KEY POINTS:
Of all the polls conducted during the great All Black coaching debate, by far the most interesting was the one collated by the All Black coach himself.
Who knows what the margin of error was for this particular poll, although you suspect that it was far larger than
the two points by which English referee Wayne Barnes enabled France to beat the All Blacks in Cardiff.
However, Graham Henry fought off the obsessive humility that has dogged his public life to reveal that friends had declared he was coaching better than ever.
You could almost see the scene at a swanky Auckland barbecue held to celebrate the All Blacks brilliant performance in World Cup Pool C, also known as the pool of abundant life for our conquering heroes.
As a large screen brought glorious replays of the sublime rugby that put Portugal to the sword and left Romania's dreams in tatters, friends of the All Black coach were able to bring forward their searching examinations of the campaign.
"Pass us a sausage and sauce Graham me old mate, and you are coaching better than ever," you could imagine one of them saying while admiring the holiday snaps from Corsica.
Being forced to reveal these sorts of things to the world - the BBC no less carried these words to the universe - must be excruciatingly difficult for such a humble man.
But he is nothing if not brave.
However, even the most stringent of polls can raise more questions than they answer, and this one was no exception.
You had to wonder, for instance, whether this survey had been conducted using the normal guidelines which allow a degree of free-thought for those answering the questions. Or was it carried out on a show of hands as the much-feared fifth selector patrolled the courtyard?
Other questions included. -
Were the number of friends
A) Less than three?
B) Three or more?
C) A lot?
Did these friends
A) Watch the World Cup at all?
B) Watch parts of the World Cup and perhaps forgot to set the video recorder for the Cardiff game?
C) Believe that many of the skilled aquatic manoeuvres in Corsica were the result of improved coaching?
Were these friends
A) Mildly interested in rugby?
B) Very interested in soccer?
C) A touring canasta squad from Nepal?
Were these poll results
A) Presented to the New Zealand Rugby Union during their recently held thorough process into why Wayne Barnes had it in for the All Blacks?
B) Intended for presentation to the independent, thorough process which is also checking out Wayne Barnes' World Cup disaster?
C) Available for media and public examination as they too examine the Wayne Barnes fiasco?
Meanwhile, word has been leaked to the Herald that during a night out at an undisclosed curry house, friends of Wayne Barnes told the young English referee they believe he is refereeing better than ever. Quite a coincidence really.
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ROBBIE DEANS
Having delivered one of the great hatchet jobs on Robbie Deans, the New Zealand Rugby Union has little option but to snip the final cords that tie the brilliant coach to this country should he be appointed Wallaby coach. Should Deans win the Wallaby coaching job, he can hardly expect to also coach the Crusaders next season.
The way rugby works in this country, everyone is employed by the Kremlin ... ooops, NZRU. And with the best will in the world towards Deans, you can hardly have a Wallaby coach also employed by the NZRU.
If there isn't an actual conflict of interest, there is at the very least the appearance of one in that Deans might be privy to information that could help our transtasman rugby rivals. As for the NZRU buffoons, no doubt they will gladly cast Deans adrift, fearing that he might win his fifth Super 14 title and further embarrass them. Henry's appointment has the appearance of a self-serving sham and while the decision to cut a Wallaby coach from the NZRU payroll would make sense, the motives are not to be trusted.
At the end of the day though, test rugby should be an us-against-them war and in this, Deans is either with us or against us. That's just the way it is no matter the injustice for the Crusaders and Deans himself.
Deans would leave New Zealand, for now, with the most brilliant of coaching CVs.
For the record, and in the hope of spiking consciences that should be creaking under the strain right now, here is the Deans record. He was the highly influential manager - some said de facto coach - of the Crusaders when they won two Super 12 titles in the late 1990s. Since taking over as coach, he has won four titles, been in two other finals, had one dud year and made the semifinals in 2007 despite his side being nobbled by Henry and his NZRU henchman.
It is a record beyond belief, and one that should have won him the All Black job in a canter especially as the major 2003 credentials for the trio who still run the All Blacks were bombing out with Wales, bombing out with Wales, and bombing out with the All Blacks. Come to think of it, the NZRU should allow Deans to coach the Crusaders in 2008, because that could cause him problems during his introduction to the Wallaby job. If Deans gets warmed up with the Wallabies, the All Blacks could be in major strife.
* * *
RECONDITIONING
The sincerity of Henry's admission that the 2007 reconditioning programme was a mistake was always open to question because such concessions do not fit his smug demeanour. And lo and behold, the week had hardly begun and Henry already appeared to be backtracking by defending it in principle. Sincere admissions are not usually followed by attempts to fiddle with the matter. Hey Graham - we all understand that footballers need a rest and build-up into a season. We're not that stupid. It's the idea that you hold the rest period slap bang during half of what is supposed to be the major professional provincial competition that we're banging on about.
And then there is the issue of actual match conditioning which - clearly - the All Blacks were short on. The bottom line is that you assured us a load of fully primed super athletes would thrust their bulging muscles on to the world stage come the World Cup, which is not how it turned out.
* * *
TRANSTASMAN RIVALRY
A final word on the Henry-Deans debacle. The NZRU has unwittingly set up a fascinating transtasman contest for years to come should Deans be named the Wallaby coach. While Deans and Henry will undoubtedly play the issue down, it has grudge match written all over it. In the promotion of rugby, the NZRU may have succeeded despite itself. Over the long haul, I'd back Deans and the clever Australians to win out once they've fixed a couple of their obvious problems in the forwards.
