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Wyllie: 'The NZRU let everyone down'
Former New Zealand coach Alex 'Grizz' Wyllie has blasted the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) for the All Blacks' failure to reach the semi-finals of the World Cup.
Wyllie, who coached the side from 1988 to 1991, reckons that the decision to exclude leading All Blacks for the majority of this year's Super 14 competition was a grave mistake.
The World Cup favourites also opted not to play any major warm-up games prior to the tournament, and Wyllie is adamant that the cotton-wool approach was destined for failure from the off.
"To play Test rugby, you can't afford to have missed the previous two or three weeks," he told New Zealand's Herald of Sunday.
"You have to be match fit, which is totally different from other fitness. You can't blame the players. They wanted to play."
Parallels have been drawn between the current crop of All Blacks and Wyllie's much-admired side of 1991 that also failed to reach the Final of that year's World Cup.
But Wyllie is irked by the comparison. He points out that whilst his challengers operated with a limited budget and six coaches, the class of 2007 had an opening cheque book and took a 27-man management team to France.
He also expressed concern that the NZRU's decision to focus all its resources on the All Blacks' bid might yet have serious ramifications for the game at grass-roots level in New Zealand.
"They [the NZRU] put all the eggs in the one basket and they failed," he said.
"They've let everyone down, clubs throughout the country who are struggling for money, and the provinces.
"If the New Zealand Union doesn't do something drastic then people are just going to walk away from the game."
