BEAUTY and the Beast produced contrasting sporting performances with victory to the All Whites and All Blacks at Wellington and Milan respectively last weekend.
Playing the beautiful game, Rory Fallon’s $10 million header swept the All Whites into their second World Cup finals with a 1-0 result against Bahrain, while the All Blacks won their ugly rugby test against Italy 20-6 after being pulverised in the scrums.
Football was the winner before more than 35,000 ecstatic fans at Westpac Stadium, while rugby was the loser as the All Blacks managed just one try to Corey Flynn and were fortunate not to concede a penalty try to Italy.
As a son of fiery 1982 All Whites assistant coach Kevin, Fallon’s goal from a superb Leo Bertos corner was fairytale stuff, as was humble goalkeeper Mark Paston’s save of a Bahrain penalty which won him the man of the match award.
Leading the defence throughout with a cool-headed performance when Bahrain tried to apply the heat was inspirational captain Ryan Nelsen, who rallied his troops superbly in accomplishing their one-shot-at-glory mission.
While no one expects them to go far when next year’s World Cup is staged in South Africa, just getting there was a tremendous achievement under the guidance of coaches Ricki Herbert and Brian Turner.
Far greater will be the expectations of the All Blacks when New Zealand hosts the 2011 World Cup, though Italy showed against their second stringers that the gap between the giants and dwarfs of rugby is quickly diminishing.
Remember too that English club Leicester Tigers beat South Africa’s second stringers when Italian tighthead prop Martin Castrogiovanni inflicted upon them much the same anguish he did on the All Blacks when Wyatt Crockett was buckled and Neemia Tialata sinbinned.
Predictably there were laments from coaches Graham Henry and Steve Hansen at Australian referee Stuart Dickinson’s failure to penalise what they claimed was Castrogiovanni’s boring tactics. But what would they give to have him in their team?
Props, like champion openside flankers such as Richie McCaw, are quick to take advantage of slack refs, and Castrogiovanni is smarter than he looks.
So too is lively hooker Leonardo Ghiraldini, loosehead prop Salvatore Perugini and rugged captain and No 8 Sergio Parisse, who have become world class players under the tutorship of former South African coach Nick Mallett and have no fear of the All Blacks.
Take into account the strength of the Italy scrum, driving maul and rugged defence, the wonder of it all is that they failed to win one game in last season’s Six Nations championship.
With their scrum destroyed, there wasn’t much chance of the All Blacks backs showing their wares, although first-five Mike Delany still made a decent international debut despite the pressure.
What allowed the tourists to survive was the character of their defence against brave and passionate underdogs hell bent on taking no prisoners.
But with so many scrums, too much kicking and little running it was an ugly game that typified the declining state of rugby union, which is losing its attraction for many New Zealanders.
Whether the All Whites can take advantage of that following their latest success remains a moot point.
Unfortunately the Kiwis did not, after promising so much upon winning the 2008 Rugby League World Cup by bustling the Kangaroos into mistakes, before the Aussies restored the status quo at this year’s Four Nations, winning last Sunday’s final against England.
Meanwhile, I expect the All Blacks to bounce back at England’s expense to demonstrate the gulf between their top and second sides remains vast.
