Rugby World Cup: Our super six won't be forgotten

Conrad Smith, Daniel Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Keven Mealamu, Richie McCaw and Tony Woodcock will leave a big hole when they depart from international rugby. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Next weekend will see the end of an era in All Blacks rugby with the international retirements of a number of top players.

The loss of Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith and Keven Mealamu, not to forget the injured Tony Woodcock, will leave a huge hole.

In Richie's case, I'm not sure we will ever see a more influential player in New Zealand, let alone world rugby. It would be fitting for him to finish by once again raising the Webb Ellis Cup (I wrote this before this morning's semifinal against South Africa) but it won't dent his legacy if he doesn't. Richie's contribution is unreal and I don't think it will ever be beaten. The fact Kiwis want to put him on a $5 or $10 note says it all.

As an openside, he plays in one of the toughest positions in rugby, yet doesn't shirk his physical responsibilities and to last as long as he has shows how much of a professional he has been.

We will never know if the All Blacks would have won the 2011 World Cup final without him but the fact he played with a broken foot would have inspired his team-mates and I'm in awe of what he has managed.

Off the field, too, he's a great leader and good guy.

Dan Carter is not far behind Richie in terms of his contribution to New Zealand rugby and he's certainly the best first five-eighths I have ever seen play the game. His performance in the second test against the 2005 Lions was as close to perfect as a player could ever hope to achieve.

Incredibly, Dan has been written off a few times throughout his career. He could have 10 great games but if he had two so-called average ones his place was often called into question.

I could never get that, because the All Blacks tend to go pretty well when he's playing and last weekend's quarter-final win over France was another illustration. It's not only what he does but also what others do outside him, and it's no coincidence Nonu and Smith played so many tests together in his era.

I remember Conrad and Ma'a when they were first coming through in Wellington. Conrad was the skinny little white fella but has grown as a player and has a great rugby brain on him. Ma'a was seen as a mini-Tana Umaga when he came along but now he's just Nonu.

It's incredible to think these two have played nearly 100 tests together, given the depth in New Zealand rugby and when one is not there the other doesn't seem to play as well. Mealamu's impact on the field has probably diminished with a more limited role off the bench these days but it's his impact off the field which is greatest.

He commands respect and has a big say in All Blacks' standards and the way the team is run.

Teams need guys like Keven. I've heard the All Blacks make sure they clean up changing sheds after each match and that will have a lot to do with Mealamu. It's good New Zealand Rugby have secured a role for Keven next year because he still has a lot to add.

We will miss these five players and Woodcock, but All Blacks rugby has always shown replacements will come along. People wondered how we would replace Andrew Mehrtens, but then Dan Carter popped up. It was a similar story with Josh Kronfeld and then Richie. I've watched a bit of first XV rugby and ITM Cup and there are some really good kids coming through. New Zealand rugby is in really good hands and depth has always been our strength.

One thing I was always conscious of when I was an All Black was the fact you wear the jersey for a little bit, you don't own it. You just hope the next guy who comes along does a good job, and I'm confident the ones who will replace Richie, Dan, Ma'a, Conrad, Keven and Tony will do that.

A quick word on tomorrow's second semifinal. I really think Argentina can beat Australia because I've been impressed with the way their backs have operated as well as the likes of Agustin Creevy up front.

Let's hope for an All Blacks-Argentina final.