KEY POINTS:
In his 1960s classic, Sounds of Silence, Paul Simon produced lyrics which resonate to this day and which produced many a debate on the meaning of the words and the silence to which he was referring.
The roaring silence currently emanating from the NZRU's Kremlin is most definitely
not what Simon was on about - he said it was written in the aftermath of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy and was a societal view of a lack of communication.
But the NZRU has been employing the sounds of silence on the All Black coach succession.
Saying nothing is a legitimate tactic in the darker arts of shaping public opinion but, in this case, the NZRU have just succeeded in making themselves look defensive and reactionary. Chairman Jock Hobbs said the coaching review would not be made public because it was an employer-employee issue.
Now, hang on a cotton-picking, time-to-take-a-drop-goal moment. No one wants to peer into Graham Henry's pay packet or tot up his key performance indicators. But this is the biggest failure in All Black World Cup history. It's not exactly John F. Kennedy but the eyes of a nation are still on this issue. Answers are required.
The NZRU's silence descended after the review was announced - a tactic usually designed to gain time to get ducks in a row; so the organisation can break the silence in a positive and opinion-shaping way.
It is normal in such circumstances to get a few "nuggets" out there; to fill the void partially so the opposing point of view does not hold sway by filling the silence. Whether part of this approach or not, the UMR Research finding that 61 per cent of New Zealanders favour giving Henry another crack arrived at a wonderful time for the NZRU. So did similar results in other website polls.
Robbie Deans' press conference this week - 'I want to be the All Black coach' - was another effort to fill the silence.
Normally, candidates for All Black coach put their names in the hat with a minimum of publicity. They may choose to answer questions on the subject but generally they prefer to let the process run its course, rather than be seen to be electioneering.
While Henry and co stay silent, Deans has tried to influence the agenda in a manner a little more reminiscent of US politics than the minimalist traditions of rugbydom.
Originally, most thought Henry would shuffle off and go fishing after the 2007 RWC. Steve Hansen appeared as the heir apparent in what the NZRU saw as a nice piece of succession planning.
But the quarter-final in France ruined that and there are now signs Henry and his two co-selectors are looking to stay on as an all-or-nothing unit; take us all or take none of us.
It's an intriguing situation - especially as there are strong indications Deans and NZRU CEO-designate Steve Tew don't get on. That would not necessarily stop Deans getting the job but, plainly, any board is going to listen carefully to the recommendations of a CEO on his key direct report.
Amid all this positioning, it has been interesting to witness the contention that we should try something new this time - like not firing the coach after not winning the World Cup.
This rather curious logic was loudest about the time of the 61 per cent survey and you can still see it today in letters to the editor and hear it on talkback.
This column has already stated its preference - Henry and the whole panel to go. Not because they are poor coaches, far from it (and much of their 'strategy' will survive), but because they hitched their wagon to a ploy (which they have defended) which realised New Zealand's worst-ever World Cup result.
It goes deeper than that but that's the nub of it.
However, the logic that says 'keep them on because we haven't won the World Cup by switching coaches either' is specious. I mean, we haven't made Ozzy Osbourne All Black coach before either - so let's try that.
In all the words following the World Cup, some of the most sensible came from former All Black coach Laurie Mains. Speaking on TV's Close Up, Mains pointed out that his contract was a yearly one and that he was reviewed annually. Results mattered then; none of this four-year-cycle business. That's what we need to get back to.
A lot of rugby folk will be watching the NZRU closely over the 'review' and how they manage the coaching appointment. So far the union has mostly escaped opprobrium after the All Blacks' shock departure from France - and their review/silence has helped.
But they have to come up with answers soon.
It will be fascinating watching how the NZRU balance their desire to escape the arrows of criticism with the need to defend their actions of the past four years.
The Sounds of Silence was Simon's view that the US was unable to face the truth at the core of a society that could murder a man like Kennedy; that an inability to communicate with each other - the 'silence' - and being diverted by the greed and dishonesty of modern-day life helped to build a nation that killed its visionary leaders.
The NZRU's silence doesn't mask such weighty issues - but how much better would it be if they broke silence, got the issues out there and debated them, rather than spending all this time arranging what appears to be a political stance.
