The Case for Rugby Hell

In the wake of the aftermath of New Zealand's All Blacks' shock defeat to France, I was amused to read in the DominionPost paper this morning that the various All Black sponsors have decided unanimously to withdraw all their All Black-featured advertisments from New Zealand media. No longer will we be encouraged to slice open our arteries with credit cards to see what colour our blood might be; no longer will the boys in black be phoning home to report on Rugby World Cup matches. The dream is dead - both of winning the World Cup and the fantastic marketing opportunities.

I wrote a wee while ago about the All Blacks brand. But the extent of the non-rugby repercussions of the loss surprise even me. Though I notice some people are still flying their All Black flags on their cars - good on them.

Verdict: More than a game, but the game is still the most important thing