New Zealand All Blacks' depth envied the world over

Imposing: New Zealand's All Blacks perform the haka to Argentina before their Rugby Championship match at AMI Stadium in Christchurch. Photo: Reuters

I was asked recently whether back-to-back World Cup wins could be on the cards for the All Blacks. The follow-up question was a cracker. They have an ageing team, do you think they will have the legs through to the end of October?

My response drew immediate laughter, because  if you ever underestimate a champion team it will bite you where the sun don't shine. 

To answer the first question, yes, but then you throw in the variables. 

A back-to-back result has never been achieved. Then there are the anomalies on the way –  shock losses, pivotal injuries, even stage fright – that can all see dreams fade away.

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To answer the second question: old legs? Maybe, but what they do have  is an abundance of talent. 

Just look at the Test against the Pumas; a trio of Smiths didn't take the field on Friday night nor did Julian Savea. 

Now, I have to ask are any other teams going around in world rugby that strategically omit star players and still put an impressive outfit on the park. The answer to that is no. 

That coach would feel the wrath of the public and inevitably be making his own noose. 

Mind you, there are four players with more than 100 Test caps and one in the 90s. Now there is some direction. 

Yet the personnel that you bring in sometimes not only has parity with those before mentioned players but could well be perceived as a stronger combination, and sometimes a different skill set. Ma'a Nonu and Sonny Bill Williams in the centres scare off just about any opposition, but I'm sure Conrad Smith sits comfortably on the sideline watching these guys run around. 

I think the incredible legacy this team has is that no player is bigger than the jumper, so that when the coach rotates positions, it is taken with a grain of salt. There seems to be a bigger picture of what will benefit the group.

It shows that these players are by no means expendable but more so invaluable to the team because of their belief in the system and within themselves. 

That is a luxury that the Wallabies don't have right now and  so too just about every other team in world rugby. Everyone is striving to find their best XV. 

So what do you take out of the AllBlacks victory on Friday night. 

Patience would have to be the first point. The score was 11-6 just before half-time and I bet Argentina would have thought if they can just get into the sheds five points down that would be great. But a Nonu try dashed those hopes. 

Then there is the old call of points before half-time and just after and why they are so crucial. 

The 42nd minute saw Charles Piutau dot down and six minutes later veteran Keiran Read crosses the strip ... game over for the Pumas.  With that patience comes experience. 

As I said, there were four centurions in this side and every bit of their nous gets drawn on at crucial moments.

 Yet it's about getting opportunities for those who are racking up the numbers, remembering that here is a team littered with World Cup  winners. 

So in theory the opening game of the Rugby Championship  was in fact just a tough hitout rather than the edge-of-your-seat thriller. 

The All Blacks, however, were pushed at times especially in the scrum, but we knew that. Argentina crossed the line twice, so it does show that their defence is penetrable.  You just have to find the way to get there as there are no easy options. 

The second point is their  ability to increase the tempo of the game. It has long been a trait of the men in black.  I experienced it, as did teams before me and this current crop will cop the same pressure. Sometimes there is no way of stopping the beast.

What the game did show with the omission of Aaron Smith and  Savea is their importance to the team. Smith is the power button. He ignites the attack and drives the forwards. 

His passing speed gets the momentum going. He is the key to this team. If you have any chance of shutting down the All Blacks, limiting the impact of his game is paramount. Easier said than done.

The other is Savea. His running ability is setting new standards inrugby. 

His carries are so effective, dominating the contact area and he has an innate ability to get across the chalk. Combine this with Aaron Smith and there are strong influences close to the ruck and on the width. He is formidable in every way.

New Zealand All Blacks cruise to victory over Argentina Pumas

New Zealand 39 Argentina 18

All Blacks record 37th straight victory on home soil

The All Blacks have sent a message in the first round of the Rugby Championship with a comfortable 39-18 win over Argentina in Christchurch.

Given the circumstances, no one's jaw sagged when the All Blacks overwhelmed Argentina 39-18 in Christchurch on Friday night.

The All Blacks weren't perfect – they are sure to look over their defensive structures after Argentina captain and hooker Agustin Creevy scored two tries from lineout drives in the second half – but there would have been a high-level of satisfaction about the way they allowed Richie McCaw and Dan Carter to farewell AMI Stadium as winners.

Try time: Charles Piutau scores a try against Argentina in Christchurch. Photo: Reuter

The New Zealanders collected five tries, one to McCaw himself, and even replacement hooker Codie Taylor – having minutes earlier had a try disallowed – got into celebration mode by scoring a five-pointer on Test debut

But with all due respect to Taylor, or anyone else on the park, this wasn't about them. It was all about sending McCaw and Carter out on a top note.

No, it wasn't that but for long periods it was pretty close. A messy period mid-way through the second half resulted in the All Blacks losing their momentum, and that was when Creevy scored his tries, yet they regathered their thoughts and dominated the final 17 minutes to wrap up the result.

One of the major highlights was the way rookie wing Waisake Naholo, before he limped off in the second half, proved he could look so comfortable at this level; he went close to scoring a try, took the high ball well and ran with supreme confidence.

Fullback Israel Dagg, especially in the first spell, showed glimpses of his raw talent too – a warning he shouldn't be wiped out from World Cup contention.

The scrum was OK but All Blacks forwards boss Mike Cron will seek improvements before his pack meet the Springboks in Johannesburg next weekend.

A script writer penning a storyline about McCaw's final outing in the Garden City would have wanted to avoid making it too corny, but the man himself was determined to make that task as difficult as possible.

The iconic flanker burst over in the first half when a sweetly timed lineout move off a Jerome Kaino delivery empowered him to charge over – with some assistance by Kieran Read – for his 27th Test try.

Not surprisingly the 17,500-strong crowd had no hesitation in jumping to their feet – and to hell with any spilled beers or split pies – to shout their approval.

The midfield combination of Sonny Bill Williams and Ma'a Nonu was reasonably slick in the first half, yet it was their individual touches that made them stand-out. The giant SBW was something of a slow-burner for the Chiefs this year, no doubt a byproduct of a back injury, but he sparked up in the Canterbury chill by galloping hard at the line and issuing those trademark one-handed offloads.

Nonu spilled an early ball, and maybe that was a reflection of the dew, before slowly ratcheting up his game to the point where he was unstoppable during a short burst to the line.

That summed-up the tourists' night. They huffed and puffed for the first 30 minutes, but being forced to defend for such lengthy periods eventually took a terrible toll as they simply looked like they were trying to play out the clock.

Flankers Juan Manuel Leguizamon and Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe kept chipping away at the coal face, and hooker Creevy threw himself about but eventually they had few answers on attack.

All Blacks 39 (Richie McCaw, Ma'a Nonu, Charles Piutau, Kieran Read, Codie Taylor tries; Dan Carter 4 con, 2 pen) Argentina 18 (Agustin Creevy 2 tries; Nicolas Sanchez con, 2 pen). HT: 18-6.