48 hours: Saturday night enlightened fans in more ways than one

The All Blacks managed to kill two birds with one stone at the weekend; not only adding more silverware to their trophy cabinet but also confirming once and for all that Leon MacDonald is not a test-standard first five-eighth.

But first, credit where credit is due.

Whatever nit-picking will follow (and we'll get to that in a moment) it's only right and proper that the All Blacks should first be lauded for their triumphs, and praised for negotiating this most challenging of seasons.

They and their coaching triumvirate transformed us from a nation of nail-biters back in June, to self-assured armchair critics in the space of a couple of months, a journey that encompassed the Lions, the Bledisloe Cup, and the Tri-Nations.

Not only did they win most of the time, they did so by embracing a style that fascinated, astonished, delighted and horrified, and possibly hinted at a blueprint for the next tactical revolution.

From Graham Henry and his experienced eye to the brilliance of Dan Carter and Richie McCaw, they were a team that seemed intent on achieving far more than simply a winning result and a bulging trophy cabinet.

They appeared to play with a vision, as if each game was one more step along an evolutionary path, as if they were trying to discover another dimension.

Of course, it led to disappointments along the way as the balance between recklessness and adventure became blurred, but it also provided us with some delicious rugby moments, not to mention a world No 1 ranking.

It was much the same on Saturday night when the All Blacks' creative juices were sometimes allowed to short-circuit their sense of judgment, allowing an out-played Wallabies outfit an unlikely scent of victory.

But the bottom-line was that New Zealand's commitment to attack and to be as positive as possible exposed Australia's shortcomings across the field, and ensured there would be no cruel twist at the end of the season.

And here's where we come to the nit-picking.

It's not known what sort of hold MacDonald has over the selectors, but this continual insistence that he is somehow indispensable to the New Zealand cause is starting to wear thin.

Throughout the season, rugby heads have been forced to digest daily reports on his many battles against injury and his prospects of playing in this position or that, as if he was the ultimate key to all outcomes.

So passionate is the coaching staff about his presence that it seems they just want him on the field, and that the position he occupies or his standard of fitness is of secondary importance.

This, despite the fact that his form on the ground has been patchy and unconvincing, culminating in an awful performance on Saturday night, when he made several unforced errors, missed key kicks at goal, and conceded another charged-down try.

It wasn't until he was subbed off for Luke McAlister that the All Black backline started to function properly, or that critical goal-kicking opportunities were converted.

No doubt Wayne Smith, who seems to be in complete denial about MacDonald, will soon spring to his defence and claim that all the hard work was done by the time McAlister came on. In fact, you get the feeling that Smith would argue for MacDonald's inclusion as a second rower if he was forced, on the basis that his level-headedness and shrewd judgment would compensate for any lack of height.

With that in mind, it's time for the All Black coaches to get real about MacDonald's capabilities and to accept that, despite his startling array of talents and skills, he is only suited to one position in the team. And that's on the bench.