Odds loaded in All Blacks’ favour after less than
And now, because of injury and unavailability, England could have 10 first-choice players missing. The adverb “fiendishly” and the adjective “difficult” do not do the task justice.
Thirty players flew to Auckland last week, but the fact that around 15, most playing in the Aviva Premiership final in the weekend, have not yet arrived in New Zealand is disgraceful and nonsensical.
That a solution could not be found is alarming. Blame whomever or whatever you want — incompetence by the former hierarchy at the Rugby Football Union and intransigence from the International Rugby Board and the New Zealand Rugby Union — but it will change nothing.
It is not a new mess, either. France faced the same problem in New Zealand last year, as they do in Australia on Saturday. Rugby must wise up. The Southern Hemisphere calls too many shots — for example, New Zealand had 2011 Rugby World Cup at the time of year they wanted it; England have theirs next year a lot later than they want it — with a round of Super Rugby this week including the test All Blacks hardly evidence enough of discomfiture.
It is to the RFU’s credit that it did not explore further the possible ramifications of cancelling this first test, although it was doubtless mooted. Instead, the logistical nightmare has been tackled with cheerful resignation by this new regime, of whose making it was certainly not.
It will go on. For instance, Stuart Lancaster, the head coach, will be praying that neither Danny Care nor Ben Youngs gets crocked this week for he has no cover at halfback. He has even thought of scaling down the intensity of the contact sessions this week.
“There is that going through my mind,” he admitted.
“But it is quite hard to do it any other way. If you take three scrumhalves, you will end up with five [Lee Dickson and Richard Wigglesworth arrive this week] and we will have gone from one extreme to the other.”