Back of thethe week IsraelIsrael DagDagg
When Israel Dagg missed the Rugby World Cup squad, even at 27 it appeared his day days in the black jersey were numbered. But Dagg has simply taken his outstanding Super Rugby form into the international environment as his renaissance continues. Shifted to the wing as part of a plan to cou counter the high ball, Dagg filled that role with aplomb and showed, if nothing else, his abilities to cover multiple positions will be prized by the All Blacks’ bench. But Dagg seemed very much a starter again against the Wallabies, with his second try in particular showing the confidence that is currently coursing though him. A major discussion point to come out of these first two Bledisloe Cup tests for the All Blacks is the overwhelming gap New Zealand rugby has on the rest of the world.
At this point, if you make your way around supporters and people involved in the game, as I did after the Wellington test on Saturday night and to a lesser extent in Sydney a week earlier, the only team mooted as having a possible chance of competing with the All Blacks at the moment is England.
In my mind that's a little illfounded when you see what the All Blacks have done to Australia.
That was a great achievement by the English in winning three tests in Australia in June but they didn't thrash the Wallabies like the All Blacks have done recently.
Read into that what you want, but I don't think they have bridged the gap as much as England supporters think.
People older than me might have a different view but I can't think of a better time for the game here following back-to-back World Cup victories and a record in home tests of 42 victories in a row. It’s about as healthy as it has ever been.
The depth is incredible, too. Anton Lienert-Brown is probably the fourthranked second-five in the country behind Sonny Bill Williams, Charlie Ngatai and Ryan Crotty, yet the 21-year-old did a brilliant job on debut and looked perfectly at home.
Another thing I am getting from supporters of the game here is the lack of a genuine contest, and that's certainly not a criticism of the All Blacks, who are playing brilliant and entertaining rugby.
It's just that the opposition isn't good enough, and I question whether that is good for the game.
Wales had their moments in June, but haven't beaten New Zealand since 1953. Australia were well beaten and South Africa are struggling. Both nations were way behind the Kiwi Super Rugby teams and both are battling to retain their best talent, with the Aussies forced to bring in their innovation of welcoming back eligible players from overseas.
And Argentina have never beaten the All Blacks.
The All Blacks are miles ahead of everyone else.
That's brilliant to an extent, but I like to see a decent contest — that's what keeps us engaged.
It’s not good when the prevailing attitude after an All Black test is, “well, that wasn’t much of a game, was it?”
The All Blacks are doing their bit, the problem is the rest of the world isn't catching up.
Australia have just received a couple of hidings and the other two semifinalists of the World Cup, the Pumas and the Springboks, could suffer the same fate over the next few weeks.