Robin Brooke: Media now part of the game

It was only after I'd played a few years at the top level that I accepted the media were a necessary part of the rugby world.

Early on, I thought they were more a nuisance than an integral part of the sport. However, I came to learn it was a three-way split between the players, public and media.

Players rely on the support of the public, who in turn have the media as their source of contact and information.

Not so long ago, there was an unwritten rule about All Blacks' never criticising each other. It was a special club with only about 600 members and they had a distinctive bond.

Until recently it was rare to find many of those All Blacks involved in the media.

Now there are a swag of them, such as Chris Laidlaw, John Drake, Matthew Cooper, Stu Wilson, Norm Hewitt, Ian Jones, Murray Mexted, Jon Preston, Grant Fox - and I guess I have joined them.

We are asked our opinions, and often about All Blacks. Rather than slate those players, I try to offer some constructive suggestions about how they can improve their games.

Players had to become more accessible when Newscorp sponsored the Super 12 and Tri-Nations. The broadcaster held the rights and, of course, demanded more interaction with the players.

One player who became a media magnet because of his exploits at the 1995 World Cup was Jonah Lomu. The Jonah factor was something else to watch evolve.

In the amateur days, however, we were not answerable to anyone except our team-mates and coaches. We played for the love of it and the media reported on what they saw, not what we said.

The start of the change came with the Super 10 and South Pacific series and the increase in specialised rugby publications.

Eventually most of us - except a few, such as Olo Brown - became used to the media and accepted that contact with them was part of our job description.

Some have struggled to accept that the media are not enemies. They do not have personal agendas, they are reporters not supporters.

About 10 years ago, we got our first media liaison officer in the All Blacks. Ric Salizzo was able to regulate and monitor interview requests; he offered some control against the increasing media numbers.

If players were rung directly there could be all sorts of mixed messages leaving the All Black camp. With Ric in charge and schooling us up, there was some consistency.

We were not given a lot of media training and what we did get was pretty ad hoc. Sometimes we would practise talking to the cameras for an imaginary interview.

It could be time-consuming, but it was not stressful if you were straight-up.

As players we talked about the media all the time. Sometimes we would tell them what they wanted to hear; other players, who had been burned before, would provide bland answers.

I remember being misreported only once, in France in 1998 when I was accused of dealing to Eric Champ. I know who did but it wasn't me.

Obviously some former players warm quickly to working in the media. Willie Lose is right into it and others, such as Sean Fitzpatrick and Fox, have always been professional in their dealings with the media. They realised early that the press would play a crucial part if they had lengthy rugby careers.

Coaches have had interesting relationships with the press. Grizz Wyllie never felt comfortable though Laurie Mains learned to change and accept the media involvement. John Hart always loved that part of his job - he almost craved the communication.

I feel happy commentating now because I have been there and done that. I am not long removed from the game, I should still know what I am talking about.

I get a lot of feedback in my supermarket about this column. It is just another part of the sporting triangle.