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Surely only the rugby-blind and the rabid patriots (or the blind patriots) would today begrudge the All Blacks waking up as champions of the world.
Yes, it was in some ways ironic that the All Blacks scored their only try of the final off a set piece (beautifully worked as it was), and not one of their regular 60-metre dazzlers. But the All Blacks deserve the title not just for the rugby they played at the World Cup, but especially for what they have produced over the past four years, even the past eight or ten years.
I still feel the Tri-Nations is in many ways a much tougher tournament to win than the World Cup. You can get a favourable draw at the World Cup, and knockout rugby does strange things to the psyche. But there is nowhere to hide in the Tri-Nations. The top three teams in the world fly back and forth and go head-to-head. The All Blacks have won 10 out of 16 Tri-Nations titles. Coach Graham Henry has won 88 Tests and lost 15 for a winning percentage of 85% in all Tests. Now is that dominant, or what?
In short, you measure yourself against the four giants of the game – New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, and France. Sometimes England. Soon we might be able to add Wales. To me, the All Blacks were world champions long before the 2011 World Cup, but they did need to finally claim the Webb Ellis Cup to officially and without argument claim that title.
Over the past decade or so, the All Blacks have lifted the standards of the game. They have played with width, dash and marvellous skill. They have created tries where speed of mind and speed of body did the perfect two-step. They could stretch you left and right across the field, attack you with a dagger from the back or dance down the middle. All of which of course would be possible only if their pack could hurt you at the collisions, tackle you back, dominate you at scrum time and lineout time, and steal your ball at the breakdown.
And then there was “DC”.
One of the most moving moments of the post-match celebrations in Auckland was not only seeing Dan Carter on the field, but hearing Richie McCaw, the warrior himself, say “we did this for DC as well.”
Dan Carter is the complete No 10, the conductor to end all conductors. And it was under his baton that the All Blacks could make the kind of sweet music they did.
Dan Carter can kick high and low and long, he can grubber, he can run, he can step, he can feint, he can jink, he can create, he can offload, he can see space, he can tackle. Other than that, the guy’s a pretty good flyhalf.
There were other resonant memories from this World Cup. I have saluted Victor Matfield in a previous column. Wales played with a zest and a spirit that would have gone down well in the valleys. France stood tall and made it a cracker of a final (Bon travail, Monsieur Dusautoir!). Craig Joubert was excellent, firm and calm in both the semi and the final. Best of all, he also let both games flow. David Pocock, Kurtley Beale and Frans Steyn were my top three scene-stealers.
And the Springboks? Well we’ve all discussed their campaign and style of play and John Smit and Peter de Villiers to death. It was very revealing to see Frans Steyn tell Hanlie Retief that he enjoys playing his rugby in France a lot more because there “you not so scared to play outside the structures”. So my hope remains that a Frans Steyn (the one who steps and lands monster kicks), a Johan Goosen, a Elton Jantjies, a Juan de Jongh and a Gio Aplon get a fair shake from the new Bok coach.
In fact, pause a moment and tell me what you think of this backline: 15-Gio Aplon 14-Lwazi Mvovo, 13-Juan de Jongh 12- Frans Steyn, 11-Bryan Habana, 10-Patrick Lambie, 9-Francois Hougaard. Backed of course, with the likes of Bismarck du Plessis, Andries Bekker, Gurthrö Steenkamp, Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Burger in the pack (but no Pierre Spies please!). As they say down here in the Cape, Spies is las!
But that’s next year’s business. Right now it’s time to acknowledge the All Blacks as champions of the world. And don’t be too surprised if you hear the birds in the trees sing with a New Zealand accent this morning. They’re just practising a duet with their Kiwi cousins.
p Ian Smit is the sports editor of the Cape Times and a former rugby writer of the paper.
