Canterbury were absolutely superb in tearing the once mighty Auckland machine to shreds. Any dominance Auckland may have held mentally over other teams in the country has been decimated over the last year or so. No longer are teams intimidated. The boot is on the other foot now.

The rampant Canterbury pack, with Rueben Thorne, Scott Robertson, Angus Gardiner & the inspirational Todd Blackadder being outstanding, destroyed a rather pathetic looking Auckland pack.

My stars for the day though were definitely the 3 M's. Mehrts, Justin & Bub's ran rings around their Auckland counterparts. Obviously being under an environment where they have a GOOD coach & positive atmosphere, the prodigious talents of all 3 came to the fore.

Mehrts vs Spencer - NO CONTEST!
Feel a little sorry for Carlos to be honest.

Marshall v's Tonu'u - Did Ofisa play?

Mayerholfer v's Innes - Innes who?
I think he should head back to league. What a waste of money bringing him back.

The performances of Mehrtens & Marshall in particular raises interesting questions about John Hart (again). These 2 players obviously lacked alot of confidence in the AB environment, leading to questions over whether they should be in the team. Yet ONE game back in their beloved red 'n' black colours & all the skilfull kicking, blistering running & ball skills are back for all to see.

Me thinks the problem does not lie in their abilities, its more the environment in which the WORST coach in All Black history has created this year.

I'm not saying both would have dominated to the extent in the international season as they did on Saturday against the Auks under a BETTER coach. The NPC isn't quite as intense as Test matches. I am saying however both would have backed their own abilities more. Maybe we would have seen the thrilling running of Cullen, Wilson & Lomu more without John Hart at the helm.

It looks like the NZRFU will again back Hart, with Wayne Smith & Peter Sloane made scapegoats for Harts inadequacies. The mans a weasel!..... : - ). Feel very sorry for Smith & Sloane. Both are excellent coaches, but having to cover for Harts lack of coaching ability had meant too many generals & not enough action.

As a side issue yesterday, Spencer played like a player whose confidence has completely deserted him. Harts legacy continues.

Hart & his blind selection panels unfounded belief in the Auckland has-been players for the majority of the AB season had once again proved to be wrong. The performances of Dowd, Brooke, Carter (awful!) in particular were not up to provincial standeds let alone test standard. The now boring line about the players being tired is just whinging. These players should be playing out of their skins after the AB season, even if just to regain some sense of pride.

Hart is openly anti-Cantabrian, as was seen in a recent article in the Listener...

".....The booing of John Hart started soon after the Aussies got their hands on the Bledisloe Cup onfield at Jade Stadium and swelled as the All Black coach strode back towards the player's tunnel, flanked by his generals. For what seemed like a very long time, the Christchurch crowd let rip at Hart. Stony-faced, he rode it all the way into the tunnel and out of sight. Typical.
"It really disappointed me", Hart recalls a few days later, safety back in his more "cosmopolitan" hometown. Aucklanders, he feels, are not so reliant on rugby for their identity as the "silent, not expressive" types down south. "Cantabrians are passionate, almost fanatical about the game. I felt it badly as I walked off, but I didn't show it. I didn't respond..........There's been alot of acrimony over the last six months, particulary coming out of Christchurch. I don't find it so much elsewhere, to any great extent."

If the majority of the team are now Southeners (at last - picking FORM players), how on earth can the Cantabs (& Otagoites for that matter) have faith in a coach who is as bigoted as this git. He is everything Southeners despise about Auckland (not Aucklanders). He shows no loyalty (unless your an Aucklander) to his players, & slams them in the media if they make a mistake. How can players trust their instincts in that environment.

Further evidence off this distrust comes in Harts handling of Todd Blackadder (god to his friends). I've got some insider information on this. I cannot reveal my sources....but......when Toddy was dropped because of 'injury', Hart offered Toddy the captaincy of NZ A who were about to tour the Pacific. Toddy was bemused by this. He asked Hart "If I'm too injured with the All Blacks, how can I possibly be fit enough for NZ A?". Toddy ended up telling Hart to f*ck off (or words to that effect). Xavier Rush's performance on Saturday when compared to Toddy was laughable. Did Xavier even play?. How on earth can he be fast tracked into the AB's???. More examples of Harts bigotry.

With Aucklands next game to be against Otago, chances are the scarfie boys will nail the hapless Aucks. If the likes of Northland & Wellington can continue to muster bonus points & the odd win, Auckland could be looking squarely down the barrel of playing the likes Bay of Plenty & Wanganui next year in the NPC 2nd division.

Waikato, Otago & Canterbury however are looking head & shoulders above everybody else. Picking a winner from these 3 is proving very difficult.