COMMENT
It's a reflection of the decline of Welsh rugby that, after the death of former IRB chairman Vernon Pugh, the most influential Welshman in the game may well be the journalist Stephen Jones.
Jones is knowledgeable, forthright and not averse to mischief-making. He particularly enjoys baiting New Zealanders - and why
wouldn't he, given how eagerly our media take the bait?
He professes to find little to admire in our fans, our stadia, our referees and our forward play. Particularly our forward play.
Despite his predilection for stirring, and hyperbole, Jones is sincere in his belief that our forward play has gone to the dogs. He's been saying it too strenuously for too long to be doing it just for fun.
So when he says the English players simply don't rate our forwards, we should take him at his word.
After all, according to Ian Borthwick, a New Zealand-born rugby journalist now based in France, neither do the French.
Who can blame them? The fact is that since 1997 All Blacks packs have struggled to physically impose themselves on halfway decent opposition.
The scrum has been a defensive rather than offensive operation and the dysfunctional lineout has proved stubbornly resistant to treatment.
A key to the Wallabies' superiority of late has been their superior work at the break-down.
Jones - and he's not alone - blames it on the Super 12, an entertainment brand that supposedly doesn't value boring old forward play. In the rush to please the broadcasters, we've forgotten that forward play is legitimised violence requiring the ruthless and scientific application of brute force.
An alternative explanation would be that great forward packs are built around great forwards - of which there's been a dearth lately.
By my reckoning 23 forwards were introduced to the All Blacks between the 1995 and 1999 World Cups. Most have fallen by the wayside; none would rate as genuinely world class.
Norm Maxwell, Anton Oliver, Taine Randell and Scott Robertson had their moments without sustaining serious claims to being the world's best in their positions. Reuben Thorne and Kees Meeuws may yet surprise the sceptics in both hemispheres. Forget the rest.
A symptom of the problem is that of the 16 forwards who went to the 1999 World Cup, Thorne is the only one still in the starting XV. Compare that with the English, several of whose forwards are playing in their third World Cup, having also been on a couple of Lions tours.
We've tended to focus on their age, losing sight of the fact that longevity at the top is the ultimate measure of an athlete.
The All Blacks' fate at this World Cup will probably ultimately be decided by the forwards rather than the backs.
The good news is that the post-1999 generation of forwards is significantly better than their immediate predecessors. We are now witnessing the evolution of a high-quality All Black pack.
The $64,000 question is whether it's already good enough to do the job.
COMMENT
It's a reflection of the decline of Welsh rugby that, after the death of former IRB chairman Vernon Pugh, the most influential Welshman in the game may well be the journalist Stephen Jones.
Jones is knowledgeable, forthright and not averse to mischief-making. He particularly enjoys baiting New Zealanders - and why
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