Editorial: Countdown to Rugby World Cup

So it begins.

There are 16 days to go. Just over two weeks.

Graham Henry has chosen the 30 men he thinks best capable of lifting the Rugby World Cup on Labour Weekend.

Whether or not his picks match those of all the armchair selectors out there, it doesn't matter any more.

These are the lads we need to rely on to do the job, because if they can't do it on home turf, with massive local support, and a head coach who has had seven years to get his winning plan in place, it may be a long time before the best team on Earth have the right to call themselves world champions.

And that's just not right.

The All Blacks' loss to South Africa at the weekend may have been a mere blip on the radar for some Kiwi sports fans, many of whom would have been still on a high after the Warriors' Saturday night away win over Penrith, which put them further into contention for league's big prize.

Yes, with the World Cup looming it makes sense to rest key players and avoid potential injuries on the South African battlefield. But what do you expect if you send what is essentially a B team to do an A team's job?

The risks were obviously weighed, but given the opportunity to test your team against one of the world's best sides ahead of the big event, shouldn't you take it with both hands and sprint towards the tryline?

Meanwhile, as the All Blacks prepare for the World Cup, so do hundreds of Rotorua volunteers who were yesterday kitted out in their new uniforms.

It's great that so many people want to be part of the excitement - one official told The Daily Post they'd had to turn people away.

With such enthusiasm as that shown by Sam Stevens in this story, visitors to Rotorua during the event who encounter the volunteers are sure to get a fantastic welcome and be left with a positive lasting impression of our region.