Kate Hawkesby: Why Mike Hosking is 'to blame' for All Blacks World Cup loss

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, it's just a game, says Kate Hawkesby.

COMMENT:

I feel my husband is responsible for the ABs' loss against England.

He was due to fly out to Japan yesterday morning for a week of shows this week, building up to the grand final.

But by Saturday afternoon he still hadn't dug out a suitcase or done his usual search for the passport.

When I asked him why, he replied that he didn't think he'd be going because he didn't think the ABs would win.

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Unpatriotic yes, but he explained that wasn't the result he wanted of course, it was just he felt England were too good, too tight, playing too well and that Saturday night would be a real contest, he said he felt confident England would win it.

I went to bed after all the shouting and yelling at the TV got too much and when I woke on Sunday I asked him whether he was packing for Japan or not.

"Not," he replied.

What's annoying about that is obviously the ABs' loss, but also annoying that he was right.

On top of that, the kids and I were looking forward to a quiet week of no vacuuming.

But despite the disappointment that we couldn't do it this time, there's always those who react and take things too far.

The smashed up Mini car in Devonport, the sore loser Kiwis who feel it's some God-given right that we always win the rugby, the sports nuts who take their fury out on others - it's over the top.

At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, it's just a game.

It's just sport.

We get to play and compete another day.

Our esteem as a country doesn't rise and fall depending on how many trophies we get to put in a cabinet.

I know we're a rugby nation and people take it seriously, but I think sometimes the adult response to this stuff typifies everything that's wrong with club-level sport for kids these days.

The do or die mentality.

Yes it's great to win, but do you know what else is cool? Learning to be a good loser.

Kudos to all the parents who got up Sunday morning and carried on and celebrated the great game England played, and showed their kids what true sportsmanship is about.

Those who didn't grumble and moan and act like it was the end of the world because we lost.

It's just a game.

What's more, those All Blacks are humans too.

Berating them, calling them losers, being agro about it, it's all wasted energy.

As Roosevelt famously said, "it's not the critic who counts... it's the man in the arena... who, if he fails, at least does so daring greatly".