Rugby World Cup 2011: Day of destiny dawns in New Zealand

THERE is much in New Zealand that suggests a hidden power from the boiling mud pools of Rotorua and mystical Maori influence to the simple fact that the men in black jerseys have dominated the sport of rugby for as long as most can remember.

A great documentary was screened this week by the BBC, made by former Wales back row Eddie Butler, looking back wistfully to the solitary tour victory achieved by the British and Irish Lions in New Zealand, in 1971. It featured interviews from some great Lions, Gareth Edwards, Mervyn Jones, Gareth Davies, Ian McLauchlan and the ‘King’ himself, Barry John.

The interviews with the All Blacks, however, legends such as Colin Meads and Ian Kirkpatrick, were intriguing in that they revealed the desire in New Zealanders for continual success in rugby, as well as their canny nature in moving on from defeat. They take rugby as seriously as anyone would when the sport stands so powerfully ahead of all others in a country that occupies a tiny space on the world map, and does still, as the past six weeks have shown, revolve around a great sense of community.

It is of real regret that earthquake-hit Christchurch has not played its part in the carnival, and only right that the current New Zealand squad, as well as Scotland, England and other nations, paid tributes to the strength of Cantabrians in adversity away from the rugby field with trips to the great South Island city.

It is also of great disappointment that the former Christchurch Boys High fly-half Daniel Carter will not, due to injury, be gracing tomorrow’s final in Eden Park, and no matter how well the hosts and Aaron Cruden might perform, they will miss, and we will miss, the coruscating style and ability of Carter in the No 10 jersey.

However, though born in Oamaru in north Otago, Richie McCaw was long ago adopted as a Cantabrian, growing up through the black-and-red ranks and leading the Crusaders in Super rugby, and he is certainly filling the desire for a new legend in New Zealand rugby.

McCaw typifies the All Blacks battle for World Cup supremacy more than any other, having been labeled the world’s best player in a collection of numerous personal gongs in the lead-up to the last two tournaments, just as the All Blacks were similarly beating all and sundry, only for McCaw and New Zealand to under-perform when the pressure reached boiling point; outplayed, out-gunned in the passion stakes perhaps, but undeniably out-smarted.

McCaw has spoken only briefly of the agonies he felt after losing the 2003 semi-final to great rivals Australia and then captaining New Zealand to a quarter-final exit four years later, delivered by France. The openside flanker was picked out for criticism post-2007 as having failed to provide the right kind of leadership, on and off the field.

Yet, what is impressive about him is he reacts neither to positive nor negative hyperbole, like Meads, Kirkpatrick, Sir Brian Lochore or Kel Tremain from the past. Kirkpatrick spoke in the documentary of how, when his side lost the first Test to McLauchlan’s try, having dominated the game, they did not conduct widespread soul-searching or turn on each other, but, despite national condemnation, “just got on with it”.

McCaw is like that. His family hail from Dumfriesshire, he has learned to play the bagpipes and he is hewn from straight-talking Otago stock. He is as far from a so-called “confidence player” as one is likely to get, and that equilibrium is what has brought New Zealand to this final and what could underpin success tomorrow.

The weight of expectation is unimaginable in a country as single-minded about the sport as New Zealand’s, and there is a great sense of relief in the population that McCaw’s team have got to Eden Park. It seems bizarre, but that journey to the final may prove more arduous than winning the trophy for this New Zealand side.

But they are not there yet. No team can ever be discounted in a World Cup final and that applies particularly to a French squad riddled with rancour and antipathy towards the head coach, Marc Lievremont, and still seeking a game to match its reputation. Lievremont has told his players that none of that matters, that their careers are more important than his and how they will be remembered now hinges on just 80 minutes of rugby. He also told them to believe in the quality in their side, which cannot be underrated.

Less aloof now the wrong side of 30, the proud Basque Imanol Harinordoquy has come back from a brief exile in great form and just missed out to McCaw for World Player of the Year in 2010. He is a dominant figure, especially in the lineout, an area where France will try to get their talons into this game. The front five are not necessarily exceptional, but they can scrummage when they want to and, in locks Lionel Nallet and Pascal Pape, and a powerful back row, France possess a pack that, when on song, is powerful and difficult to contain.

Most New Zealanders are also acutely aware that the only nation other than South Africa to beat the All Blacks in their country since 2003 is France, who won 27-22 in Dunedin two years ago. The French are also the last to beat the hosts at Eden Park, way back in 1994. New Zealand ruled the last time they met in a final, in the Auckland stadium in the inaugural 1987 spectacle, but they have shared four wins in tournament meetings since then.

Les Bleus have stuttered through this World Cup, yet have won when they needed to and, with a back-line bursting with lethal attackers, are a side of performers who have, on occasion, thrived under pressure. But they are rightly underdogs and if France are to win it will not be pretty. If they can take New Zealand on up front, dominate in the scrum and lineout and work tirelessly at the breakdown, so strangle possession to the home side, they have kickers in Morgan Parra and Dimitri Yachvili who can keep the scoreboard ticking in their favour.

That is an ‘if’ to rival any we have used for Scottish challenges in these columns, because this All Blacks pack is a cracking one, among the most technically proficient in this tournament in each facet of the game. The experience of Keven Mealamu, Tony Woodcock and Brad Thorn has moulded well around hard young talents in Owen Franks and Sam Whitelock, with a terrific back-row blend of guile, power, skill and rugby intelligence.

Piri Weepu is not the world’s most athletic scrum-half, but he is confident, experienced and does the basics well – his goal-kicking is a rare weakness – and newcomer Cruden was wonderfully assured against Australia, albeit behind a pack on the front foot. Even his relative inexperience after being called up during the tournament following injuries to Carter and Colin Slade pales when one realises that he has more caps (nine) than Grant Fox had when he steered the All Blacks to a World Cup win in 1987 and Andrew Mehrtens when he wore the No 10 jersey in 1995. Outside them are the most dangerous and penetrating attackers of the World Cup and, as a team, they have been the best defenders.

To those facts one adds the sense – which has built since it was announced that the World Cup was heading here – that 2011 would be a year for legend-making in New Zealand. Their country needs a team to bury the ghosts of World Cups past, to throw off the “choker” tag and finally re-claim the world’s top rugby prize. More support from the grassroots to Super 15 rugby than outsiders realise depends upon it in a nation not as rugby-dominant in some parts as it once was.

Meads, Kirkpatrick, Hobbs, Fitzpatrick, Brooke, Jones, Kronfeld, Lomu et al achieved much for the aura of New Zealand rugby, but the more the World Cup has grown and the more the trophy sits with the names of others engraved on it, the more doubt has sunk into the North and South Islands.

There is a sense of destiny with the tournament returning to the nation, and while we may not expect the same flourishing victory that might have been achieved were Carter wielding the conductor’s baton, one believes that there will be a home win, not because of fates, but because New Zealand are the better team.

But, as Kiwis call on their ‘mana’, remember that the word destiny is derived from the old French word ‘destinee’, the past participle of ‘destinare’, which means to ‘make firm or establish’. The question now is whether McCaw’s men are ready finally to make firm and take control of their own destiny.