Rugby's optimists – and there are still some of you out there, just as there are people who continue to think it was right to kick poor old Italy out of the last World Cup while they were still in it – must be just a little concerned about the Smiths, on the grounds that they are beginning to sound like The Smiths.
Allow your columnist to explain. Just a few short weeks ago, the great New Zealand coach Wayne Smith could be heard explaining why he had given up on a Super Rugby game at half-time, reached for his television remote and spent the next 40 minutes watching a wildlife documentary. ...