Newly named All Black Leicester Fainga'anuku and team mate David Havili, talk training camp and the up coming game against the Irish. Video / NZ Herald / Suppiled
OPINION:
1. The novel coronavirus Covid-19
We might have given up on Covid-19, but it ain't giving up on us. Not even the All Blacks, who I'm sure much of the country mistakenly believed were immune to coronaviruses, monkeypox and the common cold.
Despite the natural healing powers of Powerade,however, a few coaches and a few players have caught the spicy cough, throwing into disarray the All Blacks' preparations for Saturday's first test against Ireland.
Well, maybe not disarray, most of the squad is still available — for now. But the preparations are quite far from array, with Brad Mooar taking charge of the team and Joe Schmidt answering an emergency SOS.
Until this week, if the average fan was asked to pick Mooar from a lineup, they probably would've needed (sorry) Mooar help (sorry again).
All Black captain Sam Cane at training ahead of the first Test. Photo / Getty Images
We can only hope the players recognise his authority and resist the urge to run wild, like schoolkids with a reliever. But given the sheer complexity of rugby coaching, Mooar and his men have a lot to learn.
2. Defeat will turn up heat
Well before that pesky second line appeared on their RAT tests, the All Blacks coaching staff was already under pressure, and by coaching staff I of course mean Ian Foster.
If ever a coach desired the utter banality of a rusty but ultimately effective first-test-of-the-season performance from his side, Foster was that uninspiring figure.
The kind of performance to earn a pass mark — three or four tries, a couple more butchered, post-match platitudes about having plenty to work on — and allay concerns about job security for one week at least.
Instead, Foster gets a different kind of banality. Isolation, Zoom meetings, watching rugby on TV, baking bread if that's still a thing.
It's now a no-win situation for the coach. If the All Blacks win, good job overcoming the obstacles but let's see what Foster can do. And if they fail to overcome the obstacles, Foster and his side will be facing the unthinkable prospect of a home series defeat in each of the next two tests. Plus, he has Covid.
3. Midfield in a muddle
If they were forced to pick a position to be beset by Covid days before the first test of the year, midfield wouldn't have been the All Blacks' first choice. (An outside back, they could spare.) David Havili was set to start at second five-eighth alongside Rieko Ioane, but any certainty in selection belied the questions within the centres.
Havili had a cracking Super Rugby Pacific final, but is his combination with Ioane the long-term answer looking ahead to the World Cup? How ready is Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to step up to test rugby? Is Foster really going to ignore the case put forward by Jordie Barrett to claim the No 12 jersey? Why did Conrad Smith and Ma'a Nonu have to get old?
All the uncertainty will only brighten the spotlight on Beauden Barrett, who has previously shown that having a capable five-eighth partner is key to unlocking an obstinate defence.
And if there's one thing the Irish can promise, it's being tough to break down. Just ask the English.
Beauden Barrett runs through drills with Aaron Smith at All Blacks training ahead of the first test against Ireland. Photo /Getty Images
4. Irish ain't only lucky
Previously a highly-rated defence coach with the Lions and Ireland, Andy Farrell has ensured the tourists boast one of the world's best and most organised defences, capable of producing a line speed the All Blacks have in the past struggled to counter.
What's more, Ireland are now used to upsetting the All Blacks. The fear factor is gone; they're accustomed to facing down the haka before emerging on top.
The Wallabies might never again win at Eden Park, but why would Ireland care if the All Blacks are unbeaten at the venue since 1994? In recent years they've tipped over the All Blacks in two countries, so why not add a third?
It's not like an undercooked home side will be backed by the type of parochial support that Tonga enjoyed at Mt Smart Stadium last Saturday.
A strong Irish start and the mood at Eden Park will be like the Super Rugby final all over again, only this time the night won't end with Scott Robertson breakdancing on the turf. Maybe just fist-pumping in his lounge.
5. Sending the wrong message
Who will be afraid of the All Blacks if they drop a test at home to Ireland? Certainly not South Africa, set to host Foster's side for two tests in August. And certainly not their likely quarter-final opponents at the World Cup, ie, Ireland or South Africa.
The Kiwi rugby public might be rightly wary of the hosts at next year's tournament, but there's one way for the All Blacks to avoid yet more World Cup heartbreak at the hands of the French: fail to advance far enough to face them in the knockout stages.
Losing in South Africa would be a minor blow, unlikely to leave many mental scares more than a year away from the big dance in France. Lose to Ireland at home, however, and you can expect the Irish to start any World Cup meeting confident of victory.
Just like you can expect this column to disappear from the internet when the All Blacks ease to a 3-0 series victory.
