48 hours: Marshall’s incendiary words need defusing

The greatest footballers, across the codes, often have something in common.

They exude a love of the game, a passion for the contest. They appear born to play.

In league you could apply this now to Bulldog Sonny Bill Williams, who displays such exuberance that you can find yourself tracking him whether he is near the ball or not.

It is hard to watch Manchester United without scanning for Wayne Rooney, although he is usually easy to spot as his squat frame befuddles defenders. That's when he's not hitting the back of the net from all distances and angles.

Justin Marshall, despite his critics, is also of this ilk.

When the All Black and Crusaders halfback isn't playing, you wonder why the halfbacks in view aren't taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

While his long-time Australian adversary George Gregan has reclined in the role of a corner man who cajoles his fighters, Marshall still trades punches in the ring and invariably gets in the knockout blows.

And as we found over the weekend, he continues to jab on and off the field.

What he did to the Hurricanes on Friday night is what he's been doing to opposing sides for years - running brilliantly and taking the right options. He is a great judge, and executioner.

The response from the pundits and public to Marshall, though, has often been mixed - he even struggles to get a look in when the aficionados pick their all-time All Black teams.

It's probably nothing more than what a short back and sides haircut and a few more carefully chosen words would have sorted out. Whereas other halfbacks are lauded for their strengths while numerous faults are generously forgiven, the opposite has long applied to Marshall and his over-criticised pass.

Over the weekend we got another clue to the reason why his brilliant game might be at odds with this reception.

The revelation that he might be unavailable for the Lions series was, as the Herald on Sunday said about its story, a bombshell.

There was a self-obsessed feel to Marshall's words, at odds with the importance of the upcoming occasion. He's hardly helping team unity.

Surely, too, if Marshall was demanding more respect from selectors, he might have set an example and talked this over with Henry in private first. Not that we in the media mind if he chooses the path that he did.

Most would have assumed that Marshall was primed to pump the blood around the All Black team as his final hurrah in this country. Instead, he is unsure "whether my heart is in it". This is a potential body blow to New Zealand's series prospects.

Marshall told the paper he would decide after the Super 12 final whether to make himself available. At issue is the All Black selectors' decision to leave him out of last year's end-of-season tour, and that Henry has called him just once since.

Marshall did not like the signals he received by his omission, and said subsequent performances backed his claim that players undeserving of All Black selection had toured. He even took a minor swipe at Byron Kelleher's form.

In the era of Rugby Corp, their image makers and burgeoning media departments, Marshall's continuing honesty is refreshing. And on these issues, you could hardly disagree with him.

Most clearly, this applies at halfback where it is hard to work out why the pedestrian Jimmy Cowan has attracted such fanfare, or any fanfare at all.

Piri Weepu, who also went on the tour, is an average contributor and saves his worst for when he opposes Marshall.

But also at the heart of Marshall's case is that he wants to leave New Zealand on his own terms, rather than risk the ignominy of being left out.

With some irony, he has taken the corporate world stance that rather than being sacked, he would like it to be reconfirmed that he is leaving to pursue other interests. Not that he faces the sack, surely.

Even for a staunch Marshall fan, his comments have gone too far. For one, the timing is awful, so close to the series.

And for better or worse, selectors have the right to plan their campaigns without being swayed by whether players lose wages or not. With the great tours gone, the end of season sojourns have strong development themes. It's not a perfect world, but Justin Marshall hasn't done too badly.

And even though Marshall had little NPC game time, missing the tour has clearly done him no harm.

While you might have a touch of sympathy for Marshall's views, his name is simply in the barrel when it comes to test selection. Not that there is any chance of him being left out on form.

Henry has a dilemma if he desperately wants Marshall, because he can hardly placate the halfback by indicating he is already selected.

It might pay for the All Black coach to make a conciliatory call, though, even if it is not his regular practice. Pragmatic beats dogmatic here. After all, it must have needed a special case to leave Marshall behind last year.

That Marshall's anger lingers simply underlines his competitive nature, the very force which has made him so great. Maybe he was just having a bad day when the newspaper called.

Either that, or for some strange reason Marshall is unwanted and has already taken the hint. Otherwise, some defusing is in order, before this bombshell explodes. 

Highpoints: A great FA Cup final, even if it was goal-less and decided on penalties. The Crusaders' demolition of the Hurricanes - a work of art.

Lowpoints: As per usual, the television coverage of the FA Cup was blurred and distant.