Dear Mr Henry

An interesting insight into the mindset of the average New Zealand rugby fan was published today on Yahoo!Xtra Rugby titled “Dear Mr Henry -  a fan’s plea”

“The All Blacks haven’t played a game in the Tri-Nations yet but already there are people out there who don’t think they’re going to bring the trophy home.

So far the vast majority of our Yahoo!Xtra Rugby readers believe the South Africans are going to take the Tri-Nations trophy home.

In fact, up to 78% favour Jake White’s men will walk away with the spoils.

Does that mean you don’t think Graham Henry’s men are well enough prepared?

Does it mean that you think the rotation policy has weakened the team to such an extent that you don’t have faith in the All Blacks to win the first lot of silverware this season?

And if that’s the case, do you really think they’re capable of pulling it together in time to be a force in France at the end of the year?

Or is it that deep down we’ve all become a bit superstitious?

I get the feeling a lot of fans out there are secretly hoping that a loss in the Tri-Nations will spark the All Blacks into high speed and they’ll walk all over their opposition in the Rugby World Cup.

Let’s be honest. In the past we’ve had all the other cups and trophies in the cabinet but have only once managed to get the William Webb Ellis trophy in there.

There’s been a lot fanfare this week over the 20th anniversary of David Kirk’s men winning the inaugural world cup in 1987.

That obviously conjures up plenty of emotions and memories of past glories and it’s been great to reminisce about the moment the most prized trophy made its way to our shores.

But it also conjures up plenty of nightmares.

It’s 20 years since the All Blacks – one of the powerhouses of international rugby – have had their hands on the trophy.

They’ve had all types of success since then but have never been able to crack the big one.

And it hurts. It hurts really bad in fact.

So Mr Henry, here’s a fan’s plea to you.

We wish you all the success in the world right now but deep down, like you, we see this year as being solely about the Rugby World Cup.

We accept that the rotation policy and the other bits of policy that you have introduced over the past few seasons are all designed to deliver the best possible effort in France.

We will sometimes question your decisions but we will always believe deep down that you know what you’re doing.

We put our faith in you and we respect what you have achieved so far.

And we hope more than anything else that you can lead your men to the final of the Rugby World Cup and bring that trophy home.

If you bring the cup home we will respect you and your coaching team forever, we will throw accolades at you left, right and centre and no doubt every one of your players will be treated as a hero for the rest of their lives.”