Ageing Springboks have failed to adapt.

It would have been a brave man to predict the outcome of the opening two games of the Tri-Nations this year.

Despite the results, there is not much that separates these two teams, but the Springboks were surprisingly flat and you have to question their level of commitment.

Often games are won or lost before the teams actually hit the field, and this may have contributed to the visitor’s demise. Their lack of preparation might have been an excuse for their lacklustre performance in the first test, but after another week in the country there was only a slight improvement.

There is no doubt that the Springboks have the quality of players at their disposal, but they have let themselves and their country down in recent weeks.

Last season they tended to rely on dominating the set piece, big defence and an accurate kicking game, but under the new laws they have struggled to keep up with the pace of the game. They were never allowed to settle in either Tests, and were always a fraction off the pace.

It is too early to write off the Springboks just yet but unless they adjust their playing style they may struggle.

The 'Boks go down!

It was a great game on the weekend and hats off to the AB’s for the way they played. When it all comes together they are the most exciting team in the world to watch. The Springboks were off their game but credit must go the home team for taking full advantage. They simply out ‘willed’ them.

A week is a long time in sport and the Springboks will come back. They have too much experience and talent not to. They will also be better prepared with the extra week in NZ.

Mils Muliaina stood out and arguably had one of his finest games in the All Black jumper. The time off with injury seems to have done him wonders. Piri Weepu played well when he came on and perhaps deserves a start but it was a night where it was hard to fault anyone.

Crystal Ball Gazing 2011 Rugby World Cup

Its early days but I can't help sense that the All Blacks are making the same mistakes all over again leading into next year's World Cup. Here are a couple of reasons why...

First it was the signing of Sonny Bill Williams because although it doesn't guarantee his inclusion in the World Cup Squad not selecting him would be an expensive mistake.

Secondly, Graham Henry's selections are still erratic at best and he just can't seem to make up his mind. The rotation policy was supposed to be dead and buried but it appears to be rearing its ugly head again.

Thirdly, their experiment with converting players into unfamiliar positions is a strange one indeed.

Fourthly, the NZRFU has just announced a huge bonus for all players involved in winning the World Cup. Just what they need, some added pressure!

Last but not least the All Blacks starting XV isn't that strong. Sure they appear to have plenty of depth and there is probably little difference between their 2nd, 3rd and 4th teams ranked teams but they have few truly world class players and the timing of the World Cup for some players is not favourable. Players like Tony Woodcock, Kevin Mealamu, Brad Thorn, Ali Williams, Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Joe Rokocoko, Sitiveni Sivivatu, Conrad Smith and Mils Muliaina are a handful of players that might be past their best by the time of the World Cup. Unfortunately, they make up a core group of players deemed necessary to win the World Cup. An interesting dilemma for the coaching panel nonetheless.

Prediction: South Africa v France in the 2011 Rugby World Cup Final. Remember, you heard it here first.

Lift your game fellas!

Watching the game on Fox between England and Australia on Saturday night left the impression that the Wallabies aren't the only ones that need to lift their game.

The Fox commentators were not at their best and given the way the men in gold were playing it might have had something to do with it.

Phil Kearns in particular, calling the French referee, Mr Romain Poite, “POITE!” over and over was the icing on the cake. It may have been funny the first time but not throughout the whole game.

Going a bit deep here but we are living in times where people are becoming more sensitive (rightly or wrongly) to these types of things and everyone has to adjust accordingly. In other words, if you are not willing to move with the times, you may be left high and dry.

If you were having a chat down at the local club, then fair enough but you are commentating to a global audience and with that comes an added responsibility. At times, you guys don’t appear to have recognised this and/or made the necessary adjustments.

Personally, I don’t mind a bit of bias commentating and your team is quite humorous generally (at Super 14 level anyway) but at International level it probably requires a little more tact.

The referee actually had a good game and I'm not sure what your issue was Mr Kearns but Mr Poite made you look a bit foolish in the end. Let's hope you learn from it.

Do the Wallabies have an attitude problem?

Above all else, I think attitude contributed largely to the Wallabie’s loss. England had it and the Wallabie’s didn’t. If that’s the case then questions have to be asked, why? Obviously it’s easier to adjust your attitude when you came off a loss because the only way is up and the opposition tend to rest on the laurels a little but that doesn’t excuse it.

Ask anyone trying to lose weight and they will suggest it’s much easier to lose it, than it is to keep it off. Losing the weight is half the job but keeping it off requires hard work and discipline. This is where the Wallabies appear to be falling short. They work hard to achieve wins then struggle to maintain it ie keep the weight off.

Perhaps, lack of hard work AND discipline is the problem.

Psst...Graham Henry and Co

Memo to Graham Henry and co. Too often you seem to select players that you think will fit into your system or playing style you are trying to adopt rather than just selecting the best performing player in that position and this may be part of your undoing. I call it the 'select and hope' policy you seem to have adopted.

In some ways it may have clouded your judgement when making selections. You are, in other words, over thinking it. You have comitted to a certain playing style for example and are then trying to find the right players to make it work. This is a somewhat flawed approach IMO because the opportunity cost is that you may have to trial more players to find the right fit and/or have players playing out of their preferred postion to make it fit. For example, you may be looking for players that are comfortable under the high ball to suit your game plan but at the same excluding a player that is a try scoring, specialist right winger.

It’s an outside in approach rather than an inside out approach and that's what bothers me. Wayne Shelford summed it up best when he said ‘they are just doing their job’ (click on title 'Psst...Graham Henry and Co' for the interview) in an interview many years ago. Keep it simple by just selecting players in their preferred positions, have faith in them and make sure they are doing the basics better than anyone else ie ‘doing their jobs’ and the rest will take it of itself.

The All Black Illusion

This was a game of 2 halves. The All Blacks started well and were quite dominant early on without much reward but all this changed when Jamie Heaslip was sent off for attempting to knee the head of an opposition player. Not only did Ireland need to be at full strength to win this one they also needed to have all fifteen men on the field!

Combined with O'Gara's sin binning, which reduced the Irish to thirteen men for ten minutes, the floodgates opened and by the time O'Gara came back on they were behind 38 points to nil. To their credit the men in green fought back strongly and actually finished with 4 converted tries but arguably much of this could be contributed to the fact that the All Blacks emptied their bench to give everyone a run.

The game actually became very messy toward the end and one can only wonder what the benefits are in giving everyone a run in such unstructured Rugby. In the end it started to resemble a trial more than a test match and became almost farcical. The All Black jumper is becoming somewhat cheapened by the day. How many players are they going to use before they settle on their best XV? Yes, supposedly they have great depth and their best team wouldn't be much different than their 3rd or 4th ranked team but that's where the problem lies.

In days gone by there was daylight between the starting fifteen and the rest but that's when the All Blacks were at their best, when almost all their starting players would make any side in the world. Now, with the possible exception of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter and Conrad Smith no one else would feature. That's a travesty in my book and the current administration of Graham Henry and co has to portion some of the blame. They are making the same mistakes all over again.

All time effort and energy should be spent on developing the best possible side and if you don't make it, too bad. In the past, when a player got dropped it was a big deal but not anymore. There are too many All Blacks on the scrapheap to even mention here. What is their obsession with rotating and experimenting with players each and every game?

Just select a side and be done with it already! Select players in their specialist positions and get on with it. Take time to nurture them and watch them grow. Out of all the players new to the All Blacks last night the 1 that stood out the most was Benson Stanley. Ironically, he stood out because he didn’t stand out. The selectors can hardly take credit for it either because almost by their own admission he was chosen by default. He was simply chosen in his specialist position and just did the basics well. He even made Conrad Smith look good. Too often Ma'a Nonu's game has overshadowed Smith's and even the wingers to some extent. In the words of Wayne Shelford, the All blacks are at their best when everyone does their job i.e. 14 men helping to put the 15th man over the line. In other words, GET BACK TO THE BASICS!

Shouldn't their aim be to beat the Springboks by 1 point rather than Ireland by 31? At this rate they won't. Although they appear to be going forward they are actually going backwards. It's an illusion that will be tested by the Wallabies and shown up against the Springboks this year. You heard it here first.

Kurtley Has To Be There!

There is no doubt in my mind that Kurtley Beale has to be in the Wallaby backline. He is a special player and now is the time for him to shine. With James O'Connor knocking on the door and also brimming with talent he has to be in there somewhere too.

Unfortunately for the Wallabies, both are currently playing fullback and 2 does not go into 1. O'Connor's preferred position is fullback and has to be picked there for the Wallabies. Beale is a naturally gifted 10 and although many will disagree that's where he belongs.

He has played well since moving to fullback for the Waratahs but that's because he could play anywhere and be a standout. The reason he didn't live up to expectations early on was partly because of the way the Waratahs were playing. Excuse the term but during his first couple of years with the Waratahs they were winning 'ugly' and this style of play didn't suit him. He wasn't happy or able to express himself and it showed. Now that they have opened up a little, Beale has thrived.

Quade Cooper is a real talent but unfortunately for him he is not a Beale and has to graciously step aside. The Beale's of this world are once in a generation type players and there is no way they can leave him out. O'Connor to fullback and Beale shifts to 10 in the Wallably backline.

The All Blacks for example, can rest easy if Cooper is chosen at 10 but not Beale. Beale makes all the difference. He is the 1 player that would make them nervous and have defences 2nd guessing.

The rest of the backline is up for debate but would have 9. Will Genia, 10. Beale, 12. Matt Giteua, 13. Rob Horne, 11. Lachie Turner, 14. Drew Mitchell and 15. O'Connor.

All Blacks Team Named To Play Ireland

All Blacks Coach Graham Henry and his Assistant Coaches Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith have named their team to play Ireland in the first Steinlager Series Test at Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth, on Saturday 12 June, with 3 players to make their Test debuts and 3 other new All Blacks on the bench.

Starting XV:

1. Ben Franks *
2. Keven Mealamu (71)
3. Owen Franks (9)
4. Brad Thorn (37)
5. Anthony Boric (13)
6. Jerome Kaino (25)
7. Richie McCaw – captain (80)
8. Kieran Read (16)
9. Jimmy Cowan (33)
10. Daniel Carter (66)
11. Josevata Rokocoko (60)
12. Benson Stanley *
13. Conrad Smith (33)
14. Cory Jane (12)
15. Israel Dagg *


Reserves:

16. Aled de Malmanche (2)
17. Neemia Tialata (41)
18. Sam Whitelock *
19. Victor Vito *
20. Piri Weepu (35)
21. Aaron Cruden *
22. Zac Guildford (2)

* Denotes new Test cap and number of Test caps in brackets.
 
They have picked an experienced All Blacks side together with those players who have been in form throughout the Rebel Sport Super 14 and deserve their opportunity at Test level. The Irish will be a huge challenge but everyone will be looking forward to see how they go.

Richie McCaw will again captain the All Blacks in his 81st Test and will become the third equal most capped All Black alongside former All Blacks team-mate Justin Marshall and one Test behind current team-mate Mils Muliaina (82).

McCaw said the squad had gelled together well since coming together in Auckland last week and the players had also been buoyed by the support from Taranaki fans since arriving in New Plymouth on Sunday.

Ireland and the All Blacks have played 22 Tests since 1905, with 21 victories to the All Blacks and one match drawn, in 1973. The All Blacks last played Ireland on the 2008 end of year tour beating them 22–3, with the last match played in New Zealand earlier that year in Wellington, with the All Blacks winning 21–11.

All Blacks v Ireland Preview

Yes we have heard it all before and luck will need to be on the side of the Irish if they are to have any chance of winning this encounter. Everyone keeps saying that the All Blacks aren't what they were, they lack depth, have too many injuries etc but somehow they do manage to remain the number 1 ranked team in world Rugby. 'Maybe this time, maybe this will be our chance' the Irish supporters will be saying.

The All Blacks actually appear to be a little more settled going into this one than they were last year after being caught short against the French. Both sides have their fair share of injuries but it's most likely to affect the men in green more than the men in black. In an incredible statistic, the All Blacks still remain the only international side the Irish have never won against and this dates back to over 105 years between the 2 sides. One gets the feeling that if they were to have any chance they would need their full squad available, the stars to align and the referee to come from Ireland's reserve bench.

Ireland are much more competitive than they have been in the past and are right up there but one gets the feeling the hosts will come out on top. However, it is a difficult assignment for the home team because most haven't had any Rugby for 4 weeks and coming up against a team like the match hardened Irish will make it difficult from the outset. Playing a team from say the Pacific Islands would make it easier for them to ease into the season gradually but can't see Ireland affording them that luxury.