Opinion: Sydney loss godsend as reality kicks in

All Black Daniel Carter

WE'RE IN a state of what I have a sneaky suspicion is organised chaos among the top dogs in international rugby.

That is, things seem to be in disarray but those who are in charge blissfully know exactly where they're at and what needs to be done to bring their houses in order.

In the big-ups department, the Wallabies have suddenly become world beaters while the diplomatic corps will have you believe they are pencilling in the Pumas for the World Cup semifinals.

Conversely, the All Blacks, to their horror, seem to have discovered halfway through a mock exam that their ballpoint pen has run dry, with no spares in the pencil case.

The Springboks, if the Rugby Championship verdict is anything to go by, can't seem to pull off a trick in the sandpit during play lunch.

Oh, and don't get me started on the Silver Ferns beating the Diamonds at the Netball World Cup in Australia.

But I digress.

My preoccupation is with tonight's Bledisloe Cup match against Australia at Eden Park, Auckland.

No doubt the bookmakers will be rubbing their hands with glee all the way to England but what can we make of tonight's result?

Nothing, actually. Absolutely nothing. Any results leading up to the crowning of the 2015 World Cup champions will be coincidental.

It'll make as much sense as ABs winger Julian Savea showing off his hip-hop moves to Auckland University students this week in lieu of some slick stepping on the paddock, especially after Charles Piutau and Nehe Milner-Skudder have put their A into G.

Nevertheless, Israel Dagg's airline gig with Stan Walker is perhaps an indicator that the Magpies utility back knows something we don't but coach Steve Hansen seems equally excited about Waisake Naholo's miraculous recovery, thanks to some Fijian medicine, following a broken leg.

Tonight the coaches will tap peripheral starting XV players on the shoulder to remind them of the importance of breaking out of their cocoons.

The game score at the final whistle will be like a barcode on a grocery item - its price will only be relevant to the weekly budget relative to other items on the next shopping list.

Will, for example, the likes of Dan Carter, Conrad Smith, Tony Woodcock, Keven Mealamu, Luke Romano, Sonny Bill Williams and Owen Franks make the starting XV, if not the cull for the World Cup?

Two missed conversions from wide out, just as many dud restarts, an overcooked touch finder - none of them look good on Carter's mid-term report after he missed classes for a good part of the year. Frankly, Carter's resume bears a litany of cases where he has buckled under pressure, never mind his recent affliction of flicking hospital passes to avoid tackled situations towards a fairy-tale farewell after the World Cup, to build his pension funds in France.

Sympathetic scribes and soothe sayers' tributes to an ageing Crusader only serve to mask the inevitable - Lima Sopoaga has sounded the death knell, at least of any hopes he may harbour of making the starting XV in pivotal cup clashes.

I'll be the first one to put my hand up to confess I got it wrong with captain Richie McCaw.

His durability is the envy of many but how is his presence detrimental to who plays what fiddle in the engine room.

I rendered games against Samoa and Argentina irrelevant. Last Saturday's loss in Sydney, I believe, is godsend because individuals have been guilty of riding the euphoria of collective successes.

Tonight's game will offer Hansen and assistant Ian Foster a modicum of clarity before the ritual of planting "unlucky" stickers on those who miss out.

For Shag and Foss, Wallaby coach Michael Cheika and Springbok counterpart Heyneke Meyer, today's test is only one side of the Rubik's cube.

For argument's sake, All Blacks who look comfortable against the Wallabies may not necessarily be the right fit for the Boks, England or France for that matter.

Any more than Cheika is naive enough to conclude his tinkering is done on last Saturday's performance. If anything, tonight's six changes to the line-up is an endorsement of where his mind is parked.

The worrying thing for the ABs is that the Ockers were far from flawless in many respects.

Nick Phipps, Bernard Foley and Drew Mitchell looked like misfits and Tevita Kuridrani needs to be more assertive.

Nic White, akin to TJ Perenara, Malakai Fekitoa and Kurtley Beale, were injected too late to make any conclusive statements.

ABs halfback Aaron Smith, like Ma'a Nonu, will have to watch his tackles amid war cries but, also, he needs to realise that sometimes less can mean more.

Smith, Kieran Reid and Hansen don't become bad oil just because of one stumble.

My bet is Hansen and Cheika can hold a full house in their hands but maintain a poker face going into the World Cup.

Win or lose tonight, they can call the bluff of other World Cup contenders simply by regulating how much they want to display in what has been, effectively, a dress rehearsal of sorts.

For the record, strip the facade of team and the Boks start looking ominous as individuals waiting for Meyer's signal to weave their magic.

You see, one trinket (Rugby Championship) has been chucked into the toy tidy for another year and another (Bledisloe Cup) will end up there around 9.30 tonight.

No bling will mesmerise rugby faithful more than the Webb Ellis Trophy.