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NZ Sevens captain DJ Forbes - Source: Photosport
So the 5th Rugby World Cup for sevens has come and gone and the New Zealand teams, male and female, have come away with a mixed bag of results.
Playing for the first time in a World Cup our women's 'Black Fern Sevens' team, captained by Hannah Porter and coached by Darrell Suasua went just great, making their final and only being pipped by Australia in a sudden-death extra time thriller. The Black Fern Sevens would have been massively disappointed at not winning but I hope they eventually reflect on a tournament well played.
For the men's team consideration of their effort must be different. Their departure from the competition at the quarter-final level, beaten by Wales, must raise many questions about the backup, commitment and support of the team and its structure. A debrief is definitely needed.
There must surely be a probe launched about what happened. And answers given to the main questions; Is New Zealand rugby content with the men's result? And are they satisfied with the level of commitment they give to the sport?
Firstly it has to be said the International Rugby Board's World Cup in Dubai, with the women newly involved in their event, was a huge success. From it the thrust towards getting the shortened version of rugby possibly to become a permanent Summer Olympic sport by 2016 took some significant steps forward.
Starting at the start, and looking at the New Zealand men's team we note that Rugby Sevens from its various tournaments has grown to be a world event. It must be given at the very least consideration by the IOC.
History of success
New Zealand has had great success at sevens. The IRB World Series has been going now for ten years and in that time New Zealand's team has won eight series titles and one World Cup.
New Zealand is a proud rugby nation and it has grown to enjoy the sevens success. But success and the maintaining of it has to be worked at and nurtured. Otherwise it will erode and break down. In 2009 that seems to be happening. The wins are not coming any more. The NZRU must ask 'why?'
Firstly this year no one in rugby circles in New Zealand seemed to have been listening to the highly successful coach Gordon Tietjens when he said before the Dubai tournament he thought any of six teams could go through and win the World Cup.
Perhaps 'Titch' was saying this when he weighed up the composition of the opposing teams he was seeing being announced to play. He would have noticed many nations gearing up to send squads which had been kept together through the numerous months on the current sevens circuit tour.
In other cases Tietjens would have seen teams greatly strengthened from the regular sevens circuit events. Those countries seemed to understand the greater significance of the four-yearly World Cup. We did not seem to.
Tietjens on the mark
Tietjens proved to be spot on in his judgement. Wales were very worthy winners over Argentina in the Dubai final. (Wales beat New Zealand along the way just as they also did in Wellington in February)
So in the debrief we must ask; was Tietjens offered maximum support for this World Cup team?
Concerning the sevens team Tietjens is used to picking his squads from the ranks of second and third tier players. That has been his lot for years now. He has built a well deserved world reputation for discovering young talent, many of whom have gone on to become champion All Blacks (one count has 31 All Blacks having played for Tietjens in the sevens first before cracking the international big time in 15s)
You could say that while Tietjens has built his reputation with all of his canny instincts and sharp tactical sense he has done it all with crumbs off the big table.
But now Gordon's latest sevens team has been humbled at quarter-final level. And I believe it was because the New Zealand team seemed to go to the cup without fully strengthening his team to match the significance of the event.
None of the opportunities which the coach had to choose players from the Super 14 wider squads seemed to have been encouraged. Our NZRU seems not capable of forcing the issue of releasing Super 14 players to strengthen a World Cup squad.
Other countries did expand; Fiji did, (bringing in five professionals from French clubs) England did too (International winger Tom Varndell was one of the best players over the weekend) while the two eventual finalists Wales and Argentina were able to kept their best team intact through all the tournaments of this season so far. They got their just rewards.
By comparison coach Tietjens was permitted to ask for consideration to be given for him to have one player from the Super 14 playing squads or one player from the franchises 'wider' training squads.
The mystery of Anesi
The non-appearance in Dubai of New Zealand's Soseni Anesi was the most public and the most intriguing. The Chiefs' speedy outside back trained with the Gordon Tietjens' final training squad and Tietjens apparently wanted him in the touring team. But Anesi then suffered an "existing hamstring injury which he was not able to overcome" (a quote from Rugby News) and he withdrew himself from selection consideration. However 30 hours after the sevens team had departed for Dubai Anesi was suddenly included and eventually played for the Chiefs Super 14 game against the Sharks in Hamilton.
Did the Chiefs put pressure on Anesi to "withdraw" from the sevens because of his injury but then miraculously healed it in time for him to play in the weekend's Super 14? We know Tietjens was not best pleased.
The case of Victor Vito's was also mystifying. Though this time Tietjens himself might have to answer the main question.
He desperately wanted Vito in the squad. The big Wellington man is a proven sevens winner and could play both forward and back. Weeks earlier Tietjens had already lost the powerful regular Edwin Cocker. So Vito was needed.
But Vito (eventually the only Super 14 player in the squad who travelled to Dubai) boarded the plane carrying a calf injury.
We must presume the sevens team thought he would, with regular team medical attention, come right in the week in Dubai before the tournament started.
But in the end he was a sad sight hobbling about the hotel. Eventually he had to have Julian Savea sent for from Wellington as a possible replacement. Savea arrived just in time to be included in the final 12 players but not for Vito. It was Tu Umaga-Marshall who injured his back at training and Savea joined in his place.
That was bad luck but the question remains - why did Victor Vito travel to the tournament when he was carrying a significant injury?
In the end Vito had to play as the '12th man' but only for 45 seconds on Day 1. He warmed up and aggravated the injury on day two and he hardly trained at all on day three. Effectively that reduced New Zealand to 11 players. With the inexperienced Savea also only playing a few seconds across the three days it could be said that New Zealand only had a squad of 10 players fully able.
Then there was the curious case of the little halfback and sweeper Tomasi Cama.
We also have to ask how come Tomasi went on tour? Was he fully fit? He couldn't have been because we all blinked in horror when he emerged for every game with one leg completely and totally swathed in bandages. Players who are 100% fit don't usually have one full leg covered up.
Did that therefore make it 9 and a half players fit to play for New Zealand while each of the other 23 men's teams had 12? If that's the case then our team was bound to fail.
Look. I may not be completely correct in the summary of the injury issues. But I reckon I am very close to the mark when I say this New Zealand team was humiliated at the Sevens World Cup mostly by indifference or bad judgement with only a little bit of misfortune mixed in.
The bottom line is this - we need to hear if the NZRU planning system is satisfied at their efforts with this team selection. Indeed, are they fully committed to the sevens team concept?
Am I also that wildly off the mark with the following? Does the NZRU assume that wonderful 'Lord Titch,' with his crafty ways and selection brilliance, will always find a successful team from the tier that he is allowed to pick from and they will just go over and routinely win the World Cup and sevens tournaments? If that is so it did NOT happen in Dubai. What we saw there was a New Zealand rugby team, wearing the famous black colours, not given its full opportunity. It was made to look very ordinary in company which they usually dominate.
The NZRU cheers loudly when they have sunny days at Wellington each February and the crowds pour in for our NZI Wellington Sevens event.
Over the years I have had the good fortune to regularly follow the New Zealand team in their successes in many other countries of the world.
Gordon Tietjens is deeply committed but he cannot do it all on his own. To me there often doesn't seem to be much care and concern and back up for his repeated proud showings on behalf of New Zealand rugby.
All of which meant I left Dubai thinking that suddenly our sevens rugby is at a crossroads.
The heavy feeling is more so because we now know that as a result of the excellent Dubai World Cup event the International Rugby Board's 7s proposal is just a few votes away from possible approval from the International Olympic Committee. That would make rugby sevens a full summer Olympic sport.
However, from a New Zealand point of view if what happened before and during Dubai this year was to happen right now at an Olympics we would not have a team worth sending.
And how sad would that be?
