THE SILLY season of largely meaningless Test matches is almost over. Next Saturday we have the real thing, when South Africa meet Australia to open the 2007 Tri-Nations, with all the wishy-washy nonteams masquerading as the real thing banished to unhappy memory.

New Zealand’s romp over France yesterday was so easy that the All Blacks descended into nonsense themselves, with back-row forwards such as Rodney So’oialo and Jerry Collins chipping the ball ahead as if they were kickers, and all kinds of extravagant flip-passes and handling errors near the French line. Nobody could expect to be similarly silly when they come up against someone’s first XV.

All we learnt about New Zealand in this short series was that they are still the favourites to win the World Cup. They are also in grave danger of becoming the most disliked champions in the history of the tournament. The lack of grace and continual whining of their coaching staff could rub away the gloss of what is potentially a fine team.

It would be easy to say that yesterday’s second Test confirmed that some of the holes in the New Zealand team have been filled. The play of Isaia Toeava in the centre was bright and pacey and the assurance of Nick Evans at fly-half gives hope that even an injury to the celebrated Daniel Carter might not cause terminal damage to World Cup ambitions.

The scrum and lineout looked a lot more solid and it was remarkable to see that the French breakaway try in the second half was almost chased down by none other than Carl Hayman, the prop who had put in a hard afternoon at the coalface. New Zealand and South Africa have both shown that they will not be defeated in the World Cup by any team that is not fully prepared and armed to take them on in the scrummage and in all the contact areas; a coach contemplating any other route is wasting his time.

Naturally, the key confrontation in the Tri-Nations will come between the two giants, with the Springboks holding home advantage in Durban in a fortnight. There will be no national coaches who will not be glued to the match and at this stage it is impossible to choose a favourite between them.

At least Jake White, the South African coach, can be backed not to spoil the tenor and atmosphere of the prematch week by insults directed at the opposition. Graham Henry let himself down with petulant jibes aimed at unsettling the opposition scrum. He said the French wasted time by allowing scrums to hit the floor and that they failed to engage properly. But although New Zealand have been scrummaging properly for the past 18 months, before that they had not for 30 years, and it is rich that a Kiwi should attack players from one of the great scrummaging nations.

The comments from Steve Hansen, another of the New Zealand coaching triumvirate, were even worse. We have already had New Zealanders complaining about the fielding of weakened sides against them, this from a coaching group which denuded the Super 14, ravaged viewing figures and interest and gave the title to a South Africa team on a plate by taking key men away.

But last week Hansen remonstrated bitterly with English and French clubs that are signing All Blacks in droves. “It is a bad thing for world rugby,” he says.

No, Steve, it is a bad thing for New Zealand rugby. It is the operation of market forces in a part of the game that is far more commercially successful than in New Zealand.

In any case, he would have been better off going direct to his own players in camp last week. Not only have at least five of them signed to play abroad after the World Cup, but agents for at least three more were talking to English and French clubs even as yesterday’s Test approached.

The world fears the burgeoning New Zealand team, but if their coaches keep harping, fear and affection will never go hand in hand.