All Blacks rest 9 senior players for 3N tour to SA

[Darwin]

I think Tonga will be more of a challenge than most are predicting. They are a very physical side so the AB's shouldnt worry about not getting a good workout.

Am sick of hearing what will the ABs do without Carter and MCaw. I think MCaw is inspirational as a leader but as a player I think he is not as good as he was in 2007. Carter too is not the player of old but in saying that he did have a blinder against the Wallabies a few weeks back.

Good luck ABs!!

The problem is, I think that Tonga probably won't play their top lineup vs the AB's, as they have a crucial match vs Canada only 5 days later. I expect the AB's will win pretty convincingly, but I do agree that Tonga will give them a good workout. I'm sure Tonga will be fired up and will tackle hard; the AB's will actually have to play good rugby to score tries, which is exactly the sort of game the need.

I also find it quite funny that people are so worried about what will happen if either McCaw or Carter gets injured. The AB's have lost two games in the last 24 months - you get the feeling the way some people talk that they wouldn't have won any games if either McCaw or Carter had been injured! Contrary to popular perception, the All Blacks won't suddenly fall apart without Carter/McCaw; their replacements are pretty handy, and the All Blacks are stacked with a number of other world class players (Mealamu, Thorn, Read, Smith et al.).

 

[SavageLez]

The problem is, I think that Tonga probably won't play their top lineup vs the AB's, as they have a crucial match vs Canada only 5 days later. I expect the AB's will win pretty convincingly, but I do agree that Tonga will give them a good workout. I'm sure Tonga will be fired up and will tackle hard; the AB's will actually have to play good rugby to score tries, which is exactly the sort of game the need.

I also find it quite funny that people are so worried about what will happen if either McCaw or Carter gets injured. The AB's have lost two games in the last 24 months - you get the feeling the way some people talk that they wouldn't have won any games if either McCaw or Carter had been injured! Contrary to popular perception, the All Blacks won't suddenly fall apart without Carter/McCaw; their replacements are pretty handy, and the All Blacks are stacked with a number of other world class players (Mealamu, Thorn, Read, Smith et al.).

It is no coincedence that the All Blacks lost 3 in a row against the Springboks in 2009 with McCaw and Carter injured. Carter did play a game or two off the bench but was still recovering from his leg injury at Perpignon.

We will however only know the answer to this come RWC 2011.

 

[Darwin]

It is no coincedence that the All Blacks lost 3 in a row against the Springboks in 2009 with McCaw and Carter injured. Carter did play a game or two off the bench but was still recovering from his leg injury at Perpignon.

We will however only know the answer to this come RWC 2011.

McCaw played every game against South Africa in 2009. Carter started 1 game (no games off the bench). The All Blacks lost to South Africa in 2009 because South Africa were the better team (and the law interpretations suited their style of play). I don't think having Carter would have made any difference to the results in South Africa - even when Carter returned to play South Africa still won (in New Zealand no less!). Carter and McCaw are important players for the AB's, but the team isn't going to suddenly fall to pieces if one gets injured.

 

[SavageLez]

I agree with McCaw. NZ won't fall to pieces if he were to get injured but if Carter in particular gets injured NZ are going to sh.. themselves. It is like South Africa losing Fourie Du Preez!

It is interesting to note that Fourie Du Preez last played in 2009 and as soon as he linked up with the Springboks vs. Wallabies last weekend there was a huge difference in the team dynamics. Had Butch converted a penalty in front of the post on Sat, Wallabies would have had to play catch up so 1 player does make a difference.

 

[Darwin]

I would certainly feel more comfortable with Carter playing, but I still think the AB's would be favourites to win even if Carter got injured. Colin Slade is a quality young player - I'd say he will surprise a lot of people this Saturday.

 

[SavageLez]

Colin is a good player, what happend to Burquest. He was freaking good when substituting for Carter @ the Crusaders?

 

[Darwin]

Colin is a good player, what happend to Burquest. He was freaking good when substituting for Carter @ the Crusaders?

Berquist has signed with Leinster. He is an ok player, but he wouldn't be near the top 5 first-fives in New Zealand though.

Berquist is actually a really good example of my point: when the Crusaders lost Dan Carter the team didn't completely fall apart, as it was still full of quality players. Berquist, though a limited player, fitted in quite nicely and the team continued to be one of the top teams in the competition. Colin Slade is a far better player than Berquist, and he will be surrounded by even better players than Berquist was.... because of this I'm not going to panic if Carter gets injured (though I do suspect many people will).

 

[SavageLez]

Colin Slade f**** up on Saturday, I was there and he looked terrible. His kicks were woefull, they had no distance or direction. His place kicking was not great iether and did not seem to back himself to go for kicks further than 40m out.

Carter is KEY!