Record Win for All Blacks - Wallabies Lift for a Draw?

41 points against England's 20 at Twickenham is exactly the result that the All Blacks were looking for. With a bit of feeling finally coming to the fore in the pre-match hype after accusations of racism were levelled at the Twickenham faithful, the game took on a bit of an edge that was only increased by the singing of "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" during the All Black performance of the haka. By full time, all doubts about this team had been suspended until their next outing, but are far from erased.

The doubts about the lineout have been shelved after a stellar performance at set piece time. The scrum went well, and with Robinson in charge of the lineout, it showed a vast improvement on the stuttering and often incompetant lineout the All Blacks mustered during the Tri-Nations. The selectors will be very pleased, but the All Blacks are not out of the woods yet - one good game does not win the World Cup and they will be well aware of this. Criticism of the lineout will need to be shelved, but rest assured it will be quickly dusted off and put back out there by a rugby watching public in New Zealand that demand nothing less than first place at RWC 2007.

As usual, the All Blacks scored all of their tries from counter attacking moves, and as such there are lingering questions over what will happen to the All Blacks when they come up against an opponent that doesn't turn over the ball to them so frequently. The turnovers come, in part, from continuing dominance at the break down, and New Zealand fans will be hoping that the All Blacks can retain this through the World Cup tournament next year. Barring injury to Ritchie McCaw, this dominance is likely to continue as he is clearly the classiest openside in the world at the moment. It is no exaggeration to say that New Zealand chances hang on the fitness and play of McCaw.

Coaches will also be pleased with the performance of Dan Carter, another key player for New Zealand who really stepped up to the mark for this match having been set to ride the rimu while Nick Evans was afforded the opportunity to get back into the game at the international level. Carter bagged 26 points in all, a wonderful performance by any assessment. His continued presence in the game in New Zealand is also key for All Black chances of success. The main cause for concern are three defensive lapses the English were able to exploit and the back line defence will need to be tightened up.

So, a lot still rests on the game against France next week. 6 days to prepare for the hostilities that await the All Black in Lyons from a French team that will be oh so desperate to erase the horror of their complete capitulation against the All Blacks that saw golden oldies no pushing scrums after the French forwards displayed the backbone of escargot. However, this is the bogey team for the All Blacks, they will be worked up and desperate to avoid another thrashing, wanting some revenge, and it will be armistice day...sounds like the All Blacks will have a game on their hands this time. Stay tuned.

Meanwhile the Wallabies may have lifted themselves to draw with Wales...at least if you believe the pre-match hype coming from the Welsh camp. The Wallabies, and Aussie public, of course are not buying into that, and are disappointed by lost opportunities to take the game. On the other hand the Welsh are acting as if the game was won - the commentators for instance were referring to saving the game by pushing the Wallaby scrum over and getting the feed to the next game in the dying stages of the match to "save the match". Securing a draw is not saving the match, you save the match when you win the game, not when you draw.

The overall result from the match wont please either team, but one suspects that both will be glad not to have lost at least. The Wallabies ought to have taken the game, but the forwards continue to perform poorly, and let down the back line that functioned well despite nearly every player playing in a new position. Chris Latham, one of my least favourite players, scored a remarkable solo try flirting with the side line and despatching at least 6 defenders. For video of the try click here. It was good stuff from Latham, an inspiring solo effort that unfortunately did not quite secure the win in the end, but certainly looked like doing it for the Wallabies at the time.

Giteau at halfback seemed to work against Wales. Gregan will not be in serious jeopardy, even though knuckles is hinting at this. The Wallabies do not have the depth to leave Gregan out from the RWC 2007, and it is extremely doubtful that they will have him riding the rimu when, even aside from the fact that he is the better halfback, he is also the better captain at the moment and can lead the team well. Make no mistake, Australia will be ready for the World Cup next year.

All in all a couple of good games this weekend, although the New Zealand vs England game was more interesting to watch and provided a better spectacle. Bring it on for next Sunday when the All Blacks take on France...huge game!