The year started with questions surrounding how the All Blacks were going to cope without the experience of several veterans, most of which rank among the best in their position that the world has ever seen. Yet here we are, seven matches in for the men in black, and they’ve barely broken a sweat.
Wales came down to the southern hemisphere as overwhelming underdogs, but they have a team that can push most to the brink. They looked good in patches, but a 14-point loss was as close as they got in three attempts. The last game, once the series was already over, gave Steve Hansen a chance to mix things up as a handful of debutants and rookies took the field to thump Wales 46-6.
Australia hadn’t been impressive against an inspired English side, but there were still hopes the Wallabies, with their European saviours back at the helm, might be able to steer the ship to a victory. Instead, a humiliating 42-8 shellacking was served with a fresh dose of reality that this All Blacks team is another level above.
An intense week of training, preparation and strategizing was supposed to be our return to dominance where the ledger was squared; instead, the All Blacks showed they can dutifully defend Australia’s aimless attack and ignore the Wallabies’ attempts to bully them out of the game, running in an easy 29-9 win.
Argentina was the next nation to chance their hand and came out with the most impressive performance. The scoreboard blew out late, as New Zealand showed that they’re an even stronger beast in the second half with seemingly infinite stamina, but the first half was the first time that the All Blacks had been pushed to the point where Hansen had to change his game plan and bring on fresh legs earlier than planned.
That game proved what I can only assume we all feared. Even with Argentina playing some of the best rugby they’ve produced, busting their guts and giving it their all, exploiting every perceived lapse in defence in the almighty All Blacks armour, they couldn’t go into the break in the lead. An almighty All Blacks attack kept the tries coming left, right and centre, and their near-unbreakable defence barely faltered, culminating in a solid 57-22 win.
It was a fool’s errand to bet against this dynamic team, but when the Springboks pulled into AMI Stadium, there was hope among some that the South Africans would manage to lift for the occasion and take it to the All Blacks. True to form, New Zealand started a little slowly, but pulled away with ease, touching down with four tries in a 20-minute period in the second half to ice any chance of a Springbok comeback.
Now, with two games remaining in the Rugby Championship, the All Blacks have decided to continue developing their youth by rotating some of their players. The never-ending depth of New Zealand means that players like Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Malakai Fekitoa, Aaron Smith, Aaron Cruden and Charlie Faumuina are being rested (some through injury) to allow young trailblazers like Damian McKenzie, Elliot Dixon, Liam Squire, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Lima Sopoaga, Ofa Tu’ungafasi and Anton Lienert-Brown to show what they offer at Test level.
Even with several inexperienced players named in the 23, I can’t imagine this All Blacks side going down easily and it will take a mammoth effort from the Pumas to claim their first ever win against New Zealand.
Furthermore, with the Springboks yet to set the world ablaze and no match against England this year, I can’t see the All Blacks dropping a game in 2016, which would extend their unbeaten run to a record-breaking level, further cementing their status as the undeniable best team in the world.
The All Blacks have six games left to play this year, against Argentina, South Africa, Australia, Italy, Ireland and France. Which of these matches do you think presents the biggest challenge to the All Blacks and with this seemingly open approach to rotation while travelling, are there any other players you’d like to see given a chance by Steve Hansen?
Shooter McGavin
Guest
Pumas now
What!
Guest
How does using 2 new locks make sense? Are Romano, Whitelock and Rettalick all going to get injured together and if so that would be the ONLY time it would make sense to use 2 new locks together.
kdigit
Guest
Its a fair point but I think you are missing the bigger picture. Usually the RC decider is the last game between sa and nz and sa definitely want that game at home. And if you factor in the super rugby finals series then the kiwis usually have to do extra trips around the world and many of those players make the abs. Above all I reckon the schedule is drawn up by the tv conglomerates, and most of that cash muscle comes from sa. There are other factors at play here
CUW
Guest
@ Kirky the only player as far as i think went to europe when he could have definitely selected for another world cup is CARL HAYMAN. everyone else had 50-50 chance.
ohtani's jacket
Guest
The All Blacks often build to their last test on the EOYT and save their best performance for last. The '04 and '09 victories are good examples of that. Mind you, those were years where the All Blacks had a point to prove after losing the Tri-Nations. They do tend to target a match on the EOYT as being the key test they want to perform in, though.
Kashmir Pete
Roar Guru
Too late to split the AB between North and South Island this year - maybe for 2017?
lassitude
Guest
In terms of crossing timezones there's no real advantage or disadvantage except for time frames to adapt after a previous game. All sides have had a least one free weekend prior to the first game so there's no excuses wrt jetlag or recovery sessions. In the case of the return game of Bok v Los Pumas they probably went back on the same plane. All players are equally disadvantaged by jetlag and recovery from the last game - there is no net advantage to be had from the actual travel. There is from the home comforts etc. but that was the other way round for the previous week and what you'd expect for home ground advantage. On top of that they both get 2 weeks to get to Oz and NZ for the next game. More than enough to manage normal recovery and get here and lose the effects of jetlag. They then swap countries which is a small time zone change for the Oz east coast (and a short flight) or a slightly longer one to Perth and (with a larger time zone change) - so no major dramas there even if they do go to Perth but trivial if on the East coast. On the other hand, NZ and Oz have to cross the Atlantic to play their second game away which is a much longer flight and a larger zone difference. It's an even larger issue if you're in Argentina first the have to go to SA second because of the time zones - you've only got 6.5 days between games. The travel disadvantage is with NZ this year - it'll be with Oz next year.
lassitude
Guest
Kaino went away broken and into a less demanding physical environment but one that maintained (or possibly even improved) his aerobic conditioning and didn't degrade his skills. This allowed him to play at an advanced pace and, with time, to train sufficiently to fix himself. A short stint in Japan is ok IMO - It helped "Rangi" MacDonald as well. However I wouldn't be surprised if Piatau is well behind the 8 ball when he gets back. I'm still not certain how much Renee Ranger's wee jaunt has hurt his aspirations but I suspect he's got some ground to make up. T14 and the british leagues seem to leach skills and aerobic base from players.
Garth
Guest
Works for me, especially if they reverse home field advantage every year and for 2019 & 2020 switch the teams around so that the week one games are NZ vs. SA and AUS vs. ARG. Come 2021, reset back to the 2017 schedule and repeat.
Beezlebub
Guest
This is a stale old non issue!! Cheaters they're not mate, every team pushes the limits as they should.
Old Bugger
Guest
haha that's right RT but I did suggest IF they are chasing........then it could be a real bugger, for the Froggies.
Rugby Tragic
Roar Rookie
Yeah I do TM, a little. Probably apprehension more than anything. A lot of changes, though the players selected for the game against the Puma's are good players, its the combinations that concern me a little. In fact, to be honest, I am not sure that the Argies can repeat their performance from Hamilton. Not saying it was a one off but they played very, very well for 50 mins, not sure that level of performance can be taken for granted. Even the All Blacks do not have that ability to play consistently at their highest level. The game they played against France in the RWC was probably their best game last year sprinkled with their games against the Wallabies at the Garden of Eden and the opening half of the RWC final. Anyhow we will know tomorrow. If, and that's a big if, the Puma's do play as well as they did in Hamilton, its going to be very interesting. A few of us clowns are going to South Africa on Monday following the All Blacks and I'm picking that will not be a 'lay down misere' either but that depends I guess on what Coetzee's charges play against the WB's tonight.
winston
Guest
in NZ??? not likely
taylorman
Roar Guru
Kaino...two years in Japan, is the only one as far as Im concerned, and he had a specific plan in agreement with Hansen to do so. I don't think it's possible to come back the same let alone better player without 100% knowing you will be competing with other All Blacks for your position, because fact is while you're away they are in the best environment to assist with selection. Kaino, and now Piutau know they must maintain higher standards than the local competition, or they will fail to match their adversaries on return.
taylorman
Roar Guru
True RT, do you see Argie as a banana skin with the selections? I think SA will topple oz and regain some confidence meaning Hansen will bring back his full squad for a more confident Bok side. Guys like Aaron Smith and Whitelock will be fresher with the non starts. So his being able to start the fringe guys also helps him put out a fresh side versus SA. Effectively Smith and others have two weeks to prepare for SA. ....a luxury position to be in.
Jerry
Guest
apologies for the punctuation, but my shift key isn't working. mcalister wasn't on his way out when he left in 07, he'd just had his best season and had taken custody of the 12 jersey as first choice. he was also man of the match in cardiff. for taniwha - leon macdonald was a better player in his post japan stint.
taylorman
Roar Guru
Yes that's true, he tends to blend experience with youth, doing it positionally makes sense, but then so does trying two new locks to see how they would cover the entire responsibility as a pair. So he's covered the risk off nicely. ...laid his bets off so to speak.?
taylorman
Roar Guru
Lot of wishful thinking there Zack. Beating SA at Loftus will be hard enough. Better Wallabies sides than this have tried and none have succeeded so I think this is a 60-40 SA win, at home after three losses on the run, oz won't know what hit them. I think they tend to get complacent too easily, as you probably are now. Wallabies won't challenge the ABs in a result sense at Eden park, nothing suggests that, as you can bet Hansen will run his A team out there having had the luxury of resting key players where Cheika will play his best both matches just to try and secure the wins, and will risk injury doing so. I think when they run out onto Eden park the comments will be about injuries and fatigue from the oz fan base. England to beat oz as well. Jones isn't going to let up now. That one will be for their fans who had to put up with the embarrassing loss last year. England have taken back Twickers as their home base, where last year it was a bad omen for them.
Ngati Tumutumu
Roar Rookie
I like England as a team Zack, they have a lot to be happy with. They play a different brand of rugby, but seem more aware of what they want to do on the field, and have the players who are implementing a game plan without clutter with a heavy basis set piece and game line dominance imo. I hope this England team is able to keep on improving to such a point next November could be more of a highlight than the BIL tour. I also think that the English tactical kicking is on par with us. plus they also play a 23 man game. But I see the Boks have the most potential for improvement, unfortunately they have a few problems they have to deal with, but sooner or later the cream will rise to the top.
CUW
Guest
Eddie Jines has named his Elite Player Squad. England's 45-man EPS squad Forwards: Josh Beaumont (Sale Sharks), Jack Clifford (Harlequins), Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers), Luke Cowan-Dickie (Exeter Chiefs), Will Evans (Leicester Tigers), Charlie Ewels (Bath), Ellis Genge (Leicester Tigers), Jamie George (Saracens), Dylan Hartley (Northampton Saints), James Haskell (Wasps), Paul Hill (Northampton Saints), Nathan Hughes (Wasps), Maro Itoje (Saracens), Sam Jones (Wasps), George Kruis (Saracens), Joe Launchbury (Wasps), Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints), Joe Marler (Harlequins), Matt Mullan (Wasps), Chris Robshaw (Harlequins), Kyle Sinckler (Harlequins), Tommy Taylor (Wasps), Billy Vunipola (Saracens), Mako Vunipola (Saracens), Mike Williams (Leicester Tigers) Backs: Mike Brown (Harlequins), Danny Care (Harlequins), Elliot Daly (Wasps), Owen Farrell (Saracens), George Ford (Bath), Alex Goode (Saracens), Mike Haley (Sale Sharks), Jonathan Joseph (Bath), Alex Lozowski (Saracens), Joe Marchant (Harlequins), Jonny May (Gloucester), Jack Nowell (Exeter Chiefs), Dan Robson (Wasps), Semesa Rokoduguni (Bath), Henry Slade (Exeter Chiefs), Ben Spencer (Saracens), Ben Te’o (Worcester Warriors), Manu Tuilagi (Leicester Tigers), Anthony Watson (Bath), Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)