All Blacks v Wallabies - The Bledisloe, Dead Rubber Edition

October 31 2015, Rugby World Cup Final, New Zealand (1/3 - FAV) v Australia (9/4) , Twickenham.

October 22 2016, Bledisloe Cup (dead rubber), New Zealand (1/25 - FAV) v Australia (9/1), Eden Park.

Cold hard facts that paint a tale of exponential growth in All Black dominance, not just over their cross Tasman rivals but also the rest of World Rugby. Patience, England, we know you fancy a pop. To think there were concerns that post the Autumnal glory at HQ, the All Black ship would find itself in choppy seas without good ol Captain McCaw and First Mate Carter to guide it home. Transition period? Not here.   

The All Blacks are the World's premier rugby team. News to nobody. However, the manner in which they have extended their preeminence over Rugby Championship rivals this season, is news. Six games, six victories, six bonus points and a score differential of 178 – an average winning margin of nearly 30 points. Australia, South Africa and Argentina all finished the Championship, with a negative for and against. Maybe they’re stuck in transition.  

Off the field, the All Black brand is frothing commercially - they are the prize heavyweight that all fans want to see their man pitted against, even if it does end in brutality. If it does - so be it, we’ll do it all again next time. The fans will pay their coin in hope that this time is THE time.  

BUT, what if one day these fans get fed up of seeing their gang getting a pummeling by the Men in Black. Better things to do, more exciting sports to watch, seen it all before etc etc. The cash stays in the pocket, and not the hands of the bully.

Don King and Prestige Worldwide, combined, would struggle to build any sort of hype around Saturday's final Bledisloe Cup game of 2016 at Eden Park. Press conference jibes and a Quade Cooper orientated campaign of hate, have no place here. Not worth the effort, the emotion. The bookies have spoken. The All Blacks will win; perhaps a realistic shock would be a margin of less than twenty points. Maybe even for the most ardent All Black supporter there is a grain of the brain that wishes it was all on the line this Saturday. They are accustomed to exciting rugby but rarely a thrilling encounter.

I propose that in the longer term, continued All Blacks superiority over their nearest and dearest might become a genuine threat to the All Black commercial brand. Crazy hypothesis, or is it? In professional sport, a predictable product can’t be as marketable as one that has greater volatility in the end result. If not damaging to their own brand, what about the impact of New Zealand’s dominance to the value of SANZAAR's Rugby Championship. Can we draw parallels from the demise of Glasgow Rangers and the subsequent stranglehold that Glasgow Celtic have over Scottish Football? I’m sure any prospective sponsor or television mogul would tell you they would prefer to bank roll a Scottish Premiership with the two Glasgow giants going toe to toe for the title. I’d imagine even the Celtic fans were glad to see their bitter rivals back in the same division this season. All Black fans, one day this could be you!

10 bucks on Australia please Mr. Bookmaker. 9-1 though, kick yourself if you didn’t.