Anendra Singh: Rugby's outlook all black

The silence on the Owen Franks alleged eye-gouging incident in New Zealand has been deafening. Photo / NZME.

Pumas kick Boks' butt, Wallabies coach Michael Cheika blows his gasket, Australia halfback Nick Phipps yanks left boot off All Black Malakai Fekitoa for a shoe shine and a bug found in the ABs' hotel room is tantamount to some kind of espionage - all of that makes for riveting reading.

Oh, and did ABs prop Owen Franks go searching for another pair of eyeballs at the expense of Wallaby lock Kane Douglas?

Well, he certainly wasn't using powder puff to apply mascara on the lock's face.

Do we need to go back to the era of another ABs prop, Richard Loe, to reiterate the importance of stamping out such behaviour?

Somehow, Loe seemed to get away with thuggery all the way up to the international arena but when he scooped out the eyeball of Otago fullback Greg Cooper during an NPC game one day, the authorities had no choice but to read the riot act to him.

The silence on the Franks matter in New Zealand has been deafening and does little to dispel claims that the ABs seem to be playing under a different set of rules.

Sanzaar failing to even cite Franks is simply wrong. It's not like the ABs don't have enough depth to replace props, had Franks been found guilty.

However, all that doesn't detract from the fact that international rugby overall is in a pretty unstable place right now and is likely to plunge into greater depths of despair.

It's great that New Zealanders can collectively thump their chests as the All Blacks' juggernaut steamrolls everyone in its path.

Never mind the Bledisloe Cup, the four-nation Rugby Championship is doomed and the next World Cup can't come soon enough to determine who can really pull the code out of rugby's Great Depression.

Perhaps Argentina's incremental growth since their entry into the four-nation championship in 2012 is cause for celebration but South Africa's gradual decline and Australia's steady deterioration nullify any such gains in a false rugby economy.

Put bluntly, the axis of the rugby world has shifted so much that England are fast emerging as the new Australia.

It's no coincidence that the Sweet Chariot has been carrying England home pretty well since Eddie Jones took over the reins as coach in 2015, following their disastrous campaign at home during the world cup.

The 56-year-old Tasmanian-born former Wallabies and Japan coach didn't take long to iron out England's creases before leading them to a historic 3-0 series victory through Australia this year on the heels of a Six Nations Championship grand slam.

England rose from world No4 to No2 but they won't be playing the All Blacks any time soon.

They play Fiji and Argentina in November before hosting the Springboks.

The New Zealanders will sleepwalk their way through the Rugby Championship, including a dead rubber against the Aussies on October 22 in Auckland, before going on a junket of the United States and Europe in November.

They play Ireland in Chicago before becoming guests of Italy, Ireland and France in the respective countries.

The British and Irish Lions tour in June-July next year is hardly going to be a yardstick for the All Blacks to gauge their worth, never mind that a 10-match itinerary is ridiculous and the maligned composite team will depart at the height of their premier footy.

Frankly, rugger fans must brace themselves for post-match TV interviews where the sportscaster will churn out hollow platitudes similar to what Warriors captain Ryan Hoffman was accorded last Sunday.

Sky TV interviewer: "Obviously not the result you wanted but the effort was certainly there?"

Hoffman's body language totally disagreed but he played along.

Oh and it was the Bunker's (TMOs) fault that saw a Warriors' try disallowed.

Oops, back to rugger.

It's time for Cheika to accept he has to go back to the drawing board with a Wallaby outfit that still needs decent amount of work under the bonnet.

Halfback Will Genia showed what he could do but one couldn't help feeling pivot Quade Cooper ran on, feeling like his main goal was not to put a foot in the wrong place.

For goodness sake, give the bloke some licence to be himself because aggression alone won't do it.

It pays to note gains will only come on a staple diet of losses because, like the Springboks, it's time to rebuild.

In the euphoria of the All Blacks' totalitarianism, everyone in coach Steve Hansen's matrix invariably look great.

Hansen and Co are making a habit of turning test matches into scrimmages after halftime.

Some players have had golden opportunities to express themselves and have left an impression.

Anton Lienert-Brown, on debut at second five-eighths last Saturday night in Wellington, is a great find who has the ability to bring a sidestep and vision which are a far cry from beefy blokes trying to bust through tackles.

In fact, Lienert-Brown shows glimpses of ABs great Frank Bunce.

Regrettably, it seems no other nation, apart from England, has the luxury to conduct similar experiments.

Rugby, for now, remains a spread-eagled frog in the petrie dish of sport laboratories.