The Garden of Eden is described in the Bible as a magical place where one wantedfor nothing. A man called Adam was the first person to reside there. He could walk around protected by nothing bar a precariously positioned leaf, and he was blessed with bountiful abundance that would have inspired great envy amongst others, if there were any others around that is, but there weren’t, because he was the only one, apart from all the animals he had dominion over. Life was good.
There was only one rule…
“Don’t eat the apple on that tree over there you hear!” The really deep and powerful voice from the sky would say.
Then something inexplicable happened. The Creator made Adam a partner, the creation of whom involved great power and skill. Adam had a rib taken from him whilst sleeping, and that rib was somehow transformed into Eve, according to the story. Personally I think it may have had something to do with stem cells, but hey, I’m no scientist.
Adam, of course, was thrilled, here was this gorgeous creature made just for him. The two lived happily in that garden for a while; they made each other happy and benefited greatly from their partnership.
But horror of horrors, there was a serpent lurking in the shadows. It was a mischievous little bastard and it decided that Adam and Eve had things way too easy and resolved to bring an end to their blissful honeymoon. The amazing talking serpent hatched a cunning plan to convince Eve to convince Adam to eat that blasted apple, and as we all know, when a woman tries to convince a man to do something
that he shouldn’t or isn’t supposed to do, the man generally says yes, because, while it can end up being expensive and sometimes painful, there is a generally great reward waiting on the other side, and she wont give up until he gives in…
Adam had had it so good for so long that he didn’t quite realise what losing it all meant, so he grabbed that apple and took a big bite. The party was over. The Garden of Eden where everything was so plentiful was now nothing but a memory and nothing would ever be the same again.
It isn’t my place to debate the truth or validity of the Bible story, especially as it’s a sensitive issue which, when discussed by people with differing opinions, generally ends in an argument about something completely unrelated. But that doesn’t matter, because this column isn’t about that. It’s about New Zealand rugby and their unbeaten streak at Eden Park in Auckland.
All Black rugby has been the envy of the world for as long as I can remember, they are blessed with amazing talent and they play the best style of rugby. To quote someone incorrectly, “The English may have invented the game, but New Zealand perfected it.”
They’ve dominated the Super 14 and the Tri-Nations tournament and generally thrash everyone else, except in the world cup, where they inexplicably manage to fall at the final hurdle on a regular basis, but that is a column for another day.
One would go as far as to say they’re the chosen ones of world rugby. However, since the 1995 rugby world cup, a serpent has emerged in world rugby, and slowly but surely it has grown in power and influence… But as with Adam’s serpent, it is a necessary evil. Without it there would probably be no game because unfortunately in this day in age you can’t have one without the other.
That serpent is called professionalism and the partner that has grown from rugby’s lost rib is the easily tempted and manipulative sports agent. In Adam and Eve’s case, the apple was the temptation, in rugby and the agent’s case; it’s the Euro and the Pound.
New Zealand and South Africa have been steadily losing players to that temptation, but New Zealand has been the worst affected of the two countries. Their population and thus their base of players isn’t quite as big as their greatest opponent’s, and as such they don’t have quite the same depth to cope with a constant exodus of talented and experienced players as more and more are being lured away by the promise of great riches and pretty French girls.
New Zealand Rugby has rarely known what it’s like to be second best. They have not lost a test match at Eden Park since 1994, 20 test matches in total, and things have generally been fantastic in the land of the long white cloud, but in the recent past the balance of power has started to shift. 2009 wasn’t a good year for them. They lost three in a row to South Africa, something unheard of since the Boks’ return from international isolation. They also lost to France in New Zealand and were run close by Italy for the first time in their history.
Could the All Blacks’ honeymoon in their Garden of Eden be brought to an end this weekend against the Springboks? I think it could be… Only time will tell. If they prove me wrong again then I will gladly eat my words, but if I’m right, and if the trend continues, it could be that the industry that is world rugby may justifiably be blamed.
Article by Ryan Quirk
