Rugby: Capital punishment forgotten

Ma'a Nonu. Photo / Getty Images

They knew they were going to get asked, so they came suitably prepared.

There might be Mark Hammett voodoo dolls at home, but for the public nothing but bygones.

"I've built a bridge and gotten over it," said Piri Weepu of his departure from his beloved Hurricanes and the role the coach played in it. "I'm up here now and he's down there taking control of his team and he's made a pretty good start to the campaign."

It was a sentiment echoed by his good mate Ma'a Nonu, another to feel the icy finger of Hammett's rejection.

"It's a new year and I'm over it now, I've just got to move on. It's professional sport," Nonu said, before citing Peyton Manning's shock exit from the Indianapolis Colts and David Beckham's move from Manchester United to Real Madrid.

"I'm not like those guys, but things happen."

To be fair, neither is in a position to poke his tongue out at Hammett and say "nah, nah, de-nah, nah".

The Hurricanes are travelling at two wins from four matches and have impressed with the style they are trying to play, while the Blues have won just one match and have been roundly panned.

Here you get the closest to a Weepu back-hander.

"You could say that they've played against poor opposition, but they've got quality players in that team."

So did the Blues, until they started dropping All Blacks like Liz Taylor drops husbands.

"At the beginning of the season we had a team stacked with All Blacks and had a high expectation of where we were going to end up at the end of the season.

"Obviously a few guys have fallen over and we've won one out of four. It's hard to take, we're all feeling it," Nonu said.

One All Black who is making a timely return is Tony Woodcock, who succinctly explained away his absence.

"Basically just a bit of rest really," Woodcock said.

"I've tidied up a few injuries and had time away from the game to freshen up. I had an option there to take a longer break if I needed it and I felt like I needed it."

So how is he feeling now?

"Fresh."