John Drake: Fix the forwards to get out of this hole

COMMENT

Tonight's game is a hard one to pick. Selection, for me, is the most interesting aspect.

The New Zealand coaches have been bloody-minded in going with the team who played badly against Australia.

They are more or less saying: "You dug yourselves into this hole, now get out of it."

The French will be interesting. They are putting out a team with many of the players who performed well against us in Christchurch.

We lost it in the forwards against Australia. That is one area I will be especially keen to look at.

In recent years we have gone down in crucial games because our forwards have not been good enough.

We have tended to overlook the work that needs to be done up front. Too often we see the forwards as a means of starting the game and then getting on with it. But you can't have the razzmatazz from the glamour boys in the backs if the forwards can't do their job.

We are happy to glamorise the glittering stuff from Doug Howlett, Joe Rokocoko and the like, but we should also pay tribute to the hard work done in the past by players such as Olo Brown, Steve McDowell, Zinzan Brooke and Sean Fitzpatrick.

The biggest lesson for me from this tournament is that we must place a lot more emphasis on forward play, so we can compete when the pressure comes on.

Halfback Steve Devine's selection is confusing, but suggests we will again be going wide early. Let's hope the forward platform is set first.

I thought they would have replaced Leon MacDonald at centre. He did not play well against Australia and is going to Japan.

It again surprises me that our vice-captain, Tana Umaga, can't get a run.

I also wonder why they haven't given Ben Atiga a chance. Why take him if there was no intention of playing him, except for 10 minutes in pool play?

What has Ma'a Nonu done wrong?

Perhaps the most interesting act has yet to be played at this World Cup. Tomorrow's media conference in Sydney, where the NZRFU will lay it on the line over coaching, promises plenty. I assume they will complete a full review of the season before any action.

If they are going to go on without John Mitchell - and his contract is up after tonight's game - I can see three standout candidates in Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Peter Sloane, who have shone as coaches.

But all that is in the future. Let's get the job done tonight and worry about that later.

I can't say we are going to win well. I hope that is the case, but the French can be a very unpredictable team.

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