Ten things that could doom the ABs

Colin Slade is the All Blacks' weak link in many fans' eyes. Photo / Brett Phibbs

We've heard plenty of reasons for optimism but what about those for doubt? Chris Rattue presents 10 things that could bring down the All Blacks.

1) Boredom.
The All Blacks are in the Pool of Sleep Easy. Too easy. They've got to get themselves all worked up to play (drum roll) Namibia - cue heart warming stories about rugby in a little African state - and next stop Georgia, with attendant yarns about Soviet tractors being used as scrum machines.

I'm all for cheering the underdog, but the fact is there are teams in the World Cup who would get cleaned up in the ITM Cup. So set your alarm clocks for the quarter-finals troops and hope that the All Blacks haven't gone to sleep by then.

2) A tweet.
To be fair, the All Blacks are probably less susceptible to inappropriate social media activity than a few other sides especially with Israel Dagg and Cory Jane unfriended by Steve Hansen and co. But if a couple of Totally Committed All Blacks - yes Jane and Dagg - were capable of getting on the late night sauce during the 2011 tournament then anything is possible.

The 2015 World Cup standby backs Jane and Dagg remain the obvious Social Media risks but that doesn't mean there aren't other twitchy fingers. All it takes is that one stray thought, that burst of adrenaline and whakco...SCANDAL. I'm surprised someone hasn't designed an app to deal with this.

3) Jarryd Hayne
It's always good to mention Jarryd Hayne at the moment. And he does have the potential to bring the All Blacks down ratings-wise this week when he dons his suit in anger for the San Francisco 49ers.

4) Colin Slade
Sladey is the weakest link in a lot of people's eyes. This is his cross to bear. It's as if people need a way of calming their World Cup nerves by having someone to pick on while they wait for the action to start. I keep meeting people who do not trust Slade as a No. 10 and turn red with rage at the thought of "Sladey" turning up on the wing.

Maybe it's the company I keep but it's hard to work out if the detractors think he will fail, or actually want him to fail. We're a funny lot, sports fans. But there's definitely something about Sladey that bothers certain people, even though he's probably a bit better than the guy his critics seem to see.

5) Something weird that you couldn't dream up.
It's happened before. Just saying.

6) Another team plays better than they do.
It's happened before. Just saying.

7) The haka.
What the heck are our rugby scientists up to, with renewed suggestions the haka is endangering the All Blacks' opening quarter. There has been a lot of research into scrums, lineouts, kicking, etc etc yet nothing substantial in this regard.

Surely there should be studies done on heart rates during the haka, how long it takes to bring them back to normal, what kind of thought patterns go on, does one haka produce a better start than another. The All Blacks could rest and rotate the hakas between World Cups and see what happens.

8) Something weird that you just couldn't dream up.
Felt it was worth mentioning again. This subject (or subjects) unknown will become part of the national consciousness for centuries to come. It's quite exciting just thinking about it.

9) France.
It's happened before.

10) A hoodoo.
This isn't necessarily a bad thing. New Zealand rugby needs stuff to angst over. An inability to win the World Cup away from our shores is the perfect tonic. We could spend the next 20 years in distraught bliss, tearing ourselves apart over the bounce of the ball on foreign soil.