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Thursday, 11 July, 2002, 00:17 GMT 01:17 UK
All or nothing for Mitchell's men
All Black coach John Mitchell's selection for this year's Tri-Nations had better work and it had better work fast. There will, I feel, be some fans who will want this side to fail. Not me, but I have a feeling some will be waiting for them to slip up. With only two players coming from outside Canterbury, the danger is that some players have been swept along in the Crusaders' success this season.
I hope I'm wrong, of course, and I hope they can make the step up. But I have my doubts.
Tri-Nations rugby is very, very different to the Super 12 .
You won't, for example, see a Wallaby side step back like some of the Super 12 sides have done. In fact, I have an uneasy feeling that Australia are going to just get better and better this season. Christchurch cauldron But let's be positive for a moment. It's clear that what the All Black selectors have tried to do is create a psychological advantage - and in one sense it's very clever. The match is in Christchurch - the home of the Crusaders - so the All Blacks have thrown down the gauntlet to the Wallabies. The bulk of the side are Cantabrians, and the supporters will be Cantabrians and it will be extremely intimidating for the Aussies that's for sure.
The last time the New South Wales players were in Canterbury they'll know they should have been beaten by 100 points. So what the All Blacks have done is to put their faith in the apparent invincibility of the Crusaders. Playing at home has to be worth a five point start to the All Blacks and the game as a whole will be an almighty dong-dong for sure. Mitchell has really put the ball in Australia's court and said 'OK you pick the best XV you've got and come and take Canterbury on'.
The danger with that, of course, is that if it fails where do the selectors go then? They've put all their balls in one basket and the danger is that if it goes wrong in this game, it's going to be very difficult to stop Australia. If the Wallabies leave New Zealand with a win under their belts, then it's certainly going to be an uphill challenge for anyone to stop them. For that reason I think there could be more than a few fisticuffs on Saturday. Make no bones about it this is what it's all about. A win and the All Blacks are away, but a defeat could end their tournament there and then.
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