What were you thinking?

Graham Henry is not a bad coach and has been reasonable successful all things considered. However, he is his own worst enemy at times.

Why?

- He way overthinks things and second guesses himself. He often ignores logic and is too controlling. Relax man. Just pick the best players in their respected positions and get on with it.

- He is guilty of selecting "utility" players over specialists.

- What the? Why were players like Hosea Gear, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Rene Ranger and possibly Sean Maitland overlooked for the World Cup? He selected 5 fullbacks and only 1 specialist wing. Ridiculous. Robbie Fruen and Wyatt Crockett could possibly count themselves unlucky too. No back up to Richie McCaw a schoolboy error also. Adam Thompson ain't no back up Mr Henry.

- SBW. Enough said.

Another WC approaching and the wheels are falling off. Mind you, the nuts and bolts were coming loose some time ago.

Please ignore if the All Blacks win the 2011, Rugby World Cup.

Rugby World Cup 2011

Ok, crystal ball time.

South Africa will win the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

In fact, they will play France in the final and the score will be 17 - 6 or similiar.

It will be overcast with a few showers expected. Morne Steyn will kick 4 penalty goals and Schalk Burger will score the only try of the match. France will kick a couple of penalties.

Sorry to burst your bubble and ruin you party All Blacks fans but you will have to wait 4 more years.

South Africa will be too strong in the forwards although France will put up a good fight.

The All Blacks have made a few errors heading into this World Cup. Graham Henry is a great coach but makes the mistake of being too controlling. It works for the most part but not for a World Cup. You need a different approach and not 1 that he is capable of. You need an inside out approach not an outside in approach.

Simply pick the best players in their respective positions and allow them to flourish. Allow them to grow and give them room to express themselves.

He treats the players like factory workers off a production line and he turns them over until he has the right fit. Almost robotic in nature where 1 player could virtually be replaced by another without much disruption.

This is ok to a point and will win you most games but not when it comes to a World Cup unfortunately.

Maturity, depth and human spirit needs to be appreciated and valued in a World Cup. Each position should be highly valued and not given up lightly. If you lose your starting player it should be a massive hole to fill and not easily replaced.

Under GH's style any player can be replaced by another without much difference.

The top side should be far superior than the rest and that's not the case with All Black Rugby. The NZ 3rd side would be full of All Blacks and almost capable of beating the A side at the moment.

There is something called the human spirit which he fails too embrace. Like a hovering parent often deciding what's right for the child rather than just let them be. He often decides on the best approach or game plan and then selects the team accordingly. This approach won't work come World Cup time. It's the outside in rather than the inside out approach.

The inside out approach means you select the best players in their respective potions and formulate a game plan around it, not the other way around.

He also plays too many players out of postion to make it work rather than just pick the next best player in that position. If you can't get your plumber to do the job, you should call the next best plumber, not your carpenter.

With regards to the team itself, Rene Ranger should be on the RW, Piri Weepu should be starting, a genuine number 8 needs to be selected and the tight 5 is not up to it (apart from Tony WoodCock perhaps).

The Rugby World Cup is overrated

The Rugby World Cup is overrated. The fact that the All Blacks’s have only won it once says more about the farcical nature of the cup than it does about them. They have consistently been the best team in the world since Rugby began.

Unlike every other team, they always want to win regardless and this has contributed to their downfall in previous World Cups. Many people call it ‘peaking’ but they are simply hell bent on winning.

Other teams tend to drop off between World Cups but not the All Blacks and why should they? Many other teams use the time between World Cup to rebuild or experiment and don’t mind losing the odd game if it helps their World Cup chances.

Too many losses between World Cups are now simply a case of 'not wanting to peak too soon' or 'we are building nicely' etc. It's become farcical and the fact that someone like Robbie Deans can keep his job because of it proves my point.