New Zealand rugby has a long history of producing great openside flankers. In almost every era, an All Black side has boasted an all-time great No. 7, one of the factors contributing to their dominance of the game over the past century.
The current side boasts arguably the greatest of them all in Richie McCaw, who is also arguably the world’s top player at the moment.
But before McCaw we saw the likes of Josh Kronfeld, Michael Jones, Graham Mourie, Waka Nathan and Kel Tremain stamp their authority on world rugby.
All were truly great players and all hold a special place in rugby history.
However, with McCaw now in the twilight years of his career, many people have questioned who the next man to wear the No. 7 for the All Blacks will be. Certainly in recent years the back up openside flanker position has been a hard one to fill, as there has been no clear leading contender for the role.
It seems now though, that New Zealand has once again unearthed another man who is capable of wearing the No. 7 All Black jersey in the post-McCaw era.
This man’s name is Matt Todd.
While it may be a bit early to start drawing comparisons to McCaw, there are definite similarities in the way each played the game at the same stage of their careers, and there is no doubt Todd has the potential to go on to be a very good, if not great player.
Todd burst onto the scene during the 2010 ITM Cup with some outstanding performances for Canterbury. He was undoubtedly the top openside in the competition and was an integral part of Canterbury winning their third title in three years.
His good form was rewarded with a place in the 2011 Crusaders outfit, and after Richie McCaw was ruled out of the early part of the season with injury, Todd was given the chance to show his stuff right from the get go.
And he certainly hasn’t disappointed, showing that he’s indeed a class player, being arguably the form openside flanker in the competition thus far.
He has a high work rate and is excellent at the breakdown, effecting turnovers in the same way McCaw is able to. To go with this, he has a good running game and is able to put his outside backs into space outside him in the same way McCaw does.
It’s still unclear whether or not the All Black selectors will opt to take a relatively inexperienced Todd to the World Cup later on this year, but given the lack of immediate contenders it sure isn’t out of the question.
Daniel Braid would be the other obvious contender. But given Braid is also in the twilight years of his New Zealand career, it would make more sense to take Todd and look to build for the future.
The other option would be to take Adam Thomson and use him as the back up openside, but to me it would be a better option to have him as a specialist.
Todd certainly isn’t hurting his chances with his current form, and if he continues to play the way he is, he may find himself wearing a black jersey sooner rather than later.
And after that the sky is the limit.
If the last six months are anything to go by, we may just be witnessing the break-out of the next great All Black flanker.
sturugbymad
Roar Rookie
sturugbymad I couldn't agree with you more.So far Todd has played very well at the breakdown against the Sharks and the Bulls despite the size difference against someone like Alberts.Rugby is not all about being super huge (one thing the Springboks have not figured out yet!) you need skills and he has it. The Stormers game will be very interesting if he plays as a sub because he will be up against Louw who is big but does not have the speed at the breakdown and gives away too many penalties.Louw was completely outplayed by McCaw in last years Tri-Nations and is not international standard. There is also the possibility of him playing against Brussouw(if fit) in the Cheetahs game in Bloemfontein next month, another yardstick and eye to the future. McCaw's main threat has to be Poekock(if fit) at the RWC , what a battle that was last year. I'm looking forward to seeing young Tyler Bleyendaal at first fives in the Super 15 this year , any chance? Has anyone noticed how weak all the front rows are in the S.A. franchises this year , including their Springboks! The Franks brothers are on a roll.I can't help but think that this has been a result of the test match in Auckland last year when the Boks were taken to pieces in the scrums.The look on Smit's face on their tryline summed up the feeling that the All Blacks have turned a corner. Moment of the weekend , Franks hit on Flip van der Merwe aawwwsooome ! With the return of some of the frontline players to the Chiefs and Canes coming soon that should make them more competitive for the remainder of the season especially for the Canes with home games and local derbys ending their season. stu0607@gmail.com
Sylvester Hyde
Guest
He's smaller than McCaw, but is making his mark at every level so far. It's hard to imagine him being benched when McCaw returns. My pick is for Read to be spelled, and McCaw to play 8. At the business end, Whitelock should miss out. Possibly a season too soon for Todd at ABs level. Henry will opt for the experience of Braid at the WC for sure. He does have international written all over him - he attend Christchuch Boys' High of course...
Nick Russell
Guest
He definitely reminds me of Mccaw in the early part of his career. He has the all round game of a 7, and my only criticism of him at the moment is that he plays a little loose. But as we have seen with Mccaw, this comes with experience and his lines and decision making of when to attack the breakdown etc will only improve. On form i would pick him as back up to Mccaw for the WC as a way of looking to the future, especially because he is unlikely to see much game time anyway. Though if Mccaw was to get injured (touch wood) i would opt for a more experienced 7 to start (probably Braid). It will be interesting to see what Blackadder does when Mccaw is fit again...Does he move Todd to Blindside and have Whitelock on the bench or visa versa? My preference would be to have him working in tandem with Mccaw.
Riccus
Guest
Todd seems to be making every post a winner. I think a problem for him could be his size. I noticed that he got brushed off alot against the Sharks. I wish him well though.
Moaman
Guest
George Whitelock deserves a mention on this topic too I reckon.Him and Todd work as a pair (with Read holding the reins?). Hugely impressed with Todd and don't see Braid having much of a shot now.Thompson,Messam can cover 7/6 & 8/7/6 respectively.More and more I see the 2nd group of 15 players picked in the WC Squad as being a facinating exercise.
katzilla
Roar Guru
I think I saw an article just like this back in the day when Grant Hill first hit the NBA..... Why Grant Hill is the next Michael Jordan. Its hard following greatness. I like Todd and he has potential but lets not get too ahead of ourselves, there will be plenty of time to blood new players next year. Thompson has done enough to be the back up imo.