Each week this All Blacks team is breaking so many records that many of them are not getting the sort of fanfare they deserve. In last night’s victory Ma’a Nonu became the 35th player to get 50 test caps for the All Blacks and Tony Woodcock became the most experienced test prop in All Black history. Both records were achieved with minimal fanfare. The exploits of the current team is bringing familiar criticism of the All Blacks notorious record of peak in between world cups and their inability to win the big trophy.
Here’s a list of some of the achievements and records the All Blacks have made or could possibly make in 2010.
Tony Woodcock overtook former team mate Greg Somerville as the most capped All Black prop, with 67 caps.
The nine wins in a row against the Wallabies is equal to their best streak against them, drawing with run the All Blacks had from 1936 to 1947.
Ma’a Nonu played his 50th test.
Joe Rokocoko became the most capped All Black wing of all time, over taking All Black greats John Kirwan and Jonah Lomu. His 46 test tries has him second on the All Black try scoring list, equal with Christian Cullen. Rokocoko needs 49 tries to be equal with Doug Howlett as the highest test try scorer for the All Blacks.
This season the All Blacks overtook France as having scored the most points and the most tries in test rugby. They did it in 200 fewer test matches.
Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina both have 87 test caps. They are 5 short of Sean Fitzpatrick’s All Black test cap record of 92.
Richie McCaw now has Sean Fitzpatrick’s record of most wins by an All Black captain, and he’s about to pass his record of 51 tests as captain. Saturday’s test was McCaw’s 50th as All Black captain.
Saturday’s All Black starting 15 had a combined 717 test caps. They are three short of the world record of 720 test caps, set by Ireland in 2007.
Joe Rokocoko, Richie McCaw, Tony Woodcock and Mils Muliaina are now the most experienced All Black players ever in their respective positions.
Dan Carter became the first All Black to pass 1000 test points. He needs 65 more points to reach Jonny Wilkinson’s record of 1178.
Last night in Christchurch Ma’a Nonu became the 35th player to play 50 tests for the All Blacks. It’s an amazing achievement for a player with such a chequered history with the black jersey.
It’s taken him seven years to make 50 test caps. That’s a long time in the modern game. To put it in perspective, Brad Thorn debuted a week after Nonu and has now played 44 tests, but he didn’t play for the All Blacks at all for four years, from the end of 2003 till 2008. Ma’a Nonu, on the other hand, has featured for the All Blacks in every year since his debut. However, between then and 2008 he only made five more starts, with another 12 caps coming off the bench.
Way back in 2003 Nonu debuted for the All Blacks, partnering with Tana Umaga in the midfield against England. The dreadlocked pair lined up against future world cup winning midfield Will Greenwood and Mike Tindall.
The All Blacks lost that night 15-13, and it started an uneasy relationship between Nonu and the black jersey that dogged him for years afterwards. Following the loss the 21 year old fell out of favour with the then All Black coaches John Mitchell and Robbie Deans, who reverted to Aaron Mauger for most of the remaining tests they coached. That attitude was continued by the new coaching regime of Graham Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen. For the first four years of their tenure he was seen mainly as utility back and specialist bench impact player.
His reputation as a brilliant ball runner was equally tempered with a reputation for flakiness and on-field ill discipline.
Fortunately for the coaches and New Zealand rugby fans, Nonu came of age as a no. 12 just as their established 12s, Aaron Mauger and Luke McAllister departed for England after the 2007 World Cup.
He has started 29 of the 31 tests since then, and only winger Shane Williams from Wales has scored more international test tries since that tournament. The rotation that plagued the All Black midfield is now a thing of the past, with Conrad Smith and Ma’a Nonu firmly entrenched in the starting jerseys.
There a lot of people talking up the chances of the Stormers in this match. They have an amazing defensive record and continued that against the Waratahs. However, the Bulls are the Bulls and there is a reason they finished 8 points clear of all the other teams before the last round of the round robin. The semi final against the Crusaders also proved that Soweto can also be an intimidating place for visiting teams to come.
I’ve taken the easy way out and picked the home team. Bulls by 8.
Two semi finals in South Africa, and I’ve picked the two South African teams to take both. The New Zealand media are talking up a Crusaders upset, but that ignores everything both the Bulls and Crusaders have shown us this season. The Crusaders have an amazing pedigree, and so an upset wouldn’t be a total shock, but you have to back the Bulls to continue their great season.
Every week I expect the Stormers’dream season to come to a crashing halt, but every week they continue to step up. It’s easier to imagine the Waratahs pulling off the upset here than the Crusaders, but this is actually the game with the highest betting odds. I’m expecting the Stormers to continue their fairy tale season one more week.
There are two virtual quarter finals this weekend, with the winners of the Crusaders v Brumbies and Hurricanes v Waratahs games progressing to the semi finals. The Stormers will have to win to guarantee their place, but that is looking even more likely with media speculating the Bulls are to rest up to 13 of their starting lineup. The Bulls are 8 points clear on the leader board so will finish in first position and host a semi final regardless.
A Reds bonus point win and a draw in one of the ‘quarter finals’, or perhaps a record thrashing of the Stormers could see them sneak a place. In other words, their season is over, as are the seasons of the Sharks, Force, Blues, Chiefs, Highlanders, Cheetahs and Lions.
If my above picks play out the final four, in order, will be the Bulls, Stormers, Crusaders, Hurricanes. Alternatively one or both of the New Zealand teams could be replaced with their Australian opponents. Either way, both semi finals will likely be in South Africa.
To celebrate 100 Super Rugby games the Hurricanes gave Rodney So’oialo the party that the Crusaders didn’t give Richie McCaw. The Hurricanes beat the Reds 44 to 21, getting the 4 try bonus point and staying in semi final contention.
Rodney So’oialo joined former captain Tana Umaga as the Hurricanes’ only players to reach 100 caps. He first began his career for the Hurricanes in 2001 against the Reds, and took over the captaincy from Tana Umaga in 2006 and going on to lead them 49 times. He stepped down at the beginning of this year, handing the captaincy to Andrew Hore so So’oialo could focus on regaining his fitness, bulk, and his place in the All Blacks.
So’oialo debuted for Wellington in 2000 against Taranaki, winning the final in that year and has so far played 52 matches for his provincial team. He is still known for his sevens background, where he showcased his huge aerobic capacity in six international Sevens tournaments and winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games Manchester in 2002.
In tribute to Rodney So’oialo, his former captain Tana Umaga said “For me the memory that stands out was the 2000 season and the NPC final where I believe he and JC [Jerry Collins] really turned the game for us with their enthusiasm and willingness to take it to Canterbury. I just remember him being everywhere”. Early in the week So’oialo revealed he had already received congratulatory texts from both Umaga and former Hurricane star Christian Cullen.
His running game and tendency to kick the ball more than most forwards shows his background as a rugby union fullback; he didn’t convert to the forwards until after he finished high school. However, when he eliminated most of his kicking from his game was when he finally broke through and owned the No. 8 jersey for the All Blacks.
He first debuted for the All Blacks in 2002, taking part in the 2003 Rugby World Cup in John Mitchell’s team, and finally breaking into Graham Henry’s team on the End of Tour in 2004. In ‘that’ game against France in 2004 he came of age as an international 8, owing the jersey until 2009 and forming one of the best and most complementary All Black loose forward trios in history. The combination of Jerry Collins, Richie McCaw and Rodney So’oialo saw the All Blacks through till then end of the 2007 Rugby World Cup before Jerry Collins started to show signs of all the wear and tear. Collins wasn’t selected in 2008 and went to play overseas. Without his long-time provincial and international loose forward partner, and as a sign of his age, time in the game, and in no small part to the way he plays it, Rodney So’oialo is also showing signs of the same wear and tear. Last year for the first time in five years he didn’t finish the year as the best number 8 in New Zealand. His position in the All Blacks is currently held by Kieran Read.
Still bucking the trend by still putting his body on the line for New Zealand Rugby at 31, So’oialo will be hoping a big Super 14 will get him back in the All Blacks. His experience will be invaluable to the All Blacks challenge for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
There are some great matches in round 13 of the Super 14. Most rounds have contained a lot of mismatches, but this round seems to have some evenly matched clashes in store, or at least there should be. It’s hard to decide between the Hurricanes v Reds, Bulls v Crusaders and Stormers v Sharks as potential games of the round.
The Hurricanes host the Reds and desperately need to beat the Reds to stay in the hint. The Reds will be hurting from the thrashing they received from the Brumbies last week and the Hurricanes have lost pivotal centre Conrad Smith. However, I’ve picked the Hurricanes as they should be the more desperate team. Hopefully they play better than they did against the Chiefs last week.
The Crusaders need to do the impossible and beat the Bulls in Pretoria to get into the semi finals. However they were pretty desperate last week two, and even with Richie McCaw celebrating 100 Super Rugby games they still couldn’t beat the Stormers. I’ve picked the Bulls but would love to see an upset.
If form and ladder standings are anything to go by the Brumbies should thrash the Highlanders as should the Waratahs beat the Chiefs. The Chiefs are home at Waikato Stadium in what used to be a tough place for opposition teams to win at. However, they are yet to win there this year. Expect a low crowd turnout.
Last week I picked the Blues to beat the Cheetahs and they let themselves down in a shocking performance. However, they should still be good enough to take care of the Lions. The Force should beat the Cheetahs this week, although they’ll probably be beginning to show the effects of their road trip and lack of depth in this game.
Lastly The Sharks versus the Stormers will be a great match between two form teams. In the last 7 weeks the Sharks have only lost to the Bulls and are playing at home, while the Stormers are having an amazing season. I’ve picked the Stormers to continue their phenomenal run to the finals.
While he celebrated with a loss to the Stormers, that won’t take away from the achievement of Richie McCaw reaching 100 Super Rugby caps. It was probably a longer time coming than it could have been, considering the ‘rest and recovery’ during the 2007 Super 14, a break at the beginning of the 2010 Super 14, and numerous injury layoffs. His debut was way back in 2001.
Richie McCaw’s rugby cv reads like a check list of boyhood dreams. He debuted for the All Blacks at 20, first captained them at 23, and is the fastest player in the world to clock up 50 rugby test wins. He’s been the All Black first choice openside flanker since he debuted in 2001. Injury and some rotation has kept him from 25 of the 105 tests the All Blacks have played since then so he now sits on 80 test caps for the All Blacks. McCaw is the only player to receive the International Rugby Player of the year award twice.
Domestically McCaw has the Crusaders to back-to-back Super 14 titles in 2005 and 2006 and another in 2008. He led the Canterbury NPC team to the 2004 title.
McCaw has his private pilot’s license, flies gliders, and has even been names an honorary squadron leader until December 31, 2011 by the Royal New Zealand Air Force. All he needs now is probably slay a dragon and the guy will be named King of New Zealand.
The one thing his cv really lacks is a Rugby World Cup medal, and he’ll be working pretty hard to put that on there too.
This week we find out if the Reds and Stormers are contenders or pretenders this week. Both are up against Super 14 royalty in the Crusaders and Brumbies, both of which will be desperate for a win for their own 2010 hopes. The Crusaders will be looking to bring the A game, so at home would hope to be better than the Stormers. The Reds v Brumbies will be a big game, and I’ve picked the Brumbies losing streak to stretch another week.
The round kicks off with the Highlanders hosting the Waratahs down in Invercargill. Southland Rugby is on a high at the moment, and the fans will be out supporting the large Southland contingent in the Highlanders team. However, I’m picking the Waratahs to still be way too strong.
An injury decimated an out of form Chiefs side should help keep the Hurricanes’ slim semi final hopes alive with a 5 pointer. However, perhaps it could be business as usual for the Chiefs who traditionally spend the business end of the Super 14 wrecking fellow NZ teams’ chances. Even against a struggling Hurricanes side that would take a major about turn by the Chiefs though.
I’ve picked touring teams the Blues and Force to beat the Cheetahs and Lions respectively. However, it’s always a bit difficult to pick against any South African team at home.
Now back at Loftus, the Bulls should start the charge to the Super 14 finals by taking care of the Sharks this weekend.
After years of trying to secure a place in the All Blacks, it looks like it took a move to Australia for Daniel Braid to get the attention he always wanted from the NZRU. With the new tackle ball rules and the Reds form this season, Braid is shining in Australia during the 2010 Super 14. His strength was always his linking play, and the new rules are really bringing that to the fore. His value to the All Blacks has been intensified with a lack of a real frontrunner to backup All Black legend Richie McCaw. Competing for the top spot back in New Zealand are Tanerau Latimer, George Whitelock, Alando Soakai, Serge Lilo and Scott Waldrom. The incumbent back up All Black number 7 is Tanerau Latimer.
When Tanerau Latimer burst onto the screen, scoring three tries for the Crusaders in 2006 it seemed as though New Zealand had found a backup and eventual replacement for Richie McCaw. He was a former sevens star , debuting at 17 years old in 2004 and winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal in 2006. He’s blessed with a huge aerobic capacity, courtesy of a youth spent in competitive swimming. However, the same linking and following up skills that he showed in his sevens career and in that break out season have been strangely missing ever since. He’s established himself as the Chiefs’ openside flanker since the departure of Marty Holah and finished 2009 as the backup openside flanker for the All Blacks. However, he hasn’t set the world on fire in either job. He doesn’t have the same ability to turnover the ball at the tackle that McCaw or Holah has. However, he should be flourishing with these new laws because players are not allowed to attack the ball like they used to.
The problem may be the team he is playing in. The poor season the Chiefs’ forward pack is having is probably not giving him the opportunity to shine he should be getting. In an interview recently Josh Kronfield implied that off the candidates, Latimer is still likely to have the most potential. He advised that “If Tanerau had a bit more of a toiler eight who did not go missing off and on, then he would benefit”. In other words, if his number 8 was the opposite of Chiefs’ team-mate Sione Lauaki. Should he make it back into the All Blacks however, that is exactly the sort of support he would receive from likely number 8s Kieran Read and Rodney So’oialo.
