NOOOOooooo! I know dear member of the All Blacks BackingBlack Blackness, like your first love that seemed like it would go on forever, and that warm mellow living sense that made you glow, until, the new kid turned up at school the next day, and you were yesterday’s news… O the pain of the one day school stand…
Now that it is the Thursday of another week, and you are feeling like you have been jettisoned from your happy place, to the bottom of a Bokke ruck, with only Bakkiesfor company… Scary!… even comtemplating, Is this what life has become… Please, don’t cry, we are here for you!
Yes, to prove our pathos [insert: tenderness] from me to you, we can’t let this day go by without a Domestic International and Tri Nations Season Review! Now, while that was a flow that would even melt a Vanilla Ice, what we are going to do for you in our following ‘few’ lines together is push rewind… push rewind on an All Blacks season that has been all about rugby redemption, redressing the results from 2009, rebuilding the broken cisterns of many hopes and dreams, and building on from that International on the 2009 End of Year Tour versus the Frogs, when the All Blacks were looking all Vanilla Ice, in All White [certainly made a nice change from grey!] on the outside, but out of the overflow of their rugby hearts they did play, and it was All Black.
That game was the stake in the International ground, the marker that signaled the no-surrender, no-retreat line, and the starting point for Season 2010! And, here we are, or there we were! 2010: The Year Where the All Blacks Bounced Back! While I am sure you want me you to recount the minutiae of each and every moment in each and every match, I will resist your pleadings and protestations, as this post is supposed to encourage celebration and not sleep! Therefore, let’s land on what will last through our lifetime, talking about the things that mattered most.
While the Steinlager Series may hardly seem worth talking about, let alone remembering… Steinlager Series? Yeah, you remember… Ireland and Wales… Too many sponsors products?… Yes, those matches against those two International teams who speak about this being their year to get the All Blacks behemoth [the non-blogging one, I was minding my own at home] off their back, but who come up empty handed, although they do add a few new excuses to their repertoire.
While these early season Internationals did not always get the pulses racing, they did provide the right opposition for many new All Black caps to find their footballing feet, and gave the All Blacks the context with which to challenge and ground their game for the Tri Nations that was soon-to-follow. This was also the first sighting of the 1 Tribe of Israel… Dagg, who would make his mark… Although, I better celebrate too soon!
The Results…
66-28 over Ireland, in New Plymouth [June 12th]
42-9 over Wales, in Dunedin [June 19th]
29-10 over Wales in Hamilton [June 26th]
With the All Blacks well and truly warmed up, it was time to get the Tri Nations/ Bledisloe on, cause we don’t get along… on the field, anyway! I can not remember a recent time when there was such a palatable hunger and sense about the main course in Southern Hemisphere Sport! Not only were people falling head over heels for the game of Union, there was a hunger and thirst for All Blackness, which would be matched by ‘the spread‘ that was put on by our Boys in Black!
Personally, as I reflect on the Tri Nations, I will remember the first two Internationals versus the Bokke and the final two Internationals, away from Home, as the matches that define this season! Some may remember that as this period was about to begin, P-Divvy, the coaching stream of wordiness… Hey, that’s not all that bad… *Ahem… Anyway, Pieter DeVilliers was preaching as to how the All Blacks weren’t the innovators anymore, which underscored and explained their recent results. Then the rugby began, and while he didn’t shut up, he did have to change his tune!
If King Henry and his men were the team in trouble, this distress would soon be turned paradise, regained, as the Men in Black destroyed the Bokke on Eden Park. Power, Pace, and Precision were unleashed onto a side that looked like it was wearing last season’s fashion, and was trying to make mutton into ham [insert: make it look good].
There was an edge about this performance that wasn’t matched for the rest of the season. The All Blacks, lead by One McCawesome, played rugby like they vividly remembered the 3-0 results versus South Africa, and didn’t want to forget how much it hurt. With these Internationals it was time to reverse the psychological hurt that was a dam about to break into a Bokke world. The Boks were never in it!
It would only be one week later, in the Capital of New Zealand, where the All Blacks would back up their Garden of Eden experience, where they would send the serpent packing, for another week. While this Test was more of a match, as the Boks decided to visit the Salvo’s, resulting in an improved showing in intensity and application, the score-line reads very much the same.
This match may be remembered for an insane moment of freakish skill by Israel Dagg, which even encouraged Richie to even get all hyped up and out there, as he made a bee-line to celebrate! Not to forget a rejuvenated Mils running like he meant it, with even Smithy noticing in the coaches box. With these two results, the 2009 Beast had been slain, affirming that 2009 was indeed just a bad nightmare, and we were now fully awake. Dream come true! All the talk about the end of the All Black machine now seemed to surprisingly cease. All the talk about lack of depth was suddenly forgotten. Now it was time to give a rebirth to stupid… Now the All Blacks were peaking a year out!
The Results…
31-12 over the Springboks, in Auckland [July 10th]
31-17 over the Springboks, in Wellington [July 17th]
While there were a couple of winning Internationals versus the nation of the Wobbly [49-28 over the Wallabies, in Melbourne, 31st July] and the Jersey of Bling [20-10 over the Wallabies, in Christchurch, 7th August], it is as we come to the final two Internationals that we have a season to remember!
While beating South Africa twice in two weeks is no mean feat, those tests were played in New Zealand. After leaving NZ, and losing to Australia on their way home, the Bokke now had time to lick their wounds, and they were not thinking about dying quietly.
Talk leading up to the Test Match in Soweto, South Africa was reaching near World Cup levels, and while we All Black supporters like to remember the year 1996, Bokke supporters are wont to settle for 1995. If the All Blacks did not drive home what was started in New Zealand, Soweto would again be the source for much sorrow for those in All Black, as what happened in NZ would easily be forgotten, and like that match in 1995, Soweto would all be about South Africa.
In NZ, it was a long night before the morning would dawn Black. We had waited a long time for that final 4 minutes, or so, but wasn’t it worth the wait?! McCaw once again had come through with an absolute blinder… even on the Wing… and Yes, He was in! Who was not standing with their arms raised, like an Israel Dagg, even if he hadn’t put the ball down yet! What a feeling, and we were even able to have some of the South African BackingBlack crew at the game who cheered on the boys. With that result in Soweto, what was 3-0 to the Bokke in 2009, was now 3-0 to the Blacks in 2010… Only in Soweto!
The Result: 29-22 over the Springboks, in Soweto [August 22nd].
FINALLY, we have the Sydney showdown, and while I could say something profound about this experience, I think I already have, which you can find… HERE! But let me say a few words about a match that will be remembered more for what lead up to this event, in a Canterbury context. The All Blacks proved that they can do great things when they come together as a team. They proved that what divides us can be overcome by what unites us and brings us together as New Zealanders and as All Blacks supporters. This International that darkened Sydney-side, may this be representative of what takes place over the coming period in the province of Canterbury. May we come together like our All Blacks, and prove that when something is that important, we can do anything!
The Result: 23-22 over the Wallabies, in Sydney [September 11th]
Don’t Dream It’s Over! There we have it, people of the BackingBlack Blackness! The Season has been won, and it is one to remember, celebrate, reflect upon, and get excited about as the End of Year Tour awaits. Maybe after all that, we should close where this all started, with BackingBlack.
Before this International Season began, the idea that you are very much part of was beginning to take shape. Once people were found and the plans were drawn, we got underway at trying to do something by the fans for the fans and support the Boys in Black on the field. We have only just begun, and we have some big ideas, but we couldn’t have done this without your support, All Blacks Fan People!
Just as the All Blacks are drawn from a number of different cultures and contexts, and formed into one team, we know there are mad All Blacks fans all round this world. It is a pleasure to have you as part of our team, and in this team, we are One! A HUGE, Thank You to Telecom for giving the idea wings to fly, and to all those who have played a part! Just remember kids, we have only just begun! While this first chapter of the 2010 International season has finished, we will not stop here on BackingBlack, so please stay tuned! I think the next post will focus on the individuals and the moments that made this season what it was
I will stop here, because I have talked too much. Please, we really want to read your thoughts, and reflect on what you have to contribute… after all, you are part of this All Blacks BackingBlack Team
To 2011 and beyond and…
Until Next Time
iamjonnyking
