McCaw and Carter's farewell to be spoiled by Wallabies' belief

Given the result suggest you stay in Canada. Interestingly most Kiwis gave the Aussies little chance, perhaps your success has bred some imperialistic arrogance, so much so that you don't expect to lose. This attitude almost caused a revolution in 07 with the overreaction to the French loss bordering on hysterical. Have you not learnt anything ? Do not throw the Barnes argument at me as it is so old and discredited as be full of rust, to say nothing of being utterly intellectually bereft. So a little humility coupled with a recognition that the Blacks are very beatable would go a long way.

Never watched dad's army. Squirrel 100 % right again . The abs are finished for this year.

Hey David your heading was spot on... thrilling game to be at, and a great send-off for those two Titans :)

;) = ; and ) with no spaces

Can someone please help me? How do you get those little smiley things into your posts? So that Akari understands when I've got my tongue in my cheek and just might be only half-serious. Please?

Yes but neither are DC, McCaw, Smith etc currently in the same class as DC, Smith and McCaw so you are not losing these players at their very best, DC and C Smith particularly shadows of their former selves. So if those guys are still winning when they're not at their best, the bridge isn't that great. Chances are they will all have been ousted within a year or two anyway.

@ IronAwe, Not really mate, as Rettalick has now won the IRB player of the year, something Brad never did. But I see where you are coming from, as the boy from Mosgiel was a mighty player. Re Thorn. Cheers

Good point, it makes it a helluva interesting sub plot as well...for me the thought of McCaw and cane or Savea on either side doesn't sound bad. Perhaps with today's pace the 6 role can get absorbed into two 7's? Who knows... It was used against Aus in 91 I think when jones and Mark carter, both 7's, played. The aim was for jones to cut down the 10 while at the same time carter would take the 12, cutting off the backline altogether

This is a silly debate. When a group of great players come together, they contribute to a winning team. Often. When only a few good players are in a team, they will struggle to win their share of matches. Rarely. McCaw has been a great contributor in many great teams. He is a common denominator to their winningness. Unless the ABs fall asleep tonight, they will win for the simple reason that they have better players in almost every position. Thus their collective & individual win/loss records will be enhanced.

NB point is the replacements aren't in the class of McCaw, Carter, C Smith, Kaino, Nonu (?), Woodcock, Kevvie ..... Yes yet, maybe and certainly time will tell but look at the squad and the inexperience # test caps and compare with AB RWC in years past, testing time for even your rugby nursery?

Captain Mannering plays for the Warriors !! And Skelton is a 20 minute player in this type of test match and hes buggered after the first 5 !

Australian sport focused site, narrow it down to this tab being heavily focused on Australian rugby and you 'kinda' get where David comes from. WT its hard enough with the Kiwi cousins and their bloody World Champion ABs :) on this site!

Poecock has to be cleaned up every ruck or its turnover ball, same with Hooper. Both teams will show urgency at the breakdown, if a man becomes isolated it will be turned over and counter attacked. Need support at all times can't drift away from it.

Justin Marshall reckons the Foley/Giteau axis is a carefully laid Cheika-trap for the big black boppers like SBW and others to run into with Hooper and Pocock waiting to pounce. Marshall advocates going wider. In a few hours time we'll know whether it was a trap or a corridor for the forces of the Darkness to advance.

@eaglejack I think you're right about outdated adherence to positions in rugby. The Wallabies are at the cutting edge now. That's why we can play our best 7 at 8. But the player actually at 7 doesn't need to hit rucks because he's in the 10/12 channel. Our scrum half can't pass. Our kicker can't kick. Our star lock can't contest a line out or push in the scrum. But our star lock is on the bench because we've brought in a second rate ex-Aussie who has been honing his skills in the Aviva premiership. Our wingers aren't fast. In fact our wings would both be centres but one of them is injured. And every second back can't tackle. By contrast, the ABs have rested on their laurels as RWC champs by playing proper locks, a big mobile 8, actual flankers (no doubt restricted by playing 6 & 7 in a traditional role), seasoned ball running centres, fast wingers, intelligent skilful halves and the best fullback in the world (he wears 15, can you imagine). I understand their coach insists that they all tackle! Boring.

Pretty much, anything could happen, ABs could come out and have a shocker. Gift them the RC.... To beat the ABs you have to display a career best performance.

Giteau has been playing in France, not the world...in the last four years he will not have played hardly anyone in the SXV, that is a big chunk of the worlds players missing....huge.

Actually he did achieve that record. The team which he captained certainly won the games and I am pretty sure everyone realises it is a team game, but really helpful to have someone knowledgeable point that out. Much the same way that Fred Allen's or Buck Shelford's records are spoken of.

that is exactly the same tactic AB's use to nullify Pocock.

He played in 91 wins, that is the stat. Don't get the problem with it. Using your theory did anyone ever win a rugby match? No. 0...Well what's the point of that statistic?