Across The Gain Line . . . with Colm Kinsella

WITH a further three weeks to go before the start of the competitive rugby season on this side of the world, rugby fans who can’t survive without their weekly ‘fix’ of the oval ball game will have been watching recent games in the Tri Nations series with particular interest.
The poor form of the All Blacks, in losing their two most recent Tri Nations fixtures away to South Africa, has been a cause for concern to the rugby-mad country.
And now a new report has revealed that interest in the game of rugby in New Zealand has plummeted.
Poor results by the All Blacks are causing fans to turn away from rugby, according to a new report released this week. The report found that New Zealanders interest in the game has reached its lowest ebb in more than 15 years.
The report entitled ‘The All Blacks - Looking towards the World Cup’ surveyed 750 people and looked at issues such as World Cup strategies, support for coach Graham Henry and the make-up of the All Blacks squad.
Results showed that 60 per cent of respondents were very or fairly interested in rugby, the lowest level recorded since UMR began tracking in 1993.
It is a 12 per cent drop on last year and is well below the peak of 79 per cent reached during the 2003 World Cup.
The report puts the decline down to poor All Black performances this year, too much rugby and the duller, more attritional brand of rugby served up to fans in recent years.
In other results, the report found that just 53 per cent of respondents want the All Blacks to win as many games as possible while a surprisingly high 41 per cent believe the All Blacks should build towards the World Cup - even if it means losing a few games.
This should be good news to Henry, currently in his worst season as All Blacks coach with three losses from six tests so far.

Six lucky Munster fans
Six lucky Munster fans and members of the press were given a sneak preview of the new Munster rugby playing kit at Thomond Park on Tuesday.
The six lucky fans, one from each county in Munster, had the chance to spend the day in Thomond Park alongside six players, including Munster captain Paul O’Connell and out-half Ronan O’Gara.
They were the first people in Ireland to see the new Munster kit for 2009-10 season and will play an active role in the official jersey launch.
The official jersey launch will take place next week in advance of Munster’s first game of the season, a pre-season friendly against English Premiership giants, the Sale Sharks, in Musgrave Park on Friday night, August 14.
The fans also received their own special jersey signed by all six players.
“We know this is more than just a jersey for the Munster players. When they put it on, they do so with immense pride, knowing what it represents; the history and heritage of this great club and the players that wore the jersey before them,” Paul Moloney, of adidas Ireland, said in advance of the preview day.
“Munster fans are an integral part of Munster Rugby and everything it stands for, so for us, it makes sense that they should play a role in launching this special new jersey.”
The six fans were winners of an adidas competition in which they had to give an example of their devotion to Munster Rugby and why they believed they should be selected as their county’s representative on the day.
Those present, including members of the media, are sworn to secrecy about the design of the playing kit for next season until its official launch next week.
But this column can reveal that when one member of the Munster squad when asked for his views on the team’s new shorts he joked that they would go well with Donncha O’Callaghan’s underpants.
In 2007, you may remember, O’Callaghan attempted to join a line-out sporting a pair of bright red underpants after his shorts were ripped off in a ruck during Munster’s Heineken Cup pool match away to the Cardiff Blues! The match referee was having none of it.
All will be revealed next week, so to speak.