Blues hooker Keven Mealamu is certain it’s just a matter of time before his Test skipper, flanker Richie McCaw, hits top form.
McCaw has come under the spotlight after a patchy first half of the Super Rugby season for the Crusaders.
Mealamu knows how his fellow All Blacks centurion would have reacted to questions about whether he is still the force of old.
“I would have expected him not to have read any papers or listened to the radio,” he said.
“When Richie comes under a bit of pressure, he’s one of those guys that will come through it pretty well. We don’t expect anything less from him.”
Mealamu will see first hand how McCaw reacts when he skippers the Blues against the Crusaders in Christchurch on Saturday night.
The latest clash in what was once the most significant New Zealand rivalry in Super Rugby will be between two sides occupying the bottom two spots in their conference.
The Crusaders are 10th in the overall competition and are coming off losses to the Highlanders and the Chiefs.
The Blues, with just one win from nine matches, have only the Western Force below them on the ladder.
Mealamu doesn’t see the Crusaders’ predicament as meaning they will be vulnerable.
“If anything, it just means they will gel together even more,” he said.
“They haven’t played as well as we know they have in the past, but they’re still a Crusaders side. We know what they are capable of.”
But Mealamu also said the Highlanders and the Chiefs had showed up areas where the Crusaders could be attacked.
“There are some things we have seen that we would like to expose,” he said.
“It just means we have to make sure we execute well. If we execute well, we can really put this side under pressure.”
piru
Guest
This and the other discussions about Carter and McCaw are pointless. No All Black coach is ever going to go to a world cup without a fit McCaw and Carter. make your arguments and comparisons, they mean nothing. If fit, Carter and McCaw will start in all the big RWC games.
Aucklandlaurie
Guest
Magnus, Im sure that when World cup time comes around, McCaw will be there, maybe he has slowed up a bit, but judging him in April may be a bit premature.
canadiankiwi
Guest
+1 Cory Jane is no longer in the top echelon of NZ wings. Waisake Noholo. Patrick Osborne, Charles Piutau, James Lowe, and , of course, Ben Smith and Julian Savea are all far more explosive wingers than Jane.
Not Bothered
Guest
Lets look at who has been surpassed at international level in 2014. McCaw. No. Mealamu. Yes and has been benched or dropped. Woody. Yes, we are yet to see who is truely no.1 and no.2. Kaino. No, he was considered THE BEST IN THE WORLD FFS. Nonu. Yes but he has fantastic form at club level this year. Smith. Debatable but imo he has been surpassed. Fekitoa and Crotty given gametime at 13. Jane. Yes and dropped for B.Smith. Carter. Yes but injury played its part, yet to be tested truely. Cruden preferred in 2014. After 2014 who should definately not be included in the 31? The answer is none but Jane is the only one I feel should be dropped and not go to the WC.
Not Bothered
Guest
Whats true is that only a couple of 7s on the entire planet have proven to be better at international level and even thats debatable. McCaw was still one of the best in the world in 2014 and better than 99% of the worlds 7s. Ive heard this before and its been proven wrong before.
Not Bothered
Guest
Nowhere near as good as Cane? Since when has Cane EVER been better than McCaw? Cane has not only never been as good as McCaw but the ridiculous suggestion that McCaw will not be as good as Cane, when Cane has not yet been as good as McCaw is too much. Sure McCaws form hasnt been great so far, although it was pretty good last night but he is slowly ramping up to his best for the WC as would be his and the ABs plan. When Cane is consistently better than McCaw at international level then I will say it is true that Cane should be picked but that hasnt even been close to happening yet so dont pretend it has.
Kuruki
Roar Guru
Anyone who questions McCaw only needs to watch what he does in a test and i'm not talking about the pretty stuff. There is not a more hardworking physical presence in the tight stuff in NZ rugby then McCaw. Cane needs to show consistency, he is finally getting his chance by playing week in week out, he will be ready to take the mantle post world cup not before it.
Sylvester
Guest
Hansen has said many times he pays no attention to Super form, certainly he wouldn't be this early in the comp. He'll know who's ready to go and who's not. McCaw was written off last year - again - and ended up being consistently one of the best ABs.
Harry
Guest
Magnus I wouldn't be certain about the number of the older players still running around in the AB side. At least they have introduced new players in the system as backups / replacements. Here the ARU have put an eligibility plan in place for the Wallabies and guess what? We are able to to select 3 No aged over 30 players currently playing overseas!
ohtani's jacket
Guest
There hasn't been a single test played this year and the Super Rugby season is only halfway through. In the case of Woodcock, Mealamu, Jane and Smith, a lot of their recent form hasn't been that great at test level, but McCaw was one of the All Blacks' best last season. Perhaps not the out and out best player as in past seasons, but still in the top five. Go back and look at his last test against Wales. The work he put in was immense. The trouble with McCaw isn't his form at test match level; it's what pacing himself means for the Crusaders' playoff aspirations. If I were a Crusaders fan, I'd want Slade at 10 and Todd at 7.
PeterK
Roar Guru
true McCaw had slowed up a lot last year and even more this year. As an individual player there are better 7's in nz. He is a talisman, and will probably be retained for his experience as captain despite being well past it as a player. You do need experienced players, the question is will they have too many as you allude to.
Magnus
Guest
Richie may get better but he still won't be anywhere near as good as cane , warren Ryan once said about age , it happens very quickly when it does , it's not that he can't play it's just that age has caught him abs have a number of these guys , woodcock , smith , Jane mealamu , kaino and nonu perhaps being the exception and can still play at their peak the wc has come 1year too late and hansen is playing a very high risk game with this , he has already been caught out with having guys who are going to be playing 5/8 who have hardly started a test there , I think shag maybe reading too many newspapers