Zinzan Brooke column (BBC website)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/5319298.stm
A year out from the World Cup, the All Blacks are exactly where they want to be.
They have been very good in the Tri-Nations and the only question is: 'Will they get it right on the day?'
People ask if they have peaked too early, or will they go downhill in the next year?
But I think they can only get better, and this team is probably eight or nine players better off than the 2003 World Cup side.
NZ WORLD CUP RECORD
1987 - Winners (beat France)
1991 - Semis (lost to Australia)
1995 - Final (lost to S Africa)
1999 - Semis (lost to France)
2003 - Semis (lost to Australia)
But on any given day you can turn a side over. The All Blacks have made semi-finals and finals but not always achieved the end result.
Let's face it, the big four or five teams only need to get two games right at the World Cup, if they get a good draw and an easier quarter-final.
This is not the soccer World Cup - most of the big teams will go through, history has shown that - so we shouldn't read too much into peaks and troughs in between.
Last year Australia lost eight Tests on the trot and yet six months down the track they have had a few wins, come close to beating the All Blacks and got some confidence again.
It is amazing how we judge people. Graham Henry made a big gamble last year on the Grand Slam tour by picking two separate sides and a lot of old All Blacks said he was cheating the jersey by allowing other guys to play.
Fly-half Daniel Carter is one of the few certainties for Graham Henry
But I think he has created an environment that the players want to be part of. No-one can say their spot is guaranteed, other than perhaps Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter.
The rest of the positions are up for grabs. With 30-40 players you never know who is going to get in.
That environment stops any complacency, although they did come a bit unstuck against South Africa last weekend.
I don't know whether they thought the game was in the bag after their performance the previous week, but they didn't really put South Africa away. The Springboks stepped up a level but the All Blacks should have shut them out.
Regardless of whether Graham thinks it may be a good thing to lose the odd game, I was hoping New Zealand would win.
If they had it would have created a lot of turmoil in the South Africa camp and put more pressure on their coach Jake White.
I would like to see Rodney So'oialo run a bit more from number eight
You want the opposition camp to be unsettled but the All Blacks have actually armed the Boks with a bit more ammunition and confidence, which is the element missing from their game.
If you look at the 2003 England side, they had belief in what they were doing. Sometimes 10 to 15% of winning or losing games is that confidence in your ability to run a ball out, or stop a try, or score a try.
I don't see too many areas of weakness in the All Blacks, although the line-out is a problem.
When you have Chris Jack at 6ft 7in, Ali Williams and Jason Eaton at 6ft 8in and you can't win your own ball, there is something going wrong. Maybe the calls are too difficult.
My brother Robin has done a couple of sessions with them but they clearly need more work to sort it out.
The scrummaging is good but I am bit nervous about the number eight position. Rodney So'oialo has gone a bit quiet in the last 12 months and hasn't dominated games like before.
I would like to see him run a bit more, and the number eight, nine, 10 and 15 combinations attacking the short side more.
It is very robotic rugby at the moment and we are playing a bit like the Australians did a few years ago.
Even if you play plenty of games together, it doesn't mean you will get it right on the big day
Our counter-attacking play is fantastic and our strongest weapon, because there is so much pace and ability when they are running the ball back.
But our structured play from set positions is not so good, and when it is open play and defences are up solid, we go through 10 or 15 phases and then someone tries to 'milk' a penalty.
One of the best positions to attack is off a scrum, and I would like to see the number eight taking it over the gain line, rather than just feeding it out to the backs.
You need to have that confidence and arrogance to take the ball up when the opposition tries to screw your scrum.
People have questioned whether Graham Henry should play his top side more often, but even if you play plenty of games together, it doesn't mean you will get it right on the big day.
What I like at the moment is, because they have used so many different players, it is hard for opposition coaches to focus on a particular team.
There is more than enough rugby left before the World Cup to worry about combinations, with a northern hemisphere tour in November, the Super 14 and another Tri-Nations yet.
