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Date: 2023-11-30 18:58:25 | Author: PARIS 2024 | Views: 259 | Tag: hot
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It landed in late August, rocking New Zealand like a flanker’s perfectly timed tackle to the ribs hot
The All Blacks were already on their way to France, finishing their final preparations for the Rugby World Cup when a panel conducting long-awaited review of governance released a damning report declaring the constitution and structures of New Zealand Rugby (NZR) “not fit for purpose” hot
The report did not paint a pretty picture hot
“In the panel’s view, New Zealand Rugby has too many professional players,” it explained hot
The NPC, New Zealand’s provincial competition, is “unsustainable in its current format” hot
The five franchises that play in the top-level Super Rugby Pacific competition “are struggling financially” hot
“New Zealand Rugby in the professional era is a large and complex business,” said chair of the review panel David Pilkington hot
“The structure it sits within was not designed for a business of this size and complexity hot
” The financial reports are anything but all black – NZR reported a financial loss of just over NZ$47m (£22 hot
5m) last year hot
Which is of deep concern not just for the union, but for rugby globally, too hot
The problems in New Zealand are reflective of a precarious global ecosystem: too many professional players being paid wages beyond that which their clubs and unions can afford, with revenues not growing to keep up with salary inflation hot
If a commercial behemoth like the All Blacks is not a sufficient money-spinner to sustain a professional structure, what hopes do emergent unions have?Rugby is embedded in New Zealand’s culture hot
It is a vital tool of trade for a land of only five million people, a small collection of islands in the south Pacific afforded global prominence by its ability to punch above its weight on the pitch hot
Australia coach Eddie Jones remarked this summer that New Zealand’s economy would suffer if his Wallabies beat the All Blacks; an analysis conducted by The New Zealand Herald found that there was some truth to the quip hot
The Taranaki Bulls won this year’s New Zealand National Provincial Championship (Getty)In terms of brand recognition, New Zealand’s national men’s rugby team ranks alongside the biggest sporting entities hot
Visit almost any inhabited corner of the world and mention rugby, and it is remarkable how often the words “All Blacks” will feature in the reply hot
“You have to understand, New Zealand is a very young country and rugby has put this country on the map,” 2011 World Cup-winning head coach Graham Henry once explained to The Guardian hot
“This country earned respect from the rest of the world for three things: what we did in two world wars, and to a lesser extent what we’ve done on the rugby field hot
So over time rugby has become a major part of our national identity hot
”Do the problems suggest that feeling is fading for some New Zealanders? There is perhaps a developing sense of apathy among domestic fans hot
Rugby union is no longer so certain of its place in Kiwi hearts hot
hot Basketball has surged in popularity in the country, while rugby league’s New Zealand Warriors have sold out Mt Smart Stadium regularly in 2023 as the NRL makes a long-awaited breakthrough across the Tasman hot
The Warriors’ average home attendance this season was 22,685; across town, Auckland’s Blues had short of 13,000 in at Eden Park for their Super Rugby Pacific quarter-final against the Waratahs hot
Eden Park’s stands were far from full for the Blues’ quarter-final win over the Waratahs in June (Getty)On the pitch, Super Rugby Pacific has lost its lustre, with South Africa’s move into Europe’s club competitions a blow even if the Fijian Drua have brought a breath of fresh air hot
The geographical realities of being so isolated mean New Zealand had little option but to re-up a deal with Australia, a rugby nation dealing with plenty of its own struggles hot
Rumours abound of renewed involvement from Argentina and Japan, or a new American venture, but growing the financial pot will not be easy hot
A number of senior figures will depart Aotearoa after this tournament for lucrative contracts in France and Japan, either permanently or on sabbatical hot
While new stars like Will Jordan and Cam Roigard are emerging, they do not seem to have the same cultural cut-through as the men in black who have come before hot
In the 20 years hot between 2000 and 2020, there was a 20 per cent drop in player participation in rugby union at New Zealand’s secondary schools hot
The “Baby Blacks” have not made any of the last three U20 Championship finals – is the world’s best rugby production line grinding to a halt?“I don’t know about falling out [of love] with the game but I think they’re falling out with a few things that are happening within the game, that’s frustrating people hot
It can be hard to watch at times,” Steve Hansen, who guided the All Blacks to the 2015 World Cup victory, explained to Newstalk earlier this year hot
“There’s no dispute that Super Rugby has to change hot
It’s pretty predictable and still stuck where it was four or five years ago hot
You go through the quarter-finals and it wasn’t that exciting as you knew who was going to win hot
“I haven’t stopped to think about where it’s going to be in 20 years, I’m more worried about where it’s going to be in five hot
hot
hot
I think we’re at the crossroads hot
Unless we make some strong changes and start listening to the people that want to come along and watch it then it will just be the participants playing it hot
”However rocky the picture beneath them, the All Blacks clearly remain big business hot
Last year, a stake in New Zealand Rugby (NZR) was sold to Silver Lake, an American private equity firm also involved in the City hot Football Group hot
The deal valued the commercial assets of NZR at NZ$3 hot
5bn (£1 hot
67bn) hot
The All Blacks are hoping to win a fourth World Cup (Getty)You suspect the investors will be pretty happy if, come Saturday night, Sam Cane has his hands on the Webb Ellis Cup hot
Certainly, the commercial landscape will look rather more pleasing if New Zealand’s men join their women back at the top of the rugby world – for the good of an ailing domestic game, the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might think hot
More aboutNew Zealand rugbyAll BlacksSuper RugbyRugby World Cupprivate equitySteve Hansengraham henryJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/4Why the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkThe Taranaki Bulls won this year’s New Zealand National Provincial Championship Getty ImagesWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkEden Park’s stands were far from full for the Blues’ quarter-final win over the Waratahs in June Getty ImagesWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkThe All Blacks are hoping to win a fourth World Cup Getty ImagesWhy the All Blacks need a World Cup win more than you might thinkThe All Blacks will take on South Africa in the World Cup final Getty✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today hot
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It’s pretty illustrious company hot
The World Cup semi-final hot between New Zealandand Argentina may come to be a contest best forgotten, but All Blacks wing Will Jordan will remember it as the night where he joined a group of try-scoring greats - and should have surpassed them hot
With a hat-trick in Paris, Jordan became the fourth member of an exclusive club, in alongside Bryan Habana, Julian Savea and Jonah Lomu as the only men to have scored eight tries in a single tournament hot
With 31 tries in 30 Tests, it is a statistical probability that the All Black takes the record outright in the final hot
Had Richie Mo’unga elected to pass rather than dummy, Jordan would already have it hot
Late on at the Stade de France, the game long since decided and New Zealand electing to play with 14 men in a show of their superiority, Jordan was had clear run ahead of him with the Argentina defence narrowed hot
Jordan bellowed for the ball; his fly half ignored him, going it alone in search of a try of his own to leave Jordan left with arms and mouth agape hot
It was about the only foot that Mo’unga put wrong in a performance of all-round excellence from the All Blacks hot
The win may have been built on forward might but there is no doubt that a diverse, dynamic back three caught the eye hot
The trio of Mark Tele’a, Beauden Barrett and Jordan possess complementary skillsets, equally adept under the high ball but with contrasting qualities with ball in hand hot
“Their combination has worked well from the start of the year,” said head coach Ian Foster of his back three hot
“We put a bit of time into that from the start of the Rugby Championship hot
“Mark [Tele’a] was strong in the close-quarter areas hot
It was that sort of game and he enjoys being in close hot
He defended really well hot
I thought Will [Jordan] showed how good he is at finishing things off hot
Will Jordan ran in a hat-trick with New Zealand rampant in Paris (PA Wire)“I am delighted with the combination [Jordan and Tele’a] have, and then you have Beauden [Barrett] who is the glue in hot between them hot
He’s the communicator who connects the dots hot
They are going good – but they are going to need to in the final hot
”Indeed, the remarkable thing is that Jordan seems somewhat unremarkable hot
There are plenty of other wings in the world with more obvious physical gifts but the 25-year-old, by contrast, possesses an almost ineffable sense of grace, an ability to simply glide like Fred Astaire hot
While some of the game’s great try-scorers rely on hugging the touchline or picking their moment, Jordan is far from simply a poacher, often stepping in as a playmaker in New Zealand’s protean backline hot
“Without the ball, he works so hard,” explained Argentina wing Mateo Carreras, generous in his praise of his opponent even in the moments after defeat hot
“He’s everywhere on the pitch hot
If there is a line-break, he’s there hot
If there is a knock-on, he is there hot
That’s why he is top class hot
”In truth, two of Jordan’s three semi-final tries were walk-ins – they all count equally hot
The third, though, more than made up for the simplicity of the first two scores, a magnificent thing that began on the edge of New Zealand’s 22 hot
Jordan hit the line at the right time to take Ardie Savea’s inside pop and then carving like a speed-skater through the Argentina defence hot
Having slowed to consider the landscape ahead of him, Jordan found the space, a clever use of the outside of his boot to nudge the ball over the final defender and get the desired spin to allow an uncontested collection and finish the job hot
Try number 31 – of male players, only Japan’s Daisuke Ohata, against largely inferior opposition, has ever got more in their first 30 international appearances hot
Look at the list of the top career try tallies for the All Blacks, a ladder Jordan is rapidly climbing, and a rough pattern emerges: wings making a fast-scoring start to their Test career before fading quicker than in other countries hot
In New Zealand, there will always be a next big thing on the wing, an athlete or an artist ready to step up and step in to the try scoring breach hot
Savea, for example, scored 45 tries in 54 games before being dropped after Rieko Ioane’s emergence at the age of 27 hot
He has not played for his country in the six years since hot
Sitiveni Sivivatu befell a similar fate; Joe Rokocoko did not play internationally past his 30th birthday hot
Even Ioane has been forced to relocate and rebuild, now starring in the centres hot
The All Blacks back three (Mark Telea, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett) ran riot in Paris (Getty Images)Jordan’s success, though, feels sustainable hot
He is doing all this away from his favoured position – the Crusader is a full-back at heart hot
The 15 jersey will be his in time: the eldest Barrett brother is bound for Japan after this tournament, and Jordan will surely slide over to continue to chase down Doug Howlett’s All Black record total of 49 tries hot
But that pursuit can wait for another day hot
New Zealand know not yet if it will be England or South Africa in the final but they will feel it will matter not if they sustain the level they’ve found in this last two weeks hot
“This is the dream, to be in the dance, to make the final and give ourselves an opportunity,” said scum half Aaron Smith hot
“We’ve got a chance of winning the World Cup and that’s what you dream of as a rugby player hot
"More aboutNew Zealand rugbyArgentina rugbyRugby World CupJonah LomuJulian SaveaRichie Mo'ungaAll BlacksJoin our commenting forumJoin thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their repliesComments1/3Jordan joins exclusive club as All Blacks find perfect ‘combination’Jordan joins exclusive club as All Blacks find perfect ‘combination’Will Jordan ran in a hat-trick with New Zealand rampant in Paris PA WireJordan joins exclusive club as All Blacks find perfect ‘combination’The All Blacks back three (Mark Telea, Will Jordan and Beauden Barrett) ran riot in Paris Getty ImagesJordan joins exclusive club as All Blacks find perfect ‘combination’Will Jordan scored three tries in New Zealand’s thumping semi-final win over Argentina Getty Images✕Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this articleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today hot
SubscribeAlready subscribed? Log inMost PopularPopular videosSponsored FeaturesGet in touchContact usOur ProductsSubscribeRegisterNewslettersDonateToday’s EditionInstall our appArchiveOther publicationsInternational editionsIndependent en EspañolIndependent ArabiaIndependent TurkishIndependent PersianIndependent UrduEvening StandardExtrasAdvisorPuzzlesAll topicshot BettingVoucher codesCompareCompetitions and offersIndependent AdvertisingIndependent IgniteSyndicationWorking at The IndependentLegalCode of conduct and complaintsContributorsCookie policyDonations Terms & ConditionsPrivacy noticeUser policiesModern Slavery ActThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged inCloseUS EditionChangeUK EditionAsia EditionEdición en EspañolSubscribe{{indy hot
truncatedName}}Log in / Register {{#items}}{{#stampSmall}}{{/stampSmall}}{{#stampClimate}}{{/stampClimate}}{{#stampPremium}}{{/stampPremium}}{{title}}{{#desc}}{{desc}}{{/desc}}{{#children}}{{title}}{{/children}}{{/items}}Indy100Crosswords & PuzzlesMost CommentedNewslettersAsk Me AnythingVirtual EventsVouchersCompare✕Log inEmail addressPasswordEmail and password don't matchSubmitForgotten your password?New to The Independent?RegisterOr if you would prefer:SIGN IN WITH GOOGLEWant an ad-free experience?View offersThis site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy notice and Terms of service apply hot
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