All Blacks' critics need to get real
Listening to some media comments this week, you would think the All Blacks are in the worst streak of their 119-year run in Test rugby.
How many times have news bulletins talked of the fourth place on the World Rugby rankings described as 'the lowest all-time ranking' by the All Blacks?
The key words there are 'all-time'.
It is impossible to apply 'all-time' and 'ranking' in the same sentence in this instance.
The rankings have only been around since 2003 – the All Blacks played their first Test 100 years earlier than that.
If people think things have never been worse, they need to learn some history.
The most recent example would be the 1998 season when they lost five in a row!
That included all four games in the Tri Nations!
Or, you could go back to 1949 when six Test matches were lost, including four in South Africa.
For a one-off exposure by opponents, the 1937 third Test loss to South Africa at Eden Park is still hard to beat. And the loss to England in their four-game tour hastily arranged to make up for the cancellation of 1973's Springbok tour is up there. England couldn't beat Taranaki, Wellington and Canterbury, but they ended several All Black careers with their win.
You could also throw in the 5-20 loss to Australia in 1964, the 19-24 loss to France at Eden Park in 1979, their first win in New Zealand. That was followed by a 6-12 loss to Australia – the game that revitalised the Bledisloe Cup. It was a game where some Aussie players found out what the Bledisloe Cup was -they'd only heard about it but never seen it.
The 1935-36 team didn't enjoy the best of tours of Britain, Ireland and France. They lost to Swansea, drew with Ulster and lost to Wales and England.
The 1934 All Blacks lost to one of the great Australian sides in their first Test and drew the second, and the 1929 All Blacks lost all three Tests in Australia.
It's a fair bet that what the All Blacks are going through at the moment is painful. But not as painful as some of those earlier sides experienced. Jack Manchester, the 1935-36 captain reportedly said, after the Swansea loss, not to tell New Zealanders they had been beaten by schoolboys.
So Sam Cane's side is far from being at an 'all-time low.'
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And while having a grizzle, why do newspapers and other news outlets claim that every All Black who features in any news item outside of rugby is referred to as a ‘great?’
Some of the players mentioned are nowhere near the category associated with greatness.
Similarly, there have been comments that Silver Lake will have been thinking twice about their investment.
Pardon me! The interest they have is in the legacy side of the All Blacks’ brand. That takes more than a couple of seasons to evolve.
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While fans have every right to be concerned when things are not going as well as they would like, it's worth remembering that they have lived through the greatest era of All Blacks rugby.
They have been exposed to some of the greatest players to have appeared in the black jersey and who played at a consistency that all other nations could only dream about.
Yes, they set the highest possible standards over a long period. Yes, they had once-in-a-lifetime players like Richie McCaw and Dan Carter.
They were backed-up by others who would challenge for places in the Valhalla XV, and demonstrated skills that negotiated the ever-changing dogs' breakfasts that the rugby lawbook resembles. Yet, they still succeeded.
Winning consecutive Rugby World Cups was a measure of their greatness.
So, while realising the standards they exhibited, it is worth remembering the players' quality.
Covid's impact cannot be discounted. The disjointed programme and availability of players has prevented the All Blacks from bedding in key combinations.
And, finally, it is a tribute to the greatness the side achieved in their greatest era that all other self-respecting nations lifted themselves to somewhere near that level to compete.
Things can't be all that bad. The challenge for other nations is reach the consistency which allowed the All Blacks to be ranked, at least, in the top four nations since 2009. How many others can match that?