The Roar
The Roar

Advertisement

Who else could beat last Saturday's All Blacks?

Roar Guru
23rd October, 2017
Advertisement
The All Blacks perform the Haka. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
Roar Guru
23rd October, 2017
81
2718 Reads

Congratulations to the Wallabies on their heroic win over a gallant New Zealand team in Brisbane on the weekend. Well done, guys.

But here’s a question – what other teams prominent in world rugby could beat this exact same All Black side?

Let’s indulge in a little bit of fantasy, toss out the fixtures New Zealand has next month, and substitute some hypothetical ones. Let’s suppose this exact same squad travels to Dublin and takes on Ireland.

Almost a year ago, the Irish famously beat the All Blacks in Chicago and did so handsomely 40-29. On that day the New Zealand side included Beauden Barrett but was bereft of Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick.

The team that lost in Brisbane on the weekend also had some stars missing, with six of their first choice 15 unavailable.

Ireland wouldn’t be at full strength either with Jamie Heaslip (back) and Garry Ringrose (shoulder) all but ruled out, and Rob Kearney (hamstring), Dan Leavy (ankle), Simon Zebo (rib) and Paddy Jackson struggling to be ready.

But even with their tiny player base, Ireland could still field a very strong team.

Who do you think would win?

Advertisement

How about Eddie Jones’ England? The resources at his disposal are excellent. Even the loss of senior players such as Billy Vunipola, Manu Tuilagi and probably Mike Brown represent opportunities. Elliot Daly, Anthony Watson and Jack Nowell seem to be major contenders for the 15 jersey, with Harry Mallinder an outside bet.

Eddie could field a powerhouse pack even without Vunipola, with either Jamie George or Dylan Hartley at hooker, a raft of talented props to choose from, perhaps Joe Launchbury locking the scrum, Maro Itoje at six, Chris Robshaw at seven and Nathan Hughes at eight.

If the game were played at Twickenham, who do you think would win?

How about South Africa? If this same AB side travelled to Cape Town again and played the same Bok team that lost by a single point on October 7, who do you think would win?

close