KEY POINTS:
The All Blacks' quest for a Grand Slam success has passed the halfway stage with the late win at Munster. So far so good.
What strikes me about this All Black team is the recent development of the likes of Tony Woodcock, Brad Thorn, Ali Williams, Richie McCaw,
Rodney So'oialo, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith and Mils Muliaina. This group have truly become better players and leaders than anything seen in recent years.
Crucially, McCaw has lost the "aw shucks" country boy persona and is now just as cunning in leadership as he has always been with his general play. Woodcock has always been quality but now he too has a ruthless touch which has always been an integral part of the great All Blacks.
Williams and Thorn are the odd couple at lock. Vastly different personalities but with a bond and mutual trust which works against the best. So'oialo is McCaw's eyes and ears when things get tough.
Before the tour I was concerned about Carter's lack of play and his expanding off-field ventures. I was wrong. Carter has fitted straight back into top footy and has even added more consistency to an already polished game.
Muliaina is smart, cool and classy.
All these great rugby players have matured into a group of consistent leaders. This has made the All Blacks of 2008 a pretty awesome unit.
Sadly, behind this group there are still a few holes to fill and some of the second line would probably struggle if required to step into the big time.
It seems this group has a great spirit and unity which, despite on field success, may have been missing in recent years when the pressure came on. Truly great teams need a few world class players in each position - this group has a more than a few.
So the All Blacks have won all their matches in Britain so far - as we would expect. But so have the Springboks and Wallabies. You have to wonder: How good are the northern unions when rebuilding teams from the south can beat them in their own backyards?
I like the development of the Wallabies. Despite lacking real depth and losing some key players to injury and Northern Hemisphere cash, they have improved and addressed recent frailties.
Robbie Deans has introduced a lot of the structures which made the Crusaders so strong. The defence is now better - particularly when scrambling. The attack is smarter with the classic Deans style of playing from one sideline to the other to find space. The Wallabies have been good at winning in Australia but not very impressive elsewhere. Deans is changing this and we should watch their development with interest and maybe a bit of fear.
Despite being world champs, the Boks should be the most vulnerable yet they continue to win. They tour with less players and management than our lot and you never know what's happening politically within South African rugby. Of the three Tri-Nations teams, the Boks seem most likely to stumble. But given the quality of the opposition in the north, I wouldn't bet on it.
The wealth of world rugby is definitely in the north but seems to me it is limited to club level. The club owners want success and it's easy to use southern muscle rather than homegrown talent. Will the future be similar to football with extremely strong clubs in the UK but average international teams everywhere? The toothless IRB should be very wary of this trend.
What has the Munster game proved? Munster was a team missing about 10 frontline players on international duty. Apparently they only trained as a team two days before the match.
The All Blacks started as a second-string line-up and maybe ended as third-stringers.
The quality of the rugby, particularly from the All Blacks, was average at best. And yet hands up who thought it was the best game of the tour? Well, me for one. It had passion, atmosphere, theatre and the unknown. The IRB say they want more - so it seems do the public.
Sadly, I suspect that the national unions and their management - especially the coaches - regard games such as Munster as a nuisance so they are likely to be kept to a minimum. Henry is still scarred by the Lions tour of Australia when he believes the midweek games diluted his winning of the tests. This week he will be grouchy about the lack of preparation time before Wales caused by the Munster diversion. In 2005, Clive Woodward treated midweek matches as a necessary hassle on the Lions NZ tour.
Remember the stupid situation of the team bunkered at the Hilton in Auckland and dispatching a few dirt-trackers to the provinces usually returning straight after the match in their chartered plane - absolutely no contact with the locals. Mind you, we were just as bad, with teams like Auckland and Wellington not having their All Blacks available.
So, unless a sugar daddy such as adidas has some influence, don't hold your breath for a repeat of the magical Munster men playing the All Blacks anytime soon.
