Well what can I say huh, first and foremost congratulations to the All Blacks. 24 years is a long time to wait to be the champions again of our national sport. I wasn't born in 87 when the ABs first did it, I wasn't even in New Zealand yet in 1991, and 1995 was a heartbreak story I only learnt as I grew older. If you readers don't mind, I'm going to go down memory lane a little here to reminiscence on all my past experiences of the All Blacks. Hold on, it really is going to be a long story. I warned you.
My first experience of any rugby was in 1999 when I was still in Primary School when the All Blacks played France in the RWC Semi-Finals. Before this, my only connection with the ABs was the fact that we were taught the Haka over and over again (which is awesome, because the words are still stuck in my head to this day). I vividly remember our PE teacher taking our class to the library to watch the Semi Final live (or maybe it was a replay, who knew back in the day), and still remember the anguish on his face when we lost that game. I wasn't a full blown supporter after that, but I sure was from 2000 onwards, as I began to follow anything rugby that I could find on TV and Teletext (yes I'm sure you all remember Teletext). From the all-conquering Crusaders in the Super 12 (wasn't even 14, let alone 15), to the undefeated Auckland team in the NPC, I was watching rugby every weekend back when they were still free on air on TV3. The one game that truly got me hooked into the All Blacks however wasn't actually a win...but a loss.
New Zealand vs Australia, back when Australia was still a powerhouse in rugby union. Captained by the retiring John Eels and led by halfback George Gregan, Australia were a serious threat at the turn of the millennium. The All Blacks were relying on our greats such as first five Andrew Merhtens, halfback Justin Marshall, fullback Christian Cullen, winger Jonah Lomu and Doug Howlett and many more All Black greats. If I remember correctly it was a Bledisloe Cup game, and Australia hadn't relinquished the Cup in a very long time. In one of the most nerve wrecking game of rugby I've seen even to this day, the ABs battled back from a seemingly hopeless position to almost snatch victory, only for Anton Oliver to bomb the line-out at the death right next to the Australian touchline. Despite the loss that's when I became a true fan of the ABs, the Men in Black who never gave up gave more than they could give after 80+ exasperating minutes.
Roll on 2003 and by that time Carlos Spencer was the new face of first five eigth, with his famous "Banana Kick". Coached by John Mitchell the hopes were obviously high as usual at the World Cup, however we fell to the home team and in fact were well beaten...by Australia. This began a new era of All Blacks rugby with a number of senior All Blacks retiring, and ushered in several new All Blacks who everyone come to know: Daniel Carter and Richie McCaw. I still remember sitting in my new house watching that Semi-Final by myself (did no one watch the rugby back then or something) and looked on dejected as the All Blacks simply couldn't match the Wallabies. Though joy fell the next week when England ( or rather Jonny Wilkinson) knocked them over to claim their maiden World Cup.
Throughout the years between 2003 and 2007, the All Blacks were simply undefeatable. However the strategy implemented by new coach Graham Henry was sparking controversy, dividing the nation of rugby fans. Henry's masterminded plan was the Rotation Policy, whereby selecting a huge squad for the tours such as the Grand Slam tour and Tri Nations, he was able to change a side almost entirely every game. The up side of this was to keep everyone fresh and not fatigued, whereas the down side was that players didn't get to gel and was simply to stop-start for some fans liking. In addition, it got to a point where the question was asked: "Which is our strongest team?" and nobody knew the answer. In any case, the All Blacks achieved their first Grand Slam in some time by defeating all the Northern Hemisphere teams, and walked into the 2007 Rugby World Cup with massive confidence. We all knew what happened when we met our favourite team in the knockouts again, France.
That morning was truly forgettable, making the effort of waking up at some ungodly time of 5am or something, the nation witnessed our worst and most embarrassing cup defeat yet. The rotation policy had failed miserably, with the All Blacks seemingly not playing to their potential as individuals, nor as a team. The faces of a distraught Dan Carter and other All Blacks on the bench as the full time siren sounded were hard to bear...but it was even harder when realization kicked in that it would be 4 years later before our chance came again. I still remember making the trip to Church that Sunday morning, and the pastors exact words in his joke: "I suppose more people were praying in France than in New Zealand this morning!". Maybe so pastor..maybe so. But the aftermath was brutal, Graham Henry's head was called to turn, with Robbie Deans the favourite to take over the All Blacks position. Deans was a man who had led the Crusaders to countless Super 12/14 titles in his career, and looked certain to takeover the ABs coaching staff. Surprisingly to many rugby fans dismay, Graham Henry was retained as coach, and perhaps as an "up-yours" gesture to the NZRU, Robbie Deans then accepted the head coaching job of the Wallabies. The next chapter of the All Blacks had just begun.
I was going to write a whole section of the Graham Henry vs Robbie Deans saga but then I saw the time and I still wanted to get through my other blogs...so I'll cut to the end quicker! Anyway, throughout 2007 to 2011 Graham Henry held the sword over Robbie Deans, winning almost every single one of the All Blacks vs Wallabies encounters, proving many critics they may have not been so correct afterall. However, all these wins would be fruitless if they could not achieve their one and only goal, to win the Rugby World Cup. I stopped watching the rugby this year (simply because I couldn't) and didn't see the rise of several players. But the ones I was most excited about were still Zac Guiflord, Israel Dagg and Aaron Cruden. Simply because I remember seeing Guilford and Dagg breaking out onto the local scene for Hawkes Bay, while Cruden was making headlines at the age of 20 for a Manawatu team that had so little to cheer about. I remember thinking how exciting they well, but even back then I didn't really think they would make the All Blacks so soon. Simply put, the ABs headed into 2011 full of confidence. The team was stacked with the "world's bests" in many positions, especially Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ma'a Nonu and Conrad Smith. Not to mention the former Bulldogs Rugby League star Sonny Bill Williams, who was probably the most super of super-subs I had really ever seen. The rest, ladies and gentlemen, is history.
So not being in New Zealand to celebrate with everyone truly hurt, it might sound stupid but seeing everyones happy Facebook updates and their photos made me extremely jealous. In the end however it doesn't matter does it? The ABs are 2 time RWC Champions, and the third time will come sooner, rather than later. Congratulations again ABs!
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