Tuqiri Suspended For Five Matches

As predicted yesterday by yours truly, Lote Tuquiri will take no futher part in the Tri-Nations competition after he was today suspended by SANZAR for 5 matches following his illegal tackle on All Black captain Richie McCaw. Tuquiri is reportedly considering his options and may appeal the ban handed down to him.

Fat chance of succeeding with any appeal my good man. That was a spear tackle, and yes, you might as well cop it and discuss with your coach the wisdom of targeting the most effective All Black in recent times. You're not George Gregan after all and wont inexplicably and unreasonably be able to beat the rap for allegedly being a good bloke. Lote should consider himself lucky not to have received a red card for that tackle. As I said, he was always going to go for a decent skate for that one, and any appeal would, in my humble opinion, be ill conceived.

Seriously, some scrutiny should be saved for the officials. They had a shocker, although I felt that the referee was poorly served by his supporting officials. Touch judges failed to take action against Tuqiri for this incident, the TMO failed to disallow Elsoms bogus try, and allowed McCaw to be taken out by Elsom miles off the ball, and held on the ground to keep him out of play. The referee did let himself down by allowing Elsom to commit so many infractions without even appearing to issue a warning of a yellow card.

The targeting of McCaw, easily the best All Black by a country mile, was a clear tactic. The All Blacks need to develop an effective counter to this type of play as all teams will target McCaw. My suggestion is firstly that the other All Blacks back up their captain by pulling their weight and effecting some big hits on the opposition (when was the last time that Jerry Collins pole axed anyone?) instead of being on the receiving end. Secondly the other All Blacks must take advantage of the gap caused in attack and defensive lines by players coming miles out of position to hold McCaw back. Easier said than done.

So, New Zealand have been given notice that the Wallabies may be a force to be reckoned with next year at the Rugby World Cup. It seems that the plan is for the All Blacks to miss the first seven (yep, you read right, 7) rounds of the Super 14 in the quest to win Rugby World Cup 2007. Apparently this is to give the All Balcks a window within which to train and reach peak conditioning for the competition without the added rigours of playing top level Rugby. Undoubtedly this will have an effect on that competition, and the level of performance by the New Zealand franchises for the first half of the competition. What a great opportunity for Africa and Australia to get a real head start in the Super 14 in 2007.

Seriously though, it is an interesting idea. I cannot help but think it is a reflection on the conditioning and pre-season training for Super 14 teams in New Zealand however. Clearly that alone is not considered enough for the New Zealand Rugby Union. Never the less, if the tactic is successful you can bet your bottom dollar there wont be any complaints across the Tasman in New Zealand! If the All Blacks do not succeed, along with the instant dismissal of Graham Henry, you can bet the outcry will be able to be heard in the Northern Hemisphere!

Look on the bright side, with the All Blacks out of the contest until the second half, not only do an Australian or an African team have a chance to win the competition(!), but the much vaunted depth of New Zealand Rugby will truly be on display for all to see. There could be some exciting young talent unearthed during the opening rounds, so keep an eye out for that.