A botz post about rugby and stuff

About a year ago, I wrote this on my blog:

"Rugby is truly on it's way out. At least, in this country. Once the All Blacks fail to capture the Rugby World Cup next year, everyone's gonna be moving to league and soccer (if they havn't already). Not that I care, as long as the Springboks continue to dominate, couldn't care less what people here think about union."

Well, a few parts of this paragraph are no longer true. The most obvious difference is that Springboks are anything but dominant; if memory serves right, they came last in the Tri Nations last year, being outclassed by even Robbie Deans' uncertain Wallabies. Ten man rugby no longer serves as a suitable method for dismantling the All Blacks, and the Boks must evolve quickly in order to realistically retain their coveted World Cup. Although, if Super Rugby is anything to go by, Stormers and Sharks do offer some backline creativity; whether or not this can be replicated in a green jersey, time will tell. Time and a staunch Sonny-Billed-out opposition.

Something else that has changed is that most people aren't moving to soccer; the All Whites' World Cup campaign is a distant memory already, the novelty has long since worn off. The controversey surrounding their New Zealand Team Of The Year doesn't help. The reality is that if you weren't already into soccer before the FIFA World Cup (which any football fan will tell you wasn't the exactly the best advertisement for the sport), nothing is going to change your mind any time soon.

If status updates and awkward subject changes in conversations are to be believed, then I can accurately claim that most people my age favour NFL, NBA, and tennis to rugby, as opposed to my proposed soccer move.

However, the one part that I still believe to be true is that rugby is definitely on the decline; not the quality of the players, but in popularity, especially among my generation and the one under it. It lacks the aesthetic pleasure (and entertainingly argumentative commentary) of rugby league, the pizazz of the popular American sports, and the worldwide reach that would really allow the game to grow.

All this is made certain by my unwavering belief that the All Blacks will, like the other great and dominating All Blacks sides of recent past, choke. Sonny-Bill or no Sonny-Bill, we should all prepare ourselves for chokiest choke since... well, since the last time All Blacks choked.