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HSBC SVNS 2 2026
Sao Paulo

Thursday

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23:05

Rugby World Cup

Sure, Sam Cane’s no Richie McCaw, but who is?

By Hamish Bidwell

13 Aug 2023

Sam Cane of the All Blacks leads the team out ahead of The Rugby Championship & Bledisloe Cup match between the Australia Wallabies and the New Zealand All Blacks at Marvel Stadium on September 15, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

You can tell the All Blacks are suddenly Rugby World Cup contenders.

Yes, with deft timing, English rugby expert Stuart Barnes has opined that captain Sam Cane isn’t worthy of a place in New Zealand’s best loose trio and could be an impediment to the team’s success in France.

It’s not an argument without merit. But one that’s been had and lost – depending on your point of view – meaning Cane will continue to lead the All Blacks out during the tournament, fitness permitting.

If you follow politics in New Zealand, you’ll be aware the main opposition party appears poised to unseat the government, in October’s general election. As poll after poll paints a dispiriting picture for the incumbents, out roll the media think pieces suggesting the opposition leader is a liability and should be rolled.

It’s an attempt to create instability where none exists.

And so it is with Barnes and Cane.

Look, I’m not an enormous Cane enthusiast and have never pretended to be.

But I accept he’s a fixture in the All Blacks’ first-string side and it’ll only be an absence of durability that changes that.

Either way, I don’t see his presence or absence as being a big determinant in the Rugby World Cup outcome.

Rugby World Cup

Pool A

BP T

BP-7

Total

France

Italy

Namibia

New Zealand

Uruguay

Pool B

BP T

BP-7

Total

Ireland

Romania

Scotland

South Africa

Tonga

Pool C

BP T

BP-7

Total

Australia

Fiji

Georgia

Portugal

Wales

Pool D

BP T

BP-7

Total

Argentina

Chile

England

Japan

Samoa

If the All Blacks are to recover from three or four fairly underwhelming years of footy – and unexpectedly be crowned world champions again – I sincerely doubt it’ll be because of whoever’s wearing the No.7 jersey.

As I’ve written before, the team’s prospects depend on the authority of their tight-five and the shots called by halfback Aaron Smith and first five-eighth Richie Mo’unga.

If the engine room fires and the playmakers are smart, then the All Blacks have a legitimate shot at the title. But if the All Blacks can’t compete in the set pieces and are without vigour at the breakdown, then there won’t be a flaming thing Smith and Mo’unga can do about it.

In that sense, Cane is a peripheral figure. A guy to run out onto the pitch first, speak at press conferences and contribute to the overall culture of the team.

It’ll be Smith, Mo’unga and whatever combination of locks Sam Whitelock, Scott Barrett and Brodie Retallick running the show on the paddock.

The other part is there is no blindingly obvious – or demonstrably better – alternative to Cane on the openside.

Ardie Savea is ensconced at No.8 and Dalton Papalii doesn’t demand selection at 7.

So, in the same way I dismiss the idea that Christopher Luxon should be rolled as leader of the opposition National Party, so I roll my eyes at Barnes’ assertions about Cane.

Sure, Cane’s no Richie McCaw, as Barnes points, but who is? Talk about stating the obvious.

McCaw sits among the all-time greats, while Cane will be remembered as a fine man who did his best. It’s chalk and cheese.

The All Blacks are a team on the rise and going after the skipper only shows the rest of the world are worried about it.