KEY POINTS:
Here is an earlier selection of Your Views:
Kiwi from Melbourne
I'm overly confident that the All Blacks will win at the World Cup this year. Graham and co. knows what it will take and have learned from the mistakes of previous years. The win against the Boks clearly shows the tremendous progress the All Blacks have made and will soon be firing on all cylinders come world cup time. It's a shame that all of our guys aren't playing. I'm hoping for a big win against the woeful, wobbling wannabies. It's a great feeling when you silence these loud mouth aussies. Yes, the wannabies claimed to have a plan to beat the Boks. But lost. By mid week, I'm sure they will have a plan to beat the number one side in the world. But they will lose. The big write up about Matt Dunning coming of age is a joke. A serious contender against our Carl? Give me a break. If John Connolly thinks for one second that his scrum will test our front row, then it's he that hasn't learned from their mistakes. Further more, the hit out on Saturday was just what the boys needed. A bit more battle hardened. Their confidence will be alot higher now, knowing that they can come from behind to take out the game. Their discipline was outstanding. Patience, incredible. Attack and back up, superb. Fitness, unbelievable. These qualities will get them home on Saturday and at the end of October.Go All Blacks!
Kiwi (Aspen)
Bollocks to Ackford. Give credit where it is due.Six nations teams have as much chance of wining the world cup as they do sneaking the sun past a French rooster.
Joeli Vidiri (Sydney)
Sure we may have lost the RWC the last 3 times, but I seriously believe we have the right mixture this time. Wow! what a bench ... to me it felt like the starting 15 were running back on everytime a reserve came on.The South Africans were gone by the 70th minute. Did you see anyone chasing Rocokoco (except for Jerry Collins)... no South African bothered 'cause they were all stuffed.That Steyn boy came crashing back down to Earth didn't he? There's more to rugby than just dropkicking the ball.
Vic (Perth)
Completely disagree. This fool is deluded. The AB'S played poorly for most of the game and made many unforced errors. Carter was absolute rubbish-- poor tactical and goal kicking.He was a non event as a backline organiser and should be dropped and replaced by Nick Evans.Mauger was also shite and should be dropped! However, our forward pack was magnificant and did not succumb to the power and biff of the Boks. This should be a warning to all other teams.Not only are the AB forwards highly skilled and disciplined ,they are also tough mothers and can take what ever their opponents can dish out. Our scrum demolished the Bok pack and our loosies were outstanding. Surely Troy Flavell has proven that he is a far superior player to Ruben Thorne. Flavells contribution cannot go unnoticed,his work rate and toughness gave our forwards a menacing hard edge that reminded me of AB forward packs of old. We all 'know that the ABs can only get better.They played poorly and still won. They must surely remain favourites for the WC by a long shot. Wide open my ass!
Band of brothers
we may have lost the semi finals and super 14 title to South Africa this year but our all blacks went back as a "band of brother's" and put the record straight Mr Ackford, that was a game of intensity at its best, the al lblacks should be getting paid as much as NFL players because they put on extravaganza performances and give the spectator value 4 money stuff and are show stoppers as they spoiled the South African celebrations, rugby is religion in New Zealand and we are passionate about our rugby and it all starts from grassroots/ That is why there is so much dept in New Zealand.
Tom (sydney)
Buhuhuhahahaha. Face it folks last world cup we were outright favourites with the magic of Spencer. The one before in 1999 we were overwhelming favourites with the magic of lomu. The one before in 1995 again we were favourites with the magic of merts. Enough of the past, now we are extreme favourites with the magic of the All Blacks. No one individual is depended on judging on Carters poor display against SA we still managed a gritty victory. So yes we will win this years world cup. Personally I hope we don't. Why? Because if we do then will the reconditioning regime be forced again in 2011 and discredit the super 14? Will SA and Aus do the same seeing that it worked for the AB's in 2007? What will the game come too? Already we see SA pulling players from this year Tri- nations? The game is dying here in Australia with union and AFL taking over and I suspect it might face it's death in SA as well with football now it's main game. So this hemisphere will be left with the All Blacks and the other hemisphere dominated with ex All Blacks. This reminds me of a certain dictatorship regime. World rugby domination is ours but the world is not watching rugby.
Passion
Paul Ackford's got a big mouth, he's still sobbing over the fact that the lions and his English teams got hammered in New Zealand 4 and 2 zip and is a one eyed sports writer that doesn't know how to take a beating lying down. Well. Mr. Ackford bring a world 15 to New Zealand and see how well you go against the all blacks, because all black rugby has dominated the game for many years even though we are not the world champions and every team that has won the world cup has been put back in their place. The next time they play the all blacks, winning statistics well it speaks for itself, tri nations 7 of 11, super 12-14 oh I have lost count, bledisloe cup victories oh we need a new disk,and sevens rugby title's and lions victories and grand slams, c'mon mr ackford pull your head in.The all blacks are a potent force as the experts have said New Zealand has dept and alot of it, with speed, flair, skills, vision which Ackford doesn't have and power and passion which New Zealand and South Africa share together, from grass roots rugby through to allblack rugby every club and school in New Zealand play like the all blacks- a fast and furious pace which is where we breed winners. Mr Ackford, we staunch rugby players in New Zealand know where the game is won and it's up front and that's where we won that game and the Boks know it and that we have game breakers right throughout the them and in the reserves and go a step further in the junior allblacks who just clean swept the pacific cup.
Mike (Sydney)
After watching the weekend's Tri-Nations Test, I am even more impressed than last year with the All Blacks. I don't think the South Africans could have been belligerent, more aggressive and more physical if they tried. It was the AB's first hard game of the season and it was with pride as I watched them absorb the Springbok punishment before raising the tempo in the last 15 minutes to strike with power, accuracy and pace. Awesome! You have to wonder about Akford's motivation here.
Polly
I'm a Kiwi living in Hong Kong and never miss an All Black game, if possible. The match was nail biting, the All Blacks were lucky to win, I've seen far better All Black teams in the past so they'll need to come up to scratch before the World Cup.
Mark
I have always believed that the AB's were on top to win this years world cup. The Test against France in Paris in 2005 was the turning point. I cannot believe that the South African team thought they just needed to show up at Durban's test and win just because they had 2 teams in this years Super 14 final. I never have believed that Super 12-14 should be used to predict the outcome of a test match.Acford's comments are amusing, and I was wondering if he was watching the same game or if he was watching a test match from the past. I agree with John Drake's comments and had this team had been 9 points behind a few years back, then yes we would have lost. And if you think we do not have depth than just look at the players in the Junior All Black team. If I was a coach of an international team, I would be very worried.
Mo (Auckland)
Rugby Worlds Cups are always wide open, that's what makes them the pinnacle of the Rugby World. The weekends test may well give the N.Hemisphere teams a glimmer of hope, but the test also had some potently ominous warnings as well. Those being the way the AB's ran the Boks into the ground in the last 15 minutes and the seamless transition of the reserves coming onto the field, and the fact that this was an away game after a lot of travelling. Jake White mentioned he needed to give guys like Steyn experience in test match's - That's what Henry & co did last year. Wow there are 30 -40 guys pushing for 30 spots at the RWC. I can't wait!
ungawa (Wellington)
Ackford seems to assume that the AB's are playing at their full potential now ... Sheesh - The spine tingling thing I took out of that game is that by the WC Final - the AB's will be playing with the intensity and pace they played the last 10 mins or so at in Durban - but for the whole game.
Jonty, Hicks Bay
Look, I already to you during the week; all you have to do is believe! I did, and look what happened - the ABs made the Boks look like a team with High School XV levels of fitness.My opinion on this particular topic? Sure, I'd say the World Cup is wide open; wide open grazing pasture for our boys to eat up the competition!
PJ (Hamilton)
Saturday's test demonstrated one the All Blacks key strengths - the quality of their bench (no other side can replace 5-6 players an hour into a game with those of - at least - equal ability). On the other hand, it showed that a fit and committed Springboks side can make life very difficult for them. Many appear to be attributing the win, in various degrees, to the All Blacks' reconditioning program. At this stage of the year this would an interesting conclusion - given that it was designed as an aid to winning the World Cup, rather than the Tri-Nations. There is no doubt that the Springboks lost the fitness battle on Saturday - the majority of them have played a full Super 14 campaign, followed by 4 tests - including a massive battle with Australia the week before. In comparison, the All Blacks are all as fresh as daisies, so that was a rather predictable outcome. However, come World Cup time, all of the competing players will have had a decent break from playing and plenty of preparation time. If (or, more likely, when) the All Blacks win the World Cup, it will be because they have a squad of 30-odd top class players and an excellent coaching & management team. All the re-conditioning program will have achieved was to increase the risk of major injuries when the returning players were thrust back into the Super 14, and help New Zealand to win the Tri-Nations.
Dan
Typical whinging pom a.k.a Paul Ackford! Ireland, Aregintina likely World Cup winners this year? What a joke! Can't believe you get paid to write about rugby!
PJ (Arch Hill, Auckland)
The All Blacks win over the weekend proves that South Africa can match it with us. South Africa will go away with the confidence that they can beat the All Blacks and if put in a similar situation again, they will not make the same errors. The All Blacks must make improvements if they are to win the World Cup this year.
Duncan (Melbourne)
Nothing gets up my nose more than the media giving it to the ABs when we win. I mean, it's like England doing a Twickers victory lap when they only lose by 3 or even draw. The world knows that it is hard to win away from home and the ABs do it more than any other team. To come off 3 ho-hum games into that intensity it was only through passion and pride that they only got one try in the first halve. Once we cottoned on that we needed to commit more at the breakdown to protect our ball and up the tempo it was game over. The ABs composure was a sign that the mental hurdles of 1999, and 2003 are not the issue they once were. We looked like winners from the first minute, and had they not got the intercept I reckon the Boks would have wilted 10 mins earlier. We have lots to work on, and we will do what we have to, but for some northern geezer to say, on the back of that performance, that any of those teams could beat the ABs at their best, he's got his head in the clouds! History tells us that the best team doesn't always win, but the best team at its best is unbeatable! We shall all see!
"Far from certainties", "not as good as we think" etc etc. I have not heard either of those things from Henry and Co. The only people talking us up as the best, and certainties for the WC is the same Northern writers that now want to retract their statements. I bet win or lose the WC these same writers will give us the big "told you so", talk about hedge your bets! I say shut up and play some rugby, that's all we want to do!
Durban
I think this Ackward guy is an idiot. The game against the Springbox was utterly dominated by the All Blacks. Possession, territory, rucks and mauls. Everything points to New Zealand winning the World Cup. The teams like Wales, Ireland and England do not have a chance. The All Blacks should have one this game against our team the Springboks and a poor pass from Mauger was the only thing that made us look good and get us points on the board. The ref was shocking allowing much to go against New Zealand. They beat us in our home of South Africa with limited build up and not much game time together. They will be unstoppable.
All Blacks Fan
You can see the sour grapes and hoping against hope in Paul Ackford's comments - clearly he is very jealous of the depth of rugby New Zealand has and hopefully will have for a long time. He's trying to boost his ego.
David
South Africa, sure definite contenders. France or Australia could upset the All Blacks on their day. Ireland, Argentina? I wouldn't put money on it mate. England and Wales, you must be joking.
Joseblues
People need to put Ackford's comments into perspective. He's never played in an England team that has beaten the ABs so obviously writing about it addresses his shortcomings. The quarters and the semis are the only games that seriously matter at RWC. The AB's showed in the weekend that rotation and reconditioning have worked. We now have a squad of depth from both the ABs, the Junior AB's and the Maori squads. With reconditioning we now have the ability to play our top line players in every game leading up to WRC so the planning for the last 12 months is coming to fruition. You cannot say that we're not prepared for this one, because Ted and the gang have managed this "campaign" leading up to WRC perfectly. Where are the critics of the two "R"s now? The WRC is wide open - for those contesting the final spot to meet the AB's in the Cup final.
Fili (Sydney)
Yes, it sure is wide open. The All Blacks leading the pack, followed by a wide open space which is that wide you would need a magnifying glass to spot the nearest challenger and it ain't the Springboks. With due respect, it's anyone's guess really.
The way the All Blacks fought back in that magnificent Test last weekend displayed what other rugby nations could only envy, a group of "reserves" who simply came on to get the job done - a wholehearted team effort, to be precise. And only the All Blacks could've bounced back the way they did, where they can adapt to any referee interpretations, to any hostile environment, to any attack thrown by the opposition, to any blatant cheap shots and professional fouls any team throws at them. They're simply unbeatable and should go on to achieve the greatest feat in sporting history, a winning percentage the likes of Manchester United, San Francisco 49ers, LA Lakers and Brazil could only die for, culminating to a well deserved World Cup victory. We're not getting ahead of ourselves but if this very "Your Views" question was definitely crazy enough, then this very response is certainly not. Go the All Blacks!
Dave Anderson
Well, why don't we broaden the possible WC contenders to Georgia and Uruguay and make it even more interesting? Rubbish. The only three serious contenders for this year's WC are NZ, SA and Australia. The rest of the World is miles behind. I still think SA are a real threat, but their latest strategy of resting their top players for the rest of the Tri-Nations tournament is a fundamental error, and may be their downfall. They should have been doing this in the Super 14 tournament, not in the Tri-Nations. At this time of year game play at the top level is critical. I still think the Wallabies have some surprises up their sleeve, and we all know what happens when we write them off!
Nick
Here we go again. Didn't we read similar comments before the last couple of World Cups? The fact is if any of the teams Mr Ackford mentioned had played the South Africans on Saturday they would have lost by up to 30 points. There was more intensity in this game than the SA v Aus game. Does he seriously think England, Australia or Wales's preparation is any further ahead than the All Blacks? Of course a number of the teams mentioned COULD win the World Cup. The winner will come down to correct selection, not choking. The All Black coaching staff have it right at present. My money is on them.
Paul Allen
So after one loss in the Tri-Nations, Jake White and the Springboks are effectively giving up on the whole campaign by announcing 20 players won't be coming to New Zealand for their return-leg match. Considering the truck-loads of manure which were upended on Graham Henry for pulling 20 players from the first half of the Super 14, I expect to see White sealed in a vat of his own filth for diluting the value of an even more important and valuable competition. To be fair, I can see the reasoning of both Henry and White. All the players suffer from extreme fatigue because the rugby season in our part of the world is so bruising and overcrowded. NZ opted to rest the players at the start of the season, South Africa's doing it in the middle. It's not hard to see why our finest All Blacks are so interested in moving to Europe, where they'll get triple the cash for half the effort. Shall we pelt them with dung as well?
Mal (Melbourne)
Ackford is a cabbage. Anyone who thinks Argentina, Ireland England or Wales has a chance would be far better off commenting on the world cup of tiddleywinks. Sounds more like wishful thinking than balanced sports journalism.
Danis (Auckland)
If anything, the win over the weekend has confirmed that the All Blacks are in a league of their own. With limited build up we still managed to travel to one of the hardest countries to win away at and squeeze out a tight physical come from behind battle. No other team in the world would have had a chance to win that game and it became a real psychological blow for the rest of the world cup pretenders.
WIll
I think Ackfords comments are more wishful thinking than fact. The sooner he realises that England fluked the last world cup the better his judgement will be.
Steve
I agree that the world cup is now wide open. We could easily have lost that game to South Africa, and since we are likely to face them in the final, then there is a huge chance of South Africa winning the cup. We are not the "superman" team our reputation makes the All Blacks to be. We are the best, no doubt, but there is every chance we could lose a match like the one over the weekend. But the only teams with a real chance are NZ, South Africa, France, and believe it or not Australia. I include Australia because they fought brilliantly against South Africa a week ago and almost won. Although they lack the depth, as long as they avoid injury they have a very experienced team, similar to England's experience four years ago. What's more is that they always seem to answer the critics in a world cup year, whereas the All Blacks seem to do the opposite.
Neill R
The RWC's been "wide open" for the last twenty years. Until we can get the monkey off our back, I don't know how anyone can call us "certainties". It won't stop us from being the team to beat though, no matter which way Ackford wants to dress it up.
Kiwi (Melbourne)
We all know Graham Henry is a cunning bugger. Steve Hanson gives nothing away. Wayne Smith said he has more tricks up his sleeve but all won't be revealed until September. Is the world up wide open? No. There will be 3 or 4 worthy contenders but gauging by past results, you simply can't go past the All Blacks as the team to take out the final. Yes, other teams can get better, but so can the All Blacks. They will simply start to perfect and tidy up all parts of their game. However, I feel that our line out maybe the only chink in our armour, but it is a work in progress, as shown against the Boks on Saturday. These media types like nothing more than trying to derail the All Blacks in any manner possible. They vomit out the same old crap every year. When they're proved wrong, they simply slide back under the rock where they came from, as will be the case at the end of October. So, all you negative, s..t stirring, low-life, maggot media writers - start vomiting! Go All Blacks.
Jason Harrison
Well Ackford is right, the World Cup is - of course - wide open. It all comes down to three knockout games. If the All Blacks have an off day and the opposition, as they usually do against the ABs, raise their game, it's all over. Let's be honest, unlike yesterday, we're not going to get out of jail every time. It would also help if the selectors finally realised that Aaron Mauger is highly over rated. The only thing he's done in his last two big games is give tries to the opposition. McAlister has so much more talent it's not funny. Still, it was at least encouraging to see Toeava have a pretty good game. At least now when the ball heads his way I'm confident he'll at least catch it half the time.
Phil
I think Paul Ackford is perhaps being a little optimistic if he thinks that Ireland, Argentina or Wales are back in with a chance to win the world cup this year, and to suggest that England are even back in the running is just pure theatre! But what can you expect from rugby writers from the Northern Hemisphere, the test match between the AB's and the Boks over the weekend was a step up from anything that England is capable of ever! With intensity comes errors and for Mr Ackford to suggest that the cup is wide open is not having much of a rugby brain. The cup is open, yes! But there is only 1 of 3 teams that I can see winning it, 2 of them played in the second Tri-Nations match over the weekend, the other is the Australians. We all know you can never write them off. 3 teams all from the Southern Hemisphere, doesn't take a rocket scientist to work it out Mr Ackford. Wake up!
Rugby Fan 101
Nice comments from a Northern lad clinging to hope. Fact is the Durban test was a slobber knocker and one with huge intensity. Both teams made errors, things that occur in a game so tight and intense, yet the pure skill and fitness displayed by the All Blacks was simply outstanding, and this is what separates them by miles against especially the English and to lesser amounts, the Welsh and Irish.
Rodney Browne
The Boks and the Blacks may not be there yet but apart from Australia and possibly France the rest are on another planet. The Northern Hemisphere teams will struggle as they will not have had the continuity of the Southern Teams. Recently I spoke with a member of the current English team and he expressed concern that a weaker team was sent to South Africa. He went on to say that several of the team had thought prior to the tour that it was a mistake and following the tour had felt truly dejected. He speculated that the Northern Hemisphere teams were 3-4 years behind the Southern Hemisphere teams, most had not improved since the last World Cup. Unofficially many of the players believed Argentina was now the fourth best team in the world which did not bide well for the Northern Teams.
Sam (Sydney)
The Rugby World Cup is always wide open, apart from 1987 and 1991, the best team at the time has not won the RWC, certainly in 1995 South Africa were far from the best team, in 1999 Australia were not the best team and in 2003 England should not have made the semi-finals but ended up winning the tournament. In very few sports does the top team/player go undefeated for the duration of their dominance (squash being the only exception I can think of). Tiger Woods does some time lose, Federa can be beaten, Brazil sometimes loses. Having said this if someone gave you $50 to bet on the winner the wise money would say get $65 back on the AB's but you wouldn't put the farm on it.
Gareth Arlidge
To be honest I think that this person is talking a load of rubbish and it makes me wonder what game he was actually watching! Sunday morning's test match was one of the best test matches Iv seen in a long time. Both teams completely emptying the tank, it was a brutal encounter that saw a fitter and stronger New Zealand side come out on top. I think this was a real test and we proved that we are right on track for a second world cup title.