Getting beaten

Ok. It's terrible, I haven't updated for a week because I've just been feeling so blah about rugby since the All Blacks lost to the Springboks. I also accidentally wiped my old blog template and now I'm stuck with this green thing until I have the time and inclination to get around to fixing it. Grrrr! Are there any web designers out there who could give me some advice about bringing my blog into the 21st century?

But back to me feeling blah. My team, the team that I love and adore, is going through a serious blip at the moment. The scarey thing is, I'm worried the blip is going to turn into something longer than a blip. And then what? How long does a blip need to last before we'll be calling ourselves the the Wales of the Northern Hemisphere. Once, one of the greatest rugby teams in the world and now, with money ruling the day, struggling to keep up with even the minnows (read the match against Italy to see what I mean).

I'm overreacting yes. But the signs are worrying. Our backline seems to have lost the natural instinct to attack. Is this because they're being coached to stand so flat? Is it because they don't appear to have any collective intelligence (yes, yes, I know Conrad Smith has got a law degree and 'runs a good straight line' blah de blah blah blah). Why do the coaches persist with selecting players like Tialata and Eaton? The whole world has gone mad. What's happened to Mils Muliaina? He's lost his spark. The wingers have lost their speed. And Andrew Hore has lost his accuracy throwing into lineouts - although sadly I have to acknowledge it was never actually a strong point for him anyway).

The Springboks were the better team last week. Yes, yes, there was playing at altitute and the one week turnaround and the jet lag for the All Blacks to have to contend with. But I'm a bit afraid that this week we'll have no excuses if we come out second best. Of course, you're only as good as your last game. And I live in hope. I will for another day at least.