Winning the World Cup

New Zealand now has a shot at two World Cups. Well to be honest it doesn't have a shot at two World Cups but we will be at two World Cups. Strangely enough the approach to both Cup competitions is completely opposite.

In the football (soccer) we have played well to make it to the finals that we have little chance of winning but will feel great optimism even if we lose every game but one.

In the football (rugby) we have played mediocre (for us) to make it to the finals that we have great chance of winning but will feel great pessimism even if we win every game but one.

Funny blokes - Kiwis.

The All Blacks have just beaten Italy for the second time this season but have set (for the second time in a row) the lowest winning score against the passionate Italians. The All Blacks often don't seem to show the dominance that is expected of them but is this that surprising? It is inevitable that other countries will get better and better and better. It must be tough when every rugby country in the world sets their standards by how to beat the All Blacks. Perhaps next year the Springboks will find the going a lot tougher as well.

But I have a plan and it will work just as well for the football (soccer) as it will for the football (rugby). England has found that, after inventing pretty much every football in the world, then far more hot blooded and passionate people get a lot better at the game than the English. New Zealand may not have invented rugby but maybe we are falling into the same problem.

The solution is straightforward. We already have ties to South America. Many South American students come here to study. Let's strengthen these ties further. We can entice even more South American youth and adopt spanish as our (one, two, three...) fourth official language. Then we will import the hot blooded passion and obsession in both the players and the supporters. We will be able to combine the sheer raw talent of the newcomers with that rugby nouse and tradition that we still hold. What a combination!

In all honesty though they will have to bring most of the soccer nouse and tradition with them; but they can.

And the support will be all the stronger too. Rather than a stolid "Allll..... Blaaaacks..." we will have the drums and the dancing and the cheering and the partying and the sheer enjoyment of being in the game. And let's face it most South Americans look pretty darn good in a swimsuit, no mean peripheral benefit there.

And, here's the coup de grace, the killer shot. We will bring on to the coaching team both Graham Purvis and Diego Maradonna. Then, in both World Cups, when it really matters, we will win - by the hand of god!