With three centurions in the current squad, and Kieran Read, the All Blacks do not want for players of authority. But every team needs renewing and New Zealand are one of the few in the world who will not tolerate anything so indulgent as the infamous “transition period”. In their culture the middle generation are as important as the senior, as important as the junior.
All of which makes Israel Dagg, well, important. He dismisses himself as one of those “in the middle”, but at 26 with 45 caps to his name and a World Cup winners’ medal he is entering that phase when a sportsman notices he is no longer one of the precocious kids with his whole career ahead of him.
“I feel I’m a leader in my own way,” he says. “But everyone’s equal in this team. Doesn’t matter if you’ve played 140 Tests or one. I guess back in the old days you had the old guys who would tell the young guys what to do but in this team everyone pulls their weight. So if you’re one of the last out of the changing rooms, doesn’t matter who you are, you help clean up. Everyone has their roles. You don’t have Richie sitting on his throne — he’s one of the leaders that actually helps out a lot.”
Dagg made his debut for New Zealand as a full-back in 2010, less than a week after his 22nd birthday. He starred in the All Blacks’ long-awaited World Cup triumph a year later and was ever present, at least for the games that counted, in the years that followed.
So far, so effortless. But this year he was dropped in February by his club, the Crusaders, and after a poor showing in the first Test against England in June injury ruled him out of Tests two and three before he was dropped outright for Ben Smith at the start of the Rugby Championship.
Never have his spiritual credentials as an All Black better demonstrated themselves than in his reaction. Trailing on the scoreboard, as it were, Dagg waited for his chance, took it when it was offered and has not missed a game since. Last weekend, in the All Blacks’ exhibition against the USA in Chicago, if you were after a try without a contribution from him, you had to wait until No7. Sonny Bill Williams won the headlines but Dagg was the man.
“It’s always hard when you’re not playing. But it’s out of your control. You can only focus on what you do. It just made me work harder. It made me hungrier. I don’t like to overcomplicate things and, when I get out there, I play what I see. It’s what I’ve been doing my whole life. Have fun and, if I see a hole, I’ll go for it; if I see a big boy, I’ll try and step him.”
Dagg may be the latest to embody the ethos of his team but the All Blacks have long represented the standard to which the rugby world aspires both on and off the field. There is no need here to go into the recent travails of their cousins across the Ditch, the Wallabies, but, as a study in how to win the games that matter and deal with the indiscretions of young men, the All Blacks serve as a stark contrast. Aaron Cruden became the latest to offend, in September. He was promptly dropped and, chastened, is already back in the fold.
“We’re all human,” says Dagg. “We all make mistakes. We’ve got to be accountable. Cruds has done his time and we’ve moved on. We’ve got a rule. We’re All Blacks 24/7. We’re just trying to lead by our actions. Trying not to be idiots.”
Dagg made his own error around the same time when he tweeted on polling day the way he had voted in New Zealand’s general election, inadvertently breaking an arcane rule. He will be facing New Zealand’s police on his return but says it was an honest mistake. As mistakes you can make with your phone go, it seems reasonably tame.
The New Zealand police are likely to let him off that one. They will be more bothered over the next few weeks by the sort of mistakes you can make with a rugby ball. If Dagg commits one of those on the greensward of Twickenham, venue for the next World Cup final no less on Saturday, the Kiwi fuzz may yet see fit to act. It is a responsibility that Dagg takes seriously.
“Twickenham is up there as a fortress. The crowd are pretty vocal and love chanting Swing Low or whatever it is! It’s one of the great stadiums of the world. We played in Chicago last week, which was up there too. Soldier Field was amazing.”
The transition from playing a match of what might be deemed a “pool game” standard last weekend to the knockout intensity that should await at Twickenham is one that has caused problems for New Zealand in previous World Cups. Unlike the elder statesmen in the squad, Dagg has not known the pain of an early exit. But that does not mean he is not keenly afraid of it.
“I’ve spoken to a few of the guys and it’s pretty heartbreaking. You play well for two years and then you have a little hiccup. So we’re just worrying about Saturday. Keep stepping up, keep stepping. England are a quality side. We know they can play rugby and I’m pretty sure they’re going to this weekend.”
The chances are the All Blacks will too. With Dagg back in the saddle and continuing his serene progress towards senior status, that would mean trouble – of the most wholesome kind.
