Aisle be Back: All Blacks on tour

Above: The All Blacks play Ireland this weekend. Photo: Google Images.

Just imagine if that England try had been scored in the closing moments of the Twickenham thriller.

It wouldn’t have really changed anything but it would have been treated as if it had.

So, setting aside all the furore over the TMO and whether the offside call was correct – and 95 per
cent of that is fuelled by partisan bias, as these things usually are – you’re looking at something like this.

For the All Blacks, a dose of self loathing and soul-searching, coupled with a new blowtorch being
put on Beauden Barrett, despite his faultless effort off the kicking tee (and that droppie).

There’d be a list of other players pinpointed as too young, too old, and the coaches would be written off as suddenly past it.

There’d of course be the doubts over the tactical approach, and the dreaded rush defence.
And there’d be an epitaph that the rest of the world had worked out the All Blacks.

For England, there’d be huge lift in self-belief, a fair dose of bombast, and a conviction that they’d
turned the corner. From where they were 12 or 6 months ago, a startling transformation.

So when you get the result we got, there’s elements of all the above still swirling around.

But the All Blacks can also more convincingly believe themselves that there are big positives – for
example, that they’ve again worked their way out of a dire situation to win, something a team has to learn to do.

And England would have grounds for self-examination. As to why for example they couldn’t build on that runaway start, and essentially could not eke out just the few more points they needed.

It’s unfortunate that all the narratives are framed with the World Cup in mind, but of course they
are.

And something I’ve harped on before, but using these games as firm guides to next year is uncertain ground.

Anyone who has observed the All Blacks in recent years should take as a given that they will be
looking to again kick on tactically in 12 months – having largely but not exclusively run the ruler over their likely extended squad. Hard work to do when you are the most scrutinised side on the planet.

So as fascinating as these Northern tests are, they are not the final word. Pretty much the one
constant is that England and other Northern hemisphere sides will be competitive, and more than a handful on the day. Whenever and wherever that day is.

++++++++

No 1 v No 2. A decade ago, the idea that the No 2 would be Ireland would have had you laughed out of the Guinness Brewery.

But here we are, and who wouldn’t want to be in Dublin this weekend. Not somewhere I’ve been
yet, which is shocking given my Irish heritage.

This of course has the great subtext – among many - that whoever loses the World Cup opener
between New Zealand and South Africa will almost certainly end up playing Ireland in the quarters.

But put that aside, and enjoy the heavyweight bout of the year.

+++++++

It’s terrific to see the Women’s Rugby World Cup is going to be hosted in New Zealand.

I’ve got the feeling these matches are going to be very well supported, and if the Black Ferns and
(say) England wind up reprising their epic from the last Cup, in front of a packed Eden Park, it would be a great advert on the international stage.