Carters break

[Shiggins]

U wish he broke something! Haha.

He is having 6 months off from January 2014. He is doing a Mccaw. Difference is cruden might push hard while he is away.

Can someone change the title to Carter's Break? Lol

 

[JSRF10]

You'd have to almost right off any chance of the Crusaders winning Super Rugby next year without their general at 10, even with the power of their forward pack I'm not sure they can get enough wins outside Christchurch without him.

Cruden will have 3 tests against England to show he deserves to be no 1, their battle up to the 2015 World Cup to be the BNZ outhalf is certainly going to make fascinating viewing.

 

[Dam0]

It will be interesting to see whether Cruden can do enough to overtake Carter in the rest of this year and next. The rest may do Carter the world of good. I think there is a reasonable chance that come 2015, we may see a Cruden - Carter combination in the backline. Carter is tough enough to play second five.

They will get a lot of info on the benefits of these sabbaticals from McCaw this year. I hear he is playing 80 minutes for the All Blacks tonight, and they expect him to play 50-55 minutes against the Wallabies.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

The message I take from all this is that AB hierarchy is trying to nurse a few of these big guns through to RWC2015. It will be really interesting to see how it pans out, because McCaw will be right on 34 and Carter a few months off it by the time the tournament rolls around. I have no doubt that both of these blokes will still be in good nick, but I wonder if this isn't a high risk strategy, given that a few of their rivals will be hitting their peak at the same time.

I think RWC history shows us that it's hard to back up a second time after winning the big one, with the same personnel. You'd think there would be plan B, but could the Kiwis here chime in with who they think will be the replacement for the colossus that is McCaw? Carter is probably less of a problem if the likes of Cruden step up.

 

[Dam0]

The message I take from all this is that AB hierarchy is trying to nurse a few of these big guns through to RWC2015. It will be really interesting to see how it pans out, because McCaw will be right on 34 and Carter a few months off it by the time the tournament rolls around. I have no doubt that both of these blokes will still be in good nick, but I wonder if this isn't a high risk strategy, given that a few of their rivals will be hitting their peak at the same time.

I think RWC history shows us that it's hard to back up a second time after winning the big one, with the same personnel. You'd think there would be plan B, but could the Kiwis here chime in with who they think will be the replacement for the colossus that is McCaw? Carter is probably less of a problem if the likes of Cruden step up.

I reckon it's not that big a deal. If come 2015 Carter and McCaw are playing as well as ever they'll be in the team. If not, then others will take the place. Cruden isn't far off Carter these days, and one of Cane, Todd or perhaps even Savea will be ready to take the place of McCaw in time also. McCaw in particular might find his role on the bench, given that he can cover all 3 backrow positions fairly well, or he might find himself playing exclusively 6.

Hate to disappoint, but I dunno if the over the hill theory will quite work out.

 

[The_Brown_Hornet]

I reckon it's not that big a deal. If come 2015 Carter and McCaw are playing as well as ever they'll be in the team. If not, then others will take the place. Cruden isn't far off Carter these days, and one of Cane, Todd or perhaps even Savea will be ready to take the place of McCaw in time also. McCaw in particular might find his role on the bench, given that he can cover all 3 backrow positions fairly well, or he might find himself playing exclusively 6.

Hate to disappoint, but I dunno if the over the hill theory will quite work out.

Well we'll see, but it's happened at every single RWC previously. It's not like I think the AB's are in trouble here, but we've seen several examples of teams taking blokes to the tournament who have crested the hill (we were one of those in 1995 for instance, the Boks in 2011, AB's in 1991).

 

[Bullrush]

I reckon it's not that big a deal. If come 2015 Carter and McCaw are playing as well as ever they'll be in the team. If not, then others will take the place. Cruden isn't far off Carter these days, and one of Cane, Todd or perhaps even Savea will be ready to take the place of McCaw in time also. McCaw in particular might find his role on the bench, given that he can cover all 3 backrow positions fairly well, or he might find himself playing exclusively 6.

Hate to disappoint, but I dunno if the over the hill theory will quite work out.

Still not sold on Cane yet. I'm hapoing Braid gets a shot on EOYT or next year. His work this year has been massive.

 

[Dam0]

Still not sold on Cane yet. I'm hoping Braid gets a shot on EOYT or next year. His work this year has been massive.

Neither am I, but I can see what they are doing. They want a fast, loose, linking, tackling 7 who is a bit of a ball player, as opposed to the type of 7 that spends a lot of time pilfering and heavily involved in breakdowns. They figure the rest of the forward pack and the centre can pick up the slack. Think Kronfeld rather than Pocock.

We'll see, but I do worry about Cane becoming a 'special project'.