All Blacks to beat Wallabies by fifteen
Roar Pro By stash, 8 Sep 2010 stash is a Roar Pro
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- All Blacks, Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, robbie deans, Rugby Union, Tri Nations, Tri-Nations Tests, wallabies
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A dead rubber? Try telling that to the Kiwi and Australian fans when their teams clash heads this weekend in the final Tri-Nations of the 2010 season. Let’s take a moment and explore the good, the bad and the ugly facing both teams this weekend:
Wallabies:
The Good
• Absolutely rapturous and upbeat after a superb last minute win against the Boks after decades long drought.
• Sydney – the fortress of Australia and the home of the only Bledisloe success under the Deans reign (2008).
• A win here breaks the stranglehold of the All Blacks and provides real hope for the World Cup and that’s a lot of motivation.
• The Wallaby pace out of the gates is fast and furious and four tries in the first 20 minutes of the last two games is truly impressive.
The Bad
• The second half jitters and the Melbourne debacle after the last Bok victory
• The Deans strategy looks a lot like the Kiwi template (are they cousins?)
• Nonu, McCaw, Dagg, Mils, Read, Jane, Woodcock, Thorn, Henry.
• Jetlag, battered, bruised and tired legs.
The Ugly
• John Williamson’s sad attempt to resurrect Waltzing Matilda.
• A loss means an unprecedented 10 losses on the trot for the Wallabies. A bad loss and evil eyes turn back on Deans.
• The longest winning streak in the last 32 games is three, and that includes Italy.
All Blacks:
The Good
• A win here is 14 victories in succession, and the first whitewash of a Tri-Nations since the extension to the three-game format.
• Richie McCaw’s NZ record as the most capped all black captain – the bloke is just getting better and better.
• Rested, motivated and high fitness levels ready for a fast, unrelenting 80 minutes.
The Bad
• Playmaker Dan Carter out – a huge amount of pressure on Cruden (but thank the gods Stephen Donald is out).
• Let the Wallabies own the breakdown in the last meeting.
• Henry’s temptation to experiment with the second tier players.
The Ugly
• Jitters and family concerns for the All Blacks after the devastating Christchurch quake.
• Relentless rugby scribes demanding a yellow card for Richie.
• A loss here and Henry’s magnificent year deflates.
• Did I mention John Williamson?
Both teams have more than pride on the line here. It’s not going to be easy for the All Blacks and the Wallabies will be fired up after their victory. I suspect it will be tears for Robbie and another All Blacks victory.
Too much gas in the tank and the rest would have done the All Blacks well.
It’s hard to see the Wallabies reversing their second half collapses particularly with the legs going to jelly. Deans bench management, which has been dismal during his reign, combined with a lack of bench depth will be crucial and it’s unlikely he can redeem this weakness overnight.
Stash’s prediction – All Blacks by 15.
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- Explore:
- All Blacks, Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, robbie deans, Rugby Union, Tri Nations, Tri-Nations Tests, wallabies
September 8th 2010 @ 1:33am
Ben S said | September 8th 2010 @ 1:33am | Report comment
Tough one to call this: the Wallabies played some very good attacking rugby in SA BUT they collapsed in stunning fashion two weeks in a row, and conceded 31 and 44 points to a pretty underwhelming South Africa side. Add in the fact that the South African defence has been shambolic this 3N and maybe this big win isn’t so significant? Conversely, maybe the win will be a psychological boost and will help 2nd half collapses? Maybe. Maybe not.
Carter’s loss is obvious, but Cruden is playing in a near all-Hurricanes backline which should ease his nerves. The All Blacks will have had time off, (which is either good or bad depending on the outcome) and the Wallabies should be cream crackered. On paper this could be the perfect ambush for the Kiwis, but at some point Australia will beat NZ, so this is as good an opportunity as any. Personally, I think that NZ are still better coached, better selected and better technical players, and so will win a close match.
September 8th 2010 @ 1:56am
Tortion said | September 8th 2010 @ 1:56am | Report comment
Personally, I can live with them losing as long as they provide first halves like that. Nice to see an Australian side able to score tries again.
September 8th 2010 @ 5:06am
cinematic said | September 8th 2010 @ 5:06am | Report comment
Based on what I’ve seen of Cruden in the domestic comp I think he will struggle. Perhaps struggle badly.
The Wallabies need to chalk up a solid lead early, if so I don’t expect such an inexperienced first five could lead the AB’s out of the mire.
That said the Wallabies pack is still lacking in key areas, the AB’s should dominate the scrum and line out.
September 8th 2010 @ 5:42am
warrenexpatinnz said | September 8th 2010 @ 5:42am | Report comment
Agree about Cruden, not sure what Henry sees in him but the wrong call to have him in instead of McCalister. More suprisingly the ABs by selecting Cruden then have to base the selection of Dagg or Weepu around him due to Cruden’s yet to come up to standard kicking.
Not so sure about the scrum and lineout dominance to the ABs, agree that the scrums should favour the ABs but the split not to be a dominate one. As for the lineouts I think the Wallabies will win this area as Sharpe, Chislom (hopefully the Chis we saw last week turns up) and Simmons/Mumm will bring the solid effort against the Boks to the table.
All in all it makes for an interesting match with the superior AB 80 minute game my main concern as regardless of the travel issues and that the ABs are well rested it is the 20-30 minutes were the Wallabies lose momentum.
BUT the Wallabies have a helluva lot to play for this weekend and it is their last test on home soil which may just keep their legs pumping. 7-10 points to either side with the smart money on the ABs but the better return on the Wallabies.
September 8th 2010 @ 6:54am
Nerk said | September 8th 2010 @ 6:54am | Report comment
Cruden can kick now. Since being in the ABs squad with not much to do he has worked on this non-stop (with great coaches). Then in his recent game for Manuwatu he kicked at 100%. Also people (like spiro in a recent article of his) seem to think he has only just appeared and is some sort of a gamble, actually he played all last season in the NPC and absolutely tore it up while leading an average side. He has identified his defense as a weakness and says he has been working on it. for me that is enough. He obviously has a huge work ethic when it comes to training as evidenced by his dramatic kicking improvement, so if he says his defense is improving I’d take his word for it.
September 8th 2010 @ 7:59am
warrenexpatinnz said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:59am | Report comment
Nerk the first 20 minutes of the Manawatu game had Cruden making a few mistakes and kicking in front of 8,000 people is a helluva lot different than 40,000 during an international test match.
I cannot knock Aaron’s dedication and work ethic as highlighted by his team mates and coaches however I think he faces the same situation where an untried (yes he has had a few minutes) McCalister was found wanting by Mortlock.
Personaly I believe if Cruden was ear marked as the first choice he should have started in SA and played the full game as the kid needs large amounts quality game time.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:20am
allblackfan said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:20am | Report comment
The Trinations was up for grabs. The ABs coaches couldn’t risk it. Now they can; pressure’s off!
The ABs will also be fired up for this given the recent quake in NZ.
Anyone who thinks MacAlister should have got the job should remember that LM is a second five-eighth (ie inside centre), not a first-five. Henry said as much
September 8th 2010 @ 9:23am
jeremy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment
Carter’s injury kind of forced the decision, and in the scheme of things it’s not a bad time to get him out on play. We need a specialist #10 as a backup for Carter – remember RWC07?
He will be ruthlessly targetted though – shoe on the other foot for the Wallabies who’ve had some of their debutants put under the blowtorch by the All Blacks recently.s.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:34am
ohtani's jacket said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:34am | Report comment
Carter opted for surgery so that he could recover in time for the end of year tour. Apparently, he could’ve played the Sydney Test had everything been on the line ala Brisbane in 2008.
At least with Carter being sidelined, there’s no temptation to play DC at second five or bring him on later. Cruden and Slade, it is. I like this aspect of the Test match. We may end up losing as we did when McAlister played centre in Melbourne or when Braid started in Sydney two years ago, but I think Wallaby supporters are trying to sew the seeds of doubt here.
As for Cruden, it wasn’t that long ago that the Aussies were sniffing around trying to poach him.
September 8th 2010 @ 1:29pm
Mikey said | September 8th 2010 @ 1:29pm | Report comment
MacAllister is yesterdays man – won’t make the AB’s again with Nonu & SBW coming on at 2nd. And certainly not a 1st five – Carter, Cruden, Slade, Delaney, Brett…. to name a few – they’re all ahead of him
September 8th 2010 @ 9:17am
ohtani's jacket said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:17am | Report comment
The Australian scrum wasn’t very good in South Africa and they lost a game on the back of their lineout. Sydney could be different, but we’ve seen no signs this year of Australia having a better scrum or lineout than New Zealand.
Given that both sides are inclined to counter attack, whoever plays the best defence will win. It’ll be interesting to see whether Deans makes adjustments at the breakdown, because if the All Blacks watched the Bloemfontein Test they’ll know that the Wallabies are leaving big holes around the rucks.
The Wallabies will probably attack Cruden’s channel a lot, but he’s not a bad defender from memory.
September 8th 2010 @ 12:25pm
John Philipson said | September 8th 2010 @ 12:25pm | Report comment
Agre one hundred percent, there were big holes at pillar and post for the wallabies, because they knew th two dimensional south african attack would go one wider. Will be interesting to see how the AB’s play that, and as you say if Robbie adjusts the focus of the defence, I still think that a defence coach would do players like Quade/Beale and some of the forwards a great deal of improvement.
Australia needs to win on defence, and with grit and determination, either that or blast the AB’s away with a scoring spree and then hold on for dear life. Either way, should be a great watch.
September 8th 2010 @ 12:22pm
John Philipson said | September 8th 2010 @ 12:22pm | Report comment
It could be because of super experience playing inside both Nonu and Smith
September 8th 2010 @ 8:22am
Sam Taulelei said | September 8th 2010 @ 8:22am | Report comment
Outside of the team, we don’t really know what to expect from Aaron Cruden. Since his selection in the All Blacks he hasn’t played a lot of rugby. His performances for the Hurricanes in the latter part of the Super 14 were solid and promising but many people weren’t expecting his elevation to the All Blacks until the end of year tour.
I guess things would be different if he arrived on the national scene in a blaze of fanfare, with high expectations and pressure to boot. It reminds me of when the Graham Henry announced that he was leaving Spencer and Mehrtens at home for the end of year tour in 2004 and Daniel Carter would be playing 10. Carter had only started playing at 10 for the latter part of the NPC for Canterbury that year and it’s easily forgotten that there were as many concerns then about Carter’s ability to control a game as there are now about Cruden. Many saw it as a huge and unnecessary gamble by Graham Henry and one that has repaid him handsomely.
Luke McAlister is not a natural 10, while he may have started his playing career in that role and played the last couple of games for North Harbour at 10, he should be left to concentrate on playing inside centre and not be mucked around at the whim of his local coach and national coach. He will not get back into the All Blacks as a first five, maybe as cover on the bench but his ranking on the national pecking order for that position has dropped behind Cruden, Slade and perhaps others as well.
I sincerely hope the Wallabies make a big leap in improvement from their previous two matches against the All Blacks, a record winning streak always reads well in the history books but the appeal of these tests in the past has been the Wallabies competitiveness.
September 8th 2010 @ 6:10am
bayboy said | September 8th 2010 @ 6:10am | Report comment
I couldn’t really give a hoot should NZ lose this weekend it really wouldn’t bother me too much at all.
I don’t want them to lose don’t get me wrong but this game has nothing riding on it, Henry has stated he will drop more names into the hat and it will be no surprise to see more rookies starting along with Cruden. Henry and his pals have repeatedly stated from Sydney in they will start to blood new players as they only have 9 more matches until the world cup to do so.
Australia is the team with the pressure on them and there is a lot of it.
No matter what NZ is always expected to win so nothing changes in that guard.
However after training last night and having a chat with the lads over a coldie not to mention the lads in the office I could quite comfortably say not to many people really seemed fussed at all about this test. The pre match hype isn’t there and that can be equated to three things firstly the Earthquake in Christchurch has drawn most of the medias and countrys attention and rightly so.
Secondly that cup called the Bledisloe is already locked away along with the third reason and that being the Tri-Nations.
Yes it is still a Trans Tasman clash but deny it all you will and I know you will try. But this match whilst night a dead rubber it is one gasping for air(time) in this country.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:31am
jeremy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:31am | Report comment
Agree with some points but disagree on others.
It may not have the public support but internally Henry et al will know the importance of the match. He’ll want to keep a foot on the throat of the Wallabies and to stomp around in Robbie Dean’s and the team’s head a bit more.
Last week’s first half was worryingly good from the Wallabies – backing it up with a win would give them that extra little mental territory needed for a RWC upset.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:44am
bayboy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:44am | Report comment
Jeremy whilst I can agree the ABs will want to win I do not believe that this game is as important (for the ABs)as some are making out particularly Australian fans.
Henry is and has stated many times that he will be using matches from here in to test new players and combination’s, so straight away this tells us he is not rating it as highly as some may like to have us think.
The fact that in the back of these players minds they know the Bled and 3Nations is safe must surely impact on their thinking and to believe it doesn’t is foolish. Yes they will still want to win but would they want it more if something is on the line?
Whilst a win will be good and will be a psychological boost to the Kiwis and a blow to the Wallabies a loss could be even better for the ABs as many will tell you, you can learn more from a loss than a win, the biggest thing is if a team feels the pain of defeat they will / should strive harder in their next encounter.
The Australians had a cracker start against a very underwhelming Springboks team in the first 40 and you can not discard that, the Boks were nowhere near their best. the second 40was very telling and showed more importantly how good the Boks can and will be when they turn up to play.
More importantly one can not ignore the fact that both wins over the Boks came at the end of their 3 match cycles, the first after a battering and demoralizing tour to NZ, the second they lost to a chance penalty it was hardly a thrashing by any means. I would be more worried as an Australian fan as twice their team has raced away to a huge lead only to be pulled back.
September 8th 2010 @ 10:40am
Short-Blind. said | September 8th 2010 @ 10:40am | Report comment
Why is it that the Saffers are mentioned by many kiwi bloggers as ‘underwhelming’ in context of Australia’s recent win yet two weeks prior the AB only pipped them at the post at the 80 min mark with a Dagg try? How underwhelming were they that night? A bit of balance please gents!. Good sides dont fall over in a week and it was the brilliance of the Wallabies back play that made the Saffer defence look ordinary last week (ie the Saffers were trying).
I think the test this saturday will be very close. The AB haven’t faced QC yet and it is clear his passing game will cause them trouble. Yes he will get traffic down his channel but so will Cruden – who is slighly less experienced at this level. I was very impressed with the ‘starch’ McCalman added to the Wallabies last week at number 8. He made Pocock’s job easier and will have to be even better this week to ensure Read and co dont provide the go forward they are used to. If the Wallabies can get a strong start and get a least 50% possesion they can win. Although the match doesn’t mean a whole lot to many kiwis – other then maintaining their psychological edge, it means a lot to the Wallabies tired legs and all. Many kiwis I speak to are concerned by what they saw last week and the potential of the Wallabies to improve more than their team when the best 15 is selected. It may not happen on Saturday but it is very clear the path RD is taking this team down and in time will come the confidence and composure to really stick it to the AB.
September 8th 2010 @ 11:28am
ohtani's jacket said | September 8th 2010 @ 11:28am | Report comment
South Africa had periods of good play and bad play in all three Tests. You could probably argue that they were more consistent in the first 60 minutes of the Soweto Test than both of the Tests against Australia, but South Africa’s performances don’t have much bearing on this weekend’s Test.
It’ll be interesting to see whether the Wallabies can break open the All Black defence, however.
September 8th 2010 @ 12:15pm
bayboy said | September 8th 2010 @ 12:15pm | Report comment
Your right good sides don’t fall apart in one week South Africa have never even got it together for this Tri-Nations they were a rabble from the outset. No matter how you look at it the best match South Africa put up this year was Soweto by a country mile. Neither test against Australia come even close to the intensity of that match.
September 8th 2010 @ 2:26pm
Short-Blind. said | September 8th 2010 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
So badboy SA where a little more of an ‘intense rabble’ against the AB? You’ve got me there with that logic. The only relevancy in comparing these games is to assess recent form lines. What it shows is that the kiwis game plan, leadership and defence is better and they are still playing 80, attack is vgood as well. The Wallabies attack looked better in the first half last week but they are still not playing for 80 and their on field leadership is still way short of what it should be. Makes for a great game! The mental issue of why they cannot focus for 80 min (I’ll take 65) has to be top of RD’s horse whispering this week. Like OJ I am excited to see how the AB defence handles the newly confident OZ backline. Notwithstanding we know the game will be won in the set piece and ruck which is why I said we need to have at least 50% (unspoilt or slowed by Ritchie) possession to win. Just hope it is a cracker of a game and the ref is consistent with the loosies.
September 8th 2010 @ 5:33pm
tiwana said | September 8th 2010 @ 5:33pm | Report comment
be afraid, very afraid
September 11th 2010 @ 5:23am
Scotty said | September 11th 2010 @ 5:23am | Report comment
Why?
September 8th 2010 @ 6:30am
pothale said | September 8th 2010 @ 6:30am | Report comment
ABs to follow the NH clubs and start playing ball in hand rugby properly. Win by 25+.
September 8th 2010 @ 7:03am
Hawko said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:03am | Report comment
You need to get some slightly less obvious bait if you want to catch a lot of fish
September 8th 2010 @ 7:06am
Seiran said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:06am | Report comment
????
Classic trolling
September 8th 2010 @ 7:09am
pothale said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:09am | Report comment
That’s two so far.
September 9th 2010 @ 10:58am
MarkR said | September 9th 2010 @ 10:58am | Report comment
Hahahaha…very funny Pots, that’s 3.
September 8th 2010 @ 6:32am
Tui said | September 8th 2010 @ 6:32am | Report comment
Yes my main concern is Cruden also. I dont really know what to expect from him. But Hes a double world champion at U20 level and has been world junior player of the year so he has the pedigree. Good to find out now I guess. The wallaby attack has looked good but also as pointed out has conceded a hell of a lot of points to a fairly average SA outfit.
September 8th 2010 @ 6:50am
jiggles said | September 8th 2010 @ 6:50am | Report comment
NZ Ruck work to be the deciding factor. a close score line will not reflect how dominant the Blacks where. NZ by 9+
September 8th 2010 @ 7:06am
Who Needs Melon said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:06am | Report comment
Ok. So we’re all expecting the Wallabies to lose and by more than a couple of points. So we’re NOT going to razz all over them next week when they lose coz that’s only to be expected, right?
September 8th 2010 @ 7:52am
bayboy said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:52am | Report comment
I don’t expect the Wallabies to lose at all.
I think they will get up but it will not mean anything at all. What was to be won has been won the ABs are now in prime position to blood new players. A loss will give them more incentive so there is a good side to a possible loss for the ABs
September 8th 2010 @ 8:06am
warrenexpatinnz said | September 8th 2010 @ 8:06am | Report comment
Bayboy I question why these fringe AB players haven’t been played earlier for game experience especially since they, the ABs have been playing so well. Case in point is Cruden and Flynn.
I would also question any loss the ABs may have to the Wallabies between now and the RWC as although I agree it wouldn’t hurt the ABs to have a reality check but it is more so what a win will do for the Wallabies self belief and confidence.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:10am
ohtani's jacket said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:10am | Report comment
The shake-up that Deans gave the Wallabies for Bloemfontein involved a couple of “fringe” players. I don’t see how anyone in the squad is a fringe player in the modern climate. To be honest, I’m not sure why people are alluding to the All Blacks as under strength. You could easily start the same All Blacks side on the end of year tour.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:33am
jeremy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:33am | Report comment
Flynn’s not exactly a new cap, and he has had some international time this year – did well for NZ Maori against England this year too.
September 8th 2010 @ 8:29am
Sam Taulelei said | September 8th 2010 @ 8:29am | Report comment
Warren
It’s every coaches dilemma – on one hand select your first choice selection and play them for the majority of tests to develop intuitive combinations, understanding and confidence. On the other how to ensure that your backup players are also given opportunities to gain experience and matchplay in big tests. Henry has publicly admitted that they would have started with Cruden against Wales in the second test this year however the memory of their 2009 season was still fresh in their minds and they erred on the side of caution.
It doesnt’ matter what Henry does with his selections, there will always be criticism. He was heavily criticised for his rotation policies in the past and now he’s being criticised for not rotating his team enough. Who’d want to be a coach?
September 8th 2010 @ 9:12am
warrenexpatinnz said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:12am | Report comment
Agree Sam the life of a international rugby coach would be a stress full one though the perks of world travel and a hefty remuneration package would make up a lot of the criticism faced.
I know there is a lot of talk that Australia doesn’t have the player depth however I personaly believe they do and although some have been enforced through injuries to possible first choice players the bulk have been ones that Deans has ear marked with potential.
The interesting thing is that we have two approaches with Deans rebuilt Wallaby squad having new players in games that they would have only ever dreamed about whereas Henry and Co have been far more subdued in the introduction of their younger players.
There is limited quality competitions between now and RWC2011 and for me the time to introduce the likes of Cruden would have been during the June series and at least half of the TN’s. This would throw up questions on how to kep the likes of Carter in form but in his case the out and out ability of the guy would have him overcome some down time.
I then look at the worst case scenario of a AB side without an injured McCaw and too be blunt they do not have a plan to cover his loss, certainly no standout backup either as his magical two and a half positional play during a game but more importantly his leadership. The loss of Umanga in 2003 derailed the AB game plan and I also think it hit at the mental toughness of the ABs as his value to the team leadership was irreplaceable on the paddock.
The injuries the Wallabies have suffered to the likes of TPN, Palu and Horwill are very relevant to my probably long winded post now as these guys playing the combative way they do will have appreciated the injury enforced rest and will come back with a body that is 100% right and rearing to make that 15 of which some younger guys will certainly wishing to be making their own and hanging onto as in the likes of Mccalum and Simmons/Mumm/Chislom
September 8th 2010 @ 9:37am
jeremy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Hi Warren,
Agree, McCaw out for injury is nearly unthinkable.
Henry’s blooding of new players has been effective I feel. He probably could’ve thrown caution to the wind earlier, but I think there’s a master plan at work for working up depth, it’ll form around the EOY tests. Surprising that Carter was still played, injured, while Cruden needed blooding.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:51am
ohtani's jacket said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:51am | Report comment
Well, McCaw is arguably the best player in the world. If not the best, then certainly the most influential. It’s a bit of an extreme example in my view.
Henry’s agenda in the Tri-Nations was different from the June Tests where he had a number of players out with injuries. High on the agenda for the Tri-Nations was winning the thing, but it must be a surprise even to Henry & Co. how dominant the All Blacks have been. He’s probably been a little gunshy with Cruden, but I think he’s done a good job with Ben Franks, Whitelock and Dagg.
I actually feel this is just as big a game for Vito as it is for Cruden. Vito, in effect, is keeping Thomson out of the side, and Thomson is going to the Crusaders with the hope it will win him back an All Black jersey.
September 8th 2010 @ 10:18am
Taniwha said | September 8th 2010 @ 10:18am | Report comment
Well no denying that McCraw is irreplaceable, as is Carter (the extent to which we will found out this Saturday), the same could be said of Pocock and Cooper if they were to be injured. I guess truly world class players don’t grow on tree’s!
September 8th 2010 @ 10:30am
Darwin Stubby said | September 8th 2010 @ 10:30am | Report comment
We’re talking generational AB’s here in Carter and McCaw – guys that will go down as true greats if not the greatest ever in their positions – of course their loss would make a difference – but in the past the AB’s have coped with losing the likes of Meads, Fitzpatrick, Jones etc etc – and they’ll do so again … on Sat we get to see the alternative if Carter goes down .. and if McCaw goes then I actually think the new intrepretations have eased the problem – the out and out “fetcher” isn’t really employed by the AB’s as much now – it’s the second man in that really counts – so I reckon Henry will look to replace McCaw with any of the next loosies of the rank be Messem, Thomson, Vito – I’d be surprised if Braid made the end of year tour … the big loss with McCaw is the captaincy component
September 8th 2010 @ 10:17am
Sam Taulelei said | September 8th 2010 @ 10:17am | Report comment
It’s often overlooked that the All Blacks also went through growing pains last year with injuries to key players and the selectors were forced to blood new players sooner than expected. Some have come up trumps eg. Owen Franks and others have been sent away to do more work eg. Isaac Ross and Stephen Donald.
Daniel Carter was unavailable for most of the Tri Nations tests last year and Richie McCaw was not the dominant player at the breakdown as we’ve grown accustomed to against the Boks.
The difference between the two teams last year was that our performances only suffered against the Boks and France in the June tests but were still better than the Wallabies who were at full strength. The Wallabies this year has found out that the gap between their first choice players and some of their backups was substantial and against a full strength All Blacks side they’ve suffered.
As you say the return of those first choice players for next season will at least make the Wallabies more competitive and we’ll have to wait until then to see both sides face off against each other with full strength teams to answer those questions.
September 8th 2010 @ 7:22am
Gregan said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:22am | Report comment
To all KIwi Fans…”the winning streak of All Blacks ends on Saturday night”.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:38am
jeremy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:38am | Report comment
Mmmm…no, I think it’s the Wallabies 1-match winning streak that ends on Saturday night. actually.
September 8th 2010 @ 7:51am
warrenexpatinnz said | September 8th 2010 @ 7:51am | Report comment
Where is the “two yellow card Mitchell prophet”. I need his prediction for Saturday’s test as since they canned Olly the octopus I have no one, or no thing to guide me on my betting plunge.
September 8th 2010 @ 9:39am
jeremy said | September 8th 2010 @ 9:39am | Report comment
there’s a croc up in Queensland that picked Gillard as the winner of the election – may be worth looking into.