The Rugby World Cup is less than a month away and, whether we like it or not, very soon the nation, or the rugby-obsessed members, will be gripped with Rugby World Cup fever as the All Blacks battle to reclaim the William Webb Ellis Cup.
There is no denying our obsession with
the oval ball. It is an intrinsic part of our national psyche. Perhaps it's because as a relatively young nation, sport has played a major part in shaping our national identity.
The sport psychologists will be working overtime, with the All Blacks squad acutely aware that they have the expectations of a nation on their shoulders. The nation's behaviour in the past has given them every reason to feel under pressure. Who could forget the public reaction when we lost the semifinals to Australia in 1991? The nation virtually went into mourning and even worse was the vilification of the coach John Hart when the All Blacks lost in 1999.
However, it does seem odd that for a team that is the best in the world, we have been unable to win the most coveted rugby trophy since 1987.
It doesn't bear contemplating what will happen if the All Blacks fail. There will be calls for heads to roll, a mass sacking of players, coaches and administrators, probably even an independent commission of inquiry, given the impact it will have on our nation. Winning often brings out the best and sadly, losing the worst.
It all sounds rather dire and immature but let's not kid ourselves about the obsession we have with rugby. You only have to look at the sports pages of any local newspaper. Every one is dominated by rugby of some description. If it isn't the local ITM derby it's about being able to provide the nation with virtually every possible snippet of information you have ever wanted to know about the current All Blacks squad.
A couple of weeks ago Nick Willis became the fastest New Zealander over 1500m, finishing third in a world-class race meeting in Monaco. He broke his own record later and Nikki Hamblin broke the New Zealand women's 1500m record. Adrian Blincoe also ran a record-qualifying time for the 5000m to qualify for the 2012 Olympics. These are world-class results on a world-class stage by individuals.
Yes, it made the news, but only fleetingly before we returned to more rugby. I think Hori BOP has had more coverage than any of these world-class athletes.
So much of our short history has been defined by sport. Who will ever forget the "cricket under-arm incident" against Australia or the 1981 Springboks tour?
The country was divided as protesters clashed violently with police and rugby fans, and the nation became polarised over whether politics and sport should mix. For the first, but not the last, time in my life I saw the ugly side of sport.
Winning is good and when New Zealand wins at anything the country is a brighter place to be, albeit temporarily, people smile, and stop to talk about the success. The nation celebrates together and we forget the real problems for a few weeks.
Given the difficult year some New Zealanders have faced, particularly those in Christchurch, this Rugby World Cup is an opportunity for all New Zealanders to get behind the All Blacks, to showcase our country to the rest of the world, to give all the visitors to our shores the experience of a lifetime.
And to remember it's just a game. Rich, coming from me. My motto when I was playing was, "If you can't play well, then just win."
But I also reminded myself on a regular basis that, despite all the pressure, win or lose, your mum and dad will still love you, your friends will still be your friends and your enemies still your enemies, and the sun will still rise tomorrow.
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