SUNDAY SPECIAL: Great Scott locks up the Bledisloe
Eddie Jones under pressure and Rating the ratings.
Like the legendary Rough Habit in the Stradbroke, have the All Blacks timed a World Cup rails run to perfection?
In the space of three Rugby Championship matches, that has turned from wishful thinking to a valid question; a real live possibility.
There is an obvious comeback, which Marc Hinton outlined in Stuff.
Clearly, we must take it all with a grain of salt. Argentina and Australia are no Ireland and France. They have a lot to fix as they head towards the World Cup. They look, at this stage, like pretenders, rather than contenders, even if the draw is weighted in their favour.
South Africa, you just know, will be highly competitive at the Cup. But the All Blacks caught them majorly underdone in Auckland, and, again, it would be foolish to read too much into that emphatic victory at Mount Smart Stadium. They, more than anyone, understand the wisdom of keeping your powder dry in World Cup years.
While it can’t hurt to retain some perspective, his “perspective” also needs to be put in perspective.