John Drake: On-field deeds do the talking

The All Blacks stepped up another level in Wellington when many thought the class shown in Christchurch would be hard to repeat.

Outwardly it had been a hard week for the All Blacks, with the skipper bombarded over the Brian O'Driscoll incident. Seems the management and players used this to come together and let deeds on the field do their talking.

It must be noted that the Lions played a lot better than in Christchurch - you could see the determination in their eyes at the beginning of the game, they started well and never gave up.

The fact they were again comprehensively outplayed, physically and mentally, says all the more about how good the current All Black group is.

The scary thing is that I suspect they will get better.

With the series won, it would be easy to give the tour its last rites but, with two games to come, this would be unfair.

What we should do is look at the results to date and and how they have been achieved.

I believe the results have been very important for rugby throughout the world.

If Sir Clive Woodward and his army of assistants had succeeded, then this would have created the blueprint for future rugby - one with dire implications.

It could have marginalised most rugby nations and possibly meant that money could win matches even with mediocre players. More importantly, it might have encouraged the delegation of responsibility to such an extent that, when things go wrong, there are so many involved that nobody knows who is responsible.

New Zealand has been down this path a few times but, thankfully, reverted to a sensible compromise between corporatisation and the number 8 wire mentality.

This is no better shown than the current coaching set-up. Graham Henry is the leader and takes responsibility for all that happens. His ego is such that he has willingly recruited the two best coaches available in Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen.

Experts like Mike Cron and kicking adviser Mick Byrne have been recruited, but numbers have been kept as low as possible to avoid clutter and confusion.

The cherry on the top has been the addition of Sir Brian Lochore - someone Henry didn't know that well but whose reputation for keeping everyone focused and feet on the ground is well known in footy circles.

Oh, and I nearly forgot Darren Shand. Darren who? Well, he's the manager, and Henry reports to him. Again, no ego here - Shand just gets the job done and obviously has the total respect of all involved.

Henry continues the role of head coach and has particular responsibility for defence. Knowing Henry, I am certain he has a say in the attack, forwards and set-pieces as well.

This has allowed him to stay closely involved with the players - so vital when selecting and learning about personalities.

I recall Henry expressing his concerns about leaders within the team last year compared with his Auckland teams of the 1990s, which featured many leaders and decision makers.

Henry and co identified the problem and went about setting up ways so that leadership potential could be drawn out of individuals.

If he hadn't been so hands-on, would the problem have been identified and a remedy found?

This may summarise the problems Woodward has encountered on this tour. He won a World Cup with years of planning and millions of pounds to throw at any problem. This time, he's had only money.

I also think he has delegated so much away that he may be out of touch with some of the players and the way they think. But I suspect Woodward still wants the final say in selection when he may not have the day-to-day hands-on knowledge.

So here's a cheer for the present All Black set-up. Sure, the players do the business but, frankly, in this country we have never lacked for players with ability. What we have sometimes missed has been the identification process and the correct harnessing of ability.

Particularly once rugby went professional, we were in danger of losing our way.

We sent management and officials off to the United States and Europe to see how they did things with a view to copying. Some of the ideas were okay but most didn't suit our mentality or culture.

It seems to me Henry and co have got things pretty right at the moment and we don't ever want to go down the Woodward route - and oh, by the way, victory for Ted Henry must have been nice after the flogging he took after the 2001 Lions tour to Australia.

What goes around comes around.

* John Drake is a former All Black test player.