Let’s hope Kirwan’s off the mark about the All Blacks

As euphoric as the unexpected Springbok win over the All Blacks was in Wellington last weekend, it may have stirred a hornet’s nest for all the other teams in international rugby.

Most international teams have made peace with the dominance of the All Blacks. They are just that good and such has been their superiority over the past decade, you can’t blame opposing teams for adopting an attitude of “us against them”.

But the Springboks played with guts in Wellington last weekend, snapping a two-match losing streak in the Rugby Championship with a hard-fought 36-34 victory – their first win over New Zealand since Pat Lambie landed a last-gasp, long-range penalty at Ellis Park in 2014.

The victory may have given international teams ammunition that the New Zealanders are not invincible in spite of their glowing reputation. But it hasn’t convinced legendary All Black wing, Sir John Kirwan.

Although the former World Cup winner admitted the Kiwi public and players would be hurting after the defeat to their traditional foes, he said it may have been a blessing in disguise for the three-time world champions, just one year out from the World Cup in Japan.

This week on Sky Sport NZ rugby show, The Breakdown, Kirwan said the loss was a good omen because it had happened in 2010 and 2014. Back then, he said, the All Blacks had a hard look at themselves, fixed what was wrong and went on to win the World Cup back-to-back, in 2011 and 2015.

In 2010, a year out from hosting the World Cup for a second time, they lost to Australia in a “dead” Test in Hong Kong.

In the months leading up to the tournament, they lost to South Africa and Australia again in Brisbane. They then went through the whole World Cup without losing a game.

In 2014, they lost to the Springboks at Ellis Park a year before winning the World Cup in the United Kingdom.

Kirwan strongly suggested history could be repeating itself as the Kiwis gear up for their title defence in Asia next year.

Let’s hope Kirwan is not as great an analyst as he was a world-class wing.

Trevor Stevens

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