HATS OFF TO THE ALL BLACKS BUT THERE’S ALWAYS A SILVER LINING

RWC RANT NO.15

I thought it was fitting to end my RWC Rants on No.15 so I will try and keep it relatively short and too the point – if that’s possible?

Not the result any Wallabies fan or player was after and as disappointing as it may be it’s actually never as tough when victory goes to your closest rival and one you actually respect, and to a side that genuinely earned it and deserved it. It was an incredible effort by both teams, but on the day the ABs showed why they are rightly the World Champions.

Nothing can change the outcome, history has been written so let’s not try and make excuses – don’t blame any refereeing decisions, don’t point fingers at particular players and don’t devalue the effort of either side by saying it was good or bad luck. Let’s look at it holistically and learn from it. The reason the ABs won was because of their attitude, their culture, their skill level, their resilience and their honour (mana). All of this culminates into the success we all see on the field but its genesis started 12 years ago and you can rest assured it didn’t come easily to the ABs and they worked just as bloody hard for this win as they did for the 80 previous games and that’s the difference. In fact, it is often harder to keep a successful team winning than turning around the fortunes of a mediocre side.

I’ve mentioned this before and it’s worth mentioning again because as we all know the devil is in the detail. After the 2003 RWC, Graham Henry took over the reigns and recognised the AB team was surviving on natural ability with little substance and what was totally absent was a positive culture. That was the turning point and he took measures to fix it. Is it ringing any bells yet? Henry wanted to build and develop a culture that was virtually impenetrable and could survive the test of time. He and his brains trust, all very smart and accomplished rugby minds, along with the senior playing group recognised one single focus “You’re an All Black 24/7”. The All Black manager at the time, former player, captain and coach Brian Lochore captured the essence perfectly coining the phrase “Better people make better All Blacks”. Henry’s legacy was perpetuated and improved by one of his former Lieutenants, Steve Hansen and hopefully it will continue to evolve – well that’s the challenge.

On the larger side of the ditch someone else had similar thoughts, Michael Cheika understood that overarching concept perfectly. He recognised the importance of establishing high standards and developing a winning culture. He understood that once it connects within the playing group, it transfers on to the field and that’s how you fill the trophy cabinet. He proved his way worked with the Waratahs and he has just proven it again with the leaps and bounds he has made with the current Wallabies. Let’s face it, most of us didn’t think the Wallabies would make the 2015 RWC final this time last year and the rest of you are liars.

It’s not rocket science and it’s not a new concept, Dwyer did it in 91 and Macqueen did it again in 99 albeit with different styles and approaches, and Cheika almost did it in 2015 but just might do it in 2019 – or will he? The Wallabies have come so far in such a short space of time and there in lies the silver lining. If Cheika has achieved this within 12 months surely things can only improve as he develops a stronger more resilient outfit over the next three to four years. As supporters let’s not lose faith, we have what it takes, we just need a little more time.

Once again congratulations to the All Blacks for a splendid display of clinical brilliance and onwards and upwards for the Wallabies.

The march towards 2019 glory has already begun.