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The All Blacks second XV could win the World Cup

Roar Guru
27th April, 2015
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Sonny Bill Williams could be unstoppable at the Rio Olympics. (AP Photo/SNPA, John Cowpland)
Roar Guru
27th April, 2015
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5567 Reads

With the World Cup looming, I have been keeping a keen eye on the impact injuries will have on teams.

Aaron Cruden went down a couple of weeks ago, and it wasn’t long ago when if a New Zealand flyhalf got injured the whole country would go into panic mode.

But with Beauden Barrett, Colin Slade and Dan Carter all there as reliable backups, gone are the days when panic sets in. I can’t see the selectors dragging Stephen Donald out of retirement this time around.

I decided I would go through the All Black team from one to fifteen and see where the vulnerability might be. Aside from Julian Savea, who is just a freak of nature, there is little to no drop off in the terms of class and ability in the other 14 positions.

I’ve create a second XV for the All Blacks and it is perhaps the strongest second XV ever seen.

First XV
1) Tony Woodcock, 2) Dane Coles, 3) Owen Franks, 4) Sam Whitelock, 5) Brodie Retallick, 6) Liam Messam, 7) Richie McCaw, 8) Kieran Read, 9) Aaron Smith, 10) Beauden Barrett, 11) Julian Savea, 12) Ma’a Nonu, 13) Conrad Smith, 14) Cory Jane, 15) Ben Smith

Second XV
1) Ben Franks, 2) Keven Mealamu, 3) Charlie Faumuina, 4) Luke Romano, 5) Patrick Tuipulotu, 6) Victor Vito, 7) Sam Cane, 8) Jerome Kaino, 9) TJ Perenara, 10) Dan Carter, 11) Charles Piutau, 12) Sonny Bill Williams, 13) Malakai Fekitoa, 14) Frank Halai, 15) Israel Dagg

Given the demands on players nowadays – having to be up for almost nine months – injuries and fatigue are inevitable, and teams need depth to win the World Cup.

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