My beautiful wife Megan, our unborn twins and I are going to this game today and we couldn't be more excited. I've experienced three other games, Megan has been to two, but this is our only chance to see the ABs. Seeing our own team play live is the only thing left in this tournament that could compare to the beautiful Tongan upset in last night's boil-over.
We realised at the last minute we shouldn't miss this opportunity to see a team on the cusp of making history. A tweet from a friend of a friend in Auckland unearthed 2 great tickets on Wednesday night - we snapped them up and waited by the letterbox for two nervous days. They arrived yesterday just in the nick of time.
But the All Blacks come to the match under an injury cloud. They will be playing without their two finest jewels, Richie and DC. I heard about McCaw's travails midweek, and was surprised when management only withdrew him on Saturday. They are obviously keeping their team and selections behind an intricate veil of spin, which is the way of the world, but tough for fans.
Even tougher is the breaking news hot off the press, that Carter is officially out of the tournament, with his groin to blame. This is the nightmare that every New Zealand fan has dreaded throughout the two years build up. First five is probably the only position in New Zealand's XV where the "next best" option is both quantifiably inferior and unproven.
It is also a personal nightmare for Dan Carter himself, who has been the consumate professional over the last 4 years of service to his country and province. Not only is he clearly the World's best player, but he is approachable, articulate, great with kids and fans, and always seems humble and likeable. He deserved a better outcome than this, and he has every right to feel devastated.
Having said that the All Blacks as a team need to regroup quickly from this. Every other top tier nation has had injury issues in this tournament - that is what tournaments are all about. I dare say Robbie Deans would happily exchange a revitalised Wallaby backline for an unfit Quade Cooper if given the choice. If the All Blacks want to be called World Champions then they must find ways to win games without Carter and possibly without Richie too.
Simply put, this is a nerve wracking prospect because all AB fans know that the team without either of these two has historically struggled against quality opposition. It also means that today against Canada, hooker Andrew Hore aka "Seal Killer" will be running on for the first time as captain. A great honour for him no doubt, but for my thoughts on this prospect please refer to the tail end of my Game 13 wrap up.
Moving on though... there are quite a few cool things about this match; it is a very rare chance to see the All Blacks play during the day, Keiren Reid returns to the side from injury, SBW gets a start, Zac Guildford and Colin Slade have great chances to redeem themselves and most touchingly Mils Milliaunia will play his 99th test. It will be a privilege to see what goes down at the Cake Tin today.
There were heaps of us at the Stadium, that's for sure. The official attendance was 37665 and it was easily the biggest crowd I've seen at that ground. Everyone was good humoured, but the DC news was rippling around from seat to seat. All eyes were on Colin Slade, and how the All Blacks would go without their talisman.
We saw a mixed bag, I'd have to say. Some players particularly Jeome Keino, SBW, Conrad Smith and Zac Guildford (4 tries!) were outstanding. And some players were pretty good. But probably the poorest All Black was the aforementioned Slade. I felt for him because it can't be easy trying to replace such a legend, but aspects of his game are certainly faltering.
He had kicks charged down, he had passes go to ground or intercepted and he kicked for goal very poorly. He really had a bad game when everyone was hoping for better. I'm not sure where that leaves the selectors. Piri Weepu seemed a more natural fit when he subbed on after 50 minutes, but will he have such impact when starting matches? Or do they play the completely untested (at this level) Aaron Cruden? I'm glad it isn't my decision.
The Canadians played a great role in the match. They became the first team to lead the All Blacks at this RWC when they drew first blood with a penalty kick after a solitary minute. Then they were competitive throughout the match particularly either side of half time as winger Conor Trainor bagged opportunistic tries.
The Maple Leaves also had an outstanding line-out, which showed a trick or two, including a superb planned 30-35 metre throw right over the line-out for the centre to run onto. I've never seen anything like it, and I'd like to see it again!
I guess only an All Black fan would feel disappointed by a 79-15/ 12 tries to 2 thrashing, but I kind of do. And I admit this is churlish, but I am definitely happy for Zac Guildford who has seized his chance at redemption with both hands.
Final Score: All Blacks 79 - Canada 15
38 games 230 tries
Tweet of the match - "MEDIA CONFERENCE tomorrow: Zac Guildford to apologise for being awesome." @sumostevenson
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