I will quite happily place my hat in Foster's corner and stand to be firmly corrected should results go terribly against us. Y'see ultimately I really don't mind who got given the top job, I just want my team to regroup and reclaim the mantle of the world's best team - something that after the semifinal smack from England we are currently a long way from being.
The only beef I have with this whole thing is the cumbersome, clumsy and totally unnecessary process undertaken to get to this point.
Where was the excitement, the anticipation, the feeling that this was a really important big deal? How come this wasn't sorted well in advance? The lack of confidence I have is directed completely at the administrative bungling behind this palaver.
Why weren't the wheels put in motion months ago, years even? This is the All Blacks coaching job, the most prestigious of its kind in the sport - yet it felt like a game of schoolground plum-pud where we all had to wait for the last two guys to be chosen before play could get underway.
And, remember, we are talking about NZ Rugby here, the Politburo, the hands-on obsessive control-freaks who dominate every single aspect of their sport. How do I say this next bit nicely ... Um, cut the crap and just get on with it.
You don't need a process, you ARE the process. This isn't advertising for a middle-management plonker in some govt dept. YOU OWN YOUR SPORT. You control every decision like the central communist committee.
No-one is impressed by or even believes this inclusivity bollocks. Just do it, tell us what you've done and actually BE accountable if it all fails.
In the meantime, as I said right at the start, the Deputy Principal's been given the
job for at least the next two years. The last time this happened it didn't work out too bad.
And if memory serves me correctly that guy, Steve Hansen, took a bit of time to win the media and public over too ...
