The moment when a good team becomes a great one is usually measured in trophies. It is not just about playing well on a couple of weekends but sustaining that form well beyond the period where talent alone is sufficient. The basketball legend Michael Jordan summed it up pretty well: “Talent wins games but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.”
There is another key indicator, though, and it comes when a squad is short of a few supposed stars. New Zealand have clearly been a decent side for a while but on Saturday they were being seriously tested by an Argentina team who had played outstandingly for the first 40 minutes in Hamilton. The half-time score of 24-19 to the All Blacks did not reflect the holes being punched through the middle of their defensive rucks and one or two high-profile Kiwis were not having easy nights.
And what happened? After the outstanding Aaron Smith had been hauled off and Sam Cane, heir apparent to Richie McCaw at open side, had departed injured, the All Blacks simply found a couple of extra gears. Cody Taylor, Charlie Faumuiana, TJ Perenara, Ardie Savea and Anton Lienert-Brown are not yet household names in the northern hemisphere but the New Zealand replacements drove their team onwards to an outstanding 57-22 win that, at times, went beyond even the usual boundaries of All Black excellence.
To watch the youthful Beauden Barrett at fly-half – with the brilliant Aaron Cruden kicking his heels on the bench – was to wonder if there has been a quicker No10 in the modern era. To study Ben Smith at work – ball in two hands, wonderfully co-ordinated, quicksilver, daring – was to have it confirmed there is no better full-back in the world, Israel Folau included. Collectively – and the head coach, Steve Hansen, and his assistants deserve much credit here – they are adopting what might be called the Star Trek approach: boldly going where no one else has gone before.
In New Zealand, of course, that should be impossible. Only a year ago we were all penning pieces about the All Blacks being the greatest World Cup winners of all time. It is almost indecent for them to wave goodbye to McCaw, Dan Carter, Conrad Smith, Ma’a Nonu, Brad Thorn et al and, within 12 months, start performing even better. But that is what seems to be happening, to the point where any team defeating them on Kiwi soil are probably entitled to claim greatness for themselves. It has been 43 Tests since anyone triumphed in the Kiwis’ backyard, something to ponder for all connected with next year’s British and Irish Lions tour.
The Lions coach, Warren Gatland, was acknowledging that fact even before kick-off. “To be honest, I think they’ve taken the game on to another level,” he said, before singling out Aaron Smith as currently the best player in the world: “You take him out of that All Black team and they might be a little vulnerable, he’s pretty special.” Perhaps that partially explains why Hansen hauled off his little maestro early, simply to nip that pernicious little theory in the bud. Perenara would get into almost any other Test team in the world, as would Cruden and the younger Savea. Even when their brightest stars fail to twinkle, New Zealand still manage to shine.
It is becoming the same – and this is high praise – with Saracens in English club rugby. On Sunday in Exeter they were missing some of their most reliable men – George Kruis, Owen Farrell, Duncan Taylor, Chris Wyles, Will Fraser – and still pasted their always-competitive hosts by five tries to one to maintain their perfect start to the new domestic season.
Jackson Wray, Alex Lozowski, Richard Wigglesworth, Sean Maitland, Schalk Burger; new and old, unfashionable or multi-capped former Springbok, kept the whole Sarries juggernaut surging forwards in a manner which suggested they will take a serious amount of stopping between now and May. Of course it helps to have Maro Itoje – 25 matches started last season, 25 victories, plus a Six Nations grand slam, a domestic and European double and a series win in Australia – and the Vunipola brothers to sprinkle some class but it was Sarries’ execution and focus right across the field at an awkward venue that ultimately stood out.
Like New Zealand they also seem to be raising their sights, much as Steve Waugh’s Australian side did when they reached the summit of world cricket. Waugh’s ‘Untouchables’ won 16 straight Test matches between 1999 and 2001, setting out not just to stay unbeaten but to set new standards by scoring their runs quicker to put sides under even more pressure.
Watching New Zealand and Saracens at the moment is to sense something similar is happening. It is not enough simply to beat those around them; what matters is raising the bar so high that turning up to train with each other on a Monday morning becomes a thrill. To reach that rarefied level of confidence, performance and ambition is extremely unusual in an uncertain, physical game like rugby union. Next time someone says they are bored of New Zealand or Saracens winning all the time, tell them greatness creates that illusion.
Imperfect vision
Last week it was forward passes, this week slow-motion replays. Slow down the footage of any collision and it will start to look worse and worse; play it at real-time speed and the same tackle can often look relatively innocuous. Had Gloucester’s Argentinian lock Mariano Galarza not been knocked out by Worcester’s Alafoti Fa’osiliva, the chances are the Samoan ball-carrier would barely have incurred a penalty, let alone the red card that cost his team probable victory last Friday. If an assistant referee or television match official spots something the referee has missed, fine. At the moment, however, too many decisions are being made on the evidence of inconclusive television replays. Nor does it help when – as happened at two Premiership grounds this weekend – the big screens were not working properly. As a result it was not obvious to any paying spectator at Sixways why Fa’osiliva was dismissed, either at the time or subsequently. That cannot be healthy for the game on any level.
And another thing …
This column is not renowned for its shrewd art tips but this week is an exception. Painting portraits of well-known rugby players is Leanne Gilroy’s speciality and her debut solo exhibition at the Lewis Gallery in the renowned Close at Rugby School is well worth a visit between now and 23 September. A percentage of her sales will go to the Matt Hampson Foundation and the oil paintings of, among others, Jonny Wilkinson, Jonah Lomu, Richie McCaw and Erika Roe, Twickenham’s most illustrious streaker, are all striking pieces of work. Gilroy is even working this week on a portrait of James Haskell; there has to be a joke about crayons in there somewhere.