But it's not just that. IMHO, it has been aboutASMO wrote: Sun Jan 15, 2023 2:19 pm Not giving the French a pass at all, it is no secret that Europe is not a priority for them and they put out weaker teams until the knockout stages.
Why is it though that there has been 1 NH RWC winner in the history of the comp? It cannot be luck or coincidence, what is the point of difference between us and them? Not funding, we are far richer not numbers, we have more players, not resources, we have world class facilities, not talent, we have equally talented players,so what is it? It can only be structure.
- skills
- and brains (decision making)
In NPC, nearly all the sides, 1 to 15, played attacking rugby. And I'm convinced part of that was down to the lack of money i.e. they really were playing for the love of the game. In Fra, for example, it was all about the arm wrestle and when the money came in it formed an ugly triste with the stupidly long seasons (which NPC has never had).
On the 2nd point, I used to say the real difference between NZ sides and everyone else was they had 13 or 14 players who would make the correct decision most of the time whilst everyone else was lucky if he had 3 or 4 players who could do the same. What has changed here is the game has become so structured and predictable, players don't make decisions any longer and so NZ's former advantage is gone.