All Blacks and those 'confetti caps'

im with you kesmcc. He gets to develop the fringe players and also gives them an incentive to stay in NZ. May be the way forward considering the big money coming in from France and England. I can't see a problem with this. One no-one is considering is even close to calling these guys legends and Two also helps them get more money if and when they do decide to go overseas. Maybe one way to counter the European clubs would be to give a slice of the profits from hosting teams to the visiting nation? Will definatly help NZ, Aus out and give the island nations a massive boost when they get games.Let face it, international rugby is being hurt by the greed of European clubs and English RFU. They dont need 20 million per game

Moa “If he isn’t quite good enough sobeit. But the personal attacks are shameful” Yep. Such players are not captain coaches. They do not pick themselves.

Yes, we all use some sort of ratio/exchange rate in our head. Pollard will catch Naas Botha soon in points ... but nobody thinks it’s equal. Same with caps from yesteryear. 2:3 or 1:2 or whatever. Thanks, Adam. Nice piece.

Despite the number of caps, pretty sure that everyone knows Meads was a better player than Faumuina, so don't see why it's an issue. Meads caps should be compared with those of his era, not now where number of tests and season length has increased, intensity of matches increased, player physiques and weights have increased and player workloads have increased, yet recovery time has decreased. As others have pointed out, R+R is crucial in a modern logjammed season, as is building depth. I have no issue with players like Lomax getting a Test cap, because I am capable of understanding the reasons behind him getting it in modern times and I am able to determine which players are the elite in their respective eras.

Largely agree with the majority of posters here. It's a sign of the times - professional rugby coming out of infancy. In the Japan instance, the ABs don't play non 1st tier nations much so we can reasonably say that this is the exception and not the rule. I believe a cap now-days is more a sign of long you've been in the squad as opposed to being in the first XV. This isn't anything new, tactical subs have been around for over 20 years now - albeit a slow evolution of impact and tactical finishing. Can't agree with the piece but appreciate it none the less.

Isn't the best measure, the number of years for which a player was first choice AB (whatever team) starter? Meads = 14 or do we take off 1957 - 58? McCaw = 13 or one less'perhaps as he wasn't always starter in 03? Fitzy = 11? or take off 1986 to make 10? Nonu = 12 years but less say 4 years when he wasn't #1? My numbers are off the top of my head but you get the point.

This article is far from being a load of rubbish, in fact it raises a crucial issue that has been long discussed by many of my rugby mates. There are many players in Australia, some even promoted as playing ....say, 10 tests but all of them off the bench for 5 minutes a time which equals 50 minutes of footy. This cannot be held in the same regard as some who have played 10 full games which equates to 800 minutes.....end of story. I’ll accept they deserve a cap but don’t promote or let them claim they have played 10 tests because they haven’t. The number of tests Hooper plays compared to Poidevan is irrelevant, but longevity is, players in Poidevans era only played a 1/3 of the test per year...this makes Campesi’s 100 tests an amazing feat. Those Kiwis who played against Japan don’t deserve a cap. They were all second stringers just like the Wednesday players were, no different. If second stringers couldn’t get a cap back then why should they now?

Why don't you enlighten your comments then Andy on what points, you're thinking about that are raised.....??

"this article is a load of rubbish" Easy now. It's a piece that, I think, does raise some points. Certainly not rubbish.

This is the way it is in the professional era. The big tours do not exist any more unless it is the British Lions touring and with the professional demands of the modern day rugby player there has to be some wising up on how players are managed. The last two end of year tours Steve Hansen has been very wise in bring extra players, in 2017 against the Barbarians and a French XV and against Japan this year. At the same time he is creating more depth, having more players being able to fit into the team if required and paying good attention to players workloads and welfare. Are the 'confetti" caps the same when a Northern Hemisphere team brings down a second string team for the June window after a long club season?

I dont believe its possible to judge what went on in the past with what is going on today and what will go on in the future.......The pro era changed things forever and whilst their is a fondness looking back to the amature days there are many many differences to those days and today. I wasnt in 100% agreement with the Japan test selections before the match but during and after it is very clear that the ABs coaches would have got a lot of valuable feedback about the players and how they handled things and the game looks to have been a fantastic promotional tool for next years WC....The game is a business and this game was a great business plan...not only for the match but for the future in NZ and Japan.....I believe Lomax will cherish his ABs jumper just as much as Meads cherished his so who am I to do the judging.......As a player this opportunity doesnt come along often.....grab it while you can because now those players are ALL BLACKS.....No one can ever take that away........As a Fan I thoroughly enjoyed the game for what it was and saw some players who will feature for years to come in the AB jumper.....no complaints from me...

Absolutely agree. Shag is just looking after his players with two big fixtures ahead. On another note I cant help thinking that he might be trying to lock in a lot of the young talent by capping them so there is less chance of a NH team snapping them up later to play through residency. At the same time he's introducing them to the AB environment early because we all know anything can happen at the RWC and they may be called up as injury cover. Better that they are familiar with the processes now instead of walking into it with the added pressure of the world cup.

I think that the answer is by addition and not subtraction. Don't take away the meaning of being capped, either in the first fifteen or the bench, but maybe adding some other markers to highlight a player within a squad whose impact is great. It is hard in the professional era, hearing who is now the most capped player for their club, state, nation and just thinking that is merely because of the amount of games played per year now. But we all know who great players are when we see them and are not fooled by the caps they have, as you point out in your article.

Tricky question. In one way, it isn't a particular player's fault if he is deemed good enough ( for whatever reason ) by the selectors to play. Take the oft-maligned Hanigan as an example.I am appalled at the cruel barbs levelled at a young man who is out there doing his level best whenever he is picked. If he isn't quite good enough sobeit.( But the personal attacks are shameful in my view). It's the selectors ( or in Oz's case, sole-selector) who are at fault.Don't shoot the messenger! On the other hand, with the rugby calendar being as it is, there is little scope for a NZ e.g to cram in the fixtures they need to keep heads above water without cutting a few corners in terms of possible devaluing of the jersey. I didn't have a real problem with the route those chose to go for the Japan match. But of course I don't rate Lomax in the same company as an Owen Franks or a Keith Murdoch.Not yet anyway.

NT Absolutely....this article is a load of rubbish because we cannot compare between rugby eras and what was and now is, on offer. Both Meads and Holmes made their AB debuts in non-international tour matches which is not available in today's schedules. In his AB career, Ted Henry made an audacious decision during one northern tour, to completely change his AB line-up between test matches because that was his version of providing RnR for his players. He went further in the 2007 SR competition however his plan was spectacularly tossed back in his face when the ABs were dumped, in the RWC QF. Hansen's recent Japan plan was two-fold. To get a perspective on the up and coming players who may figure in the 2020 AB selections and to provide an extra week of RnR for his top players, before they start this present UK tour. I for one, commend him and the Union board for this decision in view of the big-show being less than a year away. His team already suffers two injuries to key players and perhaps, the advent of some players suffering burn-out from participating throughout, the whole season. Who cares if the outcome is a confetti cap in some folks eyes....IMO, it is simply frustration by those followers whose own sides, struggle to have players available, at all.

Hi Adam, Interesting piece but I fear it’s devicive, a cap is a cap, end of in my opinion. Once you entertain bench caps etc you split the squad and create groups of starter caps and non starter caps presumed to hold lesser weight. Damaging to a team culture I’d suggest. As an Australian, I remember that some years Queensland may only play 3 or 4 games a year, the Wallabies 5. When Simon Poidevan played his 42nd cap in 1987 I think that equaled Peter Johnson who played a similar length as Meads. Poido debuted in about 1981/82 for memory so the game has incrementally changed over the years in the frequency of tests and how they are played strategically with often the use of a full bench. Why should the value of the cap be different just because of the evolution of the way the game is now played? One does not justify the other. Great players will always be identified by how they played the game, not by the amount of caps. I’m sure Bevan Holmes is widely respected as player despite the absence of the cap, as is Spice, Steinmetz and co for their single caps.