No matter who you are, from patriotic and loyal fan of the All Blacks to an ardent and opposing foe-booing-critic, when the restrains of the Haka are about to be unleashed, all seems unified as a captive audience has been won, and the time old tradition is once again renewed on the field of sporting dreams.

Decades have passed since the life was breathed into this heartbeat, as the significance of this challenge was matched by the intensity, passion, and commitment to honour this piece of All Black and New Zealand cultural heritage.

Recently, while, Ka Mate, will always have pride of place, the All Blacks personally inspired rendition, Kapa O Pango, has encouraged much public outcry for its declaration to be viewed on a Test Match night, as such has been approving of those longing, screaming, and dreaming of All Black!

This Saturday Night, as the All Blacks are the Black Beast as the King in Kong, this Tradition will rise again, as our Boys in Black take on the Nation of the Wobbly.

However, while the teams are the same, the man, Piri Weepu, who has recently been in the middle of so much more than the just the 80, will not be on this Telecom BackingBlack End of Year Tour time, and the question remains, who will lead the Haka?

If the Haka is the All Blacks heartbeat for war, then the one who is defining this moment, the individual who is calling this forth, exclaiming forth its restrains, preaching out life to the darkness, has a vitally important position, role, and call!

While Captain McCaw and Hooker Mealamu have ably lead this before, if the BackingBlackBlogger would have his way, he would put the Haka into another Gear, Hosea Gear.  While this destructive winger may not make it onto the playing podium, should he play, there is no other who has so previously graced this role with such intensity, passion, and commitment!

While it may well be another, I would put the Haka into the Hands of Hosea!

What Say You?

Who Do You Want to Lead the Haka?  Why?

Only 3 Sleeps Till Saturday!

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

Since we last warmed ourselves with another stirring come-from-behind All Black beat-down, in my role as the BACKINGBLACKBLOGGER, I have had the occasional task of dealing with a grief-stricken supporter, lost and lonely in an All Black-free world!  Not sure what to do with their weekend, not sure how to fill this time, they are left mourning another International season’s passing, pining for a new International season to begin!

Welcome To a New Week World!

Yes, next Saturday Night, from a Hong Kong central and city skyline, the All Blacks are BACK, and better than ever!

While we are desperate for the Boys to turn out the lights on the Jersey of Bling, we do hope that the Sonny will be shining as the Blackness seek to make the Aussies Go All, Oo, Ah, Glenn McGrath, as we hit them for six, making it 11 in a row!

However, with all that has recently gone on before, with the All Blacks going unbeaten in 2010 to-date, stretching back into 2009, making it 15 in a row, What are your expectations for the Telecom BackingBlack Tour?

Yes, I expect that you will probably lean toward, winning, let’s drill a bit deeper down here!

Therefore, in this very short post, which is intended for us all to go crazy in the comments, write down your wish list for the All Blacks Telecom BackingBlack Tour, 2010 

While I am not the All Black Santa… and even if I was, I wouldn’t be inclined to write a note to myself, when I very easily and very often talk to myself, here is my list

The BACKINGBLACKBLOGGER’S TBBT WISH LIST!

1] That We Would Win Every Match on Tour – Had to Include It!

2] We would show-case an increasing diverse way of finishing off the opposition, which would be apparent even in a given performance.  Game-plan growth!

3] Our Tight-Five would lay down the heat and hurt, particularly thinking about scrum-time.  Might as well include the line-out. May any issues in this phase be a figment from the past.

4] That We Would Give Enough Playing Time To See and Show Our Sonny-Side Off.  I hope SBW expresses himself on the field!

5] It would be clear whether Stephen Donald and Daniel Braid were potential legitimate back-ups to Dan and Richie.

6] Brad Thorn would have perfect health and fitness, finishing this Tour with his sights set fully on 2011.

7] Hosea Gear and Alby Matthewson would mark this Tour on the field.  It is TIME… particularly for Hosea!  Also, Alby would find a new Twittering way to celebrate scoring! 😉

8] Mealamu and Hore would have strong, HEALTHY Tours.

9] Robbie Fruean will be added as cover for injury, buy would stay on Tour, even finding his way onto the field, near the end of the Tour!

While I could go on, you must!

Yes, it is now your turn to unleash your desires onto this blog, for the All Blacks jaunt to the North.

There is just over one week to go!

Let the build-up begin!

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

Yes, the Saturday night before the Sunday announcement, and in the bowels of All Blacks rugby, claim and counter-claim were being proposed by many an arm-chair selector, making their case for why this player should Tour and this player should not.

In all of these discussions, the name Piri Weepu would barely have received a murmur, let alone a mention!

Why so?

When discussing the selection issue names like Brad Thorn, Kieran Read, Conrad Smith and Cory Jane, to name a number, rarely come up for debate. These players are in the form of their rugby lives and are as dead, as a stone-cold certainty… Ben Franks is getting there [insert: looks like Stone Cold Steve Austin with that goatee]. These players have earned their title as, Sure Things, something that the recent All Blacks play of one Piri has definitely warranted and deserved.

All this may have seemed like a world away from reality, when in the World Cup of 2007… Stop Reminding Me!… Sorry!…. All this was a world away when Piri Weepuwas shockingly set aside as we went North for another rugbying jaunt, in pursuit of another “i am,” Will-i-am… Webb Ellis!

However, just as time would heal old wounds, we bring you forward to Saturday October 16th 2010 in Wellington-again-had-Wind, as the Lions let loose on their Hurricanes bed-fellows, the Naki [insert: Taranaki] in the latest round of the ITM Cup. While there were moments to remember, only one sticks resolutely in my mind!

The Devil is definitely in the Details therefore let this blogger simply say that what would transpire would make Piri Weepu the Biggest Selection Shocker… and this time it would be Graham Henry who would be the one waving his fist at this misfortune [insert: or expletives to that effect].

What to Say Now?

While Bugger may seem appropriate, let us not dwell on this moment. In this season of All Blacks rugby Piri Weepu has put the Bugger into Bigger things on the field of hopes and dreams, and is one reason why this has been a domestic season to remember!

Reflecting on a playing career, we very easily discuss and document a player’s rise from potential to reality and, while such is the nature of words on a page, there is no guarantee that this transaction would ever take place.  There are too many variables to take into consideration to sufficiently detail, with history providing many an example of players who had the gifts to succeed.

While it would be unwarranted to connect this last paragraph to Weepu’s All Blacks career, if it had stopped at 2009 and ceased before 2010, we would have missed his own very killer cross-over.

From this blogger’s standpoint, in the year 2010 Piri Weepu the rugby player has truly found himself, and the All Blacks may very well have found the answer to the recent perennial half-back shuffle.  While Jimmy Cowan would want to challenge and dispute… and he is up for it…  the wrinkles in Weepu’s game have been smoothed, and his edge has been sharpened.

While Henry and Co. have played share and share alike for the Number 9 spot, whenever Henry has called on Piri he has delivered… in all phases, even when Dan lost his kicking boots for a half, and in the wind of that Wellington night, he would Powza it over versus the Boks!

These are Great Rugby Memories from a Season to Savour!

If you are feeling gutted for the man on fire, consider his personal disappointment at this time. If you have interacted with his tweet, you will know that he is loyal to those he has bonded with, and so, with close and long-time friend, the Twitter King, Neemia Tialata, Tweeps would be updated with a smiling Hacksaw Jim Dugganeven as his hopes for a Grand Slam lay in a plaster-ous ruin

As the timing of the moment would have it, it would be Saturday night that would provide the biggest selection shocker of the weekend, even before Graham Henry and Co. would arrive on early Sunday evening to deliver a team that had just lost its Pow!

I can not help but feel gutted for the man who has seemingly grown so much in a year, both on and off the field!

With all this in mind, we at BackingBlack send out much love or aroha to Piri!  We can’t wait to tweet you back on the field of our All Blacks dreams and your All Blacks realities.  We know you can come back stronger for this period of pain, as you set your course for Rugby World Cup glory.

That is surely enough from me, but while I stop this flow, I encourage and exhort  you all to comment out some love for our All Blacks number 9 Piri Weepu as he begins the road to recovery!

He’ll Be Back!

… and so will I… Not as exciting, I know!

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

To open I’d like to remind you of a little sunshine – a little Sydney Smile to darken your world. Check out the BackingBlack Facebook page here to see some great fan pics from the last Bledisloe showdown.

While that may seem like an ideal elixir, we do trust it will be sufficient for what is about to follow, as it is nearly time to go there.

But, before there can be here, we must point out that we have been here before!  Yes, with Parts One and Two in this blogging series we have choked on an object, Bill, and now with this final instalment, our Trilogy is complete…Mwahahaha!

I am aware that this post may encourage moments of great emotion, therefore, prepare yourself as we get this gagging thing going along again!

We begin this account in the year 2003, with the BackingBlack Blogger resident in the Western Island of Oi, Oi, Oi Oi-ville. Therefore, when the Rugby World Cup ventured onto the Horizon, desperate places called for desperate times, desiring desperate realities… Yes, only World Cup Glory would keep the wolves away! 

Leading up to this tournament this seemed perfectly reasonable, as the All Black coaching staff had perfected the “silence is golden” strategy, and the All Blacks unit had unleashed an attacking brand of rugby that had shocked the opposition into silence… encouraging some outrageous realities, like teams forgetting to tackle!

In the Tri-Nations of 2003, leading up to the Rugby World Cup, the All Blacks had inflicted two 50-point away victories, one each against the Boof-Boks and the Wobblies, where the rugby world had witnessed lightning in a bottle… sublime and mesmeric!

While the All Blacks had played their hand, and it was indeed impressive, hindsight would prove it was a Tournament too soon!

If the All Blacks have been hot favourites before any Rugby World Cup, this may have been their hottest, as it had only been a matter of months since this team had dismantled the opposition, and this is surely not enough time to turn things around. However, the dawning of that final Tri-Nations match versus the Wobblies, where the Blacks only won, 21-17, at home, would find its ultimate expression in a Sydney Semi-Final Night!

On that night our one-dimensional attacking game found its equal in an all-out Aussie defence that would play its final a week too soon, beating our boys, 22-10. This match was decided on penalties, as both sides crossed for one try apiece.  With the pain there for all to see, Jerry Collins stayed out on the field of dreams, waiting for the nightmare to end!

Choking?  While that may be the perspective of some, the All Blacks were never really in it after  Mils Muliaina was denied that try, which lead to a Sterling effort, giving the Australians that little bit of belief that they needed. With home ground advantage, and an All Blacks team stuck on repeat, the Wobblies ground their way to victory! A lesson to be learned… No?

While 2003 proved painful when living in an Australian world, what would transpire in 2007 would hurt on a whole new level!

Yes, the 2007 Rugby World Cup enters the building, and is greeted with a deathly silence, a grieving silence of all the departed hopes and dreams of New Zealand and All Blacks supporters who look on in shocked silence at what could have, and should have, been!

While they say time heals old wounds, three more years Byron doesn’t quite sound or feel like the real thing, and as we move into the fourth, the reminder of what transpired on that Cardiff day wounds like a Whale… afresh!

Gutted!

It is fair to say that, while what transpired in the 1995 affair still sickens the stomach, the events surrounding this Quarter-Final arouse some serious sensibilities in this BackingBlack Blogger.

While this match has been pulled apart from one pillar to a given post… in my view there has yet to be a sufficient statement of events that does justice to what transpired on this day.

Therefore, in this post, there are some things that I believe need to be said!

Simply put, He Stuffed Up!

Yes, I am sure we all know who I am referencing here, the pasty and not very tasty English Referee, Wayne Barnes, who very quickly became public enemy number one for All Blacks fans.

So What Went Wrong?

Any activity handled by humanity is a reality prone to mistakes. Which means while the forward pass, in particular, was unfortunate, I can sort-of-stomach a Referee missing such individual calls, as these things happen in a Test.

The issue with Barnes, which he must be called out on, is that he allowed one team, France, to do whatever it took to stop another team, the All Blacks, and it was to hell with the rules of the game.  In an analysis of events, it should matter little which teams are playing in a given encounter, as the laws of the game are what give Union definition and life… and these are supposed to be colour-blind!

In a match where the team ranked number 1 in the world is dominating both territory and possession, yet does not receive one penalty in the last 50 minutes of a Test Match, is not only exceptional, in my opinion, it is a mirage of the real thing.

The only ‘choking” reality on that Cardiff afternoon was one Referee who lost the plot.

Well, goes the refrain, the All Blacks still should have won, and they should have done more!  

Well, if I may, that is a load of theoretical mumbo jumbo, which misses the point!

The All Blacks did do enough, however, as Barnes proved, there was nothing the All Blacks could do, save scoring tries, and maybe a drop-kick, which would have been nice, to impact on the scoreboard. When have such limited working conditions ever been part of the game we love?

Barnes gave away the rules of game of Rugby! Union stopped breathing for a time!

Yes, the All Blacks “should” have won that game easily! 

France should have been penalised off the park, and no one would be talking about that result now. The All Blacks should have scored at least 9 to 15 points as a result of the insistent French infringing and breaking of the rules of Rugby.

Rugby is only a game, but like society, if you don’t have rules and laws, refuse to, or are unable implement these, people will do what they want, with the result being one heck of a mess.  If there is anarchy, whom is to blame? The All Blacks? No! France? Well, they may be the cause of the disruption and are therefore, in the wrong! However, those who are ultimately responsible are those who have been given the authority to enforce the rules.

Are the All Blacks to Blame for the Referee’s Performance?

Yes, Richie should have raised Barnes’ failings, but still, the responsibility rests with one man!

Therefore, asking if the All Blacks choked in 2007 is a question not fitting this Rugby occasion and this band of All Blacks brothers! The All Blacks could have played better, Yes, but this is true in every International under the Sun, and is the wrong question to ask! The All Blacks played a rugby match in real time, and while the score on the board will always be a reminder, look at the pictures on display, they do not lie!

Breathing? Just!

While in all this typing we cannot change the past, we can learn from it in the present, and use it to positively impact our future! We have seen in the one man, Richie, what can be accomplished when the lessons in life are not forgotten in the journey. This should provide us with much encouragement as we project to 2011

Yes 2011, and as All Black supporters, we will have to listen, watch, and read as much will be made of this narrative, with each opposing team hoping for an All Blacks unthinkable!

Not This Time!

What Say You?

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

That was until one looked into the mirror, the morning after that night before.  Yes, it had been a tough finale, and it was written all over my face… *Yawn*…  Nevertheless, the warm mellow glow of Commonwealth GOLD is enough to encourage extra Jam on the toast as brave New Zealand, All Black, and BackingBlack fans step out into the Wednesday of another week!

Did you stay up for the Final?  Did you see the early morning darkness through?  Could you handle the heat when the 7s Kitchen was on Fire, and it needed a Shower, I mean, a Stower, of the Sherwin variety to help put it out?

Yes, it was a sensational victory for this very Un-Commonwealth band of rugby brothers, lead by an incessant Titch [Gordon Tietjens], who have now gone through 4 Commonwealth Games without losing a match on their rugby record, providing us a Golden moment to remember before the Telecom BackingBlack Tour storm begins!

However, before we move our minds on to the end of year tour, there are a couple of fan lessons we can learn from the 7s victory, particularly as we project to a William Webb Ellis dawn! 

1] There are going to be multiple moments of struggle to, Kill Bill, and win this trophy

We need to be reminded of this reality, as our assumption can be that it is just a matter of turning up, and the job will be done. Yes, expect there to be some very stressful moments for the 2011 RWC Champions… A sporting past-time generally involves a competition and a battle for supremacy.  We, the fans, need to be ready for this, not only as we watch things unfold on television, but especially for those… please let it be me… who will be at the grounds at the business end of the Tournament.  If we are naive about this, we can very easily be shocked into silence and random moments of thoughtlessness and panic can overtake and overcome.  Forewarned is forearmed, and those who know that the war will be tough will be more readied for the battle when the Kitchen is on Fire!

The 7s team, in the midst of the 2nd half, were behind by more than a try, they looked tired, and if the Australians had scored next, I think we all know what the result may have been.  What to do at such a time as this?  On Twitter I was reading distressed and panicky responses from those who were thinking the worst… Yes, the unthinkable! [insert: that the Australian Jersey had won the night].

However, in the cut and thrust of elite sport, being down and seemingly out, is part of the journey, and as in life, where there are valleys and mountain peaks, such is the trail to traverse toward the finish line.  We need to expect there will be multiple moments for our All Blacks in the 2011 RWC, and while the opposition and their fans would like to see such moments paralyse our hopes, dreams, aspirations, and support, these are the moments when we need to, KIA KAHA, Be Strong, Standing and Supporting Our Boys in Black, Out Loud and In Person!

We will be readied to do this, if we are practicing what I am preaching…

2] We have got to stay strong in our confidence and belief

Believe. Simply put and definitely demonstrated by the New Zealand 7s team who said that their will was to be done. In the business end, when it counted, the Blacks were the bankers!  Behind 17-7 and being dominated at the break-down, which is mandatory for 7s dominance, was it time to mentally, emotionally, and intellectually give up?  Not for the players who continued to believe that they would outlast the Australians, and with the introduction of fresh and firing legs, the New Zealand 7s team turned the lights out on the Australian outfit, proving that if you never give up on never giving up, with a belief set in GOLD, you will be wearing the medalion with your stepping out gear on, in the end!

The All Blacks have also proven this season that they are the team who know how to finish off the opposition, and have spoken about their belief that has driven them on to victory.  However, as the RWC has generally not been a happy hunting ground, you can sense how the opposition and their fans will be invigorated by this perceived chink in the All Black Armour. As this perspective is encouraged, their belief rises, and what we most dread dawns.

But 2011 has to be and will be different, and we the fans need to set the standard.

The 7s prove that if you allow your belief to be defined by the convictions of your rugby character, you can handle the setbacks, rise above, making it all better in the end.  Conversely, and as fans, if we allow a given moment to define our sense of the final outcome, we turn into panicky teens with that huge ZIT on Formal Night, where what we most dread, becomes our reality, and it turns all septic!

We Need to Mature!

Come Rugby World Cup 2011, let us remind ourselves of our 7′ GOLD, let us reflect on the All Blacks’ recent finishing form, and let’s stay strong with a believing resolve, that no matter the score on the board between minutes 0-79, it really only matters when the clock strikes 80!

Given the All Blacks’ ability to execute and finish strongly, underscored by their winning record, we can have a resolve throughout the battle that the All Blacks will win the war!

Yes, you say, but this is a Rugby World Cup, and these are different.  You are right, this will be different!

While there are no guarantees in the world of sport… I am a Believer… Thank You, Justin!  We at BackingBlack will be Backing the Boys All the Way… PERIOD!  Let’s Back Them Together!

Once again, Massive Congratulations to Gordon Tietjens, DJ Forbes, and all the Boys.  You have made us Proud!

Can’t Wait for 12 months!

What Say You?

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

Herein lies the biggest argument used by those applying the Choker tag!  The argument goes that the All Blacks have been hot favourites each and every successive World Cup, have been the form team in between each World Cup, and leading up to each World Cup… UNTIL… until they have been bundled out… AGAIN… consistently following their modus operandi of bottling it in the big-time, blaming one excuse after another!

Is this Valid? While there is merit in some of how this is framed, it goes too far. Let me explain!  The compelling reason is that it romanticises the All Blacks favouratism as a dead-cert in a two-horse race.  Like many ventures in life, humanity is prone to put a warm mellow glow into an historical context, thereby infusing more life than is warranted.  Yes, the All Blacks have been labelled favourites, or among the favourites for each Rugby World Cup, but dead-cert at each event, I think me not.

As one who has viewed every World Cup and every World Cup Exit, I am not ‘entirely’ blowing chunks, therefore, let us examine the circumstances surrounding each event!  

In 1991, after the 1987 World Cup in New Zealand, All Black rugby was at its behemoth-best, and dominated until late 1990, where the shock and awe of their play was being replaced with the tried and true, as the opposition began to believe victory was once again possible, and started to play like it.  With the loss in Sydney to the Wallabies 21-12, followed by a narrow 6-3 victory in Auckland, meaing Lord Bledisloe was maintained in the year of 1991, the signs were there that all was not well.

While time would ultimately be telling, the All Blacks were tracking on the down-side of the curve, with the Wallabies beginning to go in the opposite direction. The four previous years of All Blacks dominance would not be dismissed in popular expectation, however. As the 1991 World Cup began to unfold, it was clear that this All Blacks edition were playing on the dregs of the team that had so dominated world rugby.

While seeing is believing for most, Lansdowne Road was crystal in its clarity, and as this individual watched on his stretcher in an early Christchurch morning, it was Wallabies who awakened the dawn. The All Blacks were out of the 91 Rugby World Cup, losing 16-6, a Semi-Final too soon!  Were the All Blacks favourites, did they choke on the opportunity of a life-time? While they certainly had it in them to battle through, this World Cup was at least a year too far, as their form had followed suit, and their curve had flat-lined!

As 1995 rolled into a rugby worldview, All Blacks rugby, which had previously been taking a “Waltzing-to-Wallabying” direction, was beginning to find its feet again, and with new talent, such as one, Andrew Mehrtens, and a oh, Oh, OH, Jonah Lomu, on the horizon, the All Blacks dream once again began to take hold.

The first signs were in a pre-World Cup build-up match versus Canada, as the Boys began to play a different brand of Rugby, Total Rugby, leading up to this African event. As the Tournament began, while the Wallabies were reigning Champions, like the 91 affair, they were heading south, with the All Blacks rapidly on the rise. This would reach its zenith in the Semi-Final when the Behemoth was truly unleashed on the wing, with Keith Quinn even struggling to throw a line, as the All Blacks put the English in their place, and the fear of Jonah into All of Africa.

Then the final took place!   While the World Cup Final result is etched into rugby and New Zealand folklore, the events leading up to this moment struggle to find a consistent narrative. While much is made of the Suzy line, what gets lost in the confusion and noise is that there is no doubt on the condition of the All Blacks players. Whether Suzy was up to her old tricks again, in this respect, proves irrelevant! Spiro Zavos has documented the events surrounding the food poisoning, and even if you doubt the malicious nature of how this happened, such does not change the impact on the players. While the scoreboard will always record a Springbok victory, in all honesty, the fact that the All Blacks were so close, is a credit to the team and ethos! Mehrtens was my man, but how could he miss! Springboks 15 All Blacks 12!

Were the All Blacks favourites for the 1995 Rugby World Cup?  Sure, they were talked about when the tournament began, but it is too easy to forget that these were not dominant All Black years, and while their favouritism grew as the tournament entered its final stage, the only thing the players were choking on was their previous meal!

This leads us into 1999 which, according to Patrick Kidd, is the fabled year, when the choking world would be truly gagging for it! The year 1999 would seem to be providing some relief to All Blacks fans, after the disaster that was the “5 in a row, Hart must go” year of 1998. Yes, 5 losses in a row would nearly be enough for the All Blacks to lose their coaching ‘Hart’, and while he would survive, many other seasoned All Blacks had to let it go, and it really did hurt! With Taine Randell, the next annointed leader of the All Blacks army, even by the lofty standards of Sean “Full Credit” Fitzpatrick, 1999 was the calm after the storm of 1998… Well, until the All Blacks were blanked by the Wallabies on a Sydney-Saturday night, in the final Tri-Nations/ Bledisloe, before the World Cup in the North.

However, while that proved ominous, things were looking dark and glorious as the All Blacks led the Frogs 24-10 into the 2nd Half, in the 1999 World Cup Semi-Final. Jonah had been at his block-busting best, and while things seemed a little unsettled in the All Blacks camp, the scoreboard was smiling. If only that smile would not turn upside down! All rugby Hell was about to break loose as the Frogs went on heat, outscoring the Blacks 33-7 in a relentless period where they could do no wrong. Breathless, beaten, and seemingly helpless and hopeless, the All Blacks would be bundled out… again… France 43 All Blacks 31!

The All Blacks ‘Must’ have been favourites this time, in 99? Yes, they would have won the popular vote leading up the Tournament, and even as the tournament itself unfolded. With the help of another, Paddy, O’Brien, the Frogs were blessed to even make it through to this Semi-Final clash, but they caught lightning in a bottle in that 2nd half, and were sublime!

The Big Question remains, did the All Blacks choke… did they bottle it? I expect many to conclude that given the Blacks position with 30 mins remaining in the Semi-Final, the game was theirs to lose… and choke they did! While I do believe they are not guilt-free from the charge that more could have been done to halt the Napoleon advance, such a charge diminishes from a sublime period of French rugby.

If Sport is such a sure bet, which is the logical underpinning for the ‘choking’ charge to have credence, then the concept of competition in sport, is a context void of reality, with the onus for a result, entirely on one side in the equation, and in this case, the All Blacks.

The 1999 Rugby World Cup was a catastrophic event, not only because of the result, but because of the very nature of the result. The Frogs hadn’t simply won through the backdoor, they had charged through the front, making a definitive mark in the world of rugby! Yes, the All Blacks hadn’t helped by not doing more to stop France from playing all the rugby… but that should be pressing point… France played all the rugby in the end, taking the Semi away with their play!

Choking? I don’t think so, as such denotes a self-inflicted cause and effect! Not Doing All They Could? You Better Believe It!  The fact that this has happened again and again, does not help when examining this question, and while drawn out explanations do not play well in this sound bite culture, such explanations are really required when examining the World Cups that were!

While 2003 and 2007 are still before us, I hope this hap-hap-happy journey down memory lane has highlighted some of these historical moments of rugby illness!   In our next time together on this subject, I want to briefly touch on the 2003 Rugby World Cup, while spending the majority of our time on 2007, as this event is most recent, and in my mind, most tumultuous! There are some things that need to be said about 2007, and I sense some strong opinions coming forth… So Please, Stay Tuned!

Some reading this post may be too young or too-rugby-recent to be able to comment on all these World Cups, while others may have watched every one, and can recall the turmoil surrounding each reality (except 87 of course). Whenever you are on this spectrum, we definitely want to read your words, have your input, and share your perspective. What Say You?

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

However, this blast from our rugbying past is soon-to-be-our-present, as a “Donkey” and a “King” are about to be hit with a “Kong,” as the 4th and final instalment in Bledisloe 2010 finds its fulfillment in a Hong Kong central skyline, at the end of this month of October!

In New Zealand, while the colours of summer have begun to return to our worldview, I realise many a BackingBlack member has found the weekends without the All Blacks for company to be painful, not to mention, boringly mundane.  This says nothing for those who are facing a world of winter… alone in a rugby world.

Before this scenario sends some members to a very unhappy place, let me remind you that in four Saturday’s time, and for the following four that will make fiveSaturday’s-come-early-Sunday-mornings, we will be taken on a journey of blind date proportions, as our All Blacks team take on the Jersey of Bling, followed by a Grand Slam of an idea!

Now, while the Commonwealth Games 7s Team can provide some Black Jersey relief, I have something to settle your nerves and encourage your resolve, as we all beckon the beginning of another season of All Blacks rugby! 

While anticipating an All Blacks defeat proves to be your worst nightmare, have you ever wondered why the All Blacks have dominated the nation of the Wobbly in recent rugby events?

While we long want this to continue, and look forward with youthful enthusiasm to a fourth and final clash in 2010, we believe we have been offered the evidence… for all to see!

EXHIBIT A 

There are too many points of evidence to document, but this year we have been given many-a-reminder of the skill, talent, and all round McCawesomeness of this All Blacks squad.  Time and again, in an 80 minute rugby moment, they confirm to all watching worldwide that while the Black jersey intimidates, it is their mad skillz that dominate, as they saunter with style, onto victory.

In the following footage, their actions speak louder than their words!  Who would have thought such, off-the-cuff,  fun and games after training, in a first take, no less [insert: photo of a tongue in a cheek], would become such a hit? 860,000 views at the time of writing!

Just goes to show you, we can’t get enough, can’t get enough, No!

However, if not to illuminate and exemplify for this same watching world to see, and if a 10 Zip recent record over the Wobblies wasn’t enough to convince you that something wasn’t right with the ‘Bouncing Roobies‘ over the Ditch, we have been given an inside look at a Brumbies take on the All Blacks training phenomenon.

Warning: Viewers are warned not to copy such Australian activities as these could prove harmful to your form and future, not to mention your health. These activities were performed by ‘trained’ Australians and should not be attempted by such ‘untrained’ individuals.

Watch At Your Own Risk!

Now, while it is said, if you can’t beat’em, join’em, these Australian rugby players may have taken this concept past the brink! A moment’s silence for this concept’s demise at the hand of the Wobbly!

Hopefully these videos may have encouraged a chortle or three, as such should be a small reminder of why our All Blacks prove to be so good so often, as they can even make the unbelievable, believable, and while this may have more cheese than burger, they are our reigning Kings of Rugby, and will be so again, before you can say, A Pinch and a Punch for the First (er, 4th) of the Month!

Keep the Faith with us on the BackingBlack blog, as we count the days down to when the All Blacks put the “King” into the “Kong” of one “Hong.”

We still have much to say… Surprised?

What Say You?

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking

Yes, as is often the case from our friendly Colonialists, time and again, at the moment of their choosing, out will trot the line that the All Blacks are chokers. Considering where the All Blacks continue to reside in the world of IRB [Insert: the IRB is a flightless organisation devoted to the status quo of their best interests] Rugby rankings, and with a Rugby World Cup soon to be upon us, in New Zealand no less, it seems only reasonable to expect that those who can’t beat the All Blacks in between World Cups would see now as a fitting time to bring out their secret weapon, in another brazen attempt to make mockery of those in All Black come World Cup time!

Exhale People!… I know that was some sentence, but you don’t want to get caught on a semi-consonant in a quarter-final!

It should come as no surprise that Patrick Kidd of The Times Online has made another outlandish claim (covered in the NZ Herald here), deciding that the 1999 All Blacks Rugby World Cup team are the BIGGEST chokers in the history of the World of Sport… Truly… However, and Patrick is not ‘Kidding‘… such is the All Black propensity for bottling it, it only seems reasonable to also include the 2007 version who were 20th on the list.

I mean, as the Paddy Wagon was keen to underscore, our problem with “Wayne’s World Totally Un-Excellent” [Insert: See the Movie] officiating was very obviously, only the Yellow Card on Luke McAllister and the almost not- forward pass [Latest Gag: What is a Pass that is almost Not Forward… Answer: Forward… Ah Classic, Rock On Referees!]. Finally, just because we do it so well, it would be remiss of Patrick “I Kidd You Not” to also include a little sniping run with a 1991, 1995, and 2003 reference on the All Blacks debreath, I mean, debrief.

Suffice to say, and he was, the All Blacks do not do the Rugby World Cup Neck-Tie Very Well!

What Do We Have To Say In Response? Is Patrick the Kidd Justified in his Words? Do We Just Have to Face the Facts, Swallow Hard and Wear T-Shirts?

In Other Words, Are the All Blacks Really the Sporting World Champion of Chokers? Is It Really True That The All Blacks Show Again and Again That They Are The T-Rex of World Rugby in Between World Cups, Only To Prove In Each World Cup That They Have The Gag-Reflex of a Diplodocus… Docile and Defeated… and Extinct While We’re At It! 

Let’s See If We Can Reason Together!  

An important point of reasoning that gets lost in the rhetoric is that the All Blacks should have won in 1999 [Insert: Pick a World Cup] is not the same as saying they are chokers.  That, Ladies and Gentleman is a non sequitur, which is to say, that the conclusion, that the All Blacks are chokers does not automatically follow on from the premise, that they should have won all these Rugby World Cups, with 1999 emblematic!

The reason this is important is that it helps to move the debate on from a dead-end of an either / or fallacy!

The debate is generally framed in a way that either the All Blacks are Rugby World Cup Champions or they are Chokers, and while such is red meat for the heretics, it is both boringly mundane in its creativity, and in this blogger’s humble opinion, it does not do justice to the nuances, variables, and history of the Rugby World Cup-All Blacks phenomenon. It also pigeon-holes any dispassionate investigation of why the All Blacks have fallen short, negatively impacting on the likelihood for All Blacks fans to debate what has actually taken place!

Bringing in this last area of emphasis… we All Blacks fans…further highlights an area of perceived vulnerability from those who generally make these claims, as they move their glare toward the All Blacks nation. You see, the choking informers are wont to take the argu-mental high-ground, claiming that the All Blacks fans are unable to deal with this question, let alone answer it.

The argument is that because an All Blacks fan’s position does not allow them to hold an unbiased position to objectively deal with this question, such a position hardly has any validity!  The result being that in practice, this becomes a very one-sided argument!

While All Blacks fans are definitely predisposed to subjectively favour their team, let it also be put on the record that those who make such “choking” claims are also similarly predisposed… meaning, they do not hold some intellectually neutral high ground in assessing the All Blacks claims.  Those who generally hold to such a choking attack are not fans of the All Blacks, and use such rhetoric as an explicit tool to hit back at this rugby nation.

In short, those who are not fans of the All Blacks and want to argue that the All Blacks are chokers are in no better position when it comes to answering this question objectively, as they are just as subjective, meaning they hold to an opposing position to All Blacks fans.  They Are Not Neutral Indeed!

Therefore, this understanding helps to free up the debate, putting the onus more on the arguments that will inform these views, which is where we are heading! 

Now, while this may not sound like Cricket, let alone Rugby, it is an important foundation to grasp, as the outcome of this debate is greatly impacted by the position one holds!

Next time, we will do a bit of a history lesson, while looking at some other facts and figures in this debate, but let me close this with the following… I know, I close big-time!

Truthfully and Honestly, as fans, we should be able to frankly dialogue on these ghastly historic events as our All Blacks love, loyalty, and future is not beholden to what has taken place and what will take place on the green fields of Eden, as we project forward.  The All Blacks are our team… PERIOD… They represent and encapsulate much of what we hold dear as New Zealanders, project much of what we deem best in our melting pot of a nation onto a world stage, giving our small nation of some 4 million souls, a living witness that our nation is to be respected, while at the same, also capturing the love and loyalty of many an individual from the four corners of this planet who join our Team, join our Union, and Join our Backingof Black!

We are, and will remain, All Black… Period!

Please offer your thoughts, reactions, feelings, or perceptions… and, let’s reason a little together!

I am coming back to you very soon, and there is much more to add to this “thoughtful” introduction!

Until That Time

iamjonnyking

Okay, so that was a serious exaggeration and hardly believable, as All Blacks fans are far too savvy for such stupidity. However, what all true believers should be reading as gospel is that we at BackingBlack are doing all we can to provide a little blackness to brighten your world!

Therefore, to give you black that loving feeling, over the next period of posting, iamjonnyking, with a heap of help from you my friends, will dissect and analyse the players who stood tallest in the International Domestic Season 2010.

In this post, we will look at a number of forwards who will be nominated for their service and valor.

We will ask you to choose your top 2 from this list of our choosing.  Next, we will do the same with the backs, which will give us the Final 4, where iamjonnyking will do his best to present a case for each one of these players being given the Highest Honour awarded, The BackingBlack All Black Player of the International Domestic Season… You Never Know, We May Even Be Able to Rummage Up a Prize!

The Contenders

Kevin Mealamu – Scud/ Nugget – All Blacks Hooker – Mealamu could indeed be up for several awards, as the nuggety Auckland Hooker found the form that made him the number one number two, some seasons back.  While 2009 seemed to signal a continuing decline in Kevvy’s form, as time on the bench reduced his All Black impact to bit-part-player, the injury to Andrew Hore has provided Scud with the opportunity that he has grabbed with all 8 fingers and two thumbs!

This season, Mealamu’s continual work-rate on the ball, his ability to not only pick and go, but to do so with metronomic regularity that is coupled with an ability to make yards under fire, has reminded all of what one can get from this number 2! Given his athletic ability, which is not surprising, given his history as a loose-forward in an earlier rugby life, it is little wonder that Mealamu can lay down the hurt on defence, can anticipate the turn-over with effect, and can provide the link to set the back-line world on fire.  In 2010, he has been an All Blacks Nugget, worth his weight in gold! Kevin Mealamu – Hooker on Fire!

Brad Thorn – The Godfather – All Blacks Lock – What more can you say about Brad Thorn Sports-man?  At a time in a sporting career when we are trained by experience to perceive the worst, Brad Thorn is proving again and again that he is the exception in exceptional, giving us his best.  If Thorn was a liquid refreshment, he would surely be a full bodied Red, who is becoming richer and more readied, the longer he ages and goes under the time-tested reality of International Rugby, with more pleasurable the experience of all who taste and see that the Thorn is good.

Over the past couple of seasons, it has become apparent that Brad is becoming more comfortable in his Union skin.  This is clear in his ability with ball-in-hand.  Historically, it was as if Thorn was a little unsure and uncertain, feeling like a League Boy in a Union world, which impacted on his sense of play and action.  This season we have watched Thorn carry the ball over the advantage line, and many times, through it, as he feels comfortable to play with abandon!

Time is against us to blog about his defence, the number of rucks he hits… and opponents… and even his leadership, evident through confessions of Henry and McCaw, and validated in practice, both on and off the field. It is enough to affirm that Thorn’s perpetual wonder keeps getting better and better! Brad Thorn – Man of War!

Richie McCaw – McCawesome… ness – All Blacks Captain and Flanker – Volumes have been written about this rugby leader’s greatness, and surely Tomes will follow forthwith, which is why this blogger will seek to let brevity be his calling card in regard to the McCawesome phenomenon!

McCaw is the best player in the world, in my mind, without doubt.  His ability to make the play that counts was plain this Season once again, particularly memorable in a Soweto and Sydney Skyline, but these two visible reminders are but shadows to the substance of his all-round play.  While McCaw the player has never been in doubt, McCaw the Captain has been questioned by some… until 2010, when there has been silence on his reign, as his Captaincy has married nicely with his play.  This has developed and grown under the new law interpretations, even to the point that one may not have perceived this was even possible to that rugby-man who seemed to solely scavenge for ball. Words fail me… and that is saying something! Richie McCaw – Putting the ‘McCaw’ into ‘Awesome-ness’… McCawesome-ness!

Jerome Kaino – T KainO/ The Hammer – All Blacks Flanker – Potential has never been a foreign description of the Kaino player project. Blessed with attributes that a loose forward can only dream of, Jerome’s name was up in lights as he entered the world of rugby in a Barbarian jersey on a Twickenham night.  This festival match many moons ago is remembered for two acts of beauty, one hammertime of defence on the New Zealand line, and one piece of open field attack as Kaino ran around Matt Rogers who stood motionless with shock at this boy’s upside!

However, while the potential has never been in question, the application was called out by many, King Henry included!  Time has passed since the darkest days of doubt in Kaino’s application. As for the past few seasons, he has proven his vital position in the All Blacks cog.  This was shown in stark clarity in Sydney, where his introduction proved catalytic for an All Blacks team in deficit, where he both plugged the gaps in close that also allowed Richie and Kieran to move into space, with devastating consequences in the end.  One could say this 30 minute period was a metaphoric encapsulation of the Jerome Kaino All Blacks impact.  What a difference this man can make! Jerome Kaino – Here Comes the Hammer!

Kieran Read – Sauce/ Justin – All Blacks No. 8 – There has been much talk about this individual over the past number of seasons, and there is no doubt that his play for the ‘Saders at 6 was noteworthy.  However, world leading he was not!  But what was not, now is, as Kieran Read has made us all a Belieber!  Since Read’s move from the flank to the back of the scrum, he has literally been a revelation for an All Blacks unit that has searched for a banker in the boot, providing the loose-forward trio with a balance of variables that come together as one.

Did you think Read had that running game in him?  Of all the statements this year in his play, it is his ability to break the game line, to carry into and through contact, and to promote the ball to another phase of living that has screamed loudest that this Boy is worthy in All Black.  His motor is huge, his defence sound, his mind alert, and his sense of self secure, so much so that the man who speaks with eyes wide like saucers, is now being spoken of as a future All Blacks Captain.  This has been a break-out-stand-out season for all to Read-About-It, with the promise of more to come! Kieran Read – The All Blacks Boot is Back!

There we have it, and these are your options!

Please pick your top two and comment on why you believe each of these forwards is worthy!

Just so you know, we will also be blogging about the Most Improved Player, the Comeback Player, and Moment of Magic in the Interntional Domestic Season of 2010… Not to forget that a nicknames post is also on the way… and this is just for starters!

I know, So Much to Fill Your All Blacks Vacuum!… After all, iamjonnyking is theBackingBlack Blog Behemoth.  If the boys can do it out on the field, we gotta do our best to match them with our support on the blog!

We Want to ‘Read’ From You!

Until Next Time

iamjonnyking