- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
What a stupendous sporting feast awaits rugby fans on the coming weekend!
The dream final so many wished for. The all conquering current world champions versus the resurgent and swaggering Wallabies, the team with perhaps the best record in world cup tournaments, certainly those hosted in these barmy northern climes.
So much history is hanging on this game, regardless of the outcome records will be set.
It is the swansong of the great maestro Daniel Carter versus the new man on the block Bernard Foley. Can Carter produce one more masterclass as the final stage calls beckon or is the flower all but faded, a shadow of its 2005 Lions glory?
The chapter will close on one of international rugby’s old war horses, a players player, Canterbury’s Crusader, the man Australia loves to hate. Richie McCaw will take on he David Pocock, the latter who must be the player of the tournament.
How many number sevens play for fourteen years and have enough left in the tank to counter the force of nature that is Pocock? Can there be any doubt he is the heir of the world number seven crown? Some say he has already taken it.
Of course, being a back rower is like washing an angry cat, it’s not something you want to be doing alone. There is a ferocious battle of back rows looming, the world’s ultimate stage for the much heralded ‘Pooper’ combination (I wonder how Fardy feels about this label) versus the old firm of McCaw, Jerome Kaino and Kieran Read.
Perhaps the All Blacks have a slight advantage in the line outs? Perhaps Pooper will dominate the breakdowns like in Sydney this year?
Perhaps the All Blacks have more experience at wet weather footy – will it rain? Perhaps Carter’s tactical kicking will be the difference?
Perhaps any one of Israel Folau, Nehe Milner-Skudder, Drew Mitchell, Ben Smith or Julian Savea will cut lose and tip the game?
In the normal course of things I would expect these All Blacks to beat these Wallabies three times out of four. I’m going to put my stake in the ground and say this will be one of the three and not the exception. For my money it’s going to take a monumental effort from the Wallabies to rattle the confidence of this All Blacks team.
Why?
Because after the semi final Victor Matfield said “They just looked like a calm, solid unit that know what they are doing and have confidence in each other. Even yesterday in that second half, they just played the patient game, kicked in behind us and kept us in our own half.”
I am old enough to remember the Super 12 final of 2000, when the Crusaders hoped on a plane to play an away final in Canberra. No one had won an away final before. I had a friend travelling on the plane to that match and when I asked him if we were any chance, he told me we would win it. He said the team just knew it.
So I think in reality there is maybe one chance in twenty the Wallabies can come away with this final. Not because of this player or that, not because of the rub of the green or the bounce of the ball or the conspiracy of the refs. The mental strength of this All Black team is its not so secret sauce.
If you ever get the chance to listen to Nick Farr-Jones talk about his world cup wining side, do it. He’ll tell you that it was all about process. Focusing on what you need to do next, regardless of the circumstances around you. And what you will see in this 2015 final is a mental strength built from a depth of experience, nurtured by a clever coaching team and honed in the cauldron of real life.
I don’t know if it will be pretty. I don’t know if there will controversy. I don’t know what the score will be.
But I have no doubt that unless the Wallabies bring something absolutely and utterly extraordinary, New Zealand will win.
This is our reward. This is our legacy. And albeit just for a blink in the eyes of history, this is our moment.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.