Wynne Gray: One captain wins and goes, other loses and stays

International rugby captaincy is becoming more unusual for hardened campaigners Tana Umaga and George Gregan.

The pair are leading their All Black and Wallaby sides on tours which have been described as crucial development stages in their push to the 2007 World Cup.

But the similarity ends there.

The All Blacks have been on a victorious curve this season which was dented only once during the series triumphs against the Lions and the regular Tri-Nations rivals.

After the 41-3 victory against Wales to start the quest for the Grand Slam, indications are all about broad All Black changes for this weekend against Ireland at Lansdowne Rd.

With the 35-strong tour squad and the drive for development, the alterations may mean an entirely new starting XV.

That reshuffle will mean a stand-down for Umaga, with the captain's armband going to flanker Richie McCaw.

Those scenarios provoke intriguing contrasts with the Wallabies, who began their tour of Europe at the weekend with their sixth straight loss for the season against France.

Those defeats have Wallaby coach Eddie Jones facing the same sort of heat John Hart did with the All Blacks when they lost five successive internationals in 1998.

The Wallabies need a change of fortune but have few options, according to Jones, as they face a remaining itinerary of England, Ireland and Wales.

Jones is ignoring the rising agitation to axe captain Gregan. The halfback played in a record 115th test against France but there were no laudatory descriptions of his performance to go with this landmark day.

Fallout from the weekend is fascinating and an indication of the neighbours' current rugby strength.

The All Blacks win handsomely, discard their captain and change the bulk of their team; the Wallabies lose comprehensively, retain their skipper and most of their team.

Jones is exasperated with his senior players but is cautious about fast-tracking his younger squad members. Like the All Blacks, his tour is about adding player depth but it is a different shade for the Wallabies.

"We just want to develop them and with every player there's a pathway where you've got to take on what they can handle physically and mentally," said Jones.

The All Blacks are undeterred as well about their policy of giving all of their tour squad a chance. It was easy for the same selectors to switch 10 players after the All Blacks beat Italy last year but predictions of greater change for this weekend against Ireland are expected.

Assistant coach Steve Hansen claimed the rotation policy had raised the All Blacks play to another level in Cardiff. He hoped the scheme had raised competition in the squad.

"We want everyone to want to be in, then everyone's going to train harder and improve their skills," he told NZPA. "It'll create a competition for places which is fairly fierce but at the same time there's a brotherhood within the group. I think we're there."

It had taken some time for the experienced players to accept the idea of being rested from some tests but they now conceded it was the correct approach leading into the next World Cup.