Or have they ever?

That seems to be a debate that is happening all across Wales at the moment.  From Warren Gatland claiming they used to, and Graham Henry questioning what he meant by that, to fans on Rugby Rebels discussing it at length (page 5 onwards iirc).

So do they have an aura of invincibility?  Did they ever have one?  And what is one anyway?

What do we mean by aura?

Forget for a moment some new age, hippy idea about seeing aura’s, that is not what we mean (or at least, not what I mean) by aura. Instead I am using aura as an umbrella term that covers a multitude of factors.

What I mean by aura is something less tangible than talent. The All Blacks, in the northern Hemisphere anyway, have a mystique about them. We have built them up to be something special, a rugby country set apart even more than we do South Africa or Australia. They are often seen as what rugby is about.

And that is what I mean. There is something, in the minds of us in the UK more than it is actually inside the New Zealanders, that tells us they are too good, that we can’t win. It is a number of things – press telling us, names on teamsheets impressing us, a belief that we simply don’t deserve to beat them, a belief we can’t beat the. Consider it the opposite of the ‘steel’ some sides have to come through (a steel the All Blacks often also have). England in 03 were a perfect example of that steel, able to batter through games that they weren’t best in because they believed in themselves (as opposed to 02 when they were probably by far the best team in the world).

Like that steel makes you believe in yourself, an aura about a team can make you doubt yourself.

Better players

Now as far as I am concerned the reason the All blacks win up here so much is because they tend to be a better team, so let us throw out any idea that I am suggesting they are only winning because of some mythical aura. They have had better players, more skill, more drive and our better prepared (sweeping statement but generally true).

So if I accept they are better, and players know they are better, why the aura? Why not just say the better team is winning?

Freak Results

Well the better team does win most of the time. But what is amazing is how often they are winning.

England were the dominant force in the 90′s and early 2000′s, in the UK at least. But how many Grand Slams did they win? They lost to Wales in 91 and 99 despite being the better team in both, by quite a margin. they have lost to Scotland and Ireland whilst being the better team.

Better teams lose on occasion, freak results happen – but not to the All Blacks it seems.

Remember from a Welsh rugby perspective we have beaten South Africa and Australia in the last 10 years. Our home record against Australia is actually 2 wins and a draw in the last 3 games – and this is a team that has beaten New Zealand a number of times. France have beaten the All Blacks plenty of times and we have beaten France easily enough before.

So what makes it different? To me it is the All Blacks have an aura in the UK, one built up by th press, of them being something special, almost beyond rugby.

Times are Changing

So why has Gatland said that the All Blacks no longer have that aura? And is he right?

Well I agree with him, and for a couple of reasons.

1) Have you seen the team sheet? Whilst there are world class players there the sheet also has more ‘good players’ then ever before – and by that I mean good, not exceptional, which is often the case with the All Blacks. For me this is one of the worst All Black sides in a long time, still 2nd best in the world mind, but very definitely beatable.

2) Exposure. We now see, live and in high definition if we want, the All Blacks play umpteen times a year. We have All Blacks playing in the teams we support – and they aren’t always the best players there. It’s harder to fear what you know.

3) Losses. We see them lose regularly. Ok their win record is still VERY high, but they lose games in the tri-nations, we see them lose, we see them make mistakes, we see they are human, just rugby players – same as our boys.

These aren’t a race of supermen we are taking on, this isn’t some perfect rugby nation. this is a team of players, including players out of form, just back from injury or making their debut. They have injuries and suspensions. They are a rugby team, just like us.

Whilst this has been said for years it takes time to readjust the psyche. But having seen the Lions push South Africa so close, and having seen South Africa dominate the All Blacks at times, I think we are starting to get it. The All Blacks aren’t special, they are just a very good team – and one that isn’t as good as they used to be.

As far as I can see the aura is gone. I just hope that the players think the same thing.

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