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Can Carter, McCaw and wing power drive the All Blacks to glory?

In today's instalment of the Keys to Victory, Hamish McBrearty takes a look at what the Rugby World Cup favourites must do if they are to claim the William Webb Ellis trophy.

by Hamish McBrearty on 07 August 2007

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Richie McCaw: He's vital to New Zealand (Gettyimages.com)

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For the first time since 1995, the All Blacks go into the World Cup as the clear favourites, not just contenders. Their recent victories over the Wallabies and Springboks showed their defence is just about water tight, holding both teams tryless, but also revealed their much-vaunted back line is still yet to click.

These are the key elements in New Zealand's bid to win the William Webb Ellis trophy for the first time since 1987 . . .

1. Richie McCaw. As much as New Zealand fans hate to admit it, McCaw is one player the All Blacks cannot afford to be without. Currently the world's best in his position, his dominance at the breakdown as well as his tireless tackling around the field is one of the main reasons the All Black pack is so good. His understudy, Chris Masoe, is still very much untested as an international flanker, so McCaw must stay healthy and on the field to give the All Blacks a chance at the prize.

2. Halfbacks (scrum-halves). The dropping of Piri Weepu from the World Cup squad has been debated endlessly in New Zealand, but the difference in the play of the entire back line against South Africa after he was replaced was remarkable. With good service from halfback, the back line is very dangerous; without it they struggle against top opposition. The current halfbacks, Byron Kelleher, Brendan Leonard and Andy Ellis, will need to provide the backs with quality ball, or an exit like that of 2003 could be on the cards.

3. Dan Carter. On his day, Carter is capable of beating any team in the world virtually on his own. In the third Test of the 2005 British Lions tour, he carved up the opposition with moments of individual brilliance that left the entire stadium gasping in awe. Of course, nobody expects Carter to win the World Cup single-handedly, but his play will be crucial to the All Blacks' success.

'His understudy, Chris Masoe, is still very much untested as an international flanker, so McCaw must stay healthy and on the field to give the All Blacks a chance at the prize'

4. Wingers. If the All Black pack can dominate, the backs get good service and Carter find holes in the defence, it will be up to the wingers to put the finishing touches on their attacking raids. Although they have lacked chances in recent outings, the ability of Joe Rokocoko, Doug Howlett and Sitiveni Sivivatu to find the try line is unquestioned, and if they find it, everyone else at the World Cup beware.

When the All Blacks went to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, their then coach John Mitchell referred to "The Journey". While that expression has not been used, mainly due to its association with that disastrous campaign, this is a journey. Phase One against France and Canada showed the team's potential, Phase Two in the Tri-Nations showed they can handle the big-game pressure.

It just remains to be seen how Phase Three will end.

Next: France - can the Six Nations champions become only the third host nation to claim the World Cup?

Comments (7)

by Sharky on August 08, 2007

I'm worried about the lineout. I think the Ab's have kept a few cards very close to their chest in terms of backplay during the tri-nations. Their ability to grind out the win in Auckland was amazing! Fingers crossed RM stays fit and byron steps up big time, he is lacking spark at the moment.

by Scott DOnaldson on August 08, 2007

I believe we the All Blacks were favourites in 1999 and 2003, but possibly not to the extent they are here. Nick Evans is a great back up for Dan Carter but the real problem lies with openside with only Chris Masoe named in reserve. Rodney Soioalo can also cover, but it isn't the same as having a Marty Holah or Daniel Braid. The selectors couldn't pick everyone.

by John Christie on August 08, 2007

Sharky - Agree with you that they have undisclosed plans - Wayne Smith has said as much. I Completely agree Scott - Nick Evans is an awesome player and would fill in for DC if needed. The AB's will win if they play as a "team" but if they are individually lazy waiting for their mates to "do it" then we could get dealt too - but on their day there is no team at the tournament that would get within 12 points of the AB's! (85% confident they will win this)

by Scott Donaldson on August 09, 2007

I think the scrum will be a huge weapon and they need to string together their attacks like you said John. The number of linebreaks they make is phenomenal, but just the final pass is so their downfall and has cost them so many more chances of scoring tries.

by Andrew on August 10, 2007

Hamish, I could be wrong, but from memory McAlister was 10 in the 3rd test...

by John Christie on August 10, 2007

Scott, I think the AB handling problems are caused by the forwards not dominating enough in the loose - they have to tighten that up and get dominant in the rucks, mauls, drives, then when the ball goes wide the backs will have time. In my opinion this is why Lauaki is being bought in, he will play off the bench to tighten up the forward play. I'm picking the All Black game will return to top form.

by GarryMack on September 25, 2007

I think everyone here can probably agree the allblacks have amazing depth in their squad. But optimist version is a difficult option in opinion to back, I mean, have their last two pool games looked a bit so-so because they are not using major set moves? and the allblacks are actually alot better? or was the form against Scotland their current form?