Just look here.
Robbie Deans may or may not be guilty of the poor 2009 performances by the Wallabies, but he's run out of credit.
Now the Wallabies must deliver or his time as Australia's Head Coach shall be over.
At the other shore of the Tasman Sea, Henry's head stands firmly, as we all know nothing is going to remove "Ted" from his position until 2011. But then, NZ hopes may be fading, after a three consecutive losses to SA and another loss to France.
Rugby is nowadays a 4-year sport and we are right in the middle of this 4-year race with the All Blacks losing ground to first-placed Springboks and the Wallabies asking themselves if they have what it gets to go the full distance.
7s into XV.
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Both a problem that would give Yowie a nose bleed and great news for the
Wallaroos with 9 of our women’s 7s side being confirmed as participating in
the ...
1 week ago
3 comments:
Pretty good call. I think you covered most bases. I would like to see some new names in there. As much as I like Brad Thorn, I think his day is coming to an end. Somebody else needs to step up to the plate. The bacvkrow is always a dogfight in NZ with NcCaw the only real shoe in but I find the real battle that will win silverware is scrumhalf. I like Cowan but the All Blacvks can't seem to win consistently with him.
MIFF
Despite the fact that at 35 you can't hit bodies the way you did when you were 25, Brad Thorn (as we have discussed before) has been the best thing to happen in New Zealand Rugby after World Cup '07. I'd love him to be on the frame for two more years, but how long he'll manage to be around, I'm not certain. He is very clever and he must know better than anyone how close his end is.
But I don't think players are the issue in New Zealand. Not even at halfback or first five.
One thing that I like of what Henry has done for these two years is that he has been developing young players such as Ross or Boric in areas where depth had been lost.
So I am not afraid in terms of players pool.
I am more concerned about how to make 15 (or 22) outstanding players win (any) 7 games in a row.
I guess what concerns everybody is the fate of the All Blacks. Can you imagine ever that an AB side not winning at least 80 percent of its matches?
The fact that the All Blacks are winners and we all know how winners attract the most admirers and detractors is a big thing for rugby, even though the World Cup has been elusive since 1987.
There is no doubt that the All Blacks have the quality. I have noticed on and off in the past few years how many Islanders are All Blacks. The next year I notice how few Maori are on the side. This year I noted that more Anglo were playing.
Perhaps the right mixture of ethnic New Zealanders is what has gone missing from the All Blacks. There is no doubt that the players are the most skilled so there must be some foundation for a poor run.
As for Brad Thorn, I have always been a big admirer but I did not that his impact during the last last 3/4 of the 3N was minimal. And then a famous rugby writer made note that Brad Thorn is too short and I began to wonder if that was indeed so.
Realistically, at 34, I think, Brad Thorn is almost IMHO opinion right now not an option for the 2011 RWC because of the age issue.
I have come to tragically believe that rugby has become a young man's sport despite the odd standout performances of some of the older players. I think the British Lions and Wasps lock proved that point during the tour of South Africa. But on the whole, I would have to believe presently that at 32 a player has lost a lot of that consistent gloss that is required week in and week out in present day rugby.
MIFF
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