Richie McCaw has been the Captain of one of the best sides in World rugby, however, the William Webb-Ellis Trophy so far has eluded him.
Can the All Blacks make ammends against France?
Tomorrow France take on the hosts of the 2011 World Cup- New Zealand at Eden Park in Auckland, the French have limped to the final and the All Blacks have eased though to the Final. The French have lost two matches en route to the final and face their pool stage opponents again. When the sides met in the pool stages the All Blacks comfortably won 37-17, however past meetings and current form will be irrelevant on the day.
The All Blacks have been unfortunate with injuries in the World Cup, they lost their two fly halves in Dan Carter and Colin Slade which means that the 22 year-old Aaron Cruden has had to step up to the plate in the biggest matches of his career to date. So far Cruden has not really been pushed and pressurised because New Zealand’s pack has created such a strong platform for him and his backs. However, when the first whistle goes tomorrow, he will have the hopes and dreams of the whole of New Zealand on his shoulders. From what we have seen so far Cruden has a key eye for a gap and looks to release his dangerous outside backs in most areas of the park, his one weakness is that he does not have the kicking game of Carter. This however is a harsh criticism as Carter is one of the World’s best tactical kickers, luckily for Cruden, Piri Weepu will be on hand to take some pressure of the young Kiwi.
Piri Weepu was outstanding against Argentina in the Quarter-Finals; however, he had a slightly nervous game against Australia. His goal-kicking was slightly off target, but the All Blacks were coping well against the Wallabies. Weepu’s kicking will have to be accurate against the French as the French have talented kickers in Dimitri Yachvilli and Morgan Parra who can punish any penalties given away by New Zealand. Weepu’s form will be vital to inspire confidence in Cruden; the All Blacks have some of the best backs in World Rugby at their disposal so the half-backs have to work well together to release the attacking potential.
Any article about New Zealand rugby would be incomplete without mentioning the genius that is Richie McCaw, the open-side flanker has struggled with a foot injury that he sustained earlier this year, but the Captain of New Zealand is mesmeric at the breakdown. He wins turnovers all over the field and wins his team quick ball. As long as his performance at the breakdown stays on the right side of the referee’s whistle the All Blacks will be incredibly tough to beat. McCaw has been one of the best captains in the rugby World and it would be fitting if he becomes the 2nd Rugby World Cup winning captain on home soil.
Another area that the Kiwis have dominance over France is at full-back, Israel Dagg has been one of the best players in the tournament having scored 5 tries and he always looks dangerous on the counter-attack. Dagg is also an authoritative figure under the high ball and a technically strong defensive full-back. Dagg will look to link up with his wingers Richard Kahui and Cory Jane to form one of the most dangerous back-three’s in the World. New Zealand has a balance in their side that any team in the World would dream of; they can tear a team apart with their powerful yet skilful backs who have the pace the run rings around any team whilst having the luxury of relying on their abrasive set of forwards who can win the battle at the breakdown in the set-piece.
France also have some outstanding backs who can unlock defences, England underestimated France’s desire to go wide in attack at their peril. Vincent Clerc is the current top try scorer in the tournament with an impressive 6 try haul so far. Clerc’s footwork is masterful and he has deceptive strength, if the French backs manage to squeeze through half a gap and release Clerc, New Zealand will be in trouble. The other members of the back-three are Maxime Medard and Aurélien Rougerie, both players are real threats in attack, however, they will have their work cut out in defence. They will have to field plenty of high balls from the likes of Weepu and Cruden and their counter-attacking skills will be tested as New Zealand’s kick chase is committed to closing down any space for their opponents.
Some suggest that the key battle in the Final will be between the back-rows in the forwards. Imanol Harinordoquoy and Thierry Dusetoir have led a miss-firing French side to their first Final since 1987. The French rely on their back-row to secure quality possession for their backs; however, Dusetoir and Harinordoquoy will have to attempt to quash the impact of McCaw if they hope to have any chance of winning the World Cup. This will not be an easy task, both players are highly experienced and will have to give everything to try and stop the All Blacks from stealing their possession.
Dimitri Yachvilli and Morgan Parra are to excellent tactical kickers; they will have to give their side territory and will look to put pressure on New Zealand’s backs early on with plenty of high balls and kicks to the corner. Both Yachvilli and Parra can place kick so they have excellent options should New Zealand transgress in their own half. Parra had a shaky start to his World Cup playing in the No.10 shirt, however, he played well against the 14-man Welsh side last week and he pulled the strings against England in the Quarter-Finals. Parra is usually a scrum-half, but he has started to make the fly-half position his own. Luckily for him he is not facing Dan Carter tomorrow evening, he facing a relatively inexperienced No.10 in Aaron Cruden so he will look to test his defensive skills by releasing his forwards down his channel early on and he will look to weave his way past the young Kiwi if he can. Yachvilli is one of the best-scrum halves in the World, he shouts at his forwards like a drill-commander and knows exactly when to play and when to kick downfield. If Les Bleus hope to win their first World Cup, they will have to front up and give their talented backs a platform.
New Zealand are overwhelming favourites according to most pundits, however, you never know what kind of French side will turn up. The French according to Marc Lièvremont are using their underdog status to their advantage as a motivational tool, it will be a tense first-half, but it is hard to look past New Zealand as the next Champions of World Rugby. Prediction: It will be a shaky start, but the All Blacks will look to make history again with an outstanding 2nd half performance New Zealand by 20 points and Aaron Cruden to become the new hero for New Zealand Rugby.
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