All Blacks and England - Twickenham showdown

As the All Blacks go into the final test match against England, the old great haka debate has resurfaced once more. Love it or hate it, the haka is here to stay although it wouldn’t be a trip to the north without people moaning about it.

I agree that some All Blacks take it all a bit too seriously (Nonu – what the heck are you talking about mate – just keep your pretty little thoughts on the rugby ok?) and others just look like they’re at an amateur dramatic panto audition (Ali Williams take a bow).

I personally hope the All Blacks don’t do a haka at Twickenham this weekend at all. In fact, it would please me greatly if they never did another one in England again. Yes, it would be a case of giving the British hacks that decry the haka what they wished for. But I’m sure it would only take a few years for them to start whinging even louder to bring it back.

But enough of this haka malarkey. Let’s get onto the rugby. After England’s hideous defeat against South Africa on Saturday it seems too many people are writing off Dad’s army. I wouldn’t be so hasty. The All Blacks are great ones for getting complacent when they think they’ve got a test sewn up and the English will be licking their wounds hungry to make amends.

If I was a betting women, I’d wager a wee flutter on the English this weekend. Also, England are never easy to beat at Twickenham and with a northern hemisphere ref calling the shots, chances are there’ll be a few yellow cards fluttered around evening the chances for England, especially if McCaw gets binned.

Thanks to nursedude too for sending through this great article from the guardian – they’re onto us indeed ND! You’re only as good as your last game and the beautiful thing about sport and the oval shaped ball is that anything can happen on the day.

Also – on a different note. Rumours are floating around that Carl Hayman is talking about making a return to New Zealand. For all the depleted rugby stocks in New Zealand as former All Blacks plied their trade up North, there have really only ever been two decent All Blacks that we’ve truly missed IMHO – Carl Hayman and Nick Evans. The UK can have the rest (and yes, that even includes McAlister). So it could be good news all round.

Ireland down, Doug Howlett's Munster to go

It was another good day at the office for the All Blacks when they took on Ireland at the magical Croke park on Saturday night.

Not such a great night for Ireland who had hyped the game up quite considerably beforehand - which is not surprising as the talk-ups between test matches - particularly in the NH - seem to be part and parcel of tests nowadays.

Unlike the rest of the critical New Zealand rugby public, I thought the All Blacks showed a lot of heart. To restrict both Scotland and Ireland to tryless final scores says a lot about this team’s excellent defensive structure. And the backline looks exciting when it gets a bit of space.

Star player for me was Ma’a Nonu who made Brian O’Driscoll and co look ordinary. An easy looking fend flicked O’Gara into a green heap at one stage and the Wellington man ran some great lines – especially leading up to try he built with Joe Rokocoko.

New Zealand was a bit selfish when it came to releasing the ball. Particularly – and surprisingly – from Mils Muliaina. There were at least three passes that he didn’t release on potential overlaps and I’d like to think that will be picked up by the coaches and remedied come Cardiff. There’s no "I" in team Mils!

Meanwhile the All Blacks prepare for a midweek test against Doug Howlett’s Munster. Whether the Munster men will turn in a haka to challenge the Abs is anyone’s guess. I hope they do – it will make a good spectacle.

Highlights of the weekend

The polite Irish crowd remaining silent during the penalities - unlike us uncouth colonials who heckle and boo to our hearts content when the opposition kick for goal.

Australia taking it to England’s forward pack. Dingo Deans must be laughing smugly after the way the British media has harranged the Aussie scrum.

Lowlights

Ireland’s lack of guile, often getting pinged for offences when they were right in front of the ref. What was up with that?

Ireland taking up to five minutes to come onto the pitch before each half - keeping the crowd, the world and the other team waiting. Maybe a little prima donna-ish perhaps boys?