Lessons from an All Black backlash
NORMAL order at the top of world rugby has been restored. England head coach Eddie Jones told us not to read too much into the All Blacks’ form but it was hard to ignore yesterday’s 36-0 pasting of Australia. Yes, their aura has faded recently but the World Cup is still theirs to lose.
The greater concern for New Zealanders is how they will fare when Steve Hansen departs as head coach later in the year. There could be a similar aftershock to Sir Alex Ferguson leaving Manchester United but, for now, they remain the side to beat in Japan.
NEW TALENT WINGING IN
YESTERDAY’S wingers, George Bridge and Sevu Reece, had just six caps between them. The All Black production line (with help from Fiji) is still churning out talent.
Bridge floated through gaps before rounding off his night with a try, and the slight Reece showed deceptive strength and fast-twitch skills to also get on the scoresheet. With prolific Rieko Ioane also in the mix, Hansen has hot pickings out wide.
BRODIE RETALLICK
ONLY Alun Wyn Jones and Maro Itoje could challenge Retallick to the title of the world’s best lock. The All Black pack is vulnerable without him but yesterday, at least, proved that they have the ability to plug the gap. The line-out struggled but the scrum was dominant.
STRENGTH IN DEPTH
HANSEN dropped eight front-line players after last week’s 21-point defeat. The centres don’t have the authority of Ma’a Nonu and Conrad Smith in 2015 but there’s a wealth of options and Sonny Bill Williams is still a major force.
The damage caused by an exodus of talent for European wages is yet to fully kick in. Richie Mo’unga is an able deputy to Beauden Barrett, while scrum-halves Aaron Smith and TJ Perenara have 141 caps combined (Willi Heinz has two).
A CASE FOR THE DEFENCE
UNTIL yesterday, the Wallabies had only once failed to score a point in a Test match — the last being against Wales in 1973. The All Blacks forced them off the try line and in doing so made a clean-sheet statement.