How will the All Blacks injuries affect their chance at winning the World Cup?

Question

I'm hoping not at all.

Answer 1

It is a minor concern,but,personally,I don`t believe it will be a major, I reckon there are a dozen locks in Air NZ Cup Competition,that  would slot in to that team and give very,  little away. ....And maybe i`m biased , but I reckon the same applies to just about every other position, if there`s more injuries.

Answer 2

We should not take players who are injured and in doubt before they went to the World Cup. We should have players standing by on the short list. There is always someone waiting in the wings and that is how some players on the fringe get there chance in all sports. And they should just slot in especially if they have been playing NPC.

Answer 3

Except for the invisible Thorne, who shouldn't be there, the squad is as strong and experienced as possible.  And apart from a serious injury to Conrad Smith, we would not lose anything,  Conrad is the only true International AB Centre and the game tactics would change to suit - once the phoney games are out of the way.

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Answer 4

Bru summed it up perfectly, stop looking for excuses !

Answer 5

The injuries of Smith, Thorne & Robinson do hold some concern to the All Blacks as it reduces the depth of talent available to either the starting line up or coming off the bench.

However, Graham Henry has been very thorough with his preperation and would have appropriate plans in place for injuries, game plans or oppositions.

The World Cup will not be won or lost on injuries but on how we react to them.  

We have the players & coaches to win the Webb Ellis Cup, the only thing that will beat us will be our own top 3 inches.

Answer 6

Much will depend on who (if anyone) is sent home due to injury. So far there are three candidates…  

Keith Robinson would have a big impact on our chances if he is ruled out. While the likes of Troy Flavell and Greg Rawlinson are good players, they aren't quite up to the standard of Keith Robinson (when he is fit!). At the moment his injury will put a bigger load on Chris Jack and Ali Williams, which might be an issue as we hit the knockout stages.

Reuben Thorne is a vexed question. I've never been a big fan of his, but have finally surrendered after seeing him picked by not one but four All Black coaches - John Hart, Wayne Smith, John Mitchell, and now Graeme Henry. Clearly he must do a lot of work that we don’t always pick up on, but I don’t think it would lose us the World Cup if he went home. Troy Flavell is again the most likely cover for him. Both Thorne and Flavell are ideal players to have as bench cover for lock and loose forward.

I doubt that Conrad Smith would be a big loss to this campaign. I really rate him as a player, but he has had so little game time over the last year – mainly due to injury – and his form recently for Wellington wasn’t that great as a result. Mils Muliana and Isaia Toeava seem to have centre well covered.

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Answer 7

It shouldn't.

They should win or fail on how they perform with what they've

got, everyone else does.  Not what could have been.  The excuses should stop there they have the talent and depth if they don't win its because they weren't good enough.  Simple as that.

Answer 8

Injuries will always affect the chances of sporting teams...of course the chances that NZ will not win the World Cup because of such misfortune are relatively slim compared to other teams without such a prolonged pre-Cup emphasis on player rotation. The three All Blacks who were injured before the Italy match should all regain fitness before NZ encounters any decent opposition, and have all got enough experience to deal with lack of matchtime. For injuries to affect this squad, they would need to be many, severe, long-term, and to players in vital positions such as first-five-eighth, openside flanker (I have doubts about Masoe's discipline, and all round ability), half-back (I remain unconvinced of Ellis', and even Leonard's, place in the squad - get Piri over there!). However, slotting a fullback (no matter how versatile and experienced Mils is) into centre has been a massive bogey for All Black World Cup squads in the past (Cullen in '99, MacDonald in '03)...so hopefully Conrad will overcome his niggle and 'Ice' Toeava can hit his straps.

Answer 9

hopefully they are only a small bump in the road to becoming world champions but i would really like Conrad Smith to be healthy for possible matches against Ireland and Australia bc he is the best center in New Zealand and has the defensive skill and strength to shut down O'Driscoll and Mortlock. as for Thorne, i think Flavell would have been the better choice in the squad bc of Robinson's injury troubles

Answer 10

The idea of the rotation policy was to create a squad of 30 players who are more or less equally talented so if injures do occur the casualties would be covered by equally adept players. That’s why its curious that the All Blacks selectors chose Keith Robertson and Conrad Smith to go to the World Cup.  Similarly Brendan Leonard with virtually no All Black experience was selected ahead of Piri Weepu who did little wrong in his test appearances. I do believe however that Leonard has a lot to offer. Given the All Blacks success it is difficult to argue strongly against the rotation policy from purely an on the field results perspective. However I would argue there are still shortcomings in the All Blacks game that the rotation policy has not resolved. Most notably the centre position has still not been adequately filled since the retirement of Tana Umaga. One of the weakness that better teams will no doubt attempt to exploit in latter matches at the Cup is the All Blacks suspect midfield defence. Aaron Mauger is an appalling tackler and in tandem with an unproven centre, either Mills Muliaina, Issea Toeava or maybe Leon McDonald or Luke McAlister a midfield meltdown might repeat itself, remember Stirling Mortlock in Melbourne! Equally the All Blacks have not found proven replacements for their five best players Jerry Collins, Tony Woodcock, Carl Hayman, Daniel Carter, and Riche McCall. If all five were to be suffer injures at the same time the All Blacks would simply not win the World Cup. Even if one of these players are injured but especially Carter and McCall, arguably the best players in the world right, the quality of the All Blacks performance is compromised. I base that comment on the fact that all those players have played key roles in the All Blacks most important victories in the last three years. So if the ‘fabulous five’ stay healthy and our already somewhat makeshift centres remain standing then injures should not be blamed for the All Blacks losing the World Cup because the All Blacks have pretty good cover in most other areas.

P.S. Can Ahmed Zaoui play lock?

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Answer 11

They have to cope with injuries like every other team in the world cup!

From what I've seem of the All Blacks, they have great depth and shouldn't be affected too much.

Answer 12

Chill massive, we're sweet as bro. Don't believe the media hype. Italy was our toughest pool match. Can't see Romania, Portugal or Scotland B getting up to give us a spanking.

The boys will be right for the knock round. I agree with Roadtrip ,It's frustrating that Smith can't get an early start but with Mils and Ice there to cover, I can't see any drama. The locks are a worry but I reckon both Robo and Thorne are probably contributing truck loads to the team culture in camp and they should stay on until they are deemed unfit for the quarter. As Joeblow has said - heaps of cover in NZ waiting to jump on a jet, no need to push the panic button. It's all good.

Answer 13

Current injuries should not have a major impact as the management team have several weeks to prepare and allow for the absence of these players in the knock out phases.  Also due to the rotation policy adopted over the last few international seasons we have players experienced in these positions that can step up.   I believe that the AB's have developed enough depth in the squad that injuries to all but our most influential players can be overcome.  All teams will suffer injuries during the tournament and we won't be any different.  We will win this world cup unless Dan Carter, Ritchie McCaw or Carl Hayman are injured out of the tournament.  Loss of any of these three players removes a significant advantage the All Blacks have over opposition teams.

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