Conservative All Blacks fulfil their destiny

The All Blacks' rather tortured journey towards a second World Cup title finally reached its destination at Eden Park, and fittingly, it was a match that strained the nerves of every New Zealand fan watching.

The seeds for the tournament victory were sown back in 2007 with their humiliating quarterfinal exit, but the events of two years later, when they lost three times to the Springboks were probably even more significant in shaping their plans.

In 2007 they over-complicated things, with an overblown buildup that included a lengthy rest and conditioning programme that left them prone to injury and lacking hardened matchplay, a rotation policy that built enviable depth but which left them constantly unsure as to what their best team was, and convoluted tactics and far too much emphasis on attacking play..

It all came horribly unstuck in the quarterfinals, while the Springboks went on to win the tournament by keeping things tight, and simple, building pressure and cashing in on mistakes.

Then in 2009, the Boks again exposed the All Blacks' over-emphasis on attacking players, when they bombed them into submission, forcing repeated errors from the likes of Joe Rokocoko under the high ball.

It was then that the All Black coaching staff probably formulated their strategy for the World Cup, although they didn’t really show their hand until the latter stages of this year's tournament.

Instead of all-out attacking wingers like Rokocoko and Sitiveni Sivivatu, they went for players with no specialist wing experience but the necessary skills to defuse an aerial game such as the one that did for them in 2009.

The irony is they did so in anticipation of a semifinal match against the Springboks that never eventuated....instead they found themselves playing Australia, who they blasted off the park before taking on the French in the final, where they won a battle of attrition by the narrowest of margins.

Their tactics were conservative. Gone were the efforts to run the ball out of their own 22, gone were the fancy moves and off loads, and gone were benches that were all about impact and nothing about contingency for when things go wrong.

Their tactics were also forced to a degree by the injury to Dan Carter...the one man who they would trust to have a go because of his peerless ability to play what’s in front of him. No one else would be allowed that leeway.

In another irony, the man who ended up in the hero's role was Stephen Donald, whose play against the Boks in a Carter-less All Black side in 2009 and again in Hong Kong against Australia last year had cost him the faith of both the selectors and the New Zealand public.

Two weeks ago he was on a whitebaiting trip with his mates ahead of his move to Bath in England.

On Sunday night he came onto the field, New Zealands number four pick at flyhalf, in a jersey too small for him, and it was he who became the special hero.

He took over the goalkicking from Piri Weepu, who had tweaked a groin muscle in the warmup (what was it about inside backs in this tournament, they went down like flies) and could not kick properly. Donald made eleven tackles in the face of a furious French onslaught, made one invaluable break, and kicked what proved to be the winning goal.

He has gone from villain to hero.

France, it has to be said, were magnificent right from the moment they stormed the All Black haka in the spine-tingling prequel.

For their spirited, defiant response they have been fined by the IRB for transgressing their ludicrous “ten metre” rule for “cultural rituals” when notable Maori figures like Buck Shelford and Glen Osbourne have applauded the French for the way they responded to what is, after all, a challenge.

It was the final gaffe from an organisation (the IRB) that has hardly put a foot right the whole tournament, and is now facing a revolution over the way they’ve been conducting themselves and their distribution of the massive amounts of money they take from these tournaments.

But back to the game, and it was incredibly tight, and it did feel at times as though the All Blacks might be denied again, but somehow....like the team that denied them in 1995, they found the inspiration and the determination, and urged on by the crowd, managed to close out the lowest scoring final in World Cup history.

As they held the Webb Ellis Cup aloft for the first time since 1987, I found myself in the company of some French broadcasters I have come to know well over time....including the great Philippe Sella.

They were obviously shattered and I tried to be charitable and suggested that the best team on the night had not won the game.

“Yes”, he replied, “perhaps the best team did not win the final, but the best team won the tournament”. A nice summation.

I know South African fans are still hurting, and will console themselves a little in the knowledge that the All Blacks did not have to face and beat the Springboks on the way to the title, just as the Boks did not have to face and beat the All Blacks four years ago.

Those are the vagaries of tournament play, and we know them only too well.

This year was our turn, our destiny, and to get that monkey off the back and finally win that Cup again has given this small but proud country a real boost as we near the end of what has been a rough year for a lot of people.

The last six weeks have been very special, and the joy of winning is tinged with a touch of sadness that this wonderful tournament has come to an end.

That is it for me this year, can I thank you for all your feedback and comments, and for the wonderful support we get from South Africa for our ReUnion show.

I wish you all a great end to 2011, a happy and safe festive season, and look forward to resumption of rugby next year.