England face their toughest Test

Pardon me the cynicism, but who won the first Test?

 

Not England although if you had the misfortune to be stuck in England with only newspapers and websites to read you would have thought the Poms had hanged, drawn and quartered the All Blacks at Eden Park last weekend.

Now, with their A team on board, the popular view of England's press, who never have to play these games, will be that the win will surely be achieved in Dunedin on Saturday night.

England are ready to make a series of it.

Coupla things to think about.

The All Blacks will not be so far off the mark as they were in Auckland this time around.

Nothing quite focuses the All Blacks' minds more than a below par performance. Their ability, their manhood, their right to wear the jersey has been questioned. Not challenges to be issued lightly by visitors.

Dry ground in Dunedin. Now there is no doubt the Pom backs are well capable of throwing the ball around to good effect. Even when England were thrashed by the All Blacks in the 1995 World Cup semi-final in Cape Town they still managed to score four tries. Whether their backs of the moment are as good as Rory Underwood, Will Carling and Jeremy Guscott is another matter.

But the difference for New Zealand lies in the ball-handling of the forwards. Here there is an ocean of ability between the sides and the tide runs in favour of the home team.

And Manu Tuilagi, bullocking runner that he is. He has been compared to Jonah Lomu! He's not even in the same home straight as the legendary wing.

Wonder how Tuilagi goes at turning around to tidy up kicks behind him?

The big question is how long it will take either of the Aarons, Smith or Cruden, to sort that one out? I'm picking it will be very early in the piece. Mind you, some thinking outside the box, pardon the pun – older readers will understand that quip – could be not to send a kick his way at all, so that he is left wondering when it is going to come.

Then there's the need to field high kicks. Whenever this thought process is involved it is hard not to go past: possums, headlights, Quade Cooper, Richard Kahui, World Cup semi-final in 2011, if you get my drift.

Some predictions for the game: the haka will be questioned yet again by the Pom media (after all these years they still don't get it)

, the game will be all-action, the referee will be the target of English media criticism win or lose, some England player will do something silly under the pressure of the occasion, Owen Farrell will struggle with goal-kicking in the stadium, Liam Messam will be much more obvious around the track and Jerome Kaino will be an even greater target for England attention than Richie McCaw, who will revel in the subsequent freedom.

It should be a cracker.

McCaw, Carter top Welsh poll of 50 greatest rugby players

Filling in the hours ahead of the 7.30pm kick-off for the All Blacks against England by moping around wondering what you can do to move the clock along a little quicker until match time in Auckland?

Ponder the Western Mail's, that's the Cardiff newspaper, effort at deciding who are the 50 greatest rugby players of the modern era.

There're some interesting choices. Would you believe French captain Thierry Dusautoir is only ranked No.40 while Italian captain Sergio Parisse is No.6? Would you believe there is no place for Sean Fitzpatrick? Do you think Percy Montgomery and Jason Robinson were better fullbacks than Christian Cullen?

Where is Kieran Read? This is surely an oversight given he was named last year's IRB player of the year.

No surprise that Richie McCaw is named the greatest player, nor that Dan Carter is ranked No.2.

There is always a regional bias in these sorts of teams but there are plenty of points for debate. And you would have to ask, even if on a regional basis where is Jerome Kaino, the player of the 2011 Rugby World Cup?

And Australians might wonder why David Pocock doesn't rate a mention.

50 - Scott Quinnell (Wales)

49 - Yannick Jauzion (France)

48 - Carl Hayman (NZ)

47 - Mils Muliaina (NZ)

46 - Gary Teichmann (SA)

45 - Martyn Williams (Wales)

44 - Rob Howley (Wales)

43 - Ma'a Nonu (NZ)

42 - Bakkies Botha (SA)

41 - Will Greenwood (England)

40 - Thierry Dusautoir (France)

39 - Tana Umaga (NZ)

38 - Jean de Villiers (SA)

37 - Conrad Smith (NZ)

36 - Augustin Pichot (Agrentina)

35 - Adam Jones (Wales)

34 - Schalk Burger (SA)

33 - Joe Rokocoko (NZ)

32 - Stephen Larkham (Australia)

31 - Fourie du Preez (SA)

30 - Juan-Martin Fernandez Lobbe (Argentina)

29 - Justin Marshall (NZ)

28 - Matt Giteau (Australia)

27 - Will Genia (Australia)

26 - Scott Gibbs (Wales)

25 - Richard Hill (England)

24 - Gethin Jenkins (Wales)

23 - Doug Howlett (NZ)

22 - Christian Cullen (NZ)

21 - Lawrence Dallaglio (England)

20 - George Smith (Australia)

19 - John Smit (SA)

18 - Jason Robinson (England)

17 - Zinzan Brooke (NZ)

16 - Percy Montgomery (SA)

15 - Paul O'Connell (Ireland)

14 - George Gregan (Australia)

13 - Victor Matfield (SA)

12 - Bryan Habana (SA)

11 - Martin Johnson (England)

10 - Jonny Wilkinson (England) 

9 - John Eales (Australia)

8 - Shane Williams (Wales)

7 - Tim Horan (Australia)

6 - Sergio Parisse (Italy)

5 - Joost van der Westhuizen (SA)

4 - Jonah Lomu (NZ)

3 - Brian O'Driscoll (Ireland)

2 - Dan Carter (NZ)

1 - Richie McCaw (NZ)

All Blacks coach prepared for fiery England

All Blacks coach Steve Hansen is refusing to follow the media line, both in New Zealand and England, that Stuart Lancaster's team have a herculean task ahead of them in the three-Test series.

Hansen announced his squad for the series on Sunday in Auckland.

It features two new All Blacks, Auckland and Blues lock Patrick Tuipolotu and Auckland and Highlanders centre Malakai Fekitoa, and three returning All Blacks loose forwards Victor Vito and Jerome Kaino and first five-eighths Colin Slade.

"I note that England have been written off but they will have a good side for the first Test. They are the most improved side in world rugby in the last 18 months," Hansen said.

The unbeaten 2013 season was well behind the All Blacks and now it was a case of coming back and reasserting themselves.

"That's a challenge we are looking forward to. Both sides are wanting to perform well ahead of next year's World Cup," he said.

Of his new players Hansen said Fekitoa had been in sensational form and while there were parts of his game that he could improve it was a no-brainer that he should be included in the side.

Tuipolotu was a tighthead lock who got his chance as a result of injury suffered by Luke Romano. But he had the core skills the selectors were seeking and they were looking forward to working with him.

Vito's return had come about because of the increased physicality of his play. He was picking up turnovers, carrying the ball better and making good ground.

"We always knew he was a good athlete," he said.

Kaino's call-up was anticipated given the form he had shown since his return from Japan. He showed he had lost none of his physicality from the moment he resumed with the Blues and as the season progressed he had adapted to the pace of the game and his intensity levels were good.

"I thought last night he was outstanding [in the Blues win over the Hurricanes]," he said.

Steven Luatua missed the squad but Hansen said he knew what the reasons were for that and it was up to him to motivate himself to improve in the same way that Kaino and Vito had done in their careers.

While there was a need to blood new hookers for the side, Hansen said the selectors would not pick players unless they were ready and the two young hookers who have been involved in the side's apprenticeship scheme, Liam Coltman and Nathan Harris, would spend time with the side in their respective regions. If there was an injury to either Keven Mealamu or Dane Coles the selectors would not rule out calling up a player like Crusaders hooker Corey Flynn.

With first five-eighths Aaron Cruden out of rugby for six weeks, and in a well-beaten Chiefs team on Saturday night, Hansen said he played like a player who had had time off, and in a side with some issues at the moment.

However, Cruden had shown in the past that he took time to come back and Saturday's game would have done him some good.

Hansen added that the selectors were already firm in their choice of first five-eighths for Saturday's first Test in Auckland.