All Blacks v Springboks Rugby World Cup final: English pundit calls out All Blacks as sanctimonious

An English rugby pundit has got in one more barb at the All Blacks ahead of the Rugby World Cup final, questioning several off-field moments during the tournament and labelling them sanctimonious.

Throughout their time in France, the All Blacks have been documenting the goings on around their camp, with some of those clips being shared on social media.

Among the examples given in his column for the Telegraph, Oliver Brown notes the All Blacks ‘bag chain’- where the team line up in two rows to speed up the process of getting their bags off the bus and to the hotel door – and the footage of several players moving a Land Rover away from their bus as examples of sanctimony.

“‘Pass the bags’ has become the modern equivalent of ‘sweep the sheds’. For it was first through their practice of leaving their changing rooms spotless after every game that New Zealand players became beloved of self-help sages the world over,” Brown writes.

He later writes: “The All Blacks, though, inhabit a bubble. They are trained to believe in the idea of their singular magnificence. Take the mantra once adopted by Graham Henry: “Better people make better All Blacks.” Paragons, one and all.”

Brown questions the validity of Henry’s comment using the example of Shannon Frizell, who will line up for the All Blacks against South Africa tomorrow morning.

In May 2021, Frizell attacked a man and punched a woman in a Dunedin bar, then later sent a message to a friend of one of the victims, which said: “F*** you b****, tell your friend to hide. I’m gonna f*** everyone up.”

Frizell completed the requirements of diversion - a scheme used by police to help first offenders avoid a conviction – after his first court appearance which saw him avoid conviction, with two charges of assaulting a woman and one of common assault later formally dismissed by a judge.

“Time, perhaps, for the All Blacks’ aura of self-righteousness to be punctured. So much of it is corporate grandstanding, not least the “rainbow streak” commercial they released in 2018 to coincide with Tokyo Pride Week,” Brown writes.

“The team they are sending out at the Stade de France on Saturday night is no more or less reflective of human frailty than any other. The presence of Frizell attests to that. In the end, few doubt this side would be worthy winners of the Webb Ellis Cup. They just need, for the sake of a watching world, to dial down the sanctimony a touch.”

How to follow the World Cup final action

When: 8am, Sunday

Follow live updates: nzherald.co.nz

Listen to commentary: join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio, or catch the ACC on iHeartRadio or Hauraki.

Get full coverage of the Rugby World Cup.