Glenn Delaney on Scarlets and All Blacks

When the rugby world returns to normal former Highlanders' assistant coach Glenn Delaney will take the coaching reins at the Scarlets in Llanelli.

He left the Dunedin-based Super Rugby franchise to join Scarletts under former Crusaders assistant coach Brad Mooar, who halfway through his first season with the club was appointed to Ian Foster's All Blacks' coaching team.

Delaney told The Rugby Paper that he had loved his first eight months with the Scarlets.

"The decision to come here was considered heavily and it's turned out to be much better than I'd ever hoped. We've got a fabulous playing group, a really energising group of backroom staff and a club that has an unbelievable history with some wonderful characters," he said.

Making comparisons between the Welsh club and the Canterbury system he had also worked in, Delaney said the belief the game was a provider to society that enabled people to be at their very best was something they had in common.

One of the unique factors involved with the Scarlets was dealing with the high number of Test players the side had.

"There's a lot of call on their time so you go from stages of the season where it might be like playing a full Test match against, say, Leinster, to other games where you're playing more of a developing, emerging-type side where guys are learning the game," he said.

Delaney said his coaching experience with Nottingham, London Irish, Canterbury, the Highlanders and the Scarlets had all been positive.

"I've been really fortunate to have been able to go to the places I have. I've loved every environment I've been in, they're all unique and they've all taught me a lot," he said.

Taking on the Scarlets' role would continue what he believed was great work done by Mooar.

"An opportunity arose here from that and, after a considered process, I was happy to accept the jobs. It's great to get the chance to continue the work he's started," he said.

Delaney said having spent more time in the northern hemisphere than the south he could see how good England had become at the Rugby World Cup when they beat the All Blacks in the semifinal.

"The best team won that game and the standard of their play went through the roof. The irony, of course, is that nobody really spoke much about South Africa but they came through and were the best team in the end. The All Blacks would have been disappointed to finish in that third-fourth place game but that's the nature of rugby, it can't all be one way. It shows the game's evolving and that's what we want. We need more teams to be competing at that level."

Delaney said he thought the All Blacks coaching group would be a 'hell of a coaching combination'.

"There's always good depth in New Zealand rugby and when you look at a lad like Crusaders' centre/wing Braydon Ennor, there's an example of a 22-year-old guy who's come through the Canterbury system and is taking Super Rugby by storm. He'll find his way into the All Blacks' environment now, as guys like Jack Goodhue and Sevu Reece have, and they'll always have players who are well coach, have a good skill set and can play the game at a high level.

"Scott Barrett is a mainstay of the pack they'll probably build around now and there're enough experienced guys like Nepo Laulala, Joe Moody, Codie Taylor, Dane Coles, Sam Cane and Aaron Smith to ensure a pretty seamless transition. There'll be some exuberance about that New Zealand team now," he said.

A World Rugby Championship? Not a bad idea

Among the usual delights in the annual release of the New Zealand Rugby Almanack - the 2018 issue has just hit the bookstands -  is a noteworthy suggestion regarding the future of Test rugby by the editors.

Clive Akers, Geoff Miller and Adrian Hill have suggested that the top 10 teams in the world should play annually to give some credence to World Rugby's rankings.

"Perhaps the time will come, sometime in the future, when consideration will be given for a merger of the northern hemisphere's Six Nations Championship and the southern hemisphere's four-nations Investec Rugby Championship," they said.

That would see each of the 10 nations playing each other, no final would be played but the nation scoring the most championship points after the round-robin would be declared the winner.

With all the talk of a global rugby season, it is something that could almost be achieved within the parameters played now.

In their respective championships, the sides could play each other once, four games could be played in the November window leaving the June window as the chance to complete the series, or to be the start of the next year's competition.

Such a scheme, without a final, would leave the Rugby World Cup as the ultimate prize every four years.

The editors also made their case for some changes to the sending off, or red carding, of players during Test matches.

"Red cards are rare but when issued the contest is defused. Two classic examples have occurred in internationals in recent years.

"At the 2011 World Cup, Welsh captain Sam Warburton was sent off in the 18^th minute of Wales' semi-final clash with France. It was heart-breaking for the Welsh fans who had paid big money to be at Eden Park that day.

"In the second against the 2017 Lions the All Blacks played with 14 players for 56 minutes following the sending off of Sonny Bill Williams. The All Blacks struggled throughout the 65 (sic) minutes. Would the Lions have won the test, and consequently drawn the series, had the test been 15-a-side throughout? We doubt it.

"We would prefer to see even contests and players placed on report for post-match examination, rather than time wasted while officials study television replays before making their decisions. There are instances when a player completely loses control and deserves to be sent to the sideline, but couldn't they be replaced to continue the contest the public have paid to witness?" they said.

That's a sensible discussion point worthy of earnest consideration.

But here's one you won't see included in newspaper reviews, that is if they ever bother to review the Almanack.

The editors expressed their concerns over the loss of sports reporters from regional newspapers.

"While this has little impact in the major cities, it will severely cut the communication between sports and the followers of local sports. Several provincial unions will be hit hard. Some unions do run an efficient and up-to-date website, but many followers of rugby do not use computers.

"The success of local sportspersons and sports teams at national competitions, whether at primary school, secondary school, or senior level, feeds pride within the region. The coming months will be interesting to see how the affected provinces cope with no regular and knowledgeable reporter providing stories of local club and schools rugby and to what extent it impacts on spectator support at games.

"Newspapers have been a way of life to readers ever since the invention of the printing press. Sadly, in many regions sports enthusiasts have lost their connection with local sports," they said.

The traditional Five Players of the Year should find plenty of favour. They were Sam Cane, Rieko Ioane, Waisake Naholo, Codie Taylor and Portia Woodman.

The Promising Players of the Year were: Matthew Johnson Jr (Southland), William Jordon (Tasman), Du Plessie Kirifi (Wellington), Vilimoni Koroi (Otago), Mike Tamoaieta (North Harbour).

The 2018 Rugby Almanack, Edited by Clive Akers, Geoff Miller and Adrian Hill. Published by Mower.

New Zealand should use rugby power to advantage

No more All Blacks can't win the World Cup away from home, no more All Blacks choke at World Cups, no more Dan Carter is past it, no more Richie McCaw isn't the king of the breakdown.

No more Craig Joubert favoured New Zealand in the 2011 final, no more World Cup finals are never spectacular.

The 2015 Webb Ellis Cup final was a summation of everything the All Blacks stand for and what a superb demonstration of determination by coach Steve Hansen to show just how rugby can be played, even under the weight of the law book, when a team has a positive approach.

All the concern about what the Australians would bring at the breakdown was knocked for six the moment the ball was kicked off to start the game. Huge tackles knocked the stuffing out of Australia and while they scored two tries to come back, they lacked the composure that McCaw and Carter provided – one with his leadership the other with his control around the field.

It is the end of an era, one of the finest in the history of an historic side who carry their legacy not as a burden, but as an inspiration to greater deeds.

McCaw's endurance and consistency set an example that will be the standard for the next 100 years while Carter's efforts will have a statistical impact and his match management will be forever the measure of first five-eighths, who will have to have a high tackle quotient if they are to be fit for comparison.

Ma'a Nonu showed just why the All Blacks selectors stuck with him when others wanted him out. Conrad Smith, a superb touch in Nehe Milner-Skudder's try as a reminder of all that he brought to the game.

Keven Mealamu – a timely run in space with ball in hand as the All Blacks sought control in the final quarter and no doubt Tony Woodcock was heavily involved, along with Wyatt Crockett in the scrum build-up during the week.

So what of the future? Already there will be excitement about what players like Codie Taylor, Sam Cane, Malakai Fekitoa, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Cruden can bring to the All Blacks.

The British and Irish Lions loom in two years time. With such a core of experience moving on, we should recall what happened in 1998 when a similar body of players retired or went off-shore. It won't be easy, victory will not be as common, or as emphatic.

But that's all part of the enjoyment.

Just two parting thoughts, how ridiculous would it have been had Australia won and moved to No.1 in the world rankings? Given their record since 2011 they should have been nowhere near an All Blacks side who had lost only three Tests over the four years.

The rankings are a joke and are not reflective of the state of the world game.

And how much leverage does this effort give Hansen around the table when it comes to discussing the way the laws should be applied in the future? How good would it be to be a fly on the wall during that meeting?