Michael Burgess: NZ rugby becoming too precious

Richie McCaw should get used to opposition abuse. Photo / Getty Images

The end of the rugby season can't come soon enough. The all-consuming, blinkered coverage of the All Blacks this season has taken some of the pleasure out of watching the game. It feels almost suffocating.

It's like we've slipped back to the 1950s or 1960s, when rugby was the be-all and end-all. New Zealand has moved on in so many ways but we still seem to lose all rational perspective when it comes to the All Blacks.

I have no issue with the team - they are skilled athletes with a tremendous winning culture - but the propaganda around them is becoming too much.

First there was the Chicago schemozzle. The fact we were mistaken for Australia by one newspaper sums up just how much interest there was in a match against a team who would have struggled against an Auckland club side. But we were fed endless coverage, like it was the only thing that mattered in New Zealand sport that week.

And in the past fortnight, we've heard about the All Blacks' concern over home crowds influencing refs at next year's World Cup. The NZRU are also worried about the lack of respect towards the haka and captain Richie McCaw. It's like the New Zealand rugby fraternity wants it both ways.

We've been told - regularly - that the All Blacks are one of the best teams in world sport, in an increasingly global game. But the truth is we - and they - can't handle the realities of professional, global sport. Of course the English crowds will try to influence referees. That's their job. That's how world sport works.

New Zealand fans tend to be quite passive, going along to a game to be entertained. But supporters in the rest of the world see it as their duty to 'bring their team home'. Look at football. Try being Brazil playing in Argentina, or Germany in Holland.

And it's like we've all forgotten the 2011 World Cup final, when referee Craig Joubert couldn't find a penalty in the last 30 minutes while France were camped in All Blacks territory.

If other countries - and especially fans - want to counter the haka in their own way, so be it. It might not be right, but it's their right. The same with the fuss over McCaw. How much respect does Lionel Messi get when Argentina are playing a major rival?

New Zealand rugby is becoming far too precious. We can't expect other teams and fans to behave in a way that suits us. And neither should we expect other countries to be eternally grateful when the All Blacks deign to play there.