Riding the black wave

By WYNNE GRAY

"Jeez, I'll bet your blokes want to play the World Cup now," former Wallaby great Tim Horan mentioned laconically.

Obviously that cannot happen, but for most people the notion that the All Blacks would disembowel the Springboks and Wallabies on successive weekends would have seemed just as unlikely.

In the past fortnight they have put 50 points past both old foes.

After the All Blacks' 50-21 destruction of the Wallabies in stage one of the Bledisloe Cup, the challenges now will be about repeat performances, sustaining that surge in three weeks for the return Bledisloe game and rekindling it for the World Cup in less than three months.

To restate the philosophy of coach John Mitchell, it will be a gradual incline on a lengthy expedition.

Horan, one of the great Wallaby backs through the 90s, was in awe of the All Black backline after Saturday's slaughter in Sydney.

He thought the opening Tri-Nations win in Pretoria was the best he had seen from the All Blacks in a decade. After the Wallabies were wasted, he had to reassess.

"Walter Little, Frank Bunce and Co were very powerful and great in contact, but these guys are more dangerous," he said. "Look at Joe Rokocoko. He is so quick that if you give him any room, like Wendell Sailor did when he sat on his heels, he is gone.

"With Carlos Spencer, they also use the width of the park so well, it is great to watch."

Sailor had a forgettable test.

The Wallabies, with a strong breeze, had parity until the wing was sinbinned for taking Mils Muliaina out in mid-air.

Two tries were conceded while Sailor fretted sideline, the Wallabies lost the initiative, confidence and the first of the twin Bledisloe Cup tests.

"I just had a brain explosion," Sailor said. "I was watching the ball the whole time and was in two minds what to do."

A bit like the Wallaby backline defence, Sailor made the wrong choice. But he was magnanimous in defeat. "I think that All Black backline is the best - fullstop - I have faced in league or union."

All Australia managed to win on a blustery evening at Homebush was the pre-match woodchopping contest.

The All Blacks' swaggering victory was a superb counterpoint to the humiliation of the Kiwi league team the night before. And the path to their success was much the same as the Kangaroos' method - pace, pressure, width and expression.

"If you give them turnover or free ball, they make you pay," wistful Wallaby coach Eddie Jones observed.

While his problems are mounting, the All Black dramas are reducing, despite the myopic whinging of some disenchanted groups.

Of course there are deficiencies; every team has them.

After the severe schedule last month and the inspection of most in the squad, the All Blacks have dismantled their game and repackaged it for stage two of the season.

The greatest complications are selectorial. Injuries are negligible, with Spencer suffering a slight groin strain, Richie McCaw a sore ankle and Doug Howlett a tender leg.

The clamour about Christian Cullen must have been dulled by Muliaina, the call for Andrew Mehrtens' return repelled by Spencer and Aaron Mauger.

Mauger is only 22, but has returned from a painful foot problem to play with great aplomb. His instincts, timing and footballing brain have brought a broader dimension to the brilliance around him.

Not that he lacks flair, as he showed when he danced and jinked to the tryline to seal the half-century of All Black points.

The Wallabies expected a high-paced test and chose speedy loose forwards and backs as a counter. They could not cope, and there was almost an accepting reaction from the Wallaby supporters in the 82,096 crowd.

In contrast, the All Blacks' progression has been visible since the rust against England and the unsettled moments against France.

The fix-it sheet read set-piece, support play, backline cohesion and alignment. Not all has been remedied, but there have been considerable advances compared to the slide of Australia and South Africa.

Lock Chris Jack fingered this test as one where the All Blacks could convince the public they were on the right trail.

Captain Reuben Thorne predicted his side's plans would not alter to counter the Wallaby selections because they were confident they could prevail with their own methods.

Those statements became even more powerful on Saturday night as the All Blacks earned the first leg of the Bledisloe Cup double.

Using a horse-racing metaphor, Jones had spoken of teams judging their run towards the Melbourne Cup in November. He likened Saturday to the McKinnon Stakes, but his side must seem like donkeys compared to the New Zealand thoroughbreds.


The Joe Rokocoko File

Test debut, against England, no tries.

Second test, against Wales, two tries.

Third test, against France, three tries.

Fourth test, against South Africa, two tries.

Fifth test, against Australia, three tries.