies trumped their age-old adversaries in the psychological stakes. NZ couldn't handle the pressure put on it that day by a side brimming with purpose and self-belief. It was a terrific display by Australia.

And 2007? Well, NZ is the best team in the world. No question. My beef with their lengthy build-up to this tournament, a point of view I see is echoed by former captain Sean Fitzpatrick, is that they've put everything on the World Cup. Nothing else seems to matter. I think Test rugby is in a rare old pickle at the moment. The Kiwis aren't alone in prioritising the World Cup. So, too, does every other country. That's a real shame. Every Test match ought to be special and unique. Simple as that.

Anyway, can NZ do it this time? Of course it can and, of course, it should. But let's forget the seven-week World Cup schedule. Who might it have to beat in the money games?

Well, here's a scenario. France finishes runner-up in its group. That gives us a NZ-France quarter-final, in Cardiff. Interesting, eh? On to the semi-final, where the All Blacks meet a chastened Springboks, who once again have lost a crucial pool match to England. And the final? Australia, perhaps. Tough call. I think they can do it. But I've thought that before.

Telegraph