Former All Black Taine Randell assesses the Wallabies' prospects in the Tri Nations.
Well done to Australia, but my prediction is that this will be the only Test they will win in the Tri Nations this year.
Nothing I saw from the Wallabies suggested to me they'd be anywhere near the All Blacks in their three Tests against them and they won't stand much of a chance when they go to South Africa for two Tests.
Everything was in the Wallabies' favour going into this game - including the Brisbane factor - while the Springboks were on a hiding to nothing. This game went the way it was expected to.
The Springboks look like an ageing side with a redundant playing style. The game has changed but they haven't changed with it. After two brutal hidings from the All Blacks, the Springboks were already in pain going into this Test.
The Wallabies held their own physically but I suspect they won't be able to do that against the All Blacks or in their two Tests in South Africa. The Springboks haven't got any points from three games, but the Tri Nations isn't quite New Zealand's yet because bonus points may come into it.
South Africa had the worst draw and they should be a different beast back at home. However, you do have to say the All Blacks are in the box seat, particularly with the maximum 10 points from their first two games.
The All Blacks coaches, who were in Brisbane, would have no doubt viewed it with interest before this weekend's Test against the Wallabies in Melbourne.
I'm pretty happy with where the All Blacks squad is at the moment. If you look at the teams that have been successful at World Cups, they all had experienced squads but also one or two young players coming through who put the real gloss on the side, taking them to the next level.
In 1987 Michael Jones sticks out from that experienced side, in 1991 it was Willie O for the Wallabies and fours years later, even though they didn't win it, the All Blacks were the best side and they had Jonah Lomu.
In 1999 it was Stephen Larkham, 2003 was perhaps an exception for England because Jonny Wilkinson came through the year before and in 2007 Bryan Habana was relatively new on the scene.
Much has been made of the fact that this All Blacks is one of the oldest that has played together.
So when we look ahead to the World Cup, it's good there is so much experience. But it's crucial they have a couple of younger players out there who'll provide the X-factor.
In that regard, we're looking at players such as Israel Dagg, Rene Ranger and Victor Vito. Everyone goes on about how good Richie McCaw, Brad Thorn and Dan Carter are but the younger players shouldn't be overlooked.
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Carter pretty on surface, All Black inside
By RICHARD HINDS - The Age
Last updated 07:52 30/07/2010
All Blacks and glamour boys are not terms that sit comfortably. Not like, say, All Blacks and ruthless demolition or All Blacks and World Cup heartbreak. But as Dan Carter chats amiably with reporters in the manner of the well-trained modern athlete - talk a great deal without giving away a whole lot - you quickly appreciate how he has mastered this stereotype-defying role.
There are, most significantly, the raw ingredients.
The dark, handsome features that have had Carter regularly included on lists of ''world's sexiest athletes''. And the 28-year-old is a genuine pretty boy, even if his appearance is enhanced somewhat in comparison with a recent visitor to the inquistors table, battered veteran Brad Thorn.
Then there is the stellar career. Carter needs just 16 points tomorrow night to move into second place on the list of all-time test points scorers (he has 1075 at 15.3 per-game in 71 tests) - something good judges say is testament to a reliable boot that gets plenty of opportunities in an often rampant team; but which is almost incidental compared with the precision and creativity of his play from five-eighth.
So total babe magnet and points-scoring machine in a team worshiped by a nation. Little wonder Carter is regularly marketed - most notably during an underwear campaign two years ago - as ''New Zealand's David Beckham''. However, Carter says he has not modelled his career on any other successful international athlete.
''I like to pride myself on having good balance,'' he says. ''Obviously, when I'm involved in other things -media sessions or commercial work - I make sure as soon as I'm on the training paddock it's out of my mind and I'm concentrating on the job at hand. But, yeah, it can make for a busy lifestyle.''
Anything the All Blacks achieve should be weighed against the huge expectation the team shoulders. So you ask Carter if he felt a tinge of jealousy watching the All Whites win public acclaim with their giant-wounding performances in South Africa, while nothing less than constant, convincing victory is good enough from the All Blacks.
''I was just, like most other Kiwis, very proud of our country,'' he says. ''Ranked 78th, or something like that, and to do well against the world champions [Italy], it's probably similar to one of the weaker rugby teams getting within 10 points of the All Blacks. They would get a lot of adulation for that.''
Carter's comparison is revealing. Getting to within 10 points of the All Blacks. Not beating them. In 71 Tests since his debut in June 2003, Carter has been in the losing team just eight times. The thought of defeat clearly does not enter his head - even in a hypothetical sense.
Carter acknowledges those crushing expectations are always there. Slowly growing as a team that plunged New Zealand into mourning after losing in the quarter-finals to France in 2007 works towards a home World Cup next year, when nothing but victory will be acceptable.
Such pressure, Carter says, is like the team socks. It comes with being an All Black. Yet if the All Blacks are most renowned for inflicting mental injury than suffering it, Carter does acknowledge the team's ''head coach'' - mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka - is a crucial part of the support staff.
''Especially with the new guys coming into the environment, it can be a huge step up from anything they've done before, in terms of the pressure.''
For Carter's mental health, a stint with Perpignan in France at the end of 2008 was important - even if the trip was ended prematurely after two months by a serious Achilles tendon injury. Important not just for his bank balance (his initial contract was reportedly €700,000 [$1.3m at the time]), but also because he was able to stroll unnoticed through the streets of European cities where rugby was ''no big deal'' and, less happily, take an enforced break from the game.
''It definitely freshened me up,'' he says. ''It [being an All-Black in New Zealand] can be pretty challenging at times, I'd had seven years of that … hopefully it will help this year and next year as well.''
Talking about Saturday night's opposition, Carter is non-controversial to the point of bald-faced flattery. The Wallabies will miss Quade Cooper but have ''fantastic'' coverage; Will Genia is ''extremely dangerous'', the Australians will be as eager to atone for past failures against the All Blacks as the Kiwis were this year against South Africa. And so on.
But there is a genuine enthusiasm in the way Carter talks about the more expansive game both teams are playing, and an obviously agile mind at play when he discusses tactical nuances of his role - particularly the split-second decision of whether to seek the safety of the touch line or to roll the dice on kick and chase.
''It's something you get a feel for in the game,'' he says. ''I work pretty closely with our forwards in terms of how they are feeling about after they've had a few [line-outs] just to see if they want to push it closer to the touch line or back our kick-chase.
''Kicking it long can be dangerous because the Wallabies are similar to us, they love to counter-attack and they are very dangerous.
''A lot of things rule each other out in this game, that's why it is going to make for a fantastic match, they like to use the ball similar to us.''
Similar, perhaps. But at the exalted level of the All-Blacks' glamour boy?
Last updated 07:52 30/07/2010
All Blacks and glamour boys are not terms that sit comfortably. Not like, say, All Blacks and ruthless demolition or All Blacks and World Cup heartbreak. But as Dan Carter chats amiably with reporters in the manner of the well-trained modern athlete - talk a great deal without giving away a whole lot - you quickly appreciate how he has mastered this stereotype-defying role.
There are, most significantly, the raw ingredients.
The dark, handsome features that have had Carter regularly included on lists of ''world's sexiest athletes''. And the 28-year-old is a genuine pretty boy, even if his appearance is enhanced somewhat in comparison with a recent visitor to the inquistors table, battered veteran Brad Thorn.
Then there is the stellar career. Carter needs just 16 points tomorrow night to move into second place on the list of all-time test points scorers (he has 1075 at 15.3 per-game in 71 tests) - something good judges say is testament to a reliable boot that gets plenty of opportunities in an often rampant team; but which is almost incidental compared with the precision and creativity of his play from five-eighth.
So total babe magnet and points-scoring machine in a team worshiped by a nation. Little wonder Carter is regularly marketed - most notably during an underwear campaign two years ago - as ''New Zealand's David Beckham''. However, Carter says he has not modelled his career on any other successful international athlete.
''I like to pride myself on having good balance,'' he says. ''Obviously, when I'm involved in other things -media sessions or commercial work - I make sure as soon as I'm on the training paddock it's out of my mind and I'm concentrating on the job at hand. But, yeah, it can make for a busy lifestyle.''
Anything the All Blacks achieve should be weighed against the huge expectation the team shoulders. So you ask Carter if he felt a tinge of jealousy watching the All Whites win public acclaim with their giant-wounding performances in South Africa, while nothing less than constant, convincing victory is good enough from the All Blacks.
''I was just, like most other Kiwis, very proud of our country,'' he says. ''Ranked 78th, or something like that, and to do well against the world champions [Italy], it's probably similar to one of the weaker rugby teams getting within 10 points of the All Blacks. They would get a lot of adulation for that.''
Carter's comparison is revealing. Getting to within 10 points of the All Blacks. Not beating them. In 71 Tests since his debut in June 2003, Carter has been in the losing team just eight times. The thought of defeat clearly does not enter his head - even in a hypothetical sense.
Carter acknowledges those crushing expectations are always there. Slowly growing as a team that plunged New Zealand into mourning after losing in the quarter-finals to France in 2007 works towards a home World Cup next year, when nothing but victory will be acceptable.
Such pressure, Carter says, is like the team socks. It comes with being an All Black. Yet if the All Blacks are most renowned for inflicting mental injury than suffering it, Carter does acknowledge the team's ''head coach'' - mental skills coach Gilbert Enoka - is a crucial part of the support staff.
''Especially with the new guys coming into the environment, it can be a huge step up from anything they've done before, in terms of the pressure.''
For Carter's mental health, a stint with Perpignan in France at the end of 2008 was important - even if the trip was ended prematurely after two months by a serious Achilles tendon injury. Important not just for his bank balance (his initial contract was reportedly €700,000 [$1.3m at the time]), but also because he was able to stroll unnoticed through the streets of European cities where rugby was ''no big deal'' and, less happily, take an enforced break from the game.
''It definitely freshened me up,'' he says. ''It [being an All-Black in New Zealand] can be pretty challenging at times, I'd had seven years of that … hopefully it will help this year and next year as well.''
Talking about Saturday night's opposition, Carter is non-controversial to the point of bald-faced flattery. The Wallabies will miss Quade Cooper but have ''fantastic'' coverage; Will Genia is ''extremely dangerous'', the Australians will be as eager to atone for past failures against the All Blacks as the Kiwis were this year against South Africa. And so on.
But there is a genuine enthusiasm in the way Carter talks about the more expansive game both teams are playing, and an obviously agile mind at play when he discusses tactical nuances of his role - particularly the split-second decision of whether to seek the safety of the touch line or to roll the dice on kick and chase.
''It's something you get a feel for in the game,'' he says. ''I work pretty closely with our forwards in terms of how they are feeling about after they've had a few [line-outs] just to see if they want to push it closer to the touch line or back our kick-chase.
''Kicking it long can be dangerous because the Wallabies are similar to us, they love to counter-attack and they are very dangerous.
''A lot of things rule each other out in this game, that's why it is going to make for a fantastic match, they like to use the ball similar to us.''
Similar, perhaps. But at the exalted level of the All-Blacks' glamour boy?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)