Spiro Zavos, writing in The Sydney Morning Herald, can't get his head around the kicking tactics of certain New Zealand Super 14 sides.
"On Friday night, I taped the Hurricanes-Reds match before attending a concert by the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra. Just before leaving I couldn't resist having a peek at the game. The scoreline was 21-8 to the Reds, after 32 minutes of play. A close-up shot of Hurricanes No.8 Rodney So'oialo showed him looking exhausted and anguished. The Hurricanes were facing a hiding. While later listening to melodic baroque music, I constructed an analysis of the resurgence of the Reds.
"Their rise in 2010, I decided, has vindicated Robbie Deans's insistence that Australian sides needed to get back to their traditional game, which involves playing expansively and skilfully. Similarly, the rugby nous shown by most of the New Zealand teams has deteriorated, a result, I believe, of the loss of Deans and the intellectual property he created while the leading rugby thinker there."
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