Scotland's Fraser Brown and Finn Russell look on. Photo / Getty
Scotland's Fraser Brown and Finn Russell look on. Photo / Getty
COMMENT:
The rugby wannabes need to stop being so paranoid about the All Blacks - a la the latest whinging from silly Scotland and Italy - and get on with improving their own standards.
The World Cup plot so far would have done the Monty Python's Flying Circus scriptwriters proudand stupid remarks from Scotland and Italy just added to the farce.
The Japan tournament is going to get better because it couldn't get much worse, thanks to confusion over just about everything and lack of competitive contests.
World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont was knighted by his Queen this year, but it's going to be off with his head after the Japan debacle.
The gigantic cock-ups have included a typhoon contingency plan that would have put the Dad's Army bumblers to shame.
Both Italy and Scotland, or their agents, have portrayed themselves as helpless little battlers who were powerless in the face of undue New Zealand influence as World Rugby contemplated the cancellation of certain matches.
Aaron Smith celebrates during another victory in Edinburgh. Photo / Photosport
It's a familiar theme even though New Zealand hardly ever gets what it really wants around the board table.
Either Richie McCaw is cheating or the referees favour them or they are stealing Pacific Island players or they are getting World Cup games cancelled and blah de blah de blah.
There have even been a couple of talented northern rugby columnists who based their careers on obsessively attacking New Zealand rugby.
It epitomises the petty nonsense that goes on in rugby, where historical jealousies and rivalries are stopping vital steps forward for a game facing challenges a lot bigger than one enormous typhoon.
There are, of course, unfortunates who are powerless at every turn – like Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.
But Italy and Scotland? Give us a break.
They are among the 10 unions who have handed themselves the most powerful positions in World Rugby.
To be fair to Scotland, they are minnows on playing numbers. But even given that, they've achieved stuff all in the Six Nations and get dumped out of the World Cup in the quarter-finals every time.
Scotland's Fraser Brown and Finn Russell look on. Photo / Getty
As for Italy, they were handed the keys to the kingdom two decades ago thanks to their Six Nations inclusion, and finish last almost every season. Few countries in world sport have wasted an opportunity the way Italian rugby has.
So spare us the World Cup tears and silly claims, and try getting your houses in order. Japan, under Eddie Jones and Jamie Joseph, have shown what can be done when energy is spent in the right direction.
The All Blacks chose not to play a re-scheduled game against Italy because there was no need for them to do so and any logistical shenanigans did not help their cause.
But the cancellation hardly plays into their hands, particularly as it denies the great lock Brodie Retallick valuable comeback game time. It also means Kieran Read's troops will face quarter-final opponents on just two soft games in a month, a concerning issue.
New Zealand Rugby is open to criticism in how it runs the game here and a deplorable attitude to the Pacific Island countries.
But it has plenty of company in terms of dodgy ethics, including Six Nations teams who don't share the Brexiteers' fear of foreigners. (Just ask the veteran Irish lock Devin Toner, dumped for a converted South African).
But New Zealand plays by the rules and they play brilliantly, despite increasing problems caused by the power of European and Japanese money.
What really stands out, having endured this dog of a tournament so far, is how overwhelmingly important the All Blacks are to the game. Without them, rugby would be lost as major opponents continue to plod along via strict tactical formulas.
The All Blacks may not always win, and there are ways of shutting their game down. But the standards the All Blacks set – from the stars produced to the skills, pace and tactics - are exceptional.
They do possess extraordinary power…on the field. Elsewhere, they are simply a contributing part of a world rugby mess.
