When 'tests' used to mean that

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The ABs remain a huge drawcard, not so much Ardie’s post-match disco routine. Getty Images

The All Blacks did well to generate enough storylines out of a series against an understrength France to keep the rugby proletariat happy, yet with a bit of distance it is difficult to view the last few weeks of rugby as anything but cautionary note.

International rugby cannot afford to get into the situation facing international cricket, where the best players are frequently unavailable.

In that respect, rugby’s impending Nations Championship is not only a big play, but arguably necessary to protect the credibility of the international game¹.

Once the international game loses its primacy, it’s a slippery slope to a point where you get a Black Caps team shorn of its one global superstar, playing a South African team recognisable to their mothers only in a tri-series involving a team, Zimbabwe, that is, at a stretch, Hawke Cup level. Is it any wonder the rights for this series, that saw New Zealand play not one but two dead rubbers before the final, were rumoured to have gone for as little as $50,000, and that’s with a couple of loosely termed ‘tests’ thrown in?

Granted, we’re some way off such indecencies being committed on rugby fans yet, and the strength of the All Blacks brand inoculates against it to a degree, but then again, Team India is the biggest brand in cricket and yet when it comes to bilateral inbound tours, they struggle to fill stadia, yet come the IPL those same stands are heaving.

The comparisons are imperfect, obviously, with cricket’s multiple formats combining with the overwhelming financial might of one country making for a complicated jigsaw puzzle that nobody is trying particularly hard to solve, but rugby would do well not to get complacent.

If France, a global rugby powerhouse, effectively choosing to throw three tests in New Zealand isn’t a clarion call for the sport’s administrators, what will it take? To repeat, they need the Nations Championship to be treated seriously by all invitees.

If so, New Zealand Rugby looks well set up over the next six years at least. The inaugural Nations Championship next year, World Cup in 2027, another NC in 2028, the Lions in 2029, a legacy Springboks inbound tour in 2030 and the World Cup in 2031.

The France series was evidence of our insatiable demand for All Black tests against the big sides. It wasn’t just ticket-buyers either. Apparently the ratings went gangbusters too.

Wrote Jamie Wall on RNZ:

Not only did the All Blacks win, but this was a pretty big victory for rugby in general considering how poor this French team had been made out to be. All three tests were sold out, including the problematic Wellington market, with a World Cup-sized media contingent in attendance as well… this once again proved how big a deal the All Blacks are compared to everything else.

Hard to argue with any of that, although as Wall alludes to tickets against the likes of Argentina have been harder to shift in recent years and there were tickets available for the third test against France in Hamilton until late in the week. If the Nations Championship starts to be treated like a development tournament by some countries, the buying public will slowly realise they’re being hoodwinked and those cricket comparisons could start to look more apt.

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The above can stand as a long lead-in for an appraisal of the Black Caps performance in Zimbabwe so far. Here is the key take away:

They’ve been fine.

Hey, what more do you want?! You can’t tell me that you’ve spotted any radical repositioning of the Black Caps’ T20 game under Rob Walter on the strength of some free-pass wins against weak sides.

They’ve bowled well and done what they’ve needed to with the bat (it might have looked a little different if anybody could catch balls that Tim Seifert hits in the air, but that’s by the by) to get the job done. Everybody has had a run. It’s like a team-building camp with a few games thrown in.

If you ask me, Paul and I did quite well to squeeze a podcast out of it.

NZ v SA, Tri-Series final, Harare, tomorrow 11pm, ThreeNow

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There is much better cricket being played in Manchester, although count me among those who are starting to find England’s need to be something extremely tedious. First they were the great entertainers taking the game back to the people, aka Bazball, then they’re the defenders of the Spirit of Cricket in the wake of Bairstow-gate, now they’re no more Mr Nice Guys.

Brook said that during the break between the conclusion of that game and the team’s reunion in Manchester for the penultimate match of the series… he had received “loads of compliments” about the drama created by the outbreak of hostility at Lord’s. “Everyone said it was awesome to watch,” Brook said. “It was good fun, I have to admit. It made fielding a lot more enjoyable.”

Zak Crawley’s time wasting at the end of the third day infuriated India, which in turn pushed the rest of the England side into action. “Everybody saw them guys get stuck into Creeps [Crawley] and Ducky [Ben Duckett],” Brook said. “We just thought: ‘We’re not having that.’ So we all piled into them. A few days before Baz said sometimes we are a bit too nice. [So] we had a conversation and said: ‘It’s time to not be those nice guys that we have been before.’”

England are a genuinely good side to watch, but the whole role-playing thing is turning this neutral against them.

England v India, 4th test, Manchester, tonight 10pm, ICC.tv

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The last of Justin Paul’s Development Squad series dropped this week. It’s an interview with Shane Bond and it’s typically illuminating.

In the back part of my career, I spent a lot of time in my room. I didn’t drink much and I was injured a lot. I probably could have offered more to other players but as I said a big part of my success came because I got off my own arse and chased it. I wasn’t going to ram it down someone’s throat but if anyone came to me, I was more than happy to help. Some would have considered me selfish but I believed that if I was preparing myself the best I could, I was doing my job for the team.