All Black captains don't lecture people on social media or journalists on what they should be reporting on
It seems an odd cause to lose the All Blacks’ captaincy over.
Sam Cane’s pectoral injury wasn’t just set to keep Ardie Savea in New Zealand’s starting XV, but perhaps seen him named skipper too.
Savea is a phenomenal rugby player, who’s overcome various challenges to become one of this country’s finest and most-popular athletes. Many thought he’d never make it this far in the game because he wasn’t big enough to prosper on the international stage.
Savea’s always used that as fuel to prove the doubters wrong and who can argue?
New Zealand needs a starting openside flanker in Cane’s absence and it’s hard to say Savea isn’t the ideal alternative. Particularly when you consider that - after all this time and despite all his considerable deeds in the black jersey - that maybe he is just too small to play No.8 or blindside flanker anymore.
You put Savea at 7, you make him captain and very quickly Cane’s absence ceases to be a major concern. Frankly, it’s the openside and captaincy arrangement that many favour anyway.
Only can the All Blacks’ captain also be a bloke who picks fights with the journalists on social media? Who lectures newsmakers on what’s fair game and what’s not?
I don’t care what Highlanders playmaker Josh Ioane gets up to in his spare time. I haven’t read a word about his alleged misdeeds, or of those who frequent his apparent party house.
What I do know is the blood of a rugby writer runs cold when this kind of story emerges. No-one minds having a pop at blokes who don’t perform on the paddock, but they absolutely dread having to write about events off it.
There’s a belief - promulgated by players such as Savea - that we love all this stuff. That we relish the whiff of scandal and yearn to take these blokes down a peg or two.
The thing rugby writers actually wish for more than anything, is the opportunity to only write about rugby. Not men behaving badly or sabbaticals or rights deals or annual general meetings or diversity or social media musings.
But I digress.
All Black captains ensure errant players are pulled into line. They help decide whether those who misbehave are still welcome within the squad.
They don’t take to some squalid social media platform to lecture people on what journalists are entitled to report on and what they’re not.
‘Shut up and dribble’ is an increasingly-familiar refrain in the United States, where people have grown weary of basketball stars such as LeBron James.
No, that’s not quite fair. It’s not just basketball players that people dislike being told what to think and how to live by. They have a problem with anyone with a profile and sufficient hubris - be they actors, musicians, politicians, whoever - deciding who can be criticised and who can’t.
I have great admiration for Ardie Savea and have written so many times. I’m surprised that he sought to insert himself into the Highlanders’ story, but he clearly felt Ioane and company had been unfairly maligned.
And maybe he feels players in this country aren’t given sufficient voice. That too many twerps with typewriters have too much to say and need to be put in their place.
That leaders like himself can change not only individual narratives - but minds too - by speaking out on social media.
Again, though, these probably aren’t the actions of an All Blacks captain. Or any skipper for that matter.
I wrote recently that perhaps Savea’s greatest challenge at the helm of the Hurricanes, would be disguising his disdain for the media. No captain has to like the folk with the tape recorders and cameras, but you should at least try to be respectful.
If I were king, Ardie Savea would be the skipper and starting No.7 every time the All Blacks took the park. Were he able to use that status wisely, Savea has the intellect and charisma to be a transformative figure who broadened the minds of many New Zealanders.
But he won’t manage much of that while he’s busy being a journalistic judge and jury on Twitter.
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Irish people about the best damn people on the planet. OK, in the NH. Fijians are the World’s best happiest friendliest people. But as far as European cultures producing good people, Ireland stands alone. But on the rugby pitch there is a creeping arrogance that has detached from humility. eg Sexton abusing a match referee, and not for the 1st time. He was extremely lucky to make it to the RWC, strings were pulled. And O’Mahoneys sledge to Cane was lowballing, attacking an opposition Captain seems opportunistic and gutter talk. Cane is a real gentleman. Have never seen ABs unleash after the whistle like they did on O’Mahoney after QterF, it was well deserved. Unlike Bok supporters, the Bok players understand history. Massive amount of respect between Boks and ABs is evident, they get on well and have throughout history. Even Pinetree Meads best mate (except his old cobber Kel Tremain) were Springboks, friendships forged after tours. And Meads was always targetted given his star status (he even played 2 x Tests with a broken arm). On the contrary, ABs and Wallabies famously dont get on, bad blood after Aussies not taking offer of beersies postmatch.
Go to commentsHaha god NZ journalism is so crap listen to this guy “We’ll be proven in a few weeks if our baseless bs can stick” lol Everywhere else uses experts to write stuff but here they’re just career guys that don’t care about what they write, NOT CONCEDED A TRY IN YEARS lol > “Naturally, you’re looking for performance, sometimes that means you can’t think logically or use evidence to arrive at any sort of clarity of decision. Pretty much sums it up to a tee Paul ignores the articles in here about then runs off each team this year, that Penney is just a yearly stop gap until, who, Ellison is released by ABs, the huge imbalance of the injury front between teams at each end of the table, or who it was that _should_ have been coach. But of course if they actually do evidence and investigative work theyre shy of their article not hitting that sensationalism boundary and lose revenue. Leaving us non the wiser. They look like they would have been best with a geeup coach this year to turn around the razorless depression the clubs obviously going through. Hard to think of someone fitting the Bill to have been chosen instead, the clown Cheika? Id have been tempted to double play and entice O’Gara down. Hell maybe that is who they are waiting for, he wants a international gig and it could be after Scmidt or razor
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