All Blacks Samuel Whitelock, Ben Smith and Kieran Read. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks Samuel Whitelock, Ben Smith and Kieran Read. Photo / Photosport
Sounds daft, maybe, but watching Germany being bitch-slapped 2-0 by South Korea to depart the World Cup, brought to mind the All Blacks.
Specifically, an All Blacks' team at the frayed edge of their once considerable powers and their exit from the 1991 Rugby World Cup at the hands of Australia.
Yes, it may sound completely unrelated and illogical cross-code angst of the worst kind but the parallels raised a small red flag about the 2018 mob.
The Germans, perennial achievers in football since Methuselah was a foetus, had lost their power and precision. They looked exactly like what they were – a champion team living off past merits; still talented but no real bite. The character was there but the expression was blank.
They were good at keeping the ball but not very good at scoring with it. It was like watching an aging magician for whom the spell has been broken; his rabbit falls out of the hat while he is still distracting the audience.
The Germans have a word for it: ablaufdatum (sell-by date). Their demise was particularly alarming because Germany had been my choice to win the tournament. They had astonishing depth and experience to navigate around injuries, yellow and red cards, suspensions and pressure.
They could almost have fielded two entire sides of quality without losing much in terms of performance. They just seemed too strong. Coach Joachim Low even left the old blokes from the 2014 World Cup win behind last year when a young German team won the Confederations Cup.
Thomas Mueller of Germany dejected. Photo / Getty
But he reverted to the seniors for this tournament and the reality was too many of the old dogs – Thomas Muller; the overly languid Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Matts Hummel and others – had lost their teeth.
A young lion like Manchester City's Leroy Sane – he of the blazing pace, goal-making and goal-scoring ability – was left at home but the predominant feeling was Germany had plenty of bullets in the magazine. Young striker Timo Werner replaced previous World Cup strikers Miroslav Klose and Lukas Podolski…but he wasn't the answer, not yet anyway.
What we're talking about is that almost imperceptible change, the barely-registering blip on the radar, as a world-class team quietly makes its way over the hill. So insidious is the creep of age and loss of cutting edge, even a world-class coach doesn't see it coming – and in spite of all the wise-after-the-event people out there now, there were precious few who accurately predicted the air had been let out of Germany's tyres.
It was the same in 1991. The All Blacks, like Germany, had won the previous World Cup and many players were backing up. There was some disquiet when the 1991 All Blacks lost to Australia in Sydney that year and then struggled to beat them 6-3 at Eden Park two weeks later.
But they hung on to the Bledisloe Cup. The prevailing sentiment was they had the strength and the experience to do the business in Britain.
At the time, I had written the Whetton brothers' biography Brothers In Arms, featuring Gary (captain of the 1991 team) and twin Alan, the skilled and respected blindside flanker. It was timed for the World Cup and, if I say so myself, sold faster than a petrol can and Donald Trump effigies in Mexico.
Right up until the time, that is, Australia beat the All Blacks 16-6 in the semifinal, outclassed two tries to none by a younger, more committed and efficient Wallaby team. Brothers In Arms then set all sorts of records in its headlong rush to the bottom of the bargain bins. Even if I say so myself.
Damian McKenzie of the All Blacks is substituted for Richie Mo'unga on debut. Photo / Photosport
That loss was a blow we didn't see coming; the one that does far more damage than when you tense for the impact. It spelled the end of All Black careers for many 1987 World Cup winners, including the Whettons, prop Steve McDowall, Bernie McCahill and Kieran Crowley, with Craig Innes heading to league and current selector Grant Fox retiring a year or two later.
Last year, a la the loss to Australia in 1991, the All Blacks lost in Brisbane. You suspect Lima Sopoaga's intercept pass and some poor kicking from hand may have affected his place in the first five-eighths' pecking order and maybe his decision to head overseas.
The All Blacks will get the chance to settle the matter in the upcoming Rugby Championship but the parallel remains.
You wonder too if there are not too many senior All Blacks approaching the end of their careers and/or visited a little too often by injuries and concussion. We're talking Owen Franks, Dane Coles, skipper Kieran Read, Brodie Retallick, Sonny Bill Williams, Ryan Crotty, Nehe Milner-Skudder and the recently-concussed Sam Whitelock.
The difference is that Steve Hansen and co have invested heavily in youth and depth. There have been too many successes to list them here, though we can nod vigorously in the direction of Jordie Barrett, Scott Barrett, Damien McKenzie and Richie Mo'unga. Like Germany, the All Blacks could easily field two entire, winning teams.
That said, there is not convincing depth at lock (though Scott Barrett's graduation to world-class this season helps), openside flanker, No. 8 and halfback, for example.
So, In Steve We Trust. In football, Brazil and Italy are the only two sides to win back-to-back World Cups. The All Blacks are the only rugby team to have done the same thing and are bidding to become the first to do the triple.
It remains to be seen if ablaufdatum might apply or whether the selectors will achieve that delicate balance of youth and experience.
