Don’t count England out yet says former All Black
FORMER New Zealand prop John Afoa insists England still have a team to rival the All Blacks at the World Cup – despite last week’s setback in Wales.
Veteran Afoa, whose Bristol side trained against Eddie Jones’ team recently, believes potential semifinal opponents New Zealand should remain wary of the Red Rose challenge.
Afoa said: “New Zealand will be favourites but we were lucky enough to train against England the other week and, for me, they’ve still got the whole package.
“It might not have gone well in Wales, but they’ve got the power of the forwards, speed in the backline and X-factor players in their back-three.
“I believe they can match New Zealand for skill-set and they might be able to field a bigger, more powerful pack, so they could still be a real danger.
“I was really impressed when we scrummed against them the other week and generally when you see these guys playing for their club, they do very well.
“I wouldn’t write-off England at all and, along with Wales and Ireland, it’s going to be a pretty big challenge for the All Blacks at the World Cup.”
Meanwhile, 2011 World Cup winner Afoa believes former front row partner Owen Franks will prove a huge hit for Northampton next season.
He said: “Owen will hope to come here as a threetime World Cup winner and, at 31, it will be a good time for him to make the move north.
“It’ll help with his brother, Ben, being at Northampton and he’ll do well in English rugby.
“He’s well known for his set-piece but he’s grown into a player who can run, catch, pass and offload and his work off the ball is immense.
“When he came on the scene he was all about tackles and set-piece, but these days in the Premiership it’s crucial your tight-five can handle themselves effectively around the field.”
Afoa will be 36 by the time his Bristol contract ends in 2020 but insists he may look to extend.
“I’m ticking over nicely and I’ve been playing a lot of rugby for Bristol, which is awesome,” he said. “I’m being well looked and have another 18 months – I might bribe my wife to stay longer!
“I’d love to play until I’m 40. I love the game, it’s the ultimate team sport for me and you have a good crack.
“I’ve been lucky enough to do it for this long but Brad Thorn played until he was 40 and Jimmy Gopperth wants to do that as well. Jimmy and I went through the age grades together in New Zealand so I can’t let him beat me to that!”