Powerful Blues or weak All Blacks?

That's the whispered question going on all along New Zealand, and perhaps, it's the same at the other side of the Tasman Sea.
In South Africa they are all too focused on their win over the Lions to even rise their sight to other places.

But, how can we explain the fact that New Zealand did not smash France as was in everybody's mind before the series, but rather escaped a series defeat although were not able to retain the Gallagher Cup?

Well, let's examine things closely once the games are over.

  1. Casualties were there for both teams. So it's not that the All Blacks can blame casualties for failing to produce the game everybody was expecting.
  2. How can a team produce just their third Grand Slam tour in 100 years in November and draw a test series to France at home next June?
  3. Is super 14 the best breed for test games?
  4. Does Super 14 lack intensity?
  5. How important the ELVs have been?
  6. How important the Graham Henry (Robbi Deans) has been in order to adapt to the old (new) rules?
  7. Why does Donald look so error-prone at test level? Can he cope with the intensity of test matches?
  8. When an experienced tight five in a pack weighing over 900 kg misserably fails to dominate a 830 kg pack, is it a matter of form? What's Tialata exactly doing there?
  9. If France was so bad at the 6 Nations, how come they have posed such a big threat for these two tests?

And the last and more important question: Is form the glue that will put all things in place, come the Tri-Nations?

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You know, I think there may be something to that "curse" or "spell" that France have on the All Blacks.
That was a mediocre French side but I think you'll find that the Wallabys will thrash France. It works quite the opposite in the France:Wallabys matches. Australia usually pounds a weak or a strong French side. I think this spell is all about admiration of pure athletes. The French actually believe that their players are as gifted as the All Blacks. Somehow the All Blacks don 't intimidate France. Well, we are back at the 'spell' business.

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