Cruden set for decent stint as NZ No.10

Bahaha "the poms were robbed" ..... another one partaking in too much wacky backy!!.

'Taranaki talk' suggestion that BBarrett heads offshore 2015/16 returning to aim for 2017 B&I Lions and 2019 RWC Wouldn't blame him, at age 23 he'd get a good $ amount in France, still young enough to come back more experienced in 217 - or sit on the bench another 2yrs waiting for Caretr to get injured (again)

Maybe they want a bit of Gurkha highland power: http://www.pvpixels.com/badass-gurkha-heroics/

You're entitled to your opinion Collin; that's what this place is for and this is one of the better forums going around. The fact is you may have a point. While it's great the tests DC has undergone show no reduction in his performance that's not a substitute for match-fitness and the stresses that accompany it. I'm pretty sure DC was testing fine prior to being murdered by Bismarck. Anyway, my point was and is that DC and Mealamu have potentially debilitating calf issues; it's not a great healer and both could succumb prior to London. I hope not but...

It's only my opinion; all I'm implying is that once these types of injuries ensue, even the best of players tend to lose that edge; as I said, I hope he is fit.

Good post Jeff and essentially I agree. We, after all, talking about one of the greatest fly-halves to play the game. However, it is worth noting, that like Kevin Mealamu, Dan has had repeated calf injuries and it may be that that repeat injury, a tough healer, may be what curtails his run. That said, I hope he at least gets to play in London and maybe even get a hand on Bill.

Firstxv I'm the same mate. For as long as I can remember, most athletes that ventured to the highlands to improve their fitness capacity, were athletes who participated in non-contact sports i.e. track athletes, swimmers, cyclists, rowers and so on and so on. I don't know if NFL conducts pre-season spring training in these locations - but I recall an American friend who said most teams dont go to these locations...just the teams based in those areas i.e Denver Broncos in Colorado. What does this suggest?...maybe contact sports just knocks the stuffing out of you no matter how much altitude training is completed....probably!! Question is tho', how many games would it take to knock the stuffing out of players who underwent, altitude training. I haven't got a clue but if its close to 6-7 games, then a full RWC campaign is about that length to make it to the final....and, it doesn't even address the issue of individual skills as you mentioned. Is it worthwhile - heck, I don't know that answer either but I guess we're about to find out in a years time cos now it seems, the welsh have just announced a similar program in Switzerland.

100% agree. The AB's hooker situation reminds me of the halfback one they had with Weepu and Smith. You really start to notice when the old legs of Weepu and Mealamu come on in the second half.

@ Old Bugger : this is actually a partial myth. partial becoz the gains can be sustained only for a short period. the idea of going high is to basically increase the aerobic fitness, the theory being at higher altitudes the air is thinner - i.e. less oxygen so the body comesates for that by carrying more hemoglobin in the blood. it is proven that by working out and living at higher altitude the blood h count will increase. however it is also proven that when a person from low alt goes to high alt and comes back to low alt, the body will in a short period revert to the original counts. tis has been proven with study on kenyan long distance runners, whose bodies are naturally conditioned at high alt. just imagine : if by just being in high alt could give u the stamina to run alike enrgizer bunny, then the Nepalese shud be the best becoz they live on the highest peak !!! human physique has been undergoing constant adaption to the environment for many years. certain traits in differnt types of people cannot be replicated by just visiting a mountain or volcano or ice lake :)

Great series the poms were robbed and the abs were saved by the dreaded home game yellow card phenomenon that has taken hold in the last two years

You are showing your lack of knowledge there CM. Carters stats(speed, endurance etc) are as good as they have ever been. Yes, he has suffered injuries, but most are unrelated, indicating acute injury rather than chronic. When he last played a decent stint in 2012, he was IRB player of the year. If he plays, and gets a few games under his belt, then it will be there for all to see, he is still the best 1st 5 in the world. If he doesn't then we will turn to the 2nd best in the world, backed up by another world class player. And might I add, one of the reasons, NZ has such a crop, is because Carter set a new benchmark which the other talented players have had the skill and application to rise too. I hope every country has it's best players available, the greats of the game are worth watching, whoever you support.

Its a strange one that one...seem in the last 5 years no teams are as fit as the AB's. Now that strikes me as weird. It almost suggests that New Zealanders in general are fitter than everyone else given the number of AB's over that time. Now thats obviously not correct but what I think it is is its a combination of the way NZers like to play the game, and our selection criteria. NZers love to run the ball, first and formost. From 1-15 taking the ball and running, passing etc is where it all starts. Take that through to the top level, and we pick players that have strong individual skills- running, tackling, offloading, passing and generally, making the best use of the time and space available- from 1-15. To do all that, at pace, against the best, you have to be fit. Other sides dont have that level of emphasis on individual skill across the 15. The Boks certainly don't. They'll take a 100% lineout winner over an allrounder any day. A prop who can demolish his opponent in a scrum, carry for 2 or 3 meters yet not run 100 meters without collapsing in a heap any day. For me its this picking of specialists in some areas that cost sides versus the AB's. Purely because in some positions they don't cover the work that his AB opposite does in open play. So this taking a side to high altitude purely for fitness training doesnt make sense to me. All I think it will do is de-strengthen areas of those selected in the specialist positions. take the prop...how effective is he going to be if he gets his aerobics up to levels he's never attained before? There has to be a trade off. Muscle bulk and strength surely one of them. If theyre not fit in July next year, they wont be effective purely because of some altitude romp.

You just had another toke didn't ya??

We hope they opt for DC; he's a definite liability now

For a minute there I thought your moniker was "Collin's Weed" and I was gonna suggest you're indulging too much of the wacky backy there mate.....I gotta get meself booked in for another eye test cos these old glasses are just not helping me at all. Still, it pays to leave the backy alone mate when you wanna play x-box otherwise you end up hitting the wrong board as in this instance and your fingers do the thinking instead of your brain.

Thanks for the stats Tsar, I concur SBW shines outside Cruden who is certainly one of the best in the game right now; he was superb in Auckland. (I thought SBW and Kahui were good together too) Unless Nonu has a massive drop in form or is injured he will remain the incumbent, certainly for the bigger opponents. Nevertheless I am firmly in the welcome back SBW camp. As good as Cruden is I would like to see Barrett get some more starts. He is just as direct, probably a better carrier, is a decent distributor, can defend and appears to have just that bit more time. I think he could be great.

Maybe the IRB could send a few selected referees over there also because as they say, better fitness makes for better decision making...probably wishful thinking aye!!

Remember that ad,Old Bugger? About "sending our sinuses to Arizona"? Now we are sending our poms? ;-)

MS The poms put pressure on the ABs for a lot longer than 20mins in the first 2 tests. Their only problem was they couldn't sustain that pressure for 80mins. And don't they know it too because they've just announced that in July next year, the RFU is sending the whole squad to Arizona for high altitude training to improve their total fitness which Lancaster acknowledged, cost his side immensely in the recent tour to NZ. Hopefully, they will be better prepared for RWC 2015.

Great call Harry, Boks should just take it to them there and just keep ball in hand. Some team has to test the abs, they are not that great and will crack but no team has put consistent pressure on them for more than 20 minutes.. I hope the boks have the belief in them to win. The draw for wallabies was due to the yellow cards rather than the pressure.