10 GOALS FOR ALL BLACK RUGBY IN 2015 1: All Blacks retain World Cup No side has ever won back-to-back but will the All Blacks be the first? Have they evolved their personnel enough and do they have another gear? I say yes. The arrival of Wayne Smith as defence coach will make a huge difference as well. 2: Dan Carter to take back his All Black No 10 jersey He is, without doubt, the best first-five to ever play the game. He deserves a golden finish to his test career. His legacy needs him to be the star of this World Cup. And I think he will be. 3: Kiwi winner of Super Rugby Could be important. Winning breeds confidence and form in key test players. In 2007 - when the All Blacks mucked about with their conditioning programme - the Sharks and Bulls played out the final and the Springboks won the World Cup a few months later. 4: A classic game in Apia The All Blacks playing in Samoa is a huge deal. Heres hoping it paves the way for more fixtures in the Islands. Oh, and massively improved administration of the Samoan Rugby Union. 5: Richie McCaw is treated with respect by World Cup fans The All Black skipper was booed relentlessly at Twickenham last year. It was shocking behaviour. Poor form all round. The greatest player of all time deserves better than that. 6: New Zealand Under 20s bounce back Bottom line - the Under 20s have been off the pace at the last few tournaments and well behind the likes of England and South Africa. Time for them to play better football and put together a better campaign. 7: The return of black boots Sorry, had enough of the neon stuff. Black boots need to make a welcome return. 8: Better refereeing Been far too many crap decisions and bad performances. Yes the rules are overly complex and out of date... but they are what they are and too many officials are stuffing up. 9: Tier Two resurgence The World Cup needs a bit of mystery and intrigue. It needs for the like of Tonga, USA or Canada to pull off something sensational and surprise everyone. 10: No big name injuries The World Cup only comes around every four years and it is genuinely sad when big name players - any player for that matter - misses out because of injury. Would be great to have every team there wth every major player.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 11:21:20 +0000
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