It’s Tri Nations time again and while it is supposed to be a southern hemisphere rugby competition between Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, under the Sanzar banner it has also become a game of one-upmanship.
Or should that be a contest for the underdog label with so much emphasis put on going into these matches as the unfavoured side.
It was a craft developed by former All Black coach Laurie Mains, who could have had the winners of the four previous World Cups at his disposal only to find some way of convincing his players they were the underdog.
His successor John Hart maintained the New Zealand ability to regard this ploy as a vital tactic in the lead-up to Test matches.
This year Wallaby coach Eddie Jones — who has all the hardware in his trophy cabinet including the World Cup, Tri Nations Cup and Bledisloe Cup — got an early claim in for his side as the underdogs.
The frost had barely settled on a chilly Jade Stadium after the Canterbury Crusaders secured the Super 12 competition when Jones claimed that Australia would have the devil of a job getting past the All Blacks this year.
This despite the only key difference between his all-conquering side of last year and this year being the absence of captain John Eales.
Now we have All Black coach John Mitchell, a man showing all the characteristics of a New Zealander looking for the underdog status, claiming that his side couldn’t possibly be favoured because Australia have won seven of the last nine Tests between the two countries.
Jones took it a step further on Sunday.
”At the moment, we are capable of playing about 20 minutes of good rugby, but to win in the Tri Nations you have to play upwards of 45 minutes of consistent rugby.
”If you can play 50 minutes of good rugby, then you’ll win most matches, but it’s very rare that anyone can play well for 80 minutes,” Jones was quoted as saying in the Dominion Post in Wellington.
This from a coach whose team has just beaten France twice, including a superb defensive effort in the second Test.
New Zealand will name their side Tuesday for the first match of the series opener against Australia in Christchurch on July 13.
The main interest centres around whether centre Tana Umaga will be recovered from a knee injury sustained in the second Test against Ireland.
Chances are that if he is not picked that will slip New Zealand into the underdog role, although if he is picked there will be a question mark over his knee which will also see that qualify as suitable for underdog status.
Then again, Australia, who are expected to name their squad on Wednesday, are fronting up in the home ground of the Super 12-winning Crusaders, most of whom will be in the Test XV. And they’ll be without Eales.
That should be enough for them to wrestle the underdog status from New Zealand.
The biggest shock could yet be that both camps acknowledge they will have a fair idea of where they sit in the scheme of things once the game is over.
But then again, New Zealand and Australia have the chance next week to say the South Africans are an unknown factor, and we start all over again. – Sapa-AFP