Owen Franks débarque comme joker Coupe du Monde à Toulouse

Asking Hamish to go back to England is juvenile, like asking you to go back to Tahiti/England. The Allblacks are not a team to please a few people that want to divide NZ.

The problem with the haka now is that a number of players think it's a team to be dictated to by those with an axe to grind that are part Maori.

It's time to shift haka out of the national team and to the NZ Maori team to perform.

The Allblacks are the national team and all the recent haka changes and the recent addition of wooden spears, etc, are a distraction.

Of course learning and practicing the haka needs to happen before it's done, that means less time and energy for practicing rugby.

It's time to move forward and let the Allblacks just concentrate on returning to the world number one position.

It won't happen because NZRU has allowed itself to be captured internally by a fixation with the treaty and all manner of advisers on haka, etc.

But yes, the game has passed WG by now, so it might be best for him to take an honourable step back all things being equal. Bar Mick Forshaw it's the same staff as it was back in 5-7 years ago....

Unless they can attract someone demonstrably better however, he'll stay on for the 6N.

“But we couldn’t send the best All Black side cos they were all playing finals..” is what the people responsible would be screaming as we dragged them into the street and beat them with hammers.

“Ko tēnei haka mō te tāngata katoa o Aotearoa”

(This haka is for all the people of Aotearoa)

“Toitū te mana o te whenua, toitū te mana motuhake, toitū te tiriti o Waitangi”

(Forever the strength of the land, forever the strength of independence, forever the Treaty of Waitangi)

The only people offended by that are those who want to divide us. And they can far cough.

El-Abd is doing poorly in the D2 as a DoR; a position he was promoted to on the basis of good performances as a defence and forwards coach.

Sinfield, Borthwick, and Wigglesworth are the real talents in the English set up, but El-Abd and Harrison are much better than they are given credit.