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NZ Rugby World column, October 2006
It was with some sense of foreboding that I travelled to Milan a couple of weeks back. I love Milan. It's one of the world's great cities and the hotel there, The Bulgari, is a Lovemark. The General Manager, Attilio, is one of the world's great hosts and normally I enjoy my time there. The problem though this time was that my visit there was right smack at the same time as the Rustenberg clash between the All Blacks and the Springboks. And I didn't think I would be able to watch the game in Milan. John Kirwan was travelling up from Treviso for the weekend and I was thrilled to hear from him that he had teed up a private viewing of the game in the home of Tom Mockridge, who is the head of Sky TV in Italy. He and his wife, Jackie, live in a centuries old villa in the centre of Milan and he has got himself the biggest high definition digital t.v. screen imaginable. Being the head of Sky I guess carries its privileges! Jackie took care of us with the full monty of cold beers, great New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs and enough food for the All Blacks starting 15. So far so good and then, of course, it all turned dark. As expected, the Springboks were well up for it and led by John Smith, an underrated and inspirational captain, they really took it to the AB's. So'oailo had a bad day at the office with three penalty offenses and I guess the game finished five minutes early for us. Personally, I'm not a believer in defeat helping us move forward to more victories. I'm of the more old fashioned school where winning every game seems to be the best way to deliver sustainable success. We were close in this game but in the end, the Springboks were galvanised by Andre Pretorius and probably one of the best newcomers of the year, Pierre Spies. Creativity, vision and pace from both of them should take the Springboks higher and into dangerous territory next season. A disappointing end then to a fantastic run and it led to a quiet couple of hours before the Sauvignon Blanc kicked back in. JK and I spent the evening in the dining room and the garden of The Bulgari putting right the world of rugby and concluded that going into '07 the All Black coaching and management staff have done a tremendous job.
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They have ticked off, one by one, the problem areas of scrummaging, mauling, sustainability and persistence and have also blooded a squad of 30+ players. Leadership and responsibility throughout the squad is at a very high level. Which leaves a few things for more work, most noticeable of course being the much talked about line outs. South Africa with Matfield and Botha, England with Danny Grewcock and Borthwick, and Ireland with O'Connell and O'Callaghan are destructive in this area. We need to gain more consistency in this critical area of the game otherwise we'll find opposition teams simply putting us under constant pressure through kicking the ball out. I'm no line out expert but having talked to some of our more effective locks in the past, it seems simplicity, confidence, decisiveness and speed are crucial. Close relationships between throwers, jumpers, and line out callers are vital and perhaps we haven't been able to establish this with the current rotation policy. We also need to lift up our defensive line out and make them offensive the way the South Africans and the Irish do. I see no reason why Chris Jack and Ali Williams cannot be as destructive as the Springboks in this key area. Going into 2007, there is no doubt we have the upper hand in skill, pace, depth, confidence and coaching. Our scrummaging is best in the world and we have nothing to fear at ruck and maul time. We are fearless on the ground. Our goal kicking is best in world. So pretty much it's down to the line outs and to ensuring we are not over reliant on McCaw and Carter. We must not let this hero cult develop much further. Our competitors are on the move with Ireland, Australia and South Africa all progressing over the past three months. England can only get better and the '07 World Cup is starting to look very interesting indeed. We have learned how to win and how to battle for those wins and we have got a tremendous spirit throughout the squad. At the end of the Tri Nations, I believe our best side would look like Muliaina at full back, Rokocoko and Gear on the wings, Mauger and McAlister in the centers, with Carter and Weepu at half back. Front row picks itself (Woodcock, Mealamu and Hayman) with Jack, Willliams, McCaw, So'oailo and Collins making up a very competitive pack. MacDonald is priceless on the bench and Howlett and Sivivatu provide great options. Eaton and Ryan will never let us down, and Newby and Masoe could be dangerous. I hope Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu come back to give us option and penetration in the centers and I'd like to see more of Andrew Ellis. My preference is for Muliaina to be given the space to operate at full back because he truly brings electrifying pace and opens the game up from the back. He also is a real deterrent for opposition to continuously kicking. McAlister as outside center might seem bizarre but I think he has everything; visionary, pacey, astute tactically, great passer, a good kicker. Maybe we can see the game evolving to a triangular mid field with the first five at pivot and both centers playing off Carter in a triangular way. I'd also like to see Eaton to see whether his athletic ability and height gives us some line out cover. Well, we're all heading into a two month break now and then a big tour to France, England and Wales. It just gets better and better.
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