Too early to label All Blacks 'great', says Aussie

Australian rugby legend Nick Farr-Jones believes it is premature to call the 2005 All Blacks a great team.

The World Cup winning Wallaby is in New Zealand coaching at Palmerston North's International Rugby Academy, and said while the All Blacks are certainly strong at the moment, they cannot yet be considered one of the great teams.

He said that although they did play well against the Lions, the tourists were poorly trained and coached, and had their strategy all wrong.

As it is hard to judge the new All Blacks based on the quality of their recent opposition, Farr-Jones believes the true test will come with this year's Tri-Nations.

He is warning New Zealand not to write off the Australians.

While he describes the All Blacks as the biggest challenge in world rugby, he is confident the Wallabies will be extremely competitive come kick-off in the Bledisloe Cup in the middle of next month.

Tri-Nations fixtures
July 31: South Africa v Australia, Pretoria, time 1am
August 7: All Blacks v South Africa, Cape Town, 1am
August 13: All Blacks v Australia, Sydney, 10pm
August 20: Australia v South Africa, Perth, time 10pm
August 27: All Blacks v South Africa, Dunedin, 7.35pm
September 3: All Blacks v Australia, Auckland, 7.35pm 

- NEWSTALK ZB