Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
NZ NZ

'It's hard to beat' - Wallabies great Phil Kearns believes two teams can prevent an All Blacks World Cup hat-trick

By Online Editors
(Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

It’s the new age Rugby World Cup which poses one of the sport’s oldest questions – will a good big man beat a good little man?

ADVERTISEMENT

Hulking packs and rushing defensive lines are being touted as the recipe for success at the first tournament staged in Asia, where an attack-minded New Zealand will pursue a third-successive Webb Ellis Cup.

Wales and Ireland have emerged as genuine contenders to win a maiden title, the former having bludgeoned their way to Six Nations glory while the Irish are affixed with the world No.1 ranking.

However, former champions South Africa and England are being given the greatest chance of preventing an All Blacks World Cup monopoly this decade.

Former Wallabies great Phil Kearns rates the Springboks and the English his co-favourites in Japan on the basis of their ferocious forward play.

Kearns believes coach Eddie Jones has got England peaking, with recalled midfielder Manu Tuilagi adding menace to complement their mammoth pack.

South Africa impressed in claiming the Rugby Championship although Kearns reckons their campaign could be on shaky foundations given the cloud over talismanic lock Eben Etzebeth.

ADVERTISEMENT

Former skipper Etzebeth is being investigated by prosecutors over his involvement in an alleged assault and racial abuse during a bar brawl last month.

“With South Africa, I think Etzebeth is a critical player so depending on what happens with him will be important for their chances,” Kearns told AAP.

“But I just think the size of England and South Africa is going to be a difficult thing for teams to overcome.

“Both of them aren’t lacking pace either, so when you’ve got those physical capabilities it’s hard to beat.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Continue reading below…

Video Spacer

Veteran coach Steve Hansen believes his All Blacks can overcome the inevitable suffocating defensive screens their opponents will erect.

He has played two trump cards in the lead-up, fielding dynamic pair Beauden Barrett and Ardie Savea out of position at fullback and blindside flanker respectively.

Both are potential tournament stars in a team whose high octane game plan has been designed with the firm grounds and hot conditions in mind.

“I think there’s definitely been a swing or bias towards defence,” Hansen said before his team left for Tokyo.

“But someone’s going to crack that nut – the defensive nut that needs to be cracked – because history tells us that will happen.

“When it does then it will open up the floodgates for the attacking game to become strong again.”

The size versus speed debate will get an early airing when the All Blacks and Springboks meet in Yokohama on Saturday in a highly anticipated pool opener.

Some patchy All Blacks form over the past two years has stripped them of the top ranking and eroded the aura they enjoyed at the 2015 event.

For that reason, the tournament is rated the most open in recent memory, with regular visitors to the knockout stage such as Australia, France, Scotland and Argentina also among those who can’t be discounted.

The dark horses are Fiji and Japan, with the hosts handed the sort of stage World Rugby has craved as it battles to expand its footprint in a potentially lucrative marketplace.

AAP

In other news:

Video Spacer
ADVERTISEMENT

Join free

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | Episode 6

Sam Warburton | The Big Jim Show | Full Episode

Japan Rugby League One | Sungoliath v Eagles | Full Match Replay

Japan Rugby League One | Spears v Wild Knights | Full Match Replay

Boks Office | Episode 10 | Six Nations Final Round Review

Aotearoa Rugby Podcast | How can New Zealand rugby beat this Ireland team

Beyond 80 | Episode 5

Rugby Europe Men's Championship Final | Georgia v Portugal | Full Match Replay

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

J
Jon 6 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

35 Go to comments
j
john 9 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

36 Go to comments
A
Adrian 11 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

36 Go to comments
TRENDING
TRENDING 'Crikey': Son of league legend Martin Offiah picked by England U18s 'Crikey': Son of league legend Martin Offiah picked by England U18s
Search