Wayne Shelford: All Black domination needed from the start

Kieran Read looks to off load to Ritchie McCaw Photo / Ron Burgin

Opinion

The All Blacks are good enough to win Sunday's semifinal against Australia, especially if they have the belief and start with a hiss and a roar.

But I'm not going to ooze confidence for the sake of it - this is the sharp end of the World Cup and we have to be realistic, which means accepting a few worrying signs in the camp.

This is the moment for the All Black forwards to put it all on the line; to leave everything they have on the field. They can't afford to allow Australia a head start.

The pack must dominate at scrum, lineout and everywhere else from the word go, and I'd strongly recommend they use the pick and go through the middle. They did this successfully in the second half of the last Tri-Nations game.

This is also the time for Ma'a Nonu, our most dangerous linebreaker, to cause havoc and I just wish he'd stop using the silly kicks that have appeared in his game.

Daniel Carter is the only player we have with the ability to use the short kicks. We either kick long, or get Nonu running hard at them, and it drives me crazy the way he squanders the ball with his new habit.

On to the breakdown. Robbie Deans has vastly improved Australia's technique, and it is a facet which worries me about the All Blacks.

I think young Matt Todd may have been called into the All Black camp to copy what David Pocock does for the Australians so the All Blacks can practise their clean outs without knocking one of the squad members around. Todd would have needed plenty of padding and a helmet. Either that, or Richie McCaw's foot injury is a lot worse than we have been told.

Maybe age has caught up with the All Blacks in this department, because the Australians are getting to the ball quicker. Over the past year, our ball presentation has become poor whereas the Australians do this really well.

Under Deans, Australia are a technical side. They are winning six or seven turnovers a game led by Pocock, and are also slowing the ball down. In comparison, we hardly win any turnovers. Unfortunately, I feel Kieran Read, who does so much of the donkey work, is two or three games away from full match fitness.

The loose forward combination on scrum defence also fell short against Argentina when the Pumas got inside Read - although this was probably a one-off error. Still, this added to the feeling that, partly due to injuries, the co-ordination isn't quite right yet.

Our flankers head wide from scrums which means Read cleans up the inside runners, but he got a bit too wide himself. There is only a metre in getting things right or wrong at that level.

On a final note, I'll emphasise the importance of Nonu firing on all cylinders as a ball runner. He can be the matchwinner, but only if he forgets about the tricky kicks.