It’s All About Belief

I hadn’t been that nervous about a semi since I watched Brokeback Mountain.

I believed the All Blacks were the best team in the comp – certainly the only unbeaten team. I believed that even Stephen Donald was a better first-five than the Tokoroa Turnstyle Quade Cooper. I believed that Lord Sir Ayatollah Graham Henry is the greatest coach in the history of any sport ever and I believed that Robbie Deans couldn’t coach his way out of a paper bag.

I’d been there before though.

In 1991 the squad was a little weaker than I would have liked, but we are the Mighty Mighty All Blacks so I believed. I’d believed we were the better team in 1995 when Joel Stransky’s droppy sailed between the uprights. I’d believed that a half time buffer of 14 points would be enough to secure a victory over the French in 1999. I’d believed that (although not at our best) we’d stroll past the out of form Wallabies in 2003. I still believe that bloody pass was forward at Cardiff in 2007.

Belief and actuality are often independent events but last night at The Garden of Eden it all came together. This was, for mine, the single most complete performance by a M.M.A.B team since Saint Daniel’s perfect game against the Lions in 2005.

The match started with a Cooper blooper as the Aussie kick off sailed over the touch line, setting up a dominant MMAB scrum that led to a perfect Weepu kick for touch. Everything was working out the way we’d hoped – the MMABs were on it from the get-go.

The only try of the match came not long after with a sublime Israel Dagg tippy-toe sideline performance that would have made Sammy Davis Jnr look on admiringly. The perfectly timed offload to a charging Ma’a Nonu left the Australian defence without any way to stop him and the entire nation of New Zealand let out a sigh of relief.

Much had been made of David Pocock’s outstanding (if not entirely legal) performance against the Boks last weekend. Whilst Bryce Lawrence came under scrutiny for his policing of the breakdown in the quarter finals, I thought he was, at the very least, non-partial and it’s every good flankers job to push the referee’s limits. Referee Joubert, on the other hand stamped his authority early and two penalties against Pocock set the bar nicely. A bar that Richie McCaw was aware of, and used to the MMABs advantage not long after. The play of the game, the one moment that seems to have been over looked was the McCaw penalty after the Aussies made their first foray into black territory. Our defence was stretched, the Aussies were all over our line. McCaw simply went off his feet, played the ball and stared at the referee. He might as well have said “penalise me”. Joubert obliged and an almost certain seven points was reduced to three. You just can’t buy experience like that. Kids take note – cheating sometimes pays.

I believe we had the game won at that point.

Other standouts for the MMABs included Piri Weepu, who has not only stood up and taken over Saint Dan’s backline management role but appears to think of himself as another loose forward as well. The back three – Jane in particular, were near perfect under the flurry of high balls that seemed to be the beginning, middle and end of the Wallaby game plan. Aaron Cruden was not only making good decisions on attack but was tackling as though his life depended on it. I saw somewhere the perfect summary of Cruden’s game using the just the letters of his name: Cater Ruled Unfit? Didn’t Even Notice.

The Wallabies remained hamstrung by their first-five but showed enough on attack in parts of the game to suggest a comeback was possible but poor handling let them down at key moments. They missed Beale who could easily have made a difference to the backline attack.

I believe the French team won’t offer too much opposition next week.

I believe our lads are on the verge of a moment I have waited far too long for.

But this time I believe that the MMABs believe… and that’s a force that no team in the world can overcome.

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