All Blacks
The All Blacks have arrived in the UK and they are hell-bent on one thing – beating England this weekend.
They have lost just two games since the last RWC and only three to Six Nations countries in the last eleven years.
Of the teams they are playing: Wales hasn’t beaten them since 1953 and Scotland have never won. England’s record is better but the Poms have won just one of the last 14. On their home patch, they have the best chance of the three rugby nations to beat NZ as they did two years ago, but they are coming into the game cold.
Richie McCaw for All Blacks v England 2013 – hell-bent on winning again
The form
New Zealand didn’t have the perfect year they had in 2013 but in 2014 to date they have lost only to South Africa, in their last TRC game, and tied against Australia in the first one.
Truth be told they were substandard in Sydney and were not great either trailing the Wallabies in the third Bledisloe match in Brisbane until the last play of the game. Nor did they look like world-beaters against England at Eden Park, come to think on it.
But in the tests where they had close wins they showed a steely belief in themselves to win the end game as they did in 2013 in Dublin. The surprise was they did not hold on to win in Johannesburg where the Boks All Blacked the All Blacks and won with a 53-metre penalty goal.
Brodie Retallick – outstanding second rower
New Zealand exert dominance in most aspects of rugby and have a stable of elite players who they can rotate in case of injury or the odd bout of bad form from incumbents—and there are dozens of promising players trying to get into the stable.
They can build up scoring moves with patience like the old Brazilian football teams, but they can also strike, more than any other side, when unexpected chances occur anywhere on the field. And if they react smartly when they get turnover ball, they are as quick to react when they lose it.
Most of their experienced players are world-class, whatever that means, yet they play the team game like champions also. It’s difficult to get into their side but when new players do they get enveloped in the excellence of the All Blacks and lift; so the team aura is continued with them.
Sonny Bill Williams v. USA – has exquisite timing
The Players
There were no major surprises in the touring party selected, though Sonny Bill Williams was chosen after a hard season in the NRL which may have puzzled some. With exquisite timing he became available as Ma’a Nonu was crocked and was my man-of-the-match in the warm-up game against the USA in Chicago.
Others thought that Dan Carter, who broke his leg in the Super Rugby final, would be excused from touring in favour of the versatile Colin Slade, who is handy on the bench. Lock Luke Romano was in a similar situation to Carter, and some considered Steve Luatua a better selection than Victor Vito.
Dan Carter v. USA – not excused from touring
But it’s just like changing the deckchairs on a luxury yacht.
They have class in every position but if you want to be picky they are not served as well at hooker as in other positions, and the back-ups for scrummie Aaron Smith are not stellar.
Players to watch out for:
Brodie Retallick – arguably the best-performing All Black this year, and there was no better second rower in any test match I saw in 2014. He performs his core duties in the lineouts, cleaning out, and imposing himself in tackles impressively, yet he has the finer skills and work-rate of a Sevens player.
Julian Savea – the human wrecking ball who is developing some neat attributes will be champing at the bit to get onto the Twickenham turf because he has scored eight tries against the Poms in just four matches. He may not be the second Jonah Lomu but he is the first Julian Savea and that is bloody good.
Kieran Read – didn’t need a mask for the Saw movies
Kieran Read – the part-time actor from the Saw movies and also a no.8 in rugby was voted the best player in the world in 2013. He started his test career as a blindside flanker and plays his no. 8 role in a similar fashion, regularly seen near the edges of the field and breaching defenders before off loading to outside backs.
He is more than that though: his consistency, rugby nous and ability to improve the peformance of team mates around him adds value that is priceless.
All Blacks’ touring squad
Backs: Israel Dagg, Ben Smith, Charles Piutau, Cory Jane, Julian Savea, Malakai Fekitoa, Conrad Smith, Sonny Bill Williams, Ryan Crotty, Dan Carter, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Cruden, Aaron Smith, TJ Perenara, Augustine Pulu.
Forwards: Kieran Read, Richie McCaw (captain), Sam Cane, Jerome Kaino, Liam Messam, Victor Vito, Patrick Tuipulotu, Brodie Retallick, Jeremy Thrush, Luke Romano, Sam Whitelock, Ben Franks, Owen Franks, Charlie Faumuina, Joe Moody, Wyatt Crockett, Dane Coles, Keven Mealamu, Nathan Harris.
Uncapped player: Pulu.
All Blacks not available include: Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Ma’a Nonu, Tony Woodcock.
Julian Savea – loves playing England
November 2014
Sat 8 – England v. NZ, Twickenham – 14:30 GMT, 01:30 AEDT +1day – Setanta
Sat 15 – Scotland v. NZ, Murrayfield – 17:30 GMT, 04:30 AEDT +1day – Fox Sports 2
Sat 22 – Wales v NZ, Millennium Stadium – 17:30 GMT, 04:30 AEDT +1day – Fox Sports 2
See a review of the northern teams here
.
