I think the best of the Rugby World Cup might actually have been what has happened off the field. The stadium of four million people that Helen Clark promised the IRB in 2005 has well and truly arrived. It seems everywhere the tournament has gone New Zealanders have embraced it. Flags, flash mobs, singing and chanting. Brilliant. Watching the crowd in Palmy for the Georgia v Romania game you saw why we won the right to host this tournament. In a game of two of the true minnows of world rugby, it looked the whole city had come to support. The red and yellow buckets replaced the usual green headwear, and a brilliant atmosphere was created. The same was true right around the country. The Wellington City Council decided that the fan zone on the waterfront would close after the quarter finals here next weekend. There was an outcry, they relented and it will be there for the semis and finals. People want to be part of the Cup, whether the games have left town or not. Magic.

On the field, the highlight for me was the Pacific teams, Samoa and Tonga, and their supporters. Samoa probably should and could have beaten both Wales and South Africa, and Tonga magnificently took apart France. As I said before the tournament started these teams are now stacked full of European based professionals. I think the time has come for rugby to adopt the “international window” from football so that all the teams can put their best teams on the park. If Samoa and Tonga can put their best team on the park more regularly they will tip over the big teams more often.

And Ireland (who look really good) gave us the really meaningful upset against Australia that has turned the draw upside down. We now have a southern hemisphere half and a northern hemisphere half. I don’t think it matters much in terms of New Zealand’s hopes. Assuming we get past Argentina, then we will face South Africa or Australia after they have battered each other into submission.

But of course its Dan Carter’s groin that sent a nation into despair. It most be devastating for him and the team. I refused to believe it for a few hours. It is a massive blow. But the truth is we just have to accept he is gone. Slade will start the next couple of games, but Piri will be right there if things are not working.

So, deep breath, you can take the week off, and then it will be the knockout games. Looking ahead, I would say the semis will be NZ v South Africa and Ireland v England. What do ya reckon?

Yesterday, Iain Rennie the State Services Commissioner came to the Government Administration Select Committee. A bit of the discussion was about the very poor staff satisfaction and stakeholder surveys that SSC has had recently, which I covered here.

But what was also very interesting were Mr Rennie’s comments about the future shape of the public sector. Early on he said that he thought the public sector would look very different in ten years time to now. He is not talking so much about the impact of National’s on-going cuts as the long term structure of the public service.

The good news is that he talked about the importance of agencies working across boundaries more to deal with issues as they affect the public rather than through the lens of the agency. This is a good start. As previously discussed I think that breaking down the silos that operate in the public sector is a vital part of making sure we have quality 21st century services. There is a structural element to this, and it was good to see the Commissioner acknowledge that. The trick though is whether this will be tinkering at the edges or will it involve challenging some of the assumptions that underpinned the reforms of the state sector 21 years ago.

For those that follow all of this stuff perhaps the most interesting thing Iain Rennie discussed was the future shape of what are called the central agencies (DPMC, Treasury and SSC). There is already a project under way to look at shared services for those agencies in areas like IT and HR. There was also a strong hint yesterday that SSC will depart their current premises in Molesworth St when the lease runs out there, and the obvious conclusion would that they would co-locate with one or both of the other agencies.

When pressed on what the future look of the central agencies would be, Mr Rennie did not rule out mergers, though in fairness he also did not confirm them either.

While finding efficiencies in how the central agencies operate is a good thing, I would flag a concern that a merged central agency would almost certianly see a dominance of Treasury. While Treasury play an essential role in ensuring fiscal discipline, there needs to be balance in the way public services are managed. I am not suggesting SSC has done a brilliant job of that role, but I am sure that the situation would be worse if there was not a counter-weight to Treasury. The public sector system needs a champion for the quality and effectiveness of public services at the centre of decision making, not just the accountants looking at the bottom line.

On Thursday 24th of June at The Establishment (corner Of Courtenay Place and Blair Street) at 6pm a Save The Sevens Party will be hosted by keen Sevens supporter Graham Bloxham. Further details can be found on this poster.

At the party the petition signed by more than 10,000 other people will be handed over to (hopefully) a representative of the New Zealand Rugby Union.

Thanks to everyone who signed the petition.