Rugby: Win or lose, we must be gracious - Hart

John Hart says he was abused after the 1999 loss. Photo / Martin Sykes

Former All Black coach John Hart says benefits of hosting the Rugby World Cup could be lost if an early exit by the team sparks the kind of bitterness caused by past defeats.

He said that whether the All Blacks won or lost, New Zealanders needed to be gracious hosts to make the most of the Cup.

Hart was targeted after the surprise semifinal loss to France in 1999 when he arrived home and went to see his horse run in the New Zealand Trotting Cup at Addington.

"They spat at me and threw cans of beer at my horse."

Hart had quit as coach amid bitter recriminations over the loss and regretted making the trip to Christchurch to support Holmes D G.

"That was one of the worst decisions I've made, it was a sad day. That affected me for a long while, you take that personally. We absolutely lost our way and turned in on ourselves."

While he is optimistic about All Black prospects this year and believes the rugby public have matured, he says some fans may find it hard to get over a loss before the final.

This could damage the reputation of the country which was spending hundreds of millions of dollars on the tournament and hosting up to 85,000 mainly wealthy fans from overseas.

Hart is part of a group set up to help businesses take advantage of commercial opportunities from the six-week tournament, which starts on September 9.

"'I think the media, talkback radio and Kiwis have to think about this being a tournament for world rugby. It's not about an All Black tournament.

"We've become obsessed with winning it, we'd all love to win it but we've got to be realistic if we don't."

David Kirk, who in 1987 captained the only All Black team to win the Cup, said it was equally important to be gracious winners should New Zealand break its hoodoo.

"That's always the case. It doesn't really matter whether it's the Rugby World Cup or a school match."

He said fans should look to the players for an example.

"I think the players will be good, they'll be humble. It takes a lot of work and it's not all about them."

Fans could be happy and delighted but still be courteous and supportive of other teams.

"You're always going to get stupid people who drink too much and get carried away and shoot their mouth off and they don't do themselves or their team very much [good] by behaving poorly."

World Cup boss Martin Snedden said being good sports and good hosts was critical to the success of the Cup.

"Our biggest opportunity at the end of the year is not for the All Blacks to win the World Cup, it's the opportunity that comes from hosting a major event," Snedden said.

"That's not to say New Zealanders won't get behind the All Blacks and hope like hell they do win it, but if we don't happen to win it we'll get another chance in England in 2015 and Japan in 2019. We're not going to get another chance to host this.

"If we're going to get 85,000 visitors, 80,000 of those don't give a toss about how the All Blacks are going to go. The way they're going to judge it is, does it flow operationally and what sort of welcome did they get in New Zealand?"