Francesca Rudkin: I'm on the Rugby World Cup bandwagon

Woo-hoo- So here we go.  

The All Blacks have made the final of the Rugby World Cup. Who would have thought? After several years of mixed results, including historic lows, mixed selections and HR cock ups, the All Blacks are peaking at the perfect time.   

And there’s one thing we know about the All Blacks - when belief in the team is high, anything is possible. Maybe even a forth RWC title.   

They’ve been one of the highlights of the tournament for all rugby lovers after putting on one heck of a show to beat the number one team Ireland. Up until last weekend the Rugby World Cup had been a slow burn for me. I know many have been in hog heaven with all this rugby to watch, but working weekends probably made it harder for me to get into the flow of it all. The Ireland game finally got me excited.  

On Monday I found myself alone and glued to the couch watching the France v South Africa game too, I was all in! This is what I have been waiting for - knockout rugby.  

I suppose you could say I’ve put my ‘self-preserving’ low-expectations aside and jumped on the All Blacks bandwagon.  

Tana Umaga this week expressed some - shall we call it disappointment - at those trying to clamber back onto the bandwagon at this late stage.  

It’s not like we haven’t wanted to be onboard - but the vulnerability on show, the results and the coach distractions have made it hard to take the ride. It's not just the public who’ve been a bit gun-shy. Former All Blacks and rugby commentators have also spoken cautiously about the All Blacks chances. Even the TAB had the All Blacks as underdogs against Ireland.  

It doesn’t mean we love them any less. It just means we’re more cautious in how we express it.  

Umaga was pointed about those who’ve spoken out about embattled head coach Ian Foster - which is a fair point. I’ve never jumped on the Foster trashing train, the man is human after all, but I do feel New Zealand Rugby didn’t act respectfully in regards to the current coach’s employment.  

And while we will all have to give credit where it’s due - as Tana Umaga suggests we should in regards to Ian Foster - it’s NZ Rugby who should be reflecting the most.   

There is really only one KPI that matters in sport - whether you win or lose. So if the All Blacks do manage to win a fourth World Cup title, the question may be whether we should knight Ian Foster?  

I asked one of our esteemed sports producers here at Newstalk ZB about this. He said, “Francesca, we shouldn’t just knight him, we should make a film and more!” His point- this is one of the most interesting, dramatic, and controversial periods in All Black history, and if Foster can vindicate himself with a title then throw it all his way. It's bigger than 'the kick' he said.  

But as we know, winning is never about just one individual, it’s about everyone involved - so in the meantime let’s just celebrate the All Blacks making it to the World Cup final. And regardless of how late you are, jump on that bandwagon. The more the merrier.  

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