Failure

I know that my extensive and informed readership is eagerly awaiting my insightful response to the the complete disgrace of the All Black performance in the quarter finals so I will not disappoint you and shirk this responsibility.

When I was thinking about what to write I thought: I could harp on about the ineptitude of the senior players on the day; I could lament their poor decisions; I could lambaste the newbie referee and yell treasonous insults at his NZ boss Paddy O'Brien; I could laud the French for their defense. commitment and passion and reflect on the lack of all three in the All Blacks; I could speak of the horror of watching the match unfold and feeling the dejavu of 1999 and 2003, and; I could regale you with all of the jibes I have been getting from my Aussie friends and the swiftness with which the All Black choker jokes were coming through (almost as if they had the send button poised to click at the end of the game).

But I won't. Instead I will talk about what needs to change in no particular order:

1. Ditch the Haka. It makes us think we are immortal when clearly we aren't. Stirs up the other team even more viz the frogs and its getting too repetitive. This is very controversial I know but I seriously think that it has detracted from the game and our performance. I know that Adidas will be horrified and there will be an outcry from the media but tough. If it ain't benefiting the team then we don't need it.

2. Cut the budget in half for the team. This will result in less support staff meaning less namby pamby softness and more focus.

3. Change the tri-nations to every two years because we get enough practice playing SA and Australia and not enough playing the northern hemisphere

4. Tour the Northern hemisphere when they can field their #1 team - not have tours which give us a false sense of self-belief by playing second string or end of season/past peak sides.

5. Widen the tri-nations to include Argies and a pacific island team.

6. No more "trust the coach no matter what stiff upper lip crap" any longer. If we think that the coach is screwing it up then lets admit we're making a mistake and intervene.

7. No more strength and reconditioning and no more rotation. Pick a top 15 and only drop players when they are injured of die. An adjunct to this is to play less tests during the season.

8. No more one-dimensional playing. Build a team that can THINK. Last time we had a team that could change their game plan was Sean Fitzy 's in the 90's.

9. Look at the cup draw and make sure there are games that get harder through pool play and if there aren't then schedule an All Blacks A vs B game DURING THE COMPETITION to keep the guys match fit.

10. Less cotton wool treatment of the players. Yes, they will get injured, but hell that's the game; use our depth to our advantage.

11. Prepare no further out that 12 months from the next cup. Don't stress about it, don't think about it. Don't talk about it until 2010.

12. This is the most controversial: Lets forget winning the cup. As New Zealanders lets just say it doesn't matter that much. Our test record is fantastic and we win practically all the time other than at World Cups. Perhaps we need to just not place as much expectation on ourselves next time.

I seriously considered getting into AFL in the days following the debacle but that's a cop out. It is our darkest hour, I know, but I will continue to support the not-so-mighty men in black despite this.

Lets hope they adopt some of my recommendations ha ha ha ha.