Black is the colour of both mourning and of the All Blacks‘ shirts, so we can show our support and our grief by dressing in black for a month. At least.

A moment’s silence is definitely in order after our graceless exit from the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals. Here we all were (even those of us lacking in rugby nous) assuming we would at least make it to the glory of semi-finals (we were even favourites for the big win!) but instead we wowed the world with our worst ever World Cup performance.

There they were in a line at the press conference - coaches Wayne Smith, Graham Henry and Steve Hansen - served up to the waiting media, grief-stricken and downtrodden, with a sprinkling of shame for good measure. The New Zealand Rugby Union has announced a review of the team’s performance, putting the jobs of coaches and senior management on the line. Wayne Smith said their pain was made worse by the fact that the New Zealand public were hurting too:

“We are grieving. We are all pretty shattered. We came here with expectations that we had the team to do it and we have fallen short. So it is pretty hard to take. And we know the country will be feeling the same so that intensifies the feeling.”

You can imagine the burden of public expectation would weigh heavily on their shoulders, but spare a thought for the players. Captain Richie McCaw sat with his face in his hands, a universal gesture of defeat and despair.

After a strong first quarter, the All Blacks were in control of the game; even when France edged in front in the final ten minutes, an All Blacks win was still within reach. At the end of the day, it was a question of which team could best apply pressure and withstand it. The answer? France. As commentator John Drake said:

“Pressure, and the inability to handle it, once again cost the All Blacks dearly at a World Cup…”

Oh well, there’s always next time.

I’m getting some pretty annoying emails from Aussie email lists talking up the Wallabies’ chances in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They keep talking about how the All Blacks are going to choke again and how the Aussies will reign supreme. Nuts, it’d be damn hard to stomach another four years as Rugby World Cup title wannabes.

If there is any natural order to the universe, the All Blacks will reach their potential on the paddock this year. We won’t be smug about it, we won’t gloat, we’ll just have four years to quietly enjoy the victory, until the 2011 Rugby World Cup is played in New Zealand. Then after the 2011 World Cup, a rightful balance will return to the universe with the New Zealand All Blacks holding three Rugby World Cup titles. Ahhh, nice.

When his team faced off against Waikato on Saturday night, Canterbury captain Corey Flynn had a feeling something special was in store.

The mainlanders scored an impressive five tries in the first half, giving them a 33-13 lead at halftime. By the end of the game, Waikato had gained some ground, but only enough to bring the final score to 33-20 and not enough to hold onto the prized Ranfurly Shield.

In excellent form, the Canterbury Crusaders dominated the match (three tries in fifteen minutes isn’t half bad!) even in the presence of a near-capacity home crowd in Hamilton. Their win brought to an end Waikato’s seven day Ranfurly Shield tenure (the shortest on record in the history of the prize) and was a sweet victory for the Crusaders after losing the Shield to North Harbour last year. Stand-out performances were seen from Stephen Brett, Hamish Gard and Scott Hamilton.

Check out information on regional rugby in New Zealand on NZS.com.

I love seeing New Zealanders do well on the world stage. Or the field.

Our favourite boys, the mighty All Blacks, are heading off to win the Rugby World Cup in France. They jet out of Auckland tonight, all fired up to bring the cup back home after a twenty year drought. This’ll be the year, for sure. Team coach Graham Henry and Captain Richie McCaw will depart with the squad to Corsica, before heading on to Marseille, their first World Cup base in France. Training begins immediately for the team, with their World Cup 2007 debut against Italy on the 8th of September.

For those of us stuck at home (and unable to swan off to France!), there are heaps of rugby websites to keep us entertained. Our favourites are:

• The official All Blacks site, where you can catch up on the latest news, player profiles and videos. There’s even a weekly podcast!
• A little slice of Rugby Heaven featuring indepth rugby news ‘n’ views.
• The site for fervent fans and certified All Blacks Fanatics, where you can leave a message of support for our boys in black and be in to win a trip with the All Blacks in 2008.

And while you’re waiting for World Cup kick-off, we’ve got articles to keep you informed. Find out the All Blacks’ chances of winning the Rugby World Cup, read all about our strongest competition in the tournament and swot up on your knowledge of World Cup history.

Something that caught my eye (and my inbox!) was this little ditty ‘n’ dance, otherwise known as the haka. But this is a haka with a difference - it’s performed by a team of hybrid gingerbread All Blacks.

These funky dancing biscuits are brought to you by the Baking Industry Association of New Zealand, in aid of the annual Bakery of the Year competition. This nationwide bake-off is open to all Kiwi bakeries, from cafes that bake their own breads, to specialist baking outfits and instore supermarket bakeries.

If you’re a bakery, register to earn a coveted place in the top ten of New Zealand’s best bakeries. And if you’re a punter, you can be in to win a $500 travel voucher just by casting your vote! To sample some baked goodies before making your decision, take a look at our New Zealand bakeries category.

Many of the NZS.com team were happily glued to their televisions on Saturday night for a tense All Blacks win against Australia and, on the same night, the match that some are calling the best game of netball ever played, with the Silver Ferns beating Australia in a cliffhanger double-overtime victory.

Our congratulations to both teams; we’re wishing you the best for the World Cup!

If you’re looking for more news on the All Blacks and up-coming World Cup you can find all you’ll need in our dedicated category of All Blacks websites.