Despite an audacious rotation-policy, the All Blacks keep winning Test matches, easily beating South Africa 45-26 last Saturday.
Only three players – flyhalf Dan Carter, inside centre Luke McAlister and flanker Richie McCaw – had retained their starting positions in Pretoria.
From an Australian perspective, the rotation policy has the following implications:
·It is hard to compare form against the New Zealanders because no one outside the black-and-white bunker knows what the top side is. ·The All Blacks are winning even though player combinations must be impaired by the constant changes. ·The All Blacks have enviable depths across all positions.
Meanwhile, South Africa is having difficulty fielding one credible side, with fans in the republic calling for a new coach.
The Wallabies have already blooded new forwards to credible effect and with talented backs like Drew Mitchell and Sam Norton-Knight waiting in the wings, the future is looking much brighter.
However, there is still no world-class backup for either halfback George Gregan or flyhalf Stephen Larkham.
Despite calls for experimentation, a Wallaby loss in the final Tri Nations match in Johannesburg on September 9 would focus attention on the poor away record, raising doubts that could linger through to next year's World Cup in France.
After all, none of the teams the Wallabies will face on their spring tour – Ireland, Wales, Scotland and Italy – will match the Wallabies, so the yardstick remains the Tri Nations teams, with France and possibly England thrown into the mix.
If, as is expected, the Springboks lose again to the All Blacks this Saturday, their struggling coach Jake White will have only one lifeline, a dramatic victory against the Wallabies on Saturday week.
Consequently, the stakes are high. As well, fans would love to see the new-found Wallaby aggression unleashed on the brutal Boks.
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