GOOD DAY
For Ma’a Nonu who was told he will join the All Black 100 Cap Club, the sixth player to do so when they meet Tonga on Friday.
With Mils Muliaina the only one of the others to have quit Test rugby he will line up alongside two of the others in the starting line-up, Dan Carter and Tony Woodcock while a third, Keven Mealamu, will be on the bench and the most capped of them all… read on!
BAD DAY
For Richie McCaw in his latest bid to make history. The All Black captain was on course to break the World Cup appearance record in the course of this tournament, as long as the champions and current world no.1 side made it to the final and he played every match.
That perhaps explained his final quarter appearance as a replacement against Namibia in a match his team already had well under control earlier in the pool stages, but his ageing body has succumbed and what has been described as “a sore hip” has ruled him out of Friday’s meeting with Tonga.
Aware as he is of the tendency towards over-reaction in New Zealand at the slightest hint of a problem with McCaw Steven Hansen, their head coach, emphasised that his absence was purely precautionary.
"We've had plenty of gasps from home before, but we're OK with it and the people that are anxious about it don't need to be anxious. If this was the quarter-final he would be playing," he said.
"We've got enough depth to be able say, 'hey, we don't have to risk people if if they're not 100 per cent'."
That decision means, however, that the 34-year-old can now only match the record of 22 World Cup appearances set by England’s Jason Leonard in 2003.
His absence can hardly be considered a boost for their opponents, however, since his long-time back-row colleague Kieran Reid will take over the captaincy looking to extend the eight-game 100 per cent record he boasts when leading the All Blacks.
WHAT’S ON TODAY?
Another of those frustrating blank days in terms of match action, but we should find out a good deal about what teams will be lining up at the weekend while the All Blacks and Tonga finalise their preparations for the first part of a big double header at Newcastle’s St James’ Park.
Results: South Africa XX USA XX; Georgia XX Namibia XX
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