One of the abiding memories of a packed rugby calendar last year involved Jerome Kaino and a Wallabies back. But it probably isn’t the one you are thinking of.
Early in the first Bledisloe Test in Auckland, Quade Cooper threw an inside ball to a flying Kurtley Beale.
Kaino lined him up and drove those reinforced shoulders into the fullback, snuffing out the danger with venom and setting the tone for the match – and the World Cup semi-final months later.
Now fast forward to that second game and picture a crumbling Wallabies scrum in the second half, driven off the ball and penalised.
Emerging from the mass of bodies is the huge frame of Brad Thorn, exulting in his pack’s physical superiority and bellowing into the Auckland night.
Thorn has played his last game for the All Blacks and Kaino will not be manhandling any Wallabies in the near future.
He is out of rugby for six months following shoulder surgery, and with a freshly inked contract to play Japan for the next two years in his pocket, his sizeable shadow may well have been removed from the Test arena forever.
Neither will be missed in Australia.
To this Generation Y of Wallabies, Thorn and Kaino had the same effect as a mirror – they couldn’t help taking a second glance.
When Kaino was absent for the Bledisloe decider in Brisbane last August, Radike Samo ran through his replacement, Adam Thomson (who was carrying a knock at the time), for one of the most misleading tries of the year. The week before, with Thorn missing from the assignment against the Springboks in Port Elizabeth, the All Blacks scrum creaked without his horsepower in the 18-5 defeat to South Africa.
Kaino has played 48 times for New Zealand, chalking up a win rate of 85.41 per cent.
Astonishingly, in 12 Tests against Australia from 2008-2011, his win rate is almost the same, at 83.33 per cent.
But in the same time frame against the much more confrontational Springboks, his win rate plummets to 54.54 per cent over 11 Tests. It is a neat insight into the Wallabies’ shortcomings in the collision zone.
In the cruel language of the playground, they have been bullied, the lack of hard men in the No.6 and No.4 jerseys highlighted every time they played.
Strip the game down and it comes down to three basics: winning your set piece, getting over the advantage line, and then releasing the fast men. With Kaino and Thorn, the All Blacks had the first two covered, and the rest naturally followed.
That is not to say their absence has left the door open for the Wallabies.
In the games that New Zealand really targeted last year, Australia were blown off the park, across the park.
Nor have New Zealand previously struggled to fill the jerseys of departing heroes. With a brilliant lack of sentimentality the All Blacks wave farewell to their champions with one hand while beckoning the next candidates with the other.
The mere opportunity seems to galvanise those next in line. Thomson comes into this category, as do Victor Vito and Liam Messam.
All are outstanding athletes, with pace to burn. But none of the trio carries the intimidation factor of a Kaino.
The closest thing to a new Kaino, the Hurricanes’ Brad Shields, is still just a youngster. The dark alleys would appear to be a little safer.
Among the second-rowers, Highlanders hard man Jarrad Hoeata has already put up his hand to take over the enforcement role vacated by Thorn. Apparently time in the big man’s presence in All Blacks camps last year was a revelation in terms of preparation. Hoeata certainly likes to hit hard and push in the scrums.
But the gap the Wallabies must bridge in terms of physicality has become a little less daunting.
The likes of Scott Higginbotham and James Horwill have been around for a while now and should be exerting a greater influence. In Sydney, the Timani brothers have size and are bristling with aggression.
If nothing else, Thorn and Kaino have shown them the standards that they should be aiming for. Whisper it for now, but the All Blacks pack is a slightly less intimidating beast than it was last year.
josh
Guest
Brad sheilds to me seems to be the future @ 6 great ball carrier seen from round 7,he wont be kanio but hell be better only young with a bright future.number 10 im more concerned about.
chariot buster
Guest
Paul, Acorn, KPM et al, no doubt Wallaby rugby said all the same things about the loss of the great George Smith, who was also only 29 when he retired from international duty to go chasing the bucks in France...But then Pococok came along... But in the modern game, with the amount of rugby now being played and the amount of injury disruption that comes as a consequence, elite teams now need multiple equal options in almost every position; a single incumbant superstar is no longer enough. Compare the Reds current dilemma with injuries at #10 vs the same challenge for the All Blacks during RWC! And imagine how RWC 11 may have been for Deans and the Wallabies had Smith also been available alongside the injured Pocock... It is no revelation that NZ has rugby depth in spades. But it is also no revelation that NZ doesn't have any money. This is not meant as a diss (Acorn), it's simply a fact of the tyranny of scale. It is the same reason why 1 in 4 kiwis live in Oz- which is how Thorn honed his trade in the first place: Chasing the bucks playing rugby league in Queensland! And it certainly didn't do the dual country dual international Thorn (who is as popular in Brisbane as he is in Christchurch) or the All Blacks any harm! There surely cannot be a more ferocious encounter, in any football code at any level, above State of Origin rugby league- what a great conditioner for an All Black lock! So perhaps an alternative view in this debate is that the loss of players to the paychecks of northern hemisphere rugby, or to rugby league, may not be such a bad thing for NZ or Southern Hemisphere rugby? It promotes constant rejuvenation and player development. (The days of one way player drain from union to league are a thing of past unprofessional eras.) Another point to keep in mind is that while Paul C is right that the game can be distilled down to the simple essence of: win the set piece, cross the gain line, and unleash the fast men, judging the style in which this is achieved should not be confused with actually achieving it. There is more than one way to skin a cat and this is what defines the different national rugby styles. The likes of Matfield, Botha, Johnson, Jack and Thorn are all great locks of the modern era, but admittedly they are perhaps not the style of Wallaby locks. Does that mean that Wallabies do not produce great locks? To illustrate, in Dan Vickerman (a Saffa) the Wallabies have a lock in the style of Thorn, and clearly Deans (being an All Black) too thought Vickerman's style was essential for Wallaby prospects. But I doubt Vickerman will be remembered as a Wallaby great. In fact, he probably will not be selected again at international level and he probably will not be badly missed. For mine, I'd have first picked Sharpe almost every time- he's not as abrasive, but he's no less honest and with buckets of leadership, and he almost guarantees the first goal of winning the set piece (lineout). And if that example doesn't convince, how about this one- "Nobody" Eales. Nobody was also not a lock in the mold of Thorn, but which one is the Hall of Famer? So while it's probably premature just now to expect anyone to immediately fill Kaino's or Thorn's shoes (and perhaps it's too much to expect that Horwill or anyone else can ever quite fill Nobody's shoes) there is no doubt that the NZ rugby machine will throw up a long list of quality candidates. If selectors do not discriminate on the basis of age, Hoeata and Brodie Rettalick are probably the front runners to take over from Thorn, and Thomson and Messam probably just nudge Vito and Sheilds for the blindside flank. But given the damage inflicted by the volume and intensity of modern rugby, they will probably all get a shot. This is the difference between Wallaby and All Black rugby- Thorn, Kaino, Eales, Smith, Sharpe, Pocock... It's not the quality of the superstars that is telling, but rather the length of those in the line to take their place. And for Aussie rugby, while there is at last some reasonable depth in the front row, nowhere is the lack of depth more evident right now than in the key playmaker positions of 9 and 10. There are at least a dozen hugely exciting contenders in the halves for All Black and Spring Bok jerseys right now, but the Wallabies currently have just one world class contender in both positions - Genia. (O'Connor is world class, but is he a natural 10?). So for mine, the biggest question of this season is not the dents appearing in the All Blacks armour- give me a break! All Black armour is made of that same regenerating stuff that Arnie's Terminator is made of! No, the biggest question for mine this season is about the massive gaping holes appearing in the Wallaby armour. As we are learning, Wallaby armour may be very shiny when it's new, but its guage in key parts is about as deep as tinfoil...
MattyP
Guest
Likewise, it took us a while to appreciate the tight work done by Richard Hill at 6 for England was a key factor in their success.
Denby
Guest
Amateur Hour, I thought exactly the same thing. What a role model. I will miss watching him play for the AB's & Crusader. He, in my opinion is the biggest loss they have suffered in a number of years.
Onor
Guest
three names dude... brodie retallick brad shields and sam cane!!
Behind Enemy Lines
Guest
+1
mania
Guest
kpm- owenFranks a negative loss? bizarre. franks is just as solid in the scrums and does more work around the field. hayman was a great player but he never put in bone crunching tackles. franks was just what the AB's needed at the time, a dynamic hard hitting running prop who can dominate any world scrum. how is that negative?
mania
Guest
kpm - considering the calibre of the players NZ has no country could afford to keep all of them. you fail to see the upside of the exodus KPM in that the players that leave, leave a huge vacuum. that vacuum being filled is the exciting part, seeing what the new blood has to offer. all these players u mentioned have been replaced by diversely different better players macalister -> nonu, hayman -> owenFranks, kaino - TBA kaino has served his country valiantly for the past 8 seasons at the highest level of competition. he's getting old and now needs to think about his families future. can kaino sustain competing at this level? probably but at price to his body? kaino can now go play an easy off season comp for loads more money. its a great way for AB's to take a break and earn a well deserved nest egg. this loss is no where near what your making it out to be KPM.
Ben S
Roar Guru
Agree re: Elsom. People decried Nick Easter for England, but he played the tight role so that Croft could roam. I'm no fan of Elsom, but Australia (on the evidence of last season) still has issues in the tight, and so a player like him is a necessity IMO.
Paul Cully
Expert
Great responses as usual. Particularly interested to hear opinions of Higginbotham. I think he is one of those players who can attract a bit of flak because the understanding of what he could be are so high. I've certainly seen him bring the requisite physicality in big games, such as against the Crusaders last year. But I guess it needs to shown more often. Consistency is a maturity thing though, and he's still a young man. Plus, that position is bloody hard. It takes a hard, uncompromising unit to do it to the Kaino standard. And it takes time. Traditionally young fellas start out playing a little looser and then get into the tight, dirty stuff as they get older. Higginbotham still has time to crack on to the next level. For the Kiwis though - Brad Shields - big future. Heard Murray Mexted on radio this week and like a good Wellingtonian he had big wraps on him - not just for his sheer, natural size but his attitude and workrate too.
granville
Guest
oh i hope so.....the younger bro at #8 and the older bro at #4 pairing up with Kane Douglas or Hugh Pyle with Pocock as Captain.
allblackfan
Guest
thorn set the mould, I thinkl There's no doubt that Kaino can continue to rep the ABs up until he's 36! Tight five forward don't really hit their physical peak until 29 or 30, and I think Kaino can be included in that!
Colin N
Guest
Owen Franks eventually replaced Hayman and has done bloody well too. Hayman, by contrast, has struggled to get into the Toulon first team. You would have thought that after 2007, with all the players leaving and the overreaction that went with it, that New Zealand wouldn't stand a chance in 2011. The same seems to be happening here. Despite Kaino leaving, no doubt someone will take his place. The same same goes for Thorn and, in what used to be an area where the AB's lacked depth, I think there are a few quality locks coming through.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
liam no one effectively replaced Hayman: the replacements were not as good. His loss was all negative.
stillmatic1
Guest
so the refs have been easy on the abs for the last hundred years then KOG? maybe its just you that thinks there needs to be a crackdown!! one would think the crackdown would have appeared at some point in the history of rugby for the Abs, and we would see the losses mount up. such a shame that it hasnt happened though, those refs just dont know what they have been doing for a century!! didnt pocock just lose a match due to having his sticky fingers in the honey pot?
liam
Guest
remember when hayman left.... disaster, disaster! all the hacks wobbled on about how terrible it was, how would the ABs cope... fast forward a few months. hayman who? he'd have been welcomed back, but younger pups jumped right on in there and thats how it should be. get over it.
Johnno
Guest
Victor Vito has really impressed me this year with his form at the hurricanes.
El Gamba
Guest
It was also a little dig at Deans' decision to have no backup at 7..
jeznez
Guest
Nice OJ, I thought that was the standard grace period over there!
dc
Guest
Victor Vito has experienced his apprenticeship, time for him and maybe Messam, Thomson to step up, aided by Richie and Kieran Read. I think the AB's will be just fine in the loose....