All Blacks: Chance to build legacy

Owen Franks takes on a formidable South Africa defence. Photo / Getty Images

Owen Franks is most likely oblivious to the record to which he can lay claim - he's the first All Black to have been born after New Zealand's solitary World Cup victory in 1987.

There are no memories locked into the Franks grey matter of the events of 1987. He will just have to take it on trust that the All Blacks really have won a World Cup.

On one level, this could be dismissed as a quirky but essentially irrelevant fact. There is, though, another view to ponder and one with more weight than may be realised.

Inspiration and aspiration are vital in developing a winning culture. At present, some footballers across New Zealand and Europe are driven by their desire to atone for previous failures.

Somewhere within those men is the knowledge they got into all this because they were inspired by the achievements of their predecessors.

The World Cup victory in 1987 is a big part of the All Black legacy. How many young men saw David Kirk lift the trophy 22 years ago and decided, even subconsciously, that one day they would do the same thing?

Franks hasn't seen an All Black side succeed at a World Cup and we can only wonder what it does to the psyche of aspiring players to see so much failure.

Will New Zealand have a generation of young players who believe the All Blacks are destined to fail at World Cups? After all, that is all they have known.

Another bombed campaign in 2011 and there are going to be many more men like Franks in the All Black ranks - possibly a whole squad.

Not that Franks will worry too much about any of this. His focus is on establishing himself as the country's leading tighthead. Which is an expansion on where his goal lay at the start of the season, when his focus was establishing himself as the leading tighthead in his family.

Big brother Ben was ahead of him at the Crusaders and Owen thought his season would be a few bench appearances and the occasional start.

But as All Black forwards coach Steve Hansen says: "Owen is a lot bigger. He's 115kg and he carries that well, while Ben is under 110kg. That makes a big difference at this level.

"We really like what we are seeing from Owen and think he's got the potential to keep maturing."

The younger Franks is a player who clearly excites the All Black panel. He's only 21 and already a brute. In time, he'll add finesse to his scrummaging craft and must be a good bet to be the next Carl Hayman.