Gregor Paul has run out of patience with troubled Chiefs skipper Sione Lauaki in The New Zealand Herald.

"Compassion and sympathy have surely been exhausted in the sad case of Sione Lauaki.He's had every chance to exorcise his demons; been given all the help - and more - anyone could ever want.

"And still he found himself charged with assault on Wednesday. Good will is running thin for Lauaki. It may even have run out. Once the judicial system has processed him, he'll have to face his employer. It could be for the last time. Lauaki, once an All Black of considerable promise, could become the first New Zealand professional player to have his contract terminated. The NZRU would see that as a disaster, but how many chances should Lauaki be given?

"He pleaded guilty to assault in February 2006 and was given diversion and then discharged without conviction. The assault took place in the early hours outside a bar in Hamilton."

If Sonny Bill Williams wants to play in 2011 Rugby World Cup he has a major philosophical decision to make, according to Gregor Paul in the Herald on Sunday.

"The pain will start in his wallet. He's a phenomenal athlete. He was a brilliant rugby league player and the poster boy of the NRL. That was enough for Toulon, a club with deep pockets and a volatile owner, to offer him an estimated $600,000 a season. He won't get anywhere near that to come home. Toulon are not the bastion of financial prudence, though.

"Ambition has been allowed to distort good judgement and their wage bill is skyscraper high. French club rugby does not practice restraint and Williams has been the beneficiary of the think big, spend big approach that is rife in the Top 14.

In almost two seasons, he has played just 19 games, switching between centre and wing, and recently he has been pushed into the back row in the final quarter. Currently sitting in fifth place, Toulon are content they have had value for money from Williams. But the New Zealand Rugby Union are a different kettle of fish. They don't benefit from the largesse of a tycoon owner. They have a more defined system of financial accountability and they also have a treasured brand to protect."

Are the Chiefs the real deal? © Getty Images

Dylan Cleaver believes that Chiefs fans should be wary following their side's unbeaten opening to the Super 14 season in The New Zealand Herald.

"The Chiefs would have returned home last night feeling like all their Christmases had come at once - but there's a Grinch sitting in the corner drinking Ian Foster's eggnog. The Chiefs have beaten the Sharks, the Lions and the Force, three teams that look likely to occupy the lower reaches of the table when the championship ends. They needed a last-minute penalty to scrape home against an increasingly dysfunctional Sharks and conceded 65 points against a woeful Lions line-up a week later.

"The Force? Injuries have left them hopelessly under-manned. Those are the reasons for Chiefs' fans to temper their expectations, which have no doubt ratcheted up several notches, but there are many more reasons to usher the Grinch out of the room.

"First, you need a bit of luck when it comes to the draw, especially when you do not have the capacity to play opponents home and away over the course of a season (which is, ultimately, the only way to run a fair competition, but that's another argument altogether). The key is to make the most of a fortuitous draw."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray rues the fact that the All Blacks have only had a couple of contenders to qualify for a list of halfback greats in the past two decades.

"More than 20 players have worn the black No 9 jersey in that time with Graeme Bachop, by some distance, the classiest performer. Bachop was brilliant, the best of the lot. Like all players he had moments when his game left him, but the fundamentals of his iron-wristed bullet pass, fierce acceleration, cover defence and tidy kicking game placed him at the head of the queue.

By dint of his longevity, Justin Marshall will have many supporters. What he lacked in some classic skills he superceded with his combative nature and rugby instincts in an extended career. The current crew of Jimmy Cowan, Piri Weepu, Brendon Leonard, Andy Ellis and Alby Mathewson - yes they have all toured with the All Blacks in the past few years - all have their strengths without that commanding presence."

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The New Zealand Rugby Union has tried to soften Graham Henry's image by encouraging the former headmaster to be less "principally". Dylan Cleaver writes in the New Zealand Herald.

"The revelation is included in a 12-part series starting next week on nzherald.co.nz, The State of Rugby in New Zealand, an investigation of the issues facing the sport a year out from the World Cup.

"In a piece about the All Black coaching panel, NZRU chief executive Steve Tew tells of how it can be difficult to explain to the All Black coach that he is sometimes perceived as taciturn.

"Graham Henry gets nothing but positive interaction with New Zealanders," Tew said. "So when we're talking to him about perhaps his image and how we would like him to not be so principally and grumpy, at times he doesn't get it because when he talks to people they are very positive."

Chris Rattue believes that the new tackle laws will play into the hands of the Hurricanes' Piri Weepu in The New Zealand Herald.

"We are only a week into the Super 14 competition, so this topic may seem premature, but Piri Weepu's maestro touches for the Hurricanes against the Blues really caught the eye, and thus pulled the All Black halfback situation into view.

"Might this be a case of cometh the new rules, cometh the man? Just where Weepu - with 30-plus tests under the belt - fits into Graham Henry's plans is one of the more mysterious aspects about the current regime's selections.

"The selectors have three distinctive options - Weepu, Jimmy Cowan and Brendon Leonard, plus Andy Ellis, who should be the last cab off the top rank.At this point the grumpy Cowan, from Southland, would probably be rated number one. Cowan is combative, a strong cover defender who pulled off a couple of pivotal tackles in the black jersey last year, but he is a little laboured and not overly creative."

Jermoe Kaino surges forward for the Blues © Getty Images

Auckland is a sporting centre in decline, according to Chris Rattue in The New Zealand Herald.

"The first week of the new rugby season already looks like all of those often depressingly hopeless years gone by for the Blues. Their faltering effort against the Hurricanes at Albany on Friday night reinforced the strong suspicion they will be also-rans again this year.

"Auckland is a city of sporting decay. The smell of failure hangs around Auckland sport, in contrast to elsewhere. The Blues' second-half capitulation against the Hurricanes, who were beautifully marshalled by Piri Weepu, was yet another soul-destroying moment in their increasingly beleaguered history.

"Forget the PR BS because flaky met shaky when the Blues secured Cantabrian Stephen Brett.Why the biggest city in a supposedly rugby-mad nation needs to go cap in hand to find players in pivotal positions tells a story in itself, that of an inability to identify and/or lure young players and fit them into long-term schemes."

Richard Loe has one focus ahead of the new Super 14 season and it's unsurprisingly the breakdown in The New Zealand Herald.

"The main point of interest for many in this year's Super 14 will be the new Sanzar rules at the breakdown.

"I think these could be good but there are two potential problems - interpretations and the fact they are not binding on other international sides; so the All Blacks have to revert to the old rules when they play Northern Hemisphere sides.

"That's because the IRB have decided there will be no more rules changes before the World Cup. Well, okay, but Sanzar have at least realised the game of rugby has a problem and are moving to fix it. I have always said that, for every rule change the IRB approve, they should tear out two old ones that aren't used any more. Rugby has got so complicated that many players, fans and even referees don't understand it."

Can the Blues perform in 2010? © Getty Images

Wynne Gray believes that the pressure is on the Blues ahead of the Super 14 in The New Zealand Herald.

"When the media, as part of this year's Super rugby launch, were involved in a quiz on the competition's history, the results were at best mixed. Not surprising, really. Not when 1066 matches have been played in the professional competition since the Hurricanes hosted the Blues in Palmerston North way back in 1996.

"From memory, it was a boisterous evening, a full house on a balmy Friday night in early March as referee Paddy O'Brien whistled the authorised start for professional rugby in the Southern Hemisphere. O'Brien has since gone north as has the Blues five-eighths Carlos Spencer, though he is making a remarkable comeback with the Lions this season.

"There are other connections. Midfielder Alama Ieremia, who scored the first try in Super history, will be back as part of the Hurricanes' coaching staff when the same sides meet in Albany next Friday to start this year's competition."

Chris Rattue predicts a possible change of style for injured All Blacks lock Ali Williams in The New Zealand Herald.

"Ali Williams won't be back - not the Ali Williams we have come to know, anyway. The All Blacks' World Cup hopes have also been dealt a setback.

"As Williams recuperates from his latest long-term injury, the former supercharged lock might consider the need to reinvent his game.When sports stars talk about the shortness of careers, of the wonderful things they have being snatched away by injury or selection, the need to maximise potential when the going is good, then the long tall lock from Auckland is a prime example.

"Once all chipper about a rugby sabbatical, Williams is now devastated because he has an enforced break - along with a very uncertain future, it has to be said."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Dylan Clever outlines the reasons why Richie McCaw should be a clear winner for New Zealand's sportsperson of the decade.

"He has twice this decade been officially recognised as the best rugby player in the world, and even that seems stingy on reflection.

"For most of the past decade he has been recognised as the undisputed best openside flanker in the game. So effective is he that breakdown laws have been changed to reduce his influence. He is not just consistent, he is consistently brilliant.

"He is the captain of New Zealand's most successful sports team and the only iconic sports "brand" this country possesses, and the difficulties of 2009 seemed to bring out a hitherto unseen Whineray-like streak. He is, in short, a national treasure. He's a hero to untold thousands of kids and, as facile as the term might be, not a bad role model either."

Peter Bills, writing in The Irish Independent, meets Kiwi Tim Manawatu, now playing in Italy for L'Aquila, the club devastated by an earthquake in 2009.

"His name won't strike a ready chord with you, but then, that won't surprise him. Tim Manawatu knows he doesn't exactly have a name as familiar as Dan Carter or Richie McCaw.

"No matter, this young man's life has been transformed since he got to Italy on his rugby odyssey; there really is no other way to describe it. Like all young New Zealand kids, he yearned to pull on the black jersey, to call himself an All Black. But that is a reward afforded to just the privileged few.

"However for Manawatu, there has come the stunning realisation that you don't have to play at the level of the All Blacks to earn an extremely pleasant living out of professional rugby in Italy, the rugby nation which plays Ireland in the Six Nations opener at Croke Park on Saturday week.

"Originally from Kaikoura, part of the Canterbury region on the south island, Manawatu took a leap into the unknown several years ago and has counted his blessings every day since."

Chris Rattue evaluates the rumours of Kiwi league star Manu Vatuvei joining the Melbourne Rebels in The New Zealand Herald.

"The new rugby and league seasons have yet to see a ball kicked in genuine anger, although temperatures will already be rising Penrose way. The Warriors' league wing Manu Vatuvei - a runaway truck in the straight forward gears and still learner driver in reverse - is said to be a target of the new Melbourne rugby franchise.

"With the faithful wondering about the state of this country's NRL outfit, what with the strange demotion of Steve Price from the captaincy, the rumour around the sometimes fabulous wing strikes another jarring note.

"The Vatuvei headline has already been written, the potential distraction in a new season - after a horrid 2009 for the Warriors - already in place. Such stories are convenient when talking up the price of your man, although Vatuvei still has two more years on his Warriors' contract so these are early days for haggling."

Carlos Spencer helped the Blues to the top of Super Rugby © Getty Images

Carlos Spencer is set to return to Super 14 action, but don't expect a grudge match when the Lions take on the Blues. He talks to Dylan Cleaver in The New Zealand Herald.

"Circle May 8 in your diary and set the alarm for 5am - that's when the team that offered Carlos Spencer a Super 14 lifeline meets the team that denied him.

"It is almost too unreal to comprehend. The 34-year-old Spencer, the spark that ignited three Super rugby titles, playing for the competition's biggest underachiever against Stephen Brett, the man the Blues chose to bank on ahead of Spencer.

It could be a beautiful reunion but what it won't be, according to Spencer, is a grudge match. Although he would have liked to come back and finish his Super rugby career with the only franchise he had played for, he does not spend his spare time sticking pins into voodoo dolls in the likeness of the Blues and New Zealand Rugby Union officials who rebuffed his advances."

Can Carlos Spencer still cut it at the top? Marc Hinton takes a look at the former All Black playmaker for Rugby Heaven.

"The big question is, does he still have the physical tools to make those innate skills of his a factor for his latest team, Johannesburg's Lions, as he completes a much-anticipated return to Super rugby?

"That will be one of the major talking points of the start of the new Super 14 season as Spencer attempts to lead the Lions to a brave new world, somewhere away from their perennial status of competition also-rans.

"The signing of Spencer came as a shock to many as the Lions launched their new era under highly-rated coach Dick Muir. They've also picked up Springbok flanker Wikus van Heerden and there's an air of optimism around Jo'burg that the gloomy days as competition doormats could be behind them."

Aaron Mauger looks set to follow the path of Luke McAlister and Chris Jack back to New Zealand rugby in time for the World Cup next year. The centre talks to Peter Bills for the Weekend Herald.

"Slowly, yet surely Graham Henry's potential World Cup squad is gathering both momentum and quality.

"Mauger made little attempt to hide the way he is leaning. The positive nature of his remarks about what he calls "new challenges" back home, both for himself and his family, reveal his thinking. "I would be excited about the possibility of returning home," he admitted.

"I haven't signed anything yet, back home or here. But going home is definitely an option."

"If that sounds ambiguous, New Zealand rugby fans need not be too worried. It's just that Mauger is fully aware of the considerable efforts Leicester have made over the last 30 months to help him settle and enjoy his stay.He wants to be fair to them, too."

Michael Brown assesses the prospects of new Blues scrum-half Alby Mathewson ahead of the Super 14 in The New Zealand Herald.

"There's a little bit of Tim Shadbolt in Alby Mathewson. He does not have the crooked grin or wispish hair and is presumably a better dancer but he shares some of Shadbolt's philosophy.

"The Invercargill and former Waitemata mayor once said, "I don't care where, as long as I'm mayor." Mathewson needed a Super franchise where he was virtually guaranteed game time, no matter where it was. He saw plenty of action at the Hurricanes last season but Aaron Cruden's rise to prominence and Piri Weepu's expected move back to halfback from first five-eighths meant Mathewson faced life on the bench.

"The only realistic option was the Blues, given the other four franchises are serviced by All Black halfbacks, so Mathewson asked his agent to sound them out.Mathewson is a one-game All Black, having played against Munster on the 2008 Northern Hemisphere tour and he hopes his move to the Blues will help him get back in black."

Over the next couple of weeks the extra helping of sherry-laced trifle and the brandy snaps will be instantly regretted as the Super 14 players drift back to their franchises for gruelling pre-season training. Dylan Clever writes in New Zealand Herald.

"With the possible exception of sanguine Chiefs' coach Ian Foster, none of the coaches would have been able to fully relax over the festive season either.

"Having slotted a few draft choices into their squads they now have to find a way of restoring pride in New Zealand franchises that was lost last season - all done against the Sanzar blueprint of "positive rugby" they have signed up to (if you are thinking of running a sweepstake as to how long it will take a couple of the South African sides to renege on that promise we would suggest round three would be prudent).

"Last season was not a great one for New Zealand teams, leaving five pertinent questions to be answered over the off-season."

	Stade Francais scrum-half Julien Dupuy is the latest player to have been banned for eye-gouging © Getty Images

"The act of choice is eye-gouging which has been frighteningly common in 2009. seems to be happening almost every week - the latest being a nasty double attack by Julien Dupuy and David Atoub of Stade Francais on Ulster's Stephen Ferris. The video evidence was damning.

"As it was when Schalk Burger gouged Luke Fitzgerald in the opening minute of the second test between the British Lions and Springboks in June. As it was when Italian No 8 Sergio Parisse gouged Isaac Ross a few hours before Burger's indiscretion.

"If Alan Quinlan had been on tour with the Lions, then the tourists might have taken their revenge on Burger. But the Irish flanker didn't make the trip after being selected because he gouged Leinster's Leo Cullen in the Heineken Cup. Rotorua-born Dylan Hartley missed much of the season after being found guilty of eye-gouging while playing for Northampton and one naughty Frenchman can count himself lucky that there was no supporting video footage to support All Black claims Tony Woodcock was "facialled" in Marseilles."

Gregor Paul springs a few surprises in selecting his best of the year in The New Zealand Herald.

"Cory Jane was a class act every time he played and came of age this season. He can be proud of what he contributed. Not even Jane, though, could match the contribution of Tom Donnelly who went from provincial stalwart to first choice All Black in the last few months of the year.

"More importantly Donnelly took the greatest source of national embarrassment and transformed it into one of the most efficient and accurate lineouts in world rugby. The importance of that cannot be overstated.

"The All Black lineout was an absolute shambles for most of the year. The test in Hamilton against the Boks will never be forgotten – the All Blacks went through 40 minutes of rugby without winning one of their own throws."

	Will Hayman be heading home ahead of RWC'11? © Getty Images

"The bearded behemoth, who is captaining the English club Newcastle these days, is regarded as the missing link in the master plan that will see the Webb Ellis Cup paraded up Queen St and a town near you in 2011. Yes, some of these master plans have come unstuck at previous World Cups, but this one is a sure bet. Honest.

"Loath as this column is to give advice to the NZRU, here's a way of ensuring Hayman plays in the cup: if worse comes to worst, follow your own lead and ignore your own rule. There are all sorts of rumours about Hayman's return, including that the good people of Taranaki are prepared to give him a farm as an inducement. And there's no greater honour in this country than being given a farm."

The public knows that on recent form, neither Harbour nor Counties-Manukau deserve to be part of the Air NZ Cup top division, according to Peter Williams in the Herald on Sunday.

"After Friday's decision to retain the status quo in the Air New Zealand Cup, for at least another year anyway, it's fair to ask once more - just who is running rugby in this country?

"How come the NZRU, the richest sporting body in New Zealand, with annual revenues in excess of $100 million, can still be dictated to by provincial unions with a precarious financial position and little more than parochial self-interest at heart? Perhaps it's because there's a growing realisation at head office that rugby's real fan base is shifting from the big cities and into the provincial centres like Napier, Palmerston North and Invercargill."

After forcing the New Zealand Rugby Union into a re-think, now is the time for the unions have to put their minds to matters based more on fact than conjecture, so writes Dylan Cleaver in the New Zealand Herald.

"This is the story of the mice that roared - now they have to start to think.

"Northland, Counties Manukau, Tasman and Manawatu, the four unions with their necks under the NZRU's guillotine, have staved off execution with a formidable campaign that involved lobbying and explicit legal threats. Unless they want to find themselves in the same position a little further down the track, they now have to do more than rail against the national body."

Dylan Cleaver calls on the four Air New Zealand Cup sides saved from the chop to justify the decision in The New Zealand Herald.

"This is the story of the mice that roared - now they have to start to think. Northland, Counties Manukau, Tasman and Manawatu, the four unions with their necks under the NZRU's guillotine, have staved off execution with a formidable campaign that involved lobbying and explicit legal threats.

"Unless they want to find themselves in the same position a little further down the track, they now have to do more than rail against the national body.

"They were out of touch, very out of touch," said outgoing Counties Manukau chairman Matthew Newman of the NZRU. It is a strange charge to label against an organisation that, no matter how good a punching bag they make, has just shown that they are prepared to put pragmatism ahead of pride. These sort of comments help no one. The time for cheap shots is over."

Peter Bills bows down to the talents of All Black fly-half Dan Carter in The Irish Independent.

”Unless you subscribe to the bizarre theory that it's best to wait until someone has retired or died before offering praise for their talents, let us salute one particular, unique performer from the world of rugby union as 2009 comes to an end.

“This year began with a dire injury to the game's outstanding out-half. A torn Achilles tendon can
be a career-ending blow, such is the gravity of the injury.

“Happily, Dan Carter will end 2009 in a blaze of glory. Not only did he recover from the injury that brought to an end his sojourn with Perpignan, but he rediscovered his glorious skills in the toughest ground of all - the Test match.

“Carter is a genius of this rugby age. He is a skilled, delightfully inventive player who brings a sublime craft to the game. Whether it's by running, passing, kicking, tackling, covering or reading the game, he stands apart.”

Marc Hinton believes that the All Blacks are still behind the Springboks in world rugby's pecking order in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"There was something vaguely fitting about the anti-climactic end to the All Blacks' year at Twickenham over the weekend. After the giddy events of Marseille just seven days earlier, perhaps it was appropriate that the year should end on a slightly bum note, with the 18-25 defeat to the Bryan Habana-inspired Barbarians.

"After all this has been a far from perfect year for Graham Henry's side, with those three straight test defeats to South Africa, another to the French in the early part of the season, and a number of other rather unconvincing performances along the way.

"So even though the All Blacks ended the test year as the world's No 1-ranked side, surely not even they would kid themselves that they sit above South Africa on anyone's pecking order, but the IRB's."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Richard Loe believes New Zealand deserve a 7 out of 10 score for their tour exploits.

"So the All Blacks now have to aim for consistency in achieving the sort of result they did against France. That's a bit harder - but they have taken some big strides since the beginning of the season. They have focused on the basics and problems like the lineout have been fixed - just as we all said they could be.

"That brings me to Tom Donnelly - one of the best players of the tour, I'd suggest. He showed up well for most of this tour and particularly against France. Lock is one of the few areas where the All Blacks have no worries and plenty to choose from now. Donnelly did so well that I am bound to say: Isaac who? And that's a biggie - I was one of those people who insisted that Isaac Ross should have gone on this tour."

Wynne Gray reviews the All Blacks tour as the saviour of their season in The New Zealand Herald.

"This was a strange old All Black season, not least for the fact that they lost more tests than they have in any other year under Graham Henry's command.

"In keeping with the theme which dominated the 2007 World Cup campaign and its aftermath, there was a bit of rotation. This time the coaches rotated themselves, with Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen swapping duties before charging through another end-of-year tour of Europe.

"A dozen players who made the first squad in June were missing from that voyage with injuries, form and gameplan changes as the side slogged through their itinerary before destroying France in Marseille."

Stephen Jones bleieves that the All Blacks are "individually weak but collectively outstanding", in The Times.

"The enormous victory by New Zealand over France in Marseille last weekend was interesting from many angles. I have always considered Marc Lievremont, the French coach, as a bungler rather than true international class and France's capitulation suggests strongly that some of his own players are undecided about him as well.

"But this win, for me, summed up the essential excellence of New Zealand rugby. Heaven knows, while they may be ranked the top team in the world they have been bested by South Africa all season and even the most fervent supporters know that the Springboks are out in front at present.

"Yet considering their exhaustion at the end of a long season, New Zealand can be justly proud of their results on this tour. It was they who upheld the superiority of the Southern Hemisphere sides."

Peter Bills is thankful that his long wait for a side to show some attacking flair ended at the weekend, in The Independent.

"World rugby has waited all year - no, make that two years - for a blinding light of inspiration, a clarion call if you like from someone on how to play this game properly.

"The world champion South Africans have been a disappointment, scared of their own mighty shadow when it has come to embracing a proper running game with attacking intent. They have the players but their coaches have been too frightened to use them properly. Likewise the French who have forgotten how to utilise such talents.

"No-one else has seriously put their hands up to make the point as the game has plunged into an abyss of mess, muddle and mediocrity.

"Give thanks, therefore, for what New Zealand did in Marseille on Saturday night. Winning a game of rugby, just another Test match, was the least of their achievements when judged on a worldwide canvas. No, what the All Blacks did was re-affirm our faith in the game as something a whole lot more than just a series of bludgeoning forward charges, a contest about as subtle as the collision between two raging bulls."

Marc Hinton is thankful that the All Blacks cut loose in Marseille in The Sydney Morning Herald.

"Test rugby has the smile back on its face, and it has the All Blacks to thank for that.

"As Graham Henry's New Zealand side ran in five tries to finally unleash its attacking arsenal at the Stade Velodrome yesterday, the stunning 39-12 victory over France not only rounded off the autumn test programme in style, but made an emphatic statement about the quality of the fare being served up in the international arena.

"Yes, the laws of the game may be deeply flawed, and the match officials given way too much leeway to stamp their mark on proceedings. And, yes, it's deeply ironic that northern hemisphere unions now appear to be backtracking on the much-maligned ELVs, many of which they gave short shift to without even bothering to trial them."

Wynne Gray, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the All Blacks coaches' job swap might still have some mileage.

"Done and dusted for another season. The All Blacks turned over all five of their foes in the last sector of their test programme while also attempting to reinvent themselves.

"After 5 years in the same portfolios, the coaches rolled the dice and altered their duties. Graham Henry moved from defence into sorting out the forwards, Wayne Smith went from the backline to defensive boss and Steve Hansen shuffled from the forwards to the backs.

"Having completed the successful end-of-year-stint, Hansen is making noises about returning to deal with the pack again. This trip though might prompt other ideas.

"If the job swap has been beneficial for the coaches and the players, if it has sparked new thoughts, ideas and enthusiasm and added extra dimensions to their calibre, then let's persevere or add to it."

	Brian O'Driscoll was passed over for the IRB's top gong © Getty Images

"In amateur times, rugby union was always promoted as the ultimate team game. Certainly, given its nature, it had the facility to cater for all body types. A place could always be found for little Jimmy Blobby alongside long Johnny Beanpole in the same starting XV. Few competing codes could offer the same equality of opportunity.

"The team ethic was the core principle, guarded almost jealously by the game's administrators. Then, in 1979, the first Man of the Match awards came into being for the Five Nations, as it was then known.

"Following the opening Ireland game of that season (against the French in Dublin), I was named the recipient of the inaugural award. At training at Lansdowne Road the following weekend I was presented with a carriage clock by Paul McWeeney on behalf of the rugby writers. It was engraved with the sponsors' name, Thwaites and Matthews (to this day I couldn't tell you what they sold), and on the following Monday morning the picture of Paul (sadly long since passed away) presenting me with the award appeared in all the different papers.

"No big deal and all with the approval of the IRFU -- or so I thought! To cut a long story short, within 48 hours I had received a typically frosty and impersonal letter signed by Bob Fitzgerald on behalf of the IRFU."

	New Zealand captain Richie McCaw lifts the Dave Gallaher Trophy in Marseille © Getty Images

"This was their best performance of the year, the antithesis of their opening test of the season five months ago against the same opponent. If this is the new standard the All Blacks have set for themselves, then the rest of the world should take some quiet thinking time. The All Blacks in this kind of mood; this kind of form are lethal.

"They ticked all the foundation boxes, except for the scrummaging which was a bit hit and miss, and that was the platform they needed. But this was a performance about the extras, about the way the All Blacks created space and found their attacking vision again."

Gregor Paul is predicting some fireworks from an emotional French side as they take on New Zealand this weekend. Read his thoughts in The New Zealand Herald.

"If anyone is looking for a good bet to make on the All Black test this weekend, stick some money on one of the French players being sent off.

"It's been a while since a red card was shown in a major test, but there is something in the air that makes it feel entirely possible, almost probable, that one of the French players is going to lose it. Really do something memorably violent – a stomp on the head, a punch, maybe even a head-butt (they have got form there in both football codes).

"And for another different sort of bet – how about the All Blacks to win with a drop goal? Even better, how about Luke McAlister coming off the bench to land said dropped goal?

"The irony would be rich but again, there is this unmistakable edge at the moment that suggests things are going to boom at the Stade Velodrome; that this is going to be the most memorable test of the season and maybe not for the right reasons, either."

England were level pegging with New Zealand until the start of the last quarter which is more a comment on the All Blacks' failings than England's deeds according to Peter Bills in the New Zealand Herald.

"Only when the forwards at last hammered England into submission with a series of power surges into the home team's 22, and the ball was then moved down the blindside for Jimmy Cowan's try, could New Zealand finally break a resolute, but hardly sophisticated England defence.

"The trouble was, for too long New Zealand let themselves be dragged down closer to England's moderate level than rising above the mediocrity through their own supremacy. Too many players made far too many uncharacteristic mistakes."

The obsession with the collision was taken to extremes at Twickenham according to Gregor Paul, read his thoughts in the Herald on Sunday.

"The enormity of the challenge facing the All Blacks became apparent as the teams lined up for the national anthems. That's when it was possible to see just how big this English team is. They don't do small. There were giants everywhere. Simon Shaw just about cast a shadow over the whole ground.

"The two props were definitely old school as they went for miles across the shoulders and didn't thin at the waist. There were even freakishly large men in the backs. Surely there must have been some mistake for Matt Banahan to have taken a place on the wing - he was taller and heavier than Brad Thorn. And there was Ayoola Erinle in the midfield - well it would be more accurate to say he was the midfield."

A better effort from England in defeat was not enough to save some battered reputations, writes Hugh Godwin in the Independent on Sunday.

"If the autumn series was a World Cup, England would have been knocked out twice, with this fitfully encouraging but ultimately comprehensive defeat added to that by Australia a fortnight ago. Instead it has been something of a phoney war, with a succession of meaningless baubles such as yesterday's Hillary Shield at stake. The genuine prize is the ability to weed out the weak and improve for the battles to come, even if for Martin Johnson it may feel like picking the diamonds out of the dung."

Stuart Barnes, writing in The Times, is clear on his opinion of the man England have to stop at Twickenham on Saturday, no surprises that it's All Black fly-half Dan Carter.

"There is a chink of light for Martin Johnson as the agony of the autumn series draw to its finale with the visit of New Zealand. Such has been the paucity of wit, invention and quality that nobody really thinks England have a chance of beating the All Blacks and therein is the opportunity.

"An inexperienced manager seems paralysed by the fear of losing and the team play as if paralysed by fear of the big brooding boss man. The operation has frozen to a halt and all the hard work in the world will mean nothing until that fear is overcome.

"On cue, enter the All Blacks; they are clearly not a vintage New Zealand team. Graham Henry has learned the lesson England refuse to heed; that there are some matches more important than others. All the dominance in the world counted for nothing when France beat them in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. With the next tournament in New Zealand it is safe to say that Henry is building slowly for this event."

The All Blacks must be convincing against England on Sunday for the benefit of the sport, writes Gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald .

"The important thing for the All Blacks to remember when they play England this week is to leave no room for ambiguity. The Poms have to get their beans. They have to be humiliated - they have to be given the equivalent of a pants down smack on the backside from matron in front of the other boys.

"This isn't just because it feels good to ridicule them on their home ground - to see the self-styled governors of the game take some from the colonial upstarts. It's also because England, for the good of the world game, have to dispense with the guff they have served so far under Martin Johnson and find a new path."

The All Blacks need to be asking serious questions about their own technical expertise according to Gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald.

"The problem has been there all season. It's just been hard to see, partly because neither Australia nor South Africa were good enough up front to fully expose the All Blacks' scrummaging weaknesses and partly because the dysfunctional lineout grabbed all the attention.

"The All Blacks have regressed significantly in an area where they could recently have claimed to be the best in the world. The departure of Carl Hayman in 2007 was the beginning of the slide. No side can lose a man of his calibre and not feel it."

The All Blacks' scrum was taught a lesson by Martin Castrogiovani and friends in the San Siro, according to Gregor Paul in The New Zealand Herald.

"Wyatt Crockett had a big fork stuck in him by Martin Castrogiovani. The big Italian prop, looking more like a base player from a grunge band, educated young Crockett in the ways of the dark arts.

"It was man versus boy. It was car meeting truck. It was really quite hard to watch at times. In the last five minutes the Italians were toying with the All Blacks. Down they'd slam and the All Blacks would crumple. On it would go until Neemia Tialata was sent to the bin. The Italians could only wonder why they weren't awarded a penalty try. They deserved one. They deserved something more for the control they were exerting.

"From the scrum, the Italians drew inspiration. It gave them the confidence to attack the All Black forwards at the collision. It gave them the confidence to work the rolling maul and they were effective. It's a different game in these parts and the All Blacks will face more of the same against England and France."

Chris Rattue hails Dan Carter as the greatest fly-half of them all, despite his recent misdemeanour, in The New Zealand Herald.

"As the jeers swirled around Cardiff's magnificent rugby temple a shiver went up the spine, in a living room a world away, and not only because the Welsh passion for this often distressingly turgid sport was giving life to our troubled national obsession.

"Hand on a cold rugby heart, we are watching the finest first five-eighths who has ever played this game. Daniel Carter may be in rugby's rickety dock for his grand slam on a Welshman, but he has moved even further into rugby lore, and rightly so.

"What Carter delivered at the Millennium Stadium was what legions of rugby fans from any country would expect from their heroes, an explosive (if ultimately misjudged) effort to cut down an opposing attack at the pivotal moment in a match.

"Carter's crushing hit lowered the replacement Welsh halfback Martin Roberts like a sack of coals, immediately mining years of Welsh discontent as a replay screencast repeated an instant judgment on a tackle that would have been lauded in darker ages."

If this tour wasn't already hard enough, now the All Blacks will have to watch out for officials determined to show they are not intimidated by the touring side, so writes gregor Paul in the New Zealand Herald.

"Wily old fox that he is, Gatland knows the damage to his side can't be fixed. The moment has gone. But what he has done is ensure that Stuart Dickinson (Italy test), Jonathan Kaplan (England test) and Alain Rolland (France test) will all be asking themselves if they have the courage to make tough calls against the All Blacks at critical times. Gatland's comments will be locked in their heads now, and all three referees will be conscious they can't back down; they can't be seen to be in awe of the All Blacks."

The All Blacks preserved their 56-year record against Wales on the back of the most ferocious defensive effort, writes Gregor Paul in the Herald on Sunday.

"For Wales, it must have felt like a cyclist ploughing through a swarm of flies with an open mouth. There was this black cloud smothering them; choking them; denying them.

"It was relentless. A performance that says not only is the structure and technique all in pace - so too the attitude and desire to win. Wales had ample possession. They had the territory, too. But in the end, they didn't have the class, the vision or the trickery to find any holes."

Wales have plenty of positives to reflect on in the wake of their latest defeat to the All Blacks, writes Michael Aylwin in The Observer.

"Well, it was brave. But then it usually is. Same result, though. Fifty-six years of Welsh hurt at the hands of New Zealand will now become 57. There was, however, wildness and excitement in the endgame. Having looked as if they might be broken men as they stared at a 19-6 deficit with a quarter of an hour to go and the All Blacks swarming on their line, Wales roused themselves somehow for one last push.

"And then, after two Stephen Jones penalties had brought them to within a converted try, Alun Wyn Jones, who had been as heroic as anyone in Welsh colours, intercepted on his own 22 and was away. Seventy-four thousand roared him on, and he tried, oh he tried, galloping over the turf like a back-row forward. He reached the New Zealand 22 before Zac Guildford finally cut him down, but Wales could not quite finish the deal."

Ahead of the November Tests, four of The Guardian's rugby scribes pick their current world XVs.

"The hits may be getting bigger but class is permanent. It will be interesting, even so, to see how many of this team are still pre-eminent when the 2011 World Cup kicks off in New Zealand.

"The autumn Tests will certainly tell us more about Jamie Roberts, so influential for the Lions, and the new French captain Thierry Dusautoir. Watch out, too, for the fast-rising Irish back-rowers Stephen Ferris and Jamie Heaslip, Australia's Rocky Elsom and France's Maxime Médard."

Stuart Barnes previews Saturday's showdown between Wales and New Zealand, and doesn't hold out much hope for the men in red in The Times.

"Tears always flow when these great nations meet. For Wales the tears have been shed only in woe since 1953. The possibility of seeing Cardiff draped in joyous red makes this the main match of the autumn series first round.

"Yet, much as I hate to be the harbinger of bad news, the chances are not great; possible yes, but probable? New Zealand are not anywhere near their best, but Wales have a few injuries that promise to gravely weaken them.

"Much has been made of the absence of Mike Phillips; I am not sure a Welsh team at full tilt would miss him quite as much as assumed. He is undoubtedly the strongest scrum half in this hemisphere but compared to the genuine greats of modern times, such as Fourie du Preez, he can be dreadfully slow with his service."

Eddie Butler believes that Wales will just fall short in their attempt to break their long winless streak against the All Blacks in The Guardian.

"I'm not sure how much more build-up to Saturday's Tests can be taken. The Kiwi press is having a go at Wales for talking a big fight before the bell sounds and the tone of blogland is even more irascible than usual. The digital revolution has opened up boundless opportunities for a slanging match.

"Take, for example, poor little Leigh Halfpenny, who has been fingered by the New Zealanders as part of the Welsh propaganda machine that has declared the end of All Black invincibility. The insult has been paraded before the NZ public: Shock and aura, the All Blacks can be beaten, says baby-faced Welsh farthing.

"Well, there's the little player, willingly answering questions as he always does – because that's the way he is and on his media training course they told him to be as sincere as possible – and very softly suggesting that if Wales are to have a chance they have to overcome their own doubts about playing against their tormentors. A history going back 56 years can weigh heavy on young shoulders, but, he genuinely believes, the group is growing stronger and they have to believe in themselves."

Paul Rees is hoping that the November Test matches provide something to shout about after mixed bags in the Six Nations and Tri-Nations in The Guardian.

"John Clare wrote about dark and dull November days, but how the game in Europe could do with an Indian summer as the autumn internationals beckon. South Africa, New Zealand and Australia arrive in Europe after a Tri-Nations campaign that was hardly more stimulating than the Six Nations championship which preceded it.

"The New Zealand coach, Graham Henry, was in typically waspish mood this week when he described most sides in Europe, meaning the Six Nations, as conservative in their approach. Dull, in other words. He cited Wales as the exception, but South Africa have hardly been a byword for adventure this year and their meeting with Ireland at the end of the month, who won the Six Nations by adopting similarly constrictive tactics, could come down to who blinks first.

"Henry laments the surfeit of kicking spawned last year by the experimental law variations, but Wales presaged the changes on their way to the 2008 grand slam when they kicked more often than anyone else in the Six Nations, keeping the ball in play and chasing hard. They were opportunistic and waited for the moment."

John Hopkins believes that Wales' chances of beating the All Blacks are contingent on their belief that they can end a 20-game losing run in The Times.

"I don't care about the Wales team to face New Zealand on Saturday. It's immaterial to me whether Paul James is a gamble at tight head, that Ian Gough might have been better than Luke Charteris in the second row or that Wales should have gone for an established full back rather than selecting Jack of All Trades, Jack, sorry James, Hook. These changes are neither here nor there.

"I care about Wales's self belief. Wales's opponents in Cardiff are not men who wear a black shirt with a silver fern on it. Wales's opponents are those who take the field representing the home side. Wales have no one to fear but themselves.

"In general, Wales's players and the country's supporters do not fear another nation. Not the English, the French and the Irish, certainly not the Scots. Wales beat Australia the last time the two teams played and fancy their chances of doing so again at the end of this month. In short Wales give themselves a decent shout against any rugby playing country in the world, even the Springboks."

Peter Williams believes that the All Blacks will have a serious battle for attention on their hands in the coming weeks in The New Zealand Herald.

"The all Blacks face a huge battle for the hearts and minds of New Zealand sports fans in the next two weeks, not to mention eyeballs.

"While the All Blacks yet again traipse around Europe, where the major objective seems to be making money for the New Zealand Rugby Union, the rugby league Kiwis and the All Whites are playing matches far more meaningful, and mostly at times much more convenient for us here.

"Next Sunday, the All Blacks and the Kiwis essentially go head-to-head. The test against Wales starts at 6.15am. The Kiwis play England at Huddersfield from 7am. The result of that ratings clash will be one of the more fascinating outcomes of the sporting year.

"You get the feeling the All Blacks will have to play really well in the first half to keep their audience for the second."

Peter Bills questions the extravagant prices charged for tickets to the dead-rubber Bledisloe Cup Test between New Zealand and Australia in Tokyo on Saturday in The New Zealand Herald.

"Tomorrow's match in Tokyo offers rugby fans a disturbing view of the game's future. If you wondered why earlier this year the IRB broke with tradition and announced the venue of not just the next Rugby World Cup but the next two, then all can be revealed.

"For sure, it's a wheeze Blackadder's servant Baldrick would have been proud of. If the Bledisloe Cup's dead fourth rubber is any guideline, the 2019 Rugby World Cup which is to be staged in Japan will produce eye-watering ticket prices.

"It seems the IRB's thinking is that if the tournament isn't going to take place there for another 10 years, the world has time to get used to the idea of super inflation mugging ticket prices for the sport's premier event.

"For those who reckoned that $242 for the best tickets to watch Wales play Japan in a pool match at the 2007 Rugby World Cup and $850 for the most expensive ticket to the Paris final two years ago were decent asks, then I suggest you find a comfortable surface and lie down before you read about the ticket prices being charged in Tokyo this weekend for a Bledisloe Cup match which is irrelevant, the All Blacks having long since retained the trophy this year."

The New Zealand Herald's Gregor Paul is confused by the All Blacks' latest coaching reshuffle.

"Earlier this year Graham Henry talked about loyalty, sharing his belief that sometimes it can be misplaced.

"Events of the past week make it impossible not to wonder whether he is making the mistake he warned others against. Steve Hansen has been shuffled into no-man's land - a position of vague responsibility where he will be able to dodge bullets as he's shielded by Henry and Wayne Smith.

"If the backs fail to deliver much thrust and flair, will it be the fault of the backs coach or the attack coach? Ditto, if the forwards don't do their bit in setting an attacking platform, should inquiries be directed to Henry or Hansen?"

David Leggat is intrigued by the reshuffle in the All Blacks' coaching ranks in The New Zealand Herald.

"It was slipped in after the naming of the All Blacks touring squad, sounding almost, but not quite, an "oh, by the way ..." moment.

"The three national selectors are swapping roles for the trip through Japan, Wales, Italy, England and France. Whether it continues next year probably depends on what happens in the Northern Hemisphere in the next few weeks.

"Head coach Graham Henry is to take charge of the forwards, longtime backs boss Wayne Smith will oversee the defence, and forwards mentor Steve Hansen is instead to focus on the attack.

"It was right that it came near the end of Sunday's announcement - the players should always come first - but it brings with it a hefty dose of intrigue."

Richard Loe, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the All Blacks should experiment on their end of year tour.

"For my money, the All Black selectors should leave several senior players at home for the end of year tour and trial some new blood.

"The touring squad is announced this morning and, if I was a betting man, I would bet against the selectors doing what I am advocating. But my job is to tell you what I think they should do.

"Leave Mils Muliaina, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Piri Weepu, Jason Eaton, Stephen Donald and Neemia Tialata. And maybe Luke McAlister, if he's not fit. I know they won't do that - or not all of it anyway - but I think this is the last year they will be able to experiment and build. So why wouldn't they?

"Let's face it - if Mils Muliaina really needs a rest, give him a rest now and not in the first rounds of the Super 14. Sivivatu has a groin injury and may not be right in time. Leave him here to recuperate properly - there's no point in taking away people carrying injuries, as I have said endlessly. That's the thing with McAlister, too. If he's not right, take Tim Bateman instead."

Chris Rattue muses on the validity of television match officials in the wake of Hawkes Bay prop Sona Taumalolo's disallowed try against Canterbury in The New Zealand Herald.

"What a stunning "try" to the Hawkes Bay prop Sona Taumalolo against Canterbury, and what a disastrous shame it wasn't awarded. And what a spectacular Air New Zealand Cup match between the leaders in Napier. It was a stirring rugby night, even if the home side relied a bit too much on putting up bombs in front of their home crowd.

"Had Taumalolo been awarded the 80th minute try, Hawkes Bay's ace goalkicker Matt Berquist might have slammed over a sideline conversion for a draw and an extra competition point. That point could be vital in the semifinal washup - let's hope it isn't, although this may be hard to quantify.

"We can all be couch replay experts these days and repeated frame-by-frame analysis of the incident leaves no doubt at all that Taumalolo clearly scored. Absolutely no doubt at all.

"It was a sensational effort from Taumalolo, who charged on the angle from a tap penalty, then dived and stretched out an arm to score in the corner with the tracking tacklers and a hesitant wing surprised by his acceleration, and well beaten."

Writing for Rugby Heaven, Duncan Johnstone praises the International Rugby Board for their use of All Blacks legend Jonah Lomu to help get the Olympics job done and urges the New Zealand Rugby Union to follow their lead.

"It should be an embarrassment to New Zealand rugby that we have done so little to acknowledge his presence beyond his All Blacks achievements. If ever there was an ambassadorial figure for the modern age it is Lomu.

"Yet he has been used little if not at all to promote the game in this country or promote the New Zealand rugby cause overseas. Lomu has matured into a fine man, comfortable to operate in the corporate surroundings as well as athletic environments."

The NZRU'S attempts to restructure the Air New Zealand Cup have been a dismal failure according to Richard Loe in the New Zealand Herald.

"Fair enough, the NZRU has had to bail out unions like Tasman - but the key factor now is that things have changed.

"The Air NZ Cup, which looked forlorn when it began, has taken off. It has done so across the board, with teams evenly matched, with most sides capable of beating any other, and with crowds in the grassroots, heartland areas pleasingly strong. But the NZRU seems incapable of adjusting to this and seems set on pressing ahead with plans to drop Tasman, Northland, Manawatu and Counties Manukau into the new six-team first division - some of the very areas where support is strongest."

In a strongly-worded editorial, the New Zealand Herald disects the Blues' woes on and off the field.

"According to an old adage, a sporting team's performance on the field will be only as good as that of its front office. On that basis, it is probably logical that the Blues stumble from crisis to crisis. The dominant side in the early days of what was then the Super 12 rugby series has struggled to reach anywhere near those heights in the past few seasons.

"In the normal course of events, this state of affairs should have united the franchise's three unions, Auckland, North Harbour and Northland, and fostered a resolve to bring back the good times. Instead, relations between the partners have sunk to a new low as they argue over match arrangements, player payments, dividends and franchise venues."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Richard Loe issues a warning to Auckland.

"As if the Blues didn't have enough to worry about, they are now faced with the possibility - however slim - that Tony Woodcock and Anthony Boric are coming off contract and could move on.

"This sort of talk looms as a bigger problem for the Blues than many other sides. It's because few players want to go to the franchise. They don't want to play for Auckland and/or the Blues because they are no longer winning teams; no longer an almost-guaranteed stroll into the All Blacks."

Wynne Gray can't understand the All Blacks' attitude towards young lock Isaac Ross in The New Zealand Herald.

"It's started again. Call it what you like, but the All Blacks' rest and reconditioning programme is on the boil again.

"When developing Test lock Isaac Ross turns 25 late next month, the selectors want him pumping iron somewhere in New Zealand, rather than preparing for the All Blacks' fourth test against the Wallabies in Tokyo.

"They are working hard on persuading Ross that it will be in his long-term interests to increase the power and strength in his 115kg frame, instead of undertaking the five tests and Barbarians match schedule with the All Blacks.

"There are a few weeks to run before the team is revealed but the word is that Brad Thorn, Tom Donnelly, Anthony Boric and Jason Eaton will be the four locks taken on tour while Ross is put on a rehab programme.It seems an odd decision on a number of fronts."

Chris Rattue, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that kicking-dominated union is beginning to suffer in comparison with the 13 man code.

"In contrast, rugby is bogged down, calling on parochialism and patriotism to save it, rather than giving a substantial return for those emotions.

"Four million fans. Yeah right. The union boys may be able to test the codes of advertising standards when making that claim, but only for the World Cup tournament.

"Rugby, the game we have loved for so long, has ground to a horrible halt, mired by scrum resets, breakdown confusion, kicking festivals, officious referees, endless penalties, errors, an inability to properly police or institute an offside line and a cross-hemisphere political rivalry that stymies potential remedies.

"A veteran photographer told me after the recent Auckland-North Harbour match that there was so much forceback kicking involved, he had trouble finding anything to photograph."

The knives and pens were poised but they had to be stayed after a good performance against the Wallabies, writes Richard Loe in the New Zealand Herald.

"Richie McCaw had a wry smile of satisfaction on his face and he deserved to. He was my player of the night and he took the ball up well and pressured the Aussies and then, in the last quarter, his turnovers and defence were superb when they were pressing.

I heard an Australian commentator saying that McCaw doesn't wield the same sort of influence over a game that he used to. Hooey. He was the most influential player in this match by a long chalk."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Paul Lewis insists it is time for the All Blacks to dump Steve Hansen.

"It's good to know Steve Hansen isn't feeling any pressure. It's great, in fact, because it's a prime reason why the All Black forwards coach should be replaced. Flush the dunny and move on, to coin a phrase.

"Hansen's contention last week that he and the All Blacks didn't need any help was risible. Show me a man who doesn't need help and I'll show you a man under pressure; or a defensive control freak; or a corpse."

Legendary All Black Sean Fitzpatrick isn't mincing his words as he lambasts the current crop of New Zealand internationals after their Tri-Nations defeat to South Africa in an interview with Peter Bills in the New Zealand Herald.

"We said before the start, if the All Blacks could win their own lineout ball or they could get field position, it would be all right .

"But in the first half it was just disgraceful; I don't know what they were doing. They trailed 12-1 in the lineouts at halftime. They had no idea where they were throwing it and the Springboks were totally dominating where New Zealand threw it."

"Fitzpatrick did not attempt to minimise South Africa's clear superiority over his own countrymen. "That intercept try by Jean de Villiers was a reflection of the game. The All Blacks were chasing the game whereas South Africa are quite clearly the best team in the world.

"From 1 to 15, they have shown throughout the competition and since the 2007 Rugby World Cup, they have gone on from strength to strength."

Writing in the Dominion Post, Jonathan Millmow catches up with All Blacks great Jonah Lomu as he prepares to embark on his new career.

"Jonah Lomu is turning heads again. The rugby great, kidney transplant patient and father of one was buying tanning oil yesterday for one of the most unlikely sporting comebacks - the Wellington body building championships.

"Two years ago, Lomu tipped the scales at 142 kilograms. On Saturday night, at the 330-seat Memorial Hall at Victoria University, he hopes to be 114kg. The man nicknamed the Black Bus during his 63-test career now has 50-centimetre biceps and will compete against three others in the over-90kg novice section.

	All Blacks captain Richie McCaw reflects on his side's Tri-Nations defeat to South Africa in Hamilton © Getty Images

"The two things that will ensure I remember this match for a long time to come are watching Francois Steyn bang over three kicks in succession from the wrong side of halfway and the most lop-sided halftime lineout statistics imaginable.

"What Steyn did was quite remarkable but equally staggering was the All Blacks inability at the lineout.You can throw all sorts of cliches around but the simple truth is you cannot expect to compete with a team like South Africa, who put so much pressure on you with their kicking game, if you have a dysfunctional lineout."

The New Zealand Herald's Chris Rattue suggests a glamorous makeover for Kiwi 'second-fives'.

"Second five, to use its short form, has been the poor relation for too long.

"It's the LA Airport of rugby positions, a hectic mishmash of a place where people move with confused urgency and empty hearts, hoping desperately that Lady Luck ensures they reach their next destination and quick. Players must feel that second five is a transit lounge to nowhere. Kiwi kids put posters of first fives on their wall, and the ones of second fives under their bed.

"Hardly anyone seems to want to specialise at No 12, even though the career prospects are excellent through lack of competition. First and foremost, second five needs to cut itself adrift from first five. A name change is in order. New Zealand rugby should drop the second five and call it inside centre, like the rest of the world does.

"A problem for second fives is that the job description sounds second-rate. Our second fives appear as blokes who weren't good enough for the far more authoritative roles that are suggested by the tags first and centre. Second five-eighths is for the losers, the way the old traffic cops were people who couldn't get into the police force."

Rugby could take a lesson from the fraternal five-tackle-kick code where sides are allowed 10 interchanges during a game, according to Wynne Grey in the New Zealand herald.

"These days an All Black test is a 22-man game with a seven-man rack of substitutes to cater for temporary injury, fatigue or as the Lions found out in one of their recent tests against the Boks, replacement when one of their props is a dud. Once the laws were amended to allow substitutes, they started to be bent even more.

"...The levels of concern about bloodbin substitutions rose so much a few years later that officials did not believe All Black lock Norm Maxwell was being replaced because of a torn scrotum. The ref almost needed reviving after his request to check the injury."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue offers measured praise for All Blacks coach Graham Henry after his side conjured a turnaround in their fortunes.

"You could analyse Saturday night's match to death and still end up in a dead end. One of the post-match interviewers talked about it as a return to running rugby. Yes, there was a lot of running around, but with all the botched moves - and this is an ideal point to suggest that Luke McAlister's reintroduction has done nothing for the All Blacks' cohesion - it certainly wasn't running rugby in its pure form.

"While the term "running rugby" focuses on the legs, it's only relevant if everyone is also catching the ball with their hands. Running rugby actually means passing and catching rugby. Yet the occasion, the significance, the transtasman rivalry and closeness of the score, meant it was gripping."

Richard Loe, writing in The New Zealand Herald, ponders the pressure on Wallabies coach Robbie Deans.

"It's been interesting talking to Australian rugby people this week about the so-called pressure coming on Robbie Deans. There is no question that people are looking at Robbie's record and are looking for more wins - and I don't think he has a lock on the coach's job for the 2011 World Cup.

"Which is as it should be, especially with reference to the current situation in New Zealand. But I was at a dinner this week with former Wallaby greats Phil Kearns and Tim Horan and asked them whether Deans was coming under pressure. They felt Graham Henry was under more and that Deans had already improved the Wallaby team "immensely".

"They said he'd got their hearts and heads in the right places; had lifted skill levels; had chosen the right personnel and was doing the right thing in bringing hard nuts like Rocky Elsom back. Still, what everyone wants is results."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue lauds Jamie Joseph for ignoring the wishes of the All Blacks.

"Jamie Joseph lost a battle in Rotorua but he won an important war. The Wellington coach is the man of the hour, the saviour, especially for those of us old enough to remember when provincial rugby was vital because of the tribalism involved.

"Joseph is a hero because for once, someone within the regime has stood up to the big brother NZRU and put what he believes is his own cause first.

"In terms of what is immediately best for his Wellington team or the All Blacks, you could argue that Joseph may have been right or wrong in ignoring All Black demands to play test men Cory Jane and Neemia Tialata against Bay of Plenty.

"Bottom line, though, is that Wellington have rights in this, and a lot of us are sick of the overbearing NZRU controlling so many rugby lives. The game needs to breathe."

Writing in The Herald on Sunday, Richard Loe calls for a change of management for the All Blacks.

"I watched Luke McAlister play on Thursday and thought it was worse than pathetic. If the selectors were watching him on Thursday, they'd have to conclude he didn't deserve a spot in the squad. I have not seen McAlister do anything since that duffed-up day in Cardiff in 2007 that justifies him being in a black jersey right now.

"This is the same old stuff we've had from this coaching panel since before the World Cup and people are sick of it.

"I think these guys are getting rattled. They are starting to say dumb things and to contradict themselves - like that nonsense over Dan Carter when Steve Hansen said it would be "panic" to bring him back in. What happens? They select him.

"It's fast becoming time they moved on, the sooner the better. Let's get a hard-nosed coach in - like Jamie Joseph.

"He's a good hard-bitten lad. I know he hasn't even coached Super 14 but we have some people in Super 14 who won't make the next level anyway."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray has little sympathy for All Black coach Graham Henry in his club versus country disagreement.

"If Henry and his cohorts interrupted less, chose smaller squads and players who were showing regular form, there might be more sympathy.

"The current disquiet is only going to get worse with another gap after the Bledisloe in Sydney. Watch out for a mess in October, when the Tri-Nations series is over and there is a large interval before the All Blacks leave for their Northern Hemisphere tour.

"There will be pressure for most to play in the NPC and then a squad of 32 or so will be gone - with the semifinals and final still to be decided."

The New Zealand Herald's Wynne Gray thinks that All Black coach Graham Henry could use a little perspective.

"It is a classic rugby conundrum and one Graham Henry struggled with before he became All Blacks coach.

"His ethos now is that everyone should do what is best for the national team. His glowering demeanour and sparing words did not hide those feelings as he tried to avoid criticising Jamie Joseph for refusing to play All Blacks in his NPC side.

"Perhaps after six years with the international team, Henry has lost a little perspective on the difficulties in preparing sides at lower levels. He seems to get everything he needs, including pulling more than 30 players into an All Blacks refresher course this week in the middle of the national championship.

"Then he gets snarky when some players he wants to have a game are not picked by Wellington for a drive-by appearance before scarpering off to All Black duty."

Rugby Heaven's Marc Hinton believes that the time is right for Dan Carter to make his international return.

"Carter yesterday declared himself not only happy to be back in black, but ready to start against the Wallabies in Sydney next Saturday night.

"And you know what? There was not a hint of cockiness about his declaration. Not a smack of smarminess. And certainly no disrespect to Stephen Donald who has not had it easy as the understudy.

"The 27-year-old 59-test All Black simply knows that when his body is right – and it finally is – and his mind is also in similarly fine fettle, then a test match holds no fears for him. Not even one as vital and pivotal as the All Blacks' fourth Tri-Nations outing which will determine if they have any hope of catching the runaway Springboks.

"Carter may have not played a test for nearly nine months, may have only had three games of rugby since a near six-month layoff with a ruptured Achilles tendon. But he knows himself, and right about now there's a familiar feeling creeping over him."

Chris Rattue, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the international return of Dan Carter is cause for optimism.

"Caution has filled the room. Fear has swept the streets. Panic is in the air.

"We're all doomed - our matchwinner is back. He can't be ready because rugby is way more complicated than that," goes the cry.

"Wayne Smith, the All Black back coach, isn't even sure that the man he's just picked for the test squad is ready. Former All Black coaches are urging, you guessed it, caution. Bloggers and emailers can barely get their fingers out to tap the keyboards due to the wringing of their nervous hands.

"Breaking the habit of a lifetime, this column has searched long and hard and found a few reasons for optimism."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, asks whether the coaches were to blame for the All Blacks' disappointing losses to the Springboks.

"There's been a lot of debate since that wholly dissatisfying loss to the Springboks about whether it was the coaches' fault or the players' fault.

"It was down to the coaches. I had to turn the TV off the other day when I saw Wayne Smith on a national programme saying they had played the test with counter-attacking tactics because the All Blacks couldn't take the Boks on up front. That kind of talk is poison. What are they trying to do? Smith even looked defeated - he turned up on TV in what looked like a tracksuit and some old flip-flops."

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray tells Graham Henry exactly what he needs to do if he is to turn the All Blacks’ season around.

"This is the time for the All Blacks to dig deep and for Graham Henry to deliver all his expertise. New Zealand needs Henry to assume the Great Redeemer epithet bestowed on him when he started his international coaching career with Wales.

"Selection:

"Pick those who have been in some form rather than others like Joe Rokocoko, Brendon Leonard, Rodney So'oialo and Neemia Tialata the selectors felt needed a turn on the tour of South Africa.

"The All Blacks should be the summit of test rugby selection rather than being a team where players get a shot from time to time. All the candidates should get in some matchplay in the next few weeks where their skill, enthusiasm and readiness can be judged for Bledisloe II in Sydney."

Wynne Gray, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the Air New Zealand Cup is a vital development tool.

"A few years ago, the branding for New Zealand's premier domestic rugby competition was based around the True Colours theme. It seemed a good idea, until Auckland unveiled an alternate version of their traditional blue-and-white hoops. So much for True Colours.

"Auckland have reverted to their original jerseys this year and there is also a revisionist feel about the national championship.

"There was certainly a new fervour percolating around the opening round of this year's series last weekend, while on the other side of the world the All Blacks were going through their struggles.

"While much of the test scene has an artificial edge about it these days, there is enough of a raw attraction about the national championship to pull in admirers."

Chris Rattue, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that time is up for the All Blacks' coaching team.

"All Black coach Graham Henry and his cohorts should be sacked. Enough is enough.

"It's time for the clean out, the night of the long knives, the great purge. You would have to ask serious questions over the quality of the NZRU executive and board as well, given their dalliances with the national provincial competition and staggering decision to reappoint Henry after the last World Cup.

"The Kremlin is full of arrogance and rot, and it's well past the time when this decaying monolith is forced to start all over again. The national game needs leaders with clear thought, charisma and a positive outlook not based on excuse-making for their failures. The All Black coaching and selection panel is the immediate problem to sort out."

The New Zealand Herald's Wynne Gray takes a look at an area of perceived All Black strength that has failed to materialise - scrum-half.

"Halfback was always going to be one of the All Black strengths this season. Separating the merits of Jimmy Cowan, Piri Weepu and Brendon Leonard loomed as the most difficult task as the trio made a break ahead of injured former international Andy Ellis.

"Six tests into the season it remains an awkward choice, but for different reasons. Cowan was dragged off soon after halftime in the latest defeat to the Boks before Weepu gave another middling replacement display while Leonard watched from the stand.

"After a sparky Super 14 season ended by a hamstring injury, Leonard has not recaptured that zip against Italy or the Boks in his twin starts. He looks like he needs a regular burst of national championship matchplay to recapture that potency.

"Cowan has been the preferred halfback in the last four Bledisloe Cup tests where he has been abrasive and constructive. He was subdued in the weekend against the Boks and, presumably under instructions, used a strange mixture of box kicks in his own territory."

Peter Bills, writing for The Belfast Telegraph, is pleased to see the understated Dan Carter back in action.

"As locations go for comebacks, it might have been sexier. North Harbour’s rugby ground just across the water from Auckland sees the return early this morning our time of a player who stands alone as certainly the most valuable in New Zealand and arguably in the entire game.

"Daniel Carter has not run onto a rugby ground to play a match since Saturday, January 31, when he represented the French club Perpignan against Stade Francais at the Stade de France. In the last minute of that club game, he tore an Achilles tendon.

"Thus, Carter’s return represents a significant event. Wearing the colours of his province Canterbury, Carter will seek to demonstrate that he is almost ready for a recall to the familiar jersey of the All Blacks.

"But what interests me most about Dan Carter is not what sort of a rugby player he is."

Inga Tuigamala believes that the altitude factor is overrated and the All Blacks will have no advantage at sea level in Durban, while he also thinks the restructure of the club game in New Zealand should reward playing performance and nothing else in The New Zealand Herald.

"The reality is that players in the modern age are so fit and professionally drilled that the decades-old belief that playing at altitude gave the Boks an advantage - and thus the visitors an edge on the return to sea level - is a myth.

"Nonetheless, the All Blacks will be delighted to put Bloemfontein behind them. Last week's result would have been a massive disappointment, especially as the team played very well for much of the game...

"So how did it come to this? How did the NZRU allow our domestic competition in our national game to become so muddled?

"You should know where you stand with rugby. You should know that if you win, you stay up; if
you lose you go down. Rugby is about what happens on the field - it's as simple as that. Instead the NZRU is allowing finances, stadium sizes and other non-rugby factors to determine who stays up and who goes down."

Rugby Heaven's Marc Hinton is of the opinion that while this year's All Blacks are far from a vintage crop, they are still a danger to those who face them as they bounce back.

"Should we be alarmed at the gormless errors, the tactical naïveté, the attacking limitations, the lineout lapses, the shortcomings in the maul and the just damn brainless rugby?

"Or should we instead applaud their competitiveness, their ability to dig themselves out of holes, their defensive solidity and their scrummaging strength and just figure, what the heck, the dice were loaded last weekend on the Highveld?

"My feeling is that right now the All Blacks have taken a step backwards. Injuries haven't helped, but the truth is they're just plain old off their game. Not a long way, mind, but far enough at this level for it to cost test matches."

Richard Loe is the latest voice to criticise the criteria for inclusion in New Zealand's new domestic structure in The New Zealand Herald.

"I am one of those people who think the new provincial rugby championship structure should be sorted out on the field.

"Either take out the bottom four from this year or, as a lot of people have suggested, the bottom four from last year. That would mean Auckland would miss out and would start next year in Division One, along with North Harbour, Counties Manukau and Manawatu.

"So what if it is a big union that has to take the slide? When I first started playing for Waikato, they were a second division side. That was the time, 1986, when Warren Gatland, Graeme Purvis and I began playing together and we beat North Harbour in the crucial play-off and went up to first division.

"I think it's good that the NZRU are finally getting to grips with the need to reduce the number of teams - pretty much everyone agrees that 14 is too many. But I don't agree with the criteria they have sorted out to find the top 10 who will make up the Premier Division. Population, player development, player and referee numbers, financial performance - what the hell have they got to do with it?"

Wynne Gray, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that the changes to New Zealand's national competition are based on the wrong criteria.

"The New Zealand Rugby Union will need to add a mathematician to their staff if they go through with plans to restructure the NPC.

"Probably a QC as well for the legal challenges but certainly some boffin, skilled in numerical calculations, to unravel all the extra criteria in deciding which four teams from this season will get the chop.

"In announcing the back to the future series from next year, chief executive Steve Tew admitted it would not be a simple case of the bottom quartet getting the flick, leaving the leading 10 teams to play in the renamed Premier division. No siree.

"Other issues would come into play to sort out a 10-team top division, a six-team division one and a 10-team Heartland competition."

July 22, 2009

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/22/2009

New Zealand's disdain for Graham Henry is baffling

Writing in The Independent, Peter Bills says he cannot fathom why Graham Henry is so unpopular in his homeland despite his impressive win/loss ratio as All Black coach.

When his contract as All Blacks coach was extended recently up to the 2011 World Cup, Graham Henry had steered New Zealand teams to victories in 57 out of the 66 matches in which he was in charge. That is a success ratio of 86.36 per cent. Last Saturday’s 22-16 victory over Australia at Eden Park, Auckland, edged that figure up to 86.56 per cent.

I can tell you that any country in the world would risk life and death in the rush to sign up a coach with that win ratio. But in New Zealand, some continue to sneer and for the life of me, I cannot understand why.

New Zealanders are obsessed with winning the Rugby World Cup. They haven’t done so since 1987 and their nerves are already half shredded at the prospect of mucking it up again, in 2011, especially as the tournament will be held in New Zealand.

But you can’t spend your whole working life focusing on some event two, three or four years away. What are those people saying? Are they suggesting that if the All Blacks lost every game under Henry between now and 2011 but won the World Cup, that would be OK? I find that argument banal.

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/22/2009

Errors erode Muliaina's AAA rating

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray believes that mistakes have crept into Mils Muliaina's game this season, but he still thinks he's the best in the business.

Mils Muliaina and mistakes. Until this season those issues seemed mutually exclusive but the All Black fullback seems to be undermining that theory.

He was in the clutch of defenders swatted off by French five-eighths Francois Trinh-Duc as he scored from a scrum play in Dunedin, outgunned by Cedric Heymans in his classy run in Wellington and swept aside by Berrick Barnes for the Wallabies' first try at Eden Park.

His value was emphasised when he was promoted to lead the All Blacks in Richie McCaw's injury absence. He had his problems leading an under-resourced group against the French and Italians and while he remains the best fullback in the land, Muliaina's contributions were not of his usual ultra-high class.

July 19, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/19/2009

Judicious subbing

Richard Loe, writing in The New Zealand Herald, has praise for Graham Henry's use of replacements after the All Blacks opened their Tri-Nations account with victory over Australia.

"This was a better test match by the All Blacks than the last three put together - but it was still a bit too close for comfort.

"There was a lot to be pleased with about the All Blacks, although a few individuals will be having a good look at themselves. Still, the commitment, intensity and defence in the second half were all very good.

"I didn't think there was a man of the match - it was too close and too unclear a game for that - and the Australians rattled us for the first 20 or 30 minutes, with Matt Giteau and Berrick Barnes looking very dangerous.

"I thought Graham Henry and the All Blacks came out ahead in an area I often criticise them for - substitutions. Instead of just subbing for the sake of it, the substitutions were tactically sound last night and I think they gave the All Blacks the edge."

July 16, 2009

Posted by Ruaidhri O'Connor on 07/16/2009

Sick fans urged to avoid Eden Park

Health officials in New Zealand are asking fans to take some strange precautions to avoid swine flu during Saturday's clash with Australia according Eloise Gibson in the New Zealand Herald.

Deputy Director of Public Health Fran McGrath says people should be considerate and watch the game on television if they think they might be sick, no matter how much they want to be at the park.

Healthy fans should not share beer and should use a hand sanitiser before tucking into a hot dog.

And while she acknowledged it might be difficult, Dr McGrath said people should stay a metre away from anyone who looked like they might be ill.

"If you have symptoms, don't go - you might feel well enough, but be considerate to everyone else.

"Try to stay one metre distant from anyone who's unwell, although it's a bit hard to tell."

She admitted the advice might sound "pious" for a rugby game, but it was important to use an alcohol-based hand gel because the flu virus could stay alive on surfaces such as hand rails.

July 12, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/12/2009

The player drain

Sean Fitzpatrick, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that the answer to New Zealand's player drain lies in private investment in their regions.

"One of the key issues for New Zealand rugby that worries me and a lot of people, is the player drain.

"There have been articles, debates and conversations wrestling with the difficulties presented by players wanting to leave domestic rugby to try their luck in Europe.

"The general perception - which I share - is that this is leading to a long-term negative impact on the depth and talent levels of players coming through to international level.

"There seem to be two views. The first is that we embrace market-force reality. The thinking is that players will go anyway, so it is better to legislate for the fact by allowing international selection for overseas players, and by recognising the value of their journey."

July 11, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 07/11/2009

A gambling man

Wynne Gray, writing for The New Zealand Herald, believes that the All Blacks should look to under-20 star Aaron Cruden to fill their vacant fly-half berth.

"The dearth of All Black first five-eighths is not surprising given the lack of quality playmakers in the Super 14.

"With Stephen Donald recovering from injury and reluctant practitioner Luke McAlister crocked, the national selectors whistled up Stephen Brett to join their squad this week as cover for the start of the Bledisloe Cup series.

"Good on Brett but he wasn't any raging success in the Super 14 and was not even an original choice this season for the Junior All Blacks. Using both he and Piri Weepu appears real band-aid material in the national squad.

"It might have been time for the All Black selectors to have taken a reasonable gamble and promoted Aaron Cruden, who was the captain and star of the under-20 junior world championships. With McAlister almost certain to recover before the test, it would have been a two-way street for the selectors and Cruden if he had been whistled into the national camp in Wellington."

July 8, 2009

Posted by Jean Smyth on 07/08/2009

Henry bites back

Despite the All Blacks struggling against France and Italy, the coach Graham Henry thinks that the media need to pay his side just a little bit more respect. Marc Hinton, writing on Rugby Heaven, says that Henry remains defiant as ever.

"It was classic Graham Henry, and as a gauge on the pressure the All Blacks coach is feeling ahead of the looming, and possibly treacherous, Tri Nations competition it said it all.

Henry had been doing his best to lay the charm on for the media as he went through a long chat with a group of us after naming his Tri Nations squad in Auckland. And, to be fair, he was succeeding as he patiently covered off our various queries in an extensive, and largely relaxed, chat.

He was patently honest - sometimes brutally so in the case of Liam Messam - and refreshingly forthright. His All Blacks had not travelled well through the June internationals and now there was a lot of hope being pinned on a handful of returning linchpins. Henry was not hiding from any of the realities he faces. Rightly so."

June 27, 2009

Posted by Jean Smyth on 06/27/2009

All Blacks look for solution at No. 10

New Zealand appear to have no real successor at this point to Dan Carter after a poor performance by Luke McAlister against Italy in Christchurch on Saturday. Duncan Johnstone, writing on Rugby Heaven, believes that McAlister's spell at Sale Sharks in the Premiership did him no favours at all in preparing him for a return to international rugby.

"Luke McAlister is living proof of how poor the English club rugby scene is.

Three appearances for the All Blacks have shown how slow he's been to get back up to the pace of test rugby off a stodgy English diet.It should be a concern that he still looks a long way off Tri-Nations and Bledisloe Cup standard and that of course is what now beckons after another average All Blacks performance, this time against Six Nations wooden spooners Italy.

Two years in the chill of Manchester with Sale seem to have stunned his instincts.

They say it's hard to compare the rugby of the two hemispheres but there have been a few people backing the north in recent weeks."

June 23, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 06/23/2009

One more time with feeling

Marc Hinton has an axe to grind with the All Blacks' lack of commitment to their anthem on Rugby Heaven.

"The All Blacks are a disgrace. And, no, I'm not talking about their performances in the just-completed two-test series against France. That I can forgive.

"I'm referring, of course, to their continued reluctance to sing their country's national anthem before a test match. Something has to be done about this and quick before what's left of our reputation is in complete tatters.

"It's not enough that visiting international rugby teams suffer indignities like having bottles hurled at them as they salute their fans in the stands and being assaulted in our streets as they make their way back to their hotels.

"But now when they glance across prior to belting out their own anthems with trademark gusto, pride and enthusiasm, they are confronted with a bunch of stony-faced All Blacks, their lips pursed tighter than a bank's coffers and their eyes all glazed over, as the words of God Defend New Zealand ring out around the stands, but not in centre-pitch."

June 10, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 06/10/2009

Captain Richie

The New Zealand Herald's, Daniel Gilhooly assesses the statistical worth of Richie McCaw as player and captain.

"Who will the All Blacks miss more - Richie McCaw the captain or Richie McCaw the player? The influence of world class flanker McCaw has become increasingly central to the All Blacks' cause, so much so that his injury absence from this month's two tests against France is enough on its own to give the tourists hope in the eyes of many.

"His No 7 jersey will be worn by Adam Thomson and the captaincy handed to fullback Mils Muliaina. Both will hope they can do a better job than those charged with replacing an injured McCaw last year, a period when the All Blacks lost their only tests of 2008, to South Africa in Dunedin and Australia in Sydney.

"McCaw's presence this week ahead of the first test at Carisbrook has been important in helping Thomson and the raw loose forwards find their feet, while carrying out test promotional work."

May 9, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 05/09/2009

Sayonara Rangi

It may be sayonara for Crusaders fullback Leon MacDonald, but we should not forget the extended contribution he has made to many levels in New Zealand rugby, according to Wynne Gray in the New Zealand Herald.

"Apart from being a quality fullback, MacDonald showed far more class than many of his All Black colleagues during a career which began in 2000 and, but for a heavy injury toll and Muliaina's class, would have accumulated far more than his 56 caps.

"There was never a whiff of scandal. There was mischief, as MacDonald had a fine sense of humour and a growing family to control his perspective, but never anything to suggest he was going to make the front pages of the Sunday papers instead of the back."

May 4, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 05/04/2009

Give Henry the All Blacks job but no free ticket to Cup

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Richard Loe believes the NZRU should give All Blacks coach Graham Henry a contract for just one more year and demand results.

"The only other contenders would be Ian Foster of the Chiefs and Colin Cooper of the Hurricanes and I don't think either would bring much to the job that isn't already there.

"Of course, Henry could have moved over and let Steve Hansen in but, let's face it, not much would change, if anything. The ship would be the same, just a different hand on the tiller."

May 3, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 05/03/2009

Top whistler admits alcohol led to downfall

Top rugby referee Steve Walsh has come clean on his battle with alcohol, admitting that personal issues are behind his departure from the sport. Carolyne Meng-Yee writed in the New Zealand Herald.

"I was definitely under the influence of alcohol. I was asked to leave, which I did, and pretty much as a consequence of that inquiry and me owning up to my mistakes, the rugby union wasn't prepared to give me another chance and yeah, the upshot is that I'm finished refereering in New Zealand."

Walsh said he had sought independent advice from Community Alcohol and Drug Services when he realised "I had a problem about how I drank".

"I take personal responsibility for what I did and it was unacceptable. I'm continuing to get help and I need to if I want to get back into any walk of life, really. I need to make sure that these things don't happen again because it will interfere with my professional life, I'm sure."

May 2, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 05/02/2009

Henry's the last decent coach in our cupboard

It's time for the New Zealand Rugby Union to re-appoint coach Graham Henry and avoid any charade - so says Wynne Gray in the New Zealand Herald.

	All Blacks coach Graham Henry has confirmed he want to continue in the role beyond this year © Getty Images

"There is no one of Graham Henry's calibre, yet, within this country and unless the New Zealand Rugby Union thinks Eddie Jones, Nick Mallett or other experienced coaches who might understand rugby in this hemisphere are interested in the job, then they should get on with it and ink in Henry's name.

"It has come as no surprise that Henry wants to continue to coach the All Blacks through to the next World Cup. Claiming the Webb Ellis Cup is in the unrequited column on his rugby CV as it has been the festering sore on the nation's rugby credibility since that initial triumph way back in 1987.

"There are a few other asterisks beside Henry's coaching credentials - such as the Lions trip to Australia in 2001 and his exit from Wales - but he is a hugely successful coach and the All Blacks have only suffered eight losses in the 63 tests since Henry took on the job in 2004. His success rate, endurance, experience and knowledge continues to be top class."

April 28, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 04/28/2009

Get Carter

The New Zealand Herald's Chris Rattue believes that Auckland rugby and the Blues need Dan Carter to rejuvenate their fortunes.

"But the whole Blues set-up would benefit from the introduction of a world-class playmaker schooled in the great Robbie Deans' regime. Hopefully, Carter would teach the Blues a thing or two, rather than the other way around. Watching their pathetic capitulation against the Reds at Albany, there must be serious questions over whether discipline in their camp is what it should be.

"There were a couple of strong performances - with Anthony Boric and Rudi Wulf catching the eye - but the overall effort was abysmal. They are a team without a mantra, who only have good days when the chips fall their way.

"Whether the Blues make the semifinals or not - and you would have to doubt that they will - their progress is not encouraging. Pat Lam needs a major rethink. If only that future could include Dan Carter. The trouble is, Carter may not regard trying to turn around an unruly side as the best way of preparing for the All Blacks, or enjoying his rugby. He may decide to stick with the devilishly good and stable franchise that he knows, rather than the Auckland devil that he doesn't."

April 27, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 04/27/2009

Rugby needs a professional makeover

Peter Jessop is not impressed by the latest Super 14 action - read his latest column in the New Zealand Herald.

"I tried to watch the Super 14 at the weekend - I really tried hard - but the lack of professionalism is a big turn-off.

"Never mind the confusion over the different varieties of rules and the different interpretations since the advent of the ELVs, the game would be vastly improved if the players managed the simple process of passing and catching the ball, holding on to it in the tackle and then setting it properly for quick recycling."

April 26, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 04/26/2009

NZRU must find a way to stick with South Africa

Richard Loe fears that the rugby public in New Zealand do not quite understand the major dilemma facing the game in that part of the world, with the inability of the Sanzar partners to agree on a new Super 14 format. Read his thoughts in the New Zealand Herald.

"Whatever happens, the NZRU have to find a way to keep the South Africans. A competition involving island and/or Japanese teams doesn't do it for me and I don't think it will do it for fans either. If that's the case, you can only wonder how much TV will be prepared to pay for a competition of lesser interest.

"It's all very well for Steve Tew to say that rugby is the leading sport viewed on Sky. So it bloody should be. But the plain fact is that numbers watching on TV are shrinking - and you wonder what TV negotiator is going to pay more for a sport where fewer people are turning up to grounds and where audiences on the box are reducing."

April 25, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 04/25/2009

We deserve grounds suited to rugby

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Wynne Gray believes that too many of the country's stadiums disappoint fans.

"In this era when we are bombarded by sport on our television screens and given tremendous views and replays of the action, it does not make optical, financial or time-consuming sense to regularly visit those dual-purpose venues to watch rugby.

"Of the grounds being used in 2011, those in Hamilton, New Plymouth, Invercargill and North Harbour will be the best suited to watching games of rugby. But it remains a great shame that this rugby-obsessed nation, one that pointed its nose at the 2011 World Cup and won the hosting rights, will still be without a stadium to stand alongside the All Blacks global rugby ranking."

April 21, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 04/21/2009

All Blacks contenders and pretenders

Six weeks out from decision time there must be an air of contentment among the travelling triumvirate that are the All Blacks selectors, according to Marc Hinton on Rugby Heaven.

"From what I can work out, sifting through the in-form and the infirm, the selectors are pretty well placed wherever they look, save for tighthead prop and possibly depth at No 10.

"The looming decision on Luke McAlister's eligibility - the selectors want him in the mix, the NZRU must decide whether to break their own rule - is potentially decisive, with the returning utility solving two problems at once with his ability to slot in at 10 or 12.

"But all things considered it ain't the worst position to be in for Father Ted and co. Especially given the serious exodus of talent that departed these shores after the last World Cup. That's a testament to the talent production line that is New Zealand rugby, and also to the work done since by the NZRU in retaining our best players."

April 12, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 04/12/2009

Stock-taking in New Zealand

Richeard Loe, writing in The New Zealand Herald, believes that this season could be crucial for the All Blacks' long-term development.

"In what is a tough season for New Zealand Super 14 franchises because of the lack of depth in our rugby, 2009 is an important year for building up our stocks again.

"With so many top players missing, there has been an opportunity for those younger or less experienced to stand up - and quite a few have. The first who comes to mind is Crusaders' lock Isaac Ross, who had a few games for the Highlanders as a draft player. His mobility and ball skills are starting to stand out and, as he gets more experience, so he will work up the physical side of his game. One to watch, I reckon.

"If you're talking out-and-out rookies - guys who never played Super 14 rugby before - I'd mention Karl Lowe (Hurricanes), James McGougan (Chiefs), Colin Slade (Crusaders), Chris Lowrey (Blues) and Israel Dagg (Highlanders)."

Posted by Huw Baines on 04/12/2009

Perfect 10

Stuart Barnes meets Harlequins fly-half Nick Evans to talk drop-goals, the Heineken Cup and the All Blacks in The Sunday Times.

"The Harlequins supporters owe Daniel Carter a sincere vote of thanks. The talents of the world’s best fly-half, more than the temptations of hard money, were the prime factor in convincing Nick Evans to change All Black for multicoloured. Had Evans stuck with black, Harlequins would almost certainly not have been at home this afternoon, in with a fantastic chance of making the Heineken Cup semi-finals. Evans produced the greatest four minutes of controlled rugby I have been privileged to see against Stade Français; four pulsating minutes in the wind and rain that opened the way to qualification and home advantage.

"Had he been the All Blacks’ regular fly-half there would be no Harlequins versus Leinster. “Why did I quit the All Blacks? I was probably not playing as much as I wanted to play for New Zealand through no fault of mine or anyone else’s. I just had a guy who was the best in the world in front of me. I asked myself if I would play more All Black rugby and the answer was, probably not. Did I want to stay in New Zealand and play Super 14 for five or six years or challenge myself by coming here, especially to a team where I was the only New Zealander?”

"The answer was a glorious affirmative. His and the club’s ambitions “just about lay on top of each other” when he discussed the prospect with Dean Richards. Ironically, had he stayed in New Zealand he would have had a clear run at the No 10 shirt for the rest of this calendar year with Carter injured. “Yes, Murphy’s Law, isn’t it? But the first thing I will say is I have no regrets at all. I did not make the decision lightly and knew it would pretty much end my involvement with the All Blacks for a while, which was tough, very tough.”

April 9, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 04/09/2009

Lamenting lost art of rucking

Put your boots near bodies now and you are inviting a date with the judiciary or at least a trip to the cooler, according to Wynne Gray in the New Zealand Herald.

"Former New Zealand whistler Paddy O'Brien has been with the International Rugby Board for the last four years managing referees, their workload, law changes and research into the game.

"He believes rucking would solve a number of issues if players learned those skills again. He laments the way players kill the ball because they know they will not be rucked. O'Brien is very clear, though, about the merits of rucking compared to maverick acts of stamping, stomping, kicking or tap-dancing. Law 16 was very precise."

March 26, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 03/26/2009

NZRU likely has a game plan for latest convert

Perhaps the most attractive ingredient about new new Otago signing Michael Witt was that the former rugby league star qualifies to play for New Zealand in November, according to Wynne Gray in the New Zealand Herald.

"Many league players have switched to rugby but not many have successfully made the transition to top-drawer five-eighths.

Matt Rogers had some success with the Wallabies but he found he was better suited to fullback, Henry Paul ended up more in midfield with England while Berrick Barnes also has a much better grasp of the game at second five-eighths.

"Only Witt understands the whole package of reasons why he has made the switch. We can only guess. If he backs himself, as he clearly does, he may look around and wonder if he has a chance of making a squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup."

March 20, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 03/20/2009

Rugby is at a crossroads

Writing in The New Zealand Herald, Inga Tuigamala bemoans the lack of action from the NZRU in the recent SANZAR disputes.

"The Sanzar crisis is a major testing ground for the credentials of our top rugby administrators. Rugby is at a serious crossroads and by my reckoning, is simply in survival mode at the moment. It needs people with a vision and the ability to revamp the way it is run or else I fear the game many of us have treasured is in major trouble.

"The current Sanzar impasse is indicative of the problems. South Africa is sticking to its guns, wanting an even earlier start to the Super 14 seasons. Australia and New Zealand want a later start, and there are other issues of dispute. It's high time that the NZRU was much more assertive on the international stage."

March 8, 2009

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 03/08/2009

Can NZRU legally deny McAlister?

Gregor Paul believes the New Zealand Rugby Union's existing rule about eligibility belongs to a different age and has been made to look awkward and ill-conceived. Read his thoughts in the New Zealand Herald.

"There is something the New Zealand Rugby Union board will have to decide if they refuse to make Luke McAlister immediately eligible for the All Blacks - would that be legal?

"It doesn't seem so. A collective agreement is in place for all New Zealand's professional players. Could it really be legal to have 140 players employed on one basis and McAlister on another? Wouldn't it be a restraint of trade if he was told he can't immediately play for the All Blacks when he returns in May? And wouldn't it be considered discriminatory to brand him ineligible?"

February 22, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 02/22/2009

Rugby's a cruel sport

Richard Loe runs the rule over the New Zealand Super 14 sides after a poor weekend for the Chiefs, Crusaders and Blues in The New Zealand Herald.

"Rugby's a cruel sport. The second match wasn't much kinder. Being a rowing champs, there were plenty of Waikato folk in the bar.

"I can tell you this with some certainty: when things go wrong Waikato fans start pointing the finger. They start pointing the finger at the coaching and at the selection. There is no doubt the Chiefs have the personnel - they fronted up pretty well against the Crusaders in round one - but for whatever reason they seem unable to get the best out of themselves.

"It is almost unbelievable that they couldn't put away a side which was disintegrating in front of their eyes. The Waratahs had fallen to pieces but the Chiefs could not finish them off. There has to be a real worry about the tight five after that set-piece display."

February 16, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 02/16/2009

Merit panel noble but flawed

With the Super 14 season underway Spiro Zavos calls for the referee's merit panel to be rethought on rugbyheaven.com.au.

"In an email exchange with the journalist D.D. McNicoll, the retiring High Court judge Michael Kirby revealed that when he was a student at Fort Street High School he'd been a rugby union referee: "I refereed many games and could not sympathise with the advantage rule."

"This comment goes to the real issue of why SANZAR's noble experiment for this year's Super 14 tournament of an inaugural nine-referee panel based on merit rather than nationality won't work. The merit panel includes four South Africans, three Australians and two New Zealanders.

"The South African referees and the Australian Stuart Dickinson are, in my opinion, way ahead of the other merit referees in experience and quality. This raises the issue of what standard applies to the merit panel concept."

February 11, 2009

Posted by Huw Baines on 02/11/2009

Mitchell walking on eggshells

Writing in The New Zealand Herald, Chris Rattue vents about the bizarre events to transpire between Western Force coach John Mitchell and his employers.

"John Mitchell will be walking on egg shells at the Western Force, but the crunching sound you might hear will be coming from the grinding of Mitchell's teeth.

"Having decided that the former All Black coach was acting like a bad-mannered bull in a china shop, the Force decided to keep him on board in Perth but with the proviso that he mend his moody ways and stop knocking the tea cups over.

"Tricky business that, and I'll wager the crockery won't still be all in one piece by the end of the season. Mitchell has yet to be extensively quoted on this outcome, although he hardly sounds delighted.

"Coaches are like the rest of us. They are what they are, warts and all. To so publicly chip away at the bits of Mitchell that the Force don't like must seem like a stab through the heart to the coach. What other sport would dare manufacture such a bizarre and heavily regulated bob-each-way solution?"

December 28, 2008

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 12/28/2008

Brad Thorn: An unconventional path

At the age of 36, All Black enforcer Brad Thorn is showing no signs of slowing down and is looking forward to the next chapter of an unconventional career that has taken in both rugby codes. Barry Waldron writes in the Independent on Sunday.

"The All Black jersey had always held a strong allure for Thorn, even though he spent most of his youth in Brisbane after his family relocated from Mosgiel (outside of Dunedin) where he was born, while he was young.

"He might have largely grown up as an Australian, but the dream of one day playing for the All Blacks went with him, and remained, even after his career took off in rugby league. It was the jersey, and not the size of the contract, that brought Thorn back to New Zealand in 2001."

December 22, 2008

Posted by Huw Baines on 12/22/2008

Maori's loss is All Blacks' gain

Writing on rugbyheaven.co.nz. Duncan Johnstone is pleased to see the Junior All Blacks returning to the Pacific Nations Cup.

"Common sense has prevailed with the Junior All Blacks getting preference again over New Zealand Maori as the No 2 side in our national game's order of merit. Don't get me wrong, there's a place for the Maori side in New Zealand rugby as they have shown with some outstanding performances down the years and their strong contributions in many areas.

"But that shouldn't come at the expense of the All Blacks and that's exactly what happened this year when the Maori side replaced the Junior All Blacks for the IRB's Pacific Nations tournament.

"The All Blacks coaches, facing a season of rebuilding following a mass exodus after last year's World Cup, were severely limited in their options in the heart of the season."

December 21, 2008

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 12/21/2008

Tackling the credit crunch

The New Zealand Maori have gone, the Australian provincial championship has gone and now European clubs are sweating. Gregor Paul details how the downturn is hitting rugby in the New Zealand Herald.

"Hovering in the background is the bigger worry that all this bad news is descending just months before the Sanzar alliance begins negotiations with News Corporation about extending broadcast rights.

"Not that it's much of a consolation but the Southern Hemisphere can perhaps find solace that their plight is not as bad as their colleagues in the north."

December 18, 2008

Posted by Huw Baines on 12/18/2008

A year to remember for McCaw and Co

Writing in the The New Zealand Herald, Daniel Gilhooly reviews a successful year for the All Blacks and their talismanic skipper Richie McCaw.

"McCaw's playing influence is enormous - he won 26 of the 28 games he played at all levels in 2008 - but his leadership has also grown.

"Both elements were missing in the last-minute 28-30 loss to the Springboks at Carisbrook, ending New Zealand's world record 30-test winning run on home soil. Two weeks later the Wallabies enjoyed a thumping 34-19 win in Sydney, an emphatic result that prompted a rousing "told you so" from Robbie Deans' supporters.

"Crusaders legend and new Australian coach Deans, they said, should never have been passed over for Henry's job. A stung All Blacks delivered the perfect response a week later in Auckland, with McCaw's return and a renewed emphasis on kicking dealing a 39-10 reversal on the Wallabies."

December 16, 2008

Posted by Huw Baines on 12/16/2008

Farewell John Drake

Chris Rattue mourns the loss of former All Blacks prop John Drake, of one of the great and good of the game, in The New Zealand Herald.

"As an Auckland and All Black prop, he had been a quiet revolutionary. He had a touch more flair than the ordinary tighthead of the day, yet among that 1987 lineup he was a bulwark in playing contribution and personality rather than a flamboyant star.

"Drake was marginally ahead of a time he had no intention of being part of as player. He quietly drifted out of the game in his late 20s, after just eight momentous tests. This in itself hinted at a maverick personality - to give away the black jersey was certainly not the norm.

"I never quite got from him why he quit the game early, but suspect that he knew he had reached a pinnacle and - being rather worldly-wise and not rugby obsessed - wanted to get on with life."

December 13, 2008

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 12/13/2008

Who will be an All Black in 1,000 days?

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Steve Deane gazes into his crystal ball as the 1,000 day countdown to RWC'11 kicks off.

"Much attention is being lavished upon the number 1000 - the days until the next Rugby World Cup. And a lot of thought is being given to the tournament's other big numbers: the millions of dollars to be spent and then hopefully recouped; the hundreds of thousands of spectators the games will draw; the tens of thousands of asparagus rolls to be consumed during corporate hospitality binges.

"But the numbers that really matter are 15 and one. The first represents the players who will be tasked with restoring this country's national rugby pride, the second the monkey they'll be desperately trying to prise from their backs."

December 3, 2008

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 12/03/2008

Don't get carried away by the Slam

Chris Rattue warns New Zealand not to get carried away with their recent successes - read his thoughts in the New Zealand herald

"Trust the faint-hearted and faintly ridiculous in this rugby land to turn the All Blacks 2008 campaign into something that it wasn't and obliterate the disasters of 2007 in the process. Hold firm, you frantic lot, and don't let the standards drop.

"No sooner had the All Blacks dispensed with the sinking rose of England, and in some cases even before they had taken on Borthwick's Bumblers, than redemption was being bestowed upon Graham Henry with scant regard for the facts of the World Cup shambles. If climbing the world's highest peak had been as easy as winning the Hillary Shield, then Sir Edmund would have needed no more than a picnic lunch and a pair of sturdy sandshoes to haul himself into history."

November 30, 2008

Posted by Graham Jenkins on 11/30/2008

All Blacks unconvincing in final outing

New Zealand fans should not get too carried away with their latest achievement according to Peter Bills. Writing in the New Zealand Herald, he finds cause for concern.

"But before the Land of the Long White Cloud drowns in a sea of celebration, it might be worth pointing out a few home truths. Yesterday's win at Twickenham over a hopelessly ill-disciplined England side confirmed that this All Black team is still a work in progress. England, even managing to play most of the match with 14 men, still stayed in touch with the strangely dysfunctional All Blacks for virtually an hour.

"The New Zealanders looked surprisingly vulnerable to pressure and a side willing to play in their faces. For sure, the dam eventually broke. But this was far from the consummate, commanding performance we had expected from the All Blacks at the end of their rugby year."

November 9, 2008

Posted by Huw Baines on 11/09/2008

Thanks for playing, Wayne Barnes

Gregor Paul offers his assessment of the All Blacks' victory over Scotland at Murrayfield in the New Zealand Herald, and it seems that referee Wayne Barnes still won't be receiving any Christmas cards from the Kiwis.

"The All Blacks will leave Edinburgh having failed to answer some key questions.

"They got the job done in terms of producing the desired result but it was only half a performance. The enterprise and resistance of the Scots was a big factor in diluting the quality of the All Blacks' work, as was referee Wayne Barnes who really should be thanked for his contribution and then encouraged into a new career - one that doesn't afford him any authority."

October 13, 2008

Posted by Huw Baines on 10/13/2008

Talk is cheap

Writing in the New Zealand Herald, Paul Lewis chats to Martin Snedden, CEO of Rugby New Zealand 2011.

"Snedden is fond of the Beijing Olympics comparison. Multi-billion dollar facilities, impeccable organisation and coordination, a showcase of talent and effort - but no atmosphere; no connection with visitors; and therefore no real sense of involvement; all preventing it from being labelled one of the great Olympics. Part of the plan to provide the festival and the stadium of four million is to have different regions host different teams. To do even that, however, takes gargantuan coordination. It's too big for one centralised body to pull off.

"So Snedden and his team are devolving responsibility to 20 RWC regions, involving local councils, venues, tourism operators - anyone who needs to be involved in a region's efforts to host teams and the visitors who come to watch them and experience this country. Snedden does this job largely by talking. And talking. And talking."