Razagenus Rugby Rave

Should the current anti-violence campaign running in NZ be extended to cover the emotional abuse the All Blacks endure when they loose?

Former Australian assistant coach Scott Johnson has accused the New Zealand media of “constantly bagging the All Blacks”. It is an issue that has been discussed in the past, but it always seem to die away, as the All Blacks don’t loose consecutive tests all that often.

Yes it is true, the New Zealand public have high expectations of our iconic team and this is reflected in the media. But, do we sometimes hit the team too hard during the week and then expect them to be mentally ready for the real thing?

Or do the criticisms provide ammunition and drive for a team, do they thrive on the pressure and come out to battle harder ? last weekends form suggests the former.

Also are the media reports and analysis a fair representation of the NZ rugby public, are they to harsh, or to soft on our men in black, and the three heads.

Here are few examples from within the last four days, it would be interesting to see what the blog world views are on this issue: A dingo ate our soft all blacks, Coach’s accountability lacking in Sydney shame, Backline try-hards fall short again, All blacks fish for penalty try call, whats gone wrong with the all blacks, All blacks more stupid than courageous, Naive team runs out of ideas.