Chris Laidlaw: Reality check a test away

Kieran Read is a blindside flanker playing at No 8 instead of the injured Rodney So'oialo. Photo / Getty Images

Opinion

It is all very well entertaining the likes of Ireland and Wales when half their players are on the Costa Brava and the rest are just going through the motions.

Once again we saw how inconsequential such seasonally-challenged matches are and how little we learn about the relative strength of the All Blacks.

Now comes our annual reality check on the All Blacks as the Springboks come to town. It is a daunting prospect. This South African squad is the best they have had for years.

It is better in almost every respect from the team that won the last World Cup in spite of the eccentricities of the coach and the political turmoil over the scarcity of black players.

In a way, it's useful to be the underdog for once. Hopefully that status will endure right through to next year's World Cup and New Zealanders' penchant for hyper-inflated expectations will be blunted.

When we look at the Springbok squad, we have every reason to be modest here in New Zealand. They have an almost perfect blend of strength, bulk, pace and guile. Their loose forward combination of Schalk Burger, Juan Smith (although he is injured) and Pierre Spies is bigger, faster and more abrasive than any the All Blacks can field.

The Springboks have adapted to the new rule interpretations surprisingly well and they have no hang-ups about having to entertain the punters as well as win. They seem to know when to spin it and when to close up shop.

Halfback Fourie du Preez is missing through injury - just as well, as he is so good, he is starting to manipulate entire matches the way George Gregan did for Australia. They have a midfield with little pretension to brilliance but which gives the opposition so little latitude, they become nervy and mistake-prone.

They also have Bryan Habana, the best all-round back in the world. They are settled and sure of themselves. With a little luck, that will be their undoing.

New Zealand is in experimental mode in several positions. At lock, the absence of Ali Williams and the fading star of Chris Jack means Anthony Boric, Tom Donnelly and Sam Whitelock must somehow step up alongside Brad Thorn. Are any of these a match for Victor Matfield, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw or towering new star Andries Bekker? That is one big ask.

Same question in the front row. Tony Woodcock is a known quantity. The only one. Neemia Tialata is clearly too ponderous. The others, the brothers Franks and John Afoa, may yet be world beaters but they aren't exactly proven.

Nor can we seem to settle on a genuine blindside loose forward. Kieran Read ought to be there but he's filling a gap at No 8 now Rodney So'oialo's body has finally cried enough.

Jerome Kaino can be as intimidating as Spies but he's inconsistent. So too is the retreaded Liam Messam who, if he reduced his error rate by about 50 per cent, would be a natural selection.

It seemed Adam Thompson was the logical successor at No 6 but he seems to have difficulty finding the All Blacks' communication wavelength.

If the All Black pack is a jigsaw puzzle, so too is the backline. Jimmy Cowan, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith and Joe Rokocoko are surrounded by enigmas and question marks.

As long as he is carefully bookended by Carter and Smith, Ma'a Nonu is effective. If he isn't, he isn't.

Another nagging worry is an absence of all-out pace. Cory Jane and Rokocoko are, at best, medium-fast. They are both, however, invaluable assets because they are streetwise. So too is Sitiveni Sivivatu but will he too have lost a yard or two?

Israel Dagg is the real deal. He is a complete footballer who could be the star of the show by this time next year. Zac Guildford is less assured of that growth trajectory and seems to have become curiously hesitant - but he too has an afterburner.

Then there is the ultimate unguided missile Rene Ranger, with more explosive power than the rest of the threequarters put together. Is this special project worth a gamble? Yes, but we need an answer this year.

Can a winning combination be manufactured out of all this uncertainty and experiment? Of course it can. But better next year than this.