Paul Lewis: Marshalling All Black pride

Justin Marshall. Photo / Getty Images

Interesting on the eve of last night's test against the Boks to hear former All Black halfback Justin Marshall talk about things we hear less about these days but which somehow seem to come into focus when the old enemy, the Springboks, are in town.

Things like pride in the jersey and words like "passion" and "pinnacle" when it comes to playing for the All Blacks.

Marshall, now 36, is retired from rugby and is two weeks into resuming residence in New Zealand; back from five years playing overseas. He has already travelled up and down the country to the far north and the "swede eaters" of the South.

Guest speaker at Friday's New Zealand Herald test breakfast at Eden Park, not much has changed, Marshall said, even down to the fact that Vince Martin ("he must be 180 years old, that guy") is still churning out those excruciating TV ads for Beaurepaires.

Actually, quite a bit has changed lately. This All Black team have shown signs of maturing into a fine outfit - far more capable of capturing the Cup than most of us thought only two or three months ago.

That's not just acknowledging last night's fine result. What has been impressing trenchant critics of the Graham Henry regime - like, ahem, this writer - is the growing efficiency, belief and style within this All Black team.

It's been a long time coming. For several years now, New Zealand rugby has been in a downward spiral: player drift overseas; the effects of professionalism and money; hated tactics like rotation and rehabilitation; the downgrading of the All Black jersey; over-supply of underwhelming games to satisfy broadcasting mandarins; fans voting with feet and eyeballs.

Combined, these paint a now familiar picture of a game under stress, whose new era seemed less a joyous re-birth than a sad path to extinction or, at best, dilution. All the old values seemed gone - replaced by money, greed and self-interest (and not just among players ... ).

Which is where Marshall comes in. Our most-capped halfback, he was one of few to span both rugby eras - the amateur and the professional. He wasn't one of the fast-tracked, one-dimensional academy brigade. He wasn't one for whom the pay was more important than the play.

He famously came from the freezing works in Mataura. Now a compelling and natural speaker, among the jokes and rugby stories he sprinkled some deadly serious observations - which still translate well from the killing chamber into the dining room.

Pride in the jersey, he talked about; desire to play for the All Blacks; playing for his country as the pinnacle; how rugby altered his life.

Whatever else you may think about Marshall - he was always the polarising kind - there was never any doubting his incentive.

He wanted to play for the All Blacks and he wanted to win. He played with his blood at the temperature of super-heated steam; the volcano of his temperament capped and channelled into on-field energy and accuracy.

Talk to All Blacks of the day and many will tell you they liked playing with Marshall. He was an in-the-trenches team-mate; the sort of man those around him could depend upon. If there was a last-ditch attack to be made, he'd help you make it. If the line had to be held, 'Marshy' would be there, making tackles and snarling at the enemy.

It's not a bad personality trait to have in a man playing for his country. He had to endure people criticising his passing skills but few, if any, ever questioned his desire and commitment - or, for the most part, his effectiveness.

On Friday he told the story about entering into the professional era and receiving $30,000 for one All Black tour. As befits a former freezing worker, he guarded the money jealously. His one indulgence: a gas barbecue. "My pride and joy," he said.

He could be a gobby bloke, back then. When he was left out of the All Blacks end of year tour in 2004, he responded with a spray in the Herald on Sunday (and in his autobiography) which showered drops of acid in many different directions.

That was the fierce competitor talking (and maybe a touch of the marketer ... ). He hated being dropped and injuries - anything that would lessen his grip on the No9 jersey. It was his. His.

We are seeing a touch more of the Marshall competitiveness in the All Blacks these days, and good job too. Maybe the pendulum is swinging back a little from the worst effects of the professional age. If it doesn't, what we have left is what happens to the England football team. "Ah, the English football team," said one comic. "Brilliant on paper, shit on grass."

Decades of professionalism dominated by clubs rather than country seems to have created a professional for whom the prospect of losing in the national jersey is little more than a moment of regret, erased by the next big entry to the bank account.

It has helped New Zealand rugby that the South Africans came into last night's match as favourites and are still the clear favourites for RWC 2011. The old interest in Boks-All Blacks clashes has been revived. Being an underdog is no bad thing and there is an almost palpable lift in the nation now when it comes to following the All Blacks.

Players like Richie McCaw, Dan Carter (even with the sabbatical and probably because of it ... ), Keven Mealamu, Kieran Read, Jimmy Cowan, Conrad Smith and others give the impression of being locked into the All Blacks a la Marshall, rather than of wanting the big foreign exchange payday, though that might come later.

The new rule interpretations have helped. So has rotation rotating itself away, with Henry consistently playing his best team. It's not dead (sadly) and will almost certainly re-appear at some stage, but being perceived to field a team that is making progress is lifting interest levels.

Marshall finished his speech on Friday by urging the All Blacks to play their natural game in RWC 2011, not to act as if we were defenders of the World Cup.

Hard to disagree.