So since then the hysteria over the Henry coaching cartel and their methods has died down a bit.  And fair enough too.  Sure, they made some mistakes - as all coaches, but FFS, what was the record, 42 from 48 wins?  That is what they need to be judged on, not a one off match where an inept Ref had as much to do with the loss as any of the other factors in the game.

The sack the coaches hysteria died down, but the conjecture over who will take over, or if the Cartel will remain is in full swing.  Early favourite Deans, also wanted by the Aussies pretty badly, is doing the typical Deans thing, laying low and not making a prat of himself.  He does not need to campaign for the job, his past campaigns for the Crusaders speak for themselves, and his 2003 All Black involvement is probably a good thing, as having been there, and done that, is a good thing in this case I believe.

Been there, done that.  That is also a good reason to keep the Cartel in the mix.  They have made mistakes.  They can learn from them.  They can learn from them, if they remain in control.  Otherwise it falls into that old saying, which I will butcher here.  If you keep doing the same thing, you'll keep getting the same old results.  In this case, the same old thing is sacking the losing coaching team, and the result, we know what that is, not winning another RWC.  Look at our old mate Sir Clive Woodenhead.  He coached the Poms through two RWC's winning the second one, so perhaps, lets change what we normally do, and just perhaps....??

Other contenders for the job, or rather, the one other contender for the job, Warren Gatland looks like he is heading for the land of the leaks and coal mines.  Hell, who wouldn't when you are a huge outsider for the All Black job, and there is a 1.3 MILLION pound contract being waved around in their faces...  If he should take this job, which is highly probable, than he should be in line post 2011 for the All Black position then, perhaps!

There are combination options too - the one I would have liked to see would have been Henry carrying on, with Deans and Gatland the two new apprentices.  Henry stepping aside after maybe a couple of years, and Deans taking control, with bugger if I know who coming into the mix.  However, who knows how these blokes would work out as a team - all long time head coaches.  It could be a case of too many Chiefs, not enough Indians, and could all end in tears.

If Deans comes in, he'll bring his own staff - the way it has to be, that is something we learned in 91 when the NZRU threw Hart and Wylie together and a real oil and water mix.  Anyway, who would Deans want?  He won 2 Super 12 championships with Vern Cotter, the Bay coach who stole the Shield from Auckland in 2004, and a hard bastard forward coach.  He also worked one season with Colin Cooper, for another Super 12 title, and that would be another option.  A third wheel in this coaching staff hard to think of, but then, does Deans need one? 

One option I heard through the grapevine was that Henry will be reappointed along with Hansen and I assume, Smith.  Smith was not actually mentioned, but the appointment of Henry was going to be for one year before Hansen took over as number one.  But hell, what the hell does Hansen do in this coaching set up.  The only set piece that you could credit him, as forward coach to have any control over, is the lineout (scrum being the domain of Cron the destroyer).  What is the one part of the All Black games that has been shit sandwich terrible for the past ten years, let alone the past four?  Yes, the lineout.  So just what Hansen does is an unknown to most fans I would expect!  Perhaps he makes a wicked cup of tea, and old Ted likes that...

Whatever happens with the coaching team, expect the Rest and Recuperation (or whatever the R&R stood for, I can never remember) to be turfed out.  No matter how rested you are, injuries are still going to happen.  Rugby is a contact sport after all, not bloody tiddly-winks!  So that resting can be shelved - the NZRU won't let it happen, and I don't think any coaching staff will want it either.  These boys are rugby players, not rugby trainers, they just want to get out there and play, so let them!  So we can look forward to real Super 14s and NPCs in the future again, instead of the shitty thing we had this last season!

OK, enough waffling over what could happen, what do I think will happen, and what do I hope will happen?

Well, I think the Cartel will keep their hands on the steering wheel.  But I hope that it will be handed over to Deans.  The best compromise for my 'same old thing, same old results' theory.  Deans has been there and won't want to lose again.  He's made his own mistakes during the Mitchell campaign of 2003, and the 2007 mistakes have been pretty obvious to see too, and one would hope that Henry, if he loses the job, will have a weekend or three with Deans comparing notes.

So there you go, the Cartel keeps the job, Hansen taking control for 2011.

God help us.