Jibe confirms NZ’s dominance

David Campese, in his column looking ahead to the Tri-Nations on our sister website www.rugbyzone.com, couldn’t resist having a dig at the All Blacks’ World Cup failures.

“I suppose if the Blacks don’t do well it will be a blessing in disguise for 2011 because it will be the first time they’ll not dominate between World Cups!,” jibed Campo, however unintentionally confirming New Zealand’s overwhelming dominance of the Tri-Nations; the 14th version of which kicks off on Saturday when the All Blacks lock horns with the Wallabies in Auckland.

The Tri-Nations was played for the first time in 1996 following the formation of SANZAR on a float of Rupert Murdoch’s dollars and in the 13 years of its existence the All Blacks have been victorious nine times with the Springboks and the Wallabies each managing only two wins.

In this year’s tournament the Kiwis, going for double figures, will be trying to win for the fifth time in succession.

The Aussies, in the halcyon years of John Eales et al, won their titles back-to-back in 2000 and 2001 with the Boks triumphant in 1998 and 2004.

The all-time log clearly shows to what extent the New Zealanders have ruled – the All Blacks having won 37 and lost just 17 of their 56 tests while both Australia (W23 L32 D1) and South Africa (W21 L34 D1) are in debit.

Since the tournament was extended in 2006 to provide for three matches between each of the contestants (with a reversion to six matches to fit in the World Cup in 2007) only the All Blacks have been victorious; taking the championship by 12 log points in 2006 and by six points in 2008.

The Springboks have ended up at the bottom of the pile for the last three years and been the wooden-spoonists eight times.

Factor in that the All Blacks whipped the Lions 3-0 in 2005 and you see that while we South Africans crow about our success in World Cups we’re just not up to it against the All Blacks – hence the fact that Kiwis just can’t get away from the fact that the Springboks did not play the All Blacks when they won in France in 2007!

Thus the 2009 Tri-Nations, which for the Springboks starts on August 25 when they take on the All Blacks in Bloemfontein, looms as a massive challenge for John Smit and his players and Peter de Villiers and his coaches.

Let’s face it the Springboks were unimpressive in taking the series against the Lions and the Tri-Nations will show whether, as has been mooted in many quarters, there are irreparable fault lines in the set-up and whether we will now start to see the demise of a golden group who have no worlds to conquer now that they have the World Cup and a series win over the Lions on their list of achievements.

And one of the big worries must be that in their only two wins (in the Tri-Nations) the Springboks started out away from home and then clinched the title back in South Africa – this year they will have to do it the other way round with three at home (the All Blacks twice and the Wallabies once) before finishing up overseas (back-to-back against the Wallabies before signing off against the All Blacks in Hamilton on September 12).