An effort to shield the under-fire All Blacks' coach from a media mauling last weekend fired up commentators already cranky about the historic high-handedness of rugby bosses. But given the intensity of some media calls for heads to roll, Mediawatch asks a veteran sportswriter if the move made sense.
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Photo: RNZ Mediawatch
Scorched earth in heat-struck Europe went up in flames this week, while we were hit with severe storms, snow and flooding. Inflation went up again, there were dozens more Covid deaths and the prime minister and governor general were pictured in Parliament unmasked.
But nothing ate up more oxygen in the media this week than the fallout from the All Blacks losing to Ireland last weekend.
The Irish Independent newspaper hailed "the Dukes of Wellington" and Dublin-based sportscasters Second Captains applauded the respect they’d been shown in New Zealand.
"There were a lot of very magnanimous handshakes. They do lose with dignity even though they don't have that much practice at it," said Eion McDevit in a podcast dedicated to Ireland's triumph.
"But they will tear themselves apart, obviously," he added.
And there was plenty of that in our media this past week.
Under the anguished headline: When you accept mediocrity, this is what happens, Jamie Wall wasn't quite as gracious.
"Ireland have gone from being a fun little sideshow to a team that now possesses a majority of players that have beaten the All Blacks more times than they've lost to them," he wrote.
"A child born last year in New Zealand has had to endure more All Black losses to Ireland in their lifetime then a 100-year old who passed away in 2019," he added (How many fans measure their time on the planet like that?).
After Newstalk ZB’s Jason Pine kicked off his ZB Sunday Sport show with U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' - a 40 year old song about civil rights protesters shot dead in Londonderry 50 years ago - armchair selectors called all afternoon to call for heads to roll.
When NZ Rugby chief executive Mark Robinson labeled the performance "not acceptable", it fueled rumours the coach and captain would soon be sacked.
The New Zealand Herald's Liam Napier reported NZ Rugby was "believed to be adopting a considered, compassionate approach to the all black slump."
In the same article, he calculated that axing the existing coaching team would involve a payout in excess of $2 million.
That cancelled press conference
TVNZ’s midday news on Wednesday led with news that could happen after a New Zealand Rugby board meeting that day - even though there was no such meeting.
But another event that never happened was also in the news that day - a post-match press conference with the coach that was canceled so suddenly several reporters turned up for it unawares.
That became a story all on its own after former journalist and NZ Rugby PR man Mike Jaspers criticised that decision on LinkedIn.
"Losing is bad enough . . . but indecision off the field is damaging for fans, the brand and the morale of the team," he said (adding #team #media, #brand, #AllBlacks).
"The media needs voices, not statements. And if you don't fill the vacuum, someone else will," he added.
As if to make that very point, The New Zealand Herald then turned that response into a story almost immediately on Tuesday afternoon.
And that led to another one when the current All Blacks senior communications officer Jo Malcolm - responding on the same platform - said she was the one who called the press conference off.
“The media didn't want answers. They wanted a coach to step down. So I'll wear that. I was protecting people who have been subjected to two weeks of hammering in the media,” she said.
An exchange of opinions on a social media platform would normally be no big deal, but this was leading sports bulletins three days after the match.
'Team management claiming responsibility for canceled media conference', said Newshub - as if it was an act of terrorism.
In a longer online post, Jo Malcolm told her followers she was "losing faith in people's ability to be journalists, PR people and humans.”
"I now understand why Naomi Osaka refused to do press conferences. It's brutal when you lose and tough questions need to be asked," she said.
When tennis star Osaka cited her mental health to dodge obligatory press conferences last year, it split the sporting media worldwide.
Some reporters reckoned top sports stars couldn't just dismiss commitments to the media. Others praised for looking after her own welfare.
But Ian Foster is no young, fragile sports star finding his way in the world. And NZ Rugby has no qualms about deploying players young and old to promote sponsors’ products.
Meanwhile, back on LinkedIn some PR professionals backed Jo Malcolm as well.
"Chin up, Jo," said Peter Parussini, another former NZ Rugby PR man who's now a governor at RNZ.
A Stuff story on Malcolm's call seemed to endorse it:
"Malcolm's human first approach is what reviewers in various sports have been calling for the review into cycling, which was established following the suspected suicide of a Olympic cyclist Olivia Podmore found an emphasis on results and medals over athletes as human beings is detrimental to the mental health and well being."
But for The Spinoff, sportscaster Scotty Stevenson penned a scorching satire announcing that the next All Blacks test could be cancelled because of the media being mean and demanding.
Martin Devlin on The Platform said he couldn't agree more when his former Radio Sport colleague Matt Gunn said: "They're men. They're grown up. (They) are essentially funded by the media and the public".
"To run away for whatever reason, and decide not to discuss it... was gutless and stupid," Gunn said in a weekly slot called, ironically, 'Let's Be Positive'.
But with Ian Foster's predecessor Sir Steve Hansen last weekend shortly before the decisive defeat, Martin Devlin was more sympathetic.
"It's all the BS and the clickbait headlines and all the personal stuff that really offends me - especially when it's directed at a guy like Ian Foster. I don't think he's getting an even break from the media here," said Devlin.
"The job comes with criticism . . . and any coach understands that. But it's got to be reasonably informed, I think, rather than emotional. And at the moment, we're getting a bit emotional, I think," Sir Steve replied.
Humanity vs accountability
Sports journalist, Phil Gifford, fronts up for Bookmarks. Photo: celebrityspeakers.co.nz
So was it a bad move to try to shield the coach and his captain by canning the press conference?
"Yes, it probably was. If you go back to the last time that the media was really in full tooth-and-claw mode against the coach in 1998 John Hart, the public relations person at the time Jane Dent was still getting John Hart or sometimes Wayne Smith answering questions in the media," he said.
"I understand the feeling that Ian Foster needed a break but - a butch and macho as rugby is - it was probably a bad error to actually drop a press conference on such short notice for such obvious reasons," he told Mediawatch.
"I think it's a laudable thing to try and protect people who you feel may be damaged. But these are two highly intelligent, and very mature guys. There's enough support inside the All Blacks, and they had till the next morning to work out what they were going to say," Gifford said.
"I would say your next-door neighbour's cousin could have worked out what questions would come up on Sunday morning after that dreadful game," he said.
Gifford - who's written a guide book about the health and welfare for Kiwi men - now regrets calling for the head of John Hart all those years ago in very personal terms.
"I wrote things about him that basically painted him as an absolute villain of the century. I wasn't alone, but hunting with a pack isn't an excuse. At times that bordered on vicious really, and so yeah, I actually do regret that. Whether other people will look back on this in 20 or 30 years time and regret some of the things said about Ian Foster . . . well, that remains to be seen," he said.
Settling scores
Some sports journalists here seemed to be settling scores with NZ Rugby within minutes of the final whistle last weekend.
"Having had to bow and scrape at all times and put up with the All Blacks constant talk about their own exceptionalism, I can't say a feel for them," Hamish Bidwell wrote this on RNZ’s live blog.
"Media tend to be wary of criticising the coaching staff and team and New Zealand Rugby for fear of repercussions, but it might be open season after this," he added.
Whatever power NZ Rugby has over reporters didn't prevent a wave of criticism in the media.
"Is there a deliberate policy to make it difficult for journalists? At times, it can feel like that. But by and large, I actually don't think that the relationship between the media and NZ Rugby is quite as bad as some people are picturing it. Some of the really biting criticism... comes from people that I haven't seen at a test match for years," he said.
"If NZ Rugby could shut down the media completely, then exactly how on earth would so many stories that say the All Blacks are rubbish and Foster should be sacked get through?" he asked.