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Man-Love: All Blacks Richie McCaw and Mils Muliaina - Source: Photosport -
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All Blacks coach Graham Henry rated last night's victory over the Springboks right up their with that vintage Marseille performance and it was the old guard that delivered the goods, reports tvnz.co.nz's Chris Matthews.
The All Blacks were the old blacks last night. The average age of the starting XV was 28 but it was this experience of 683 Test caps that did the business for Henry and co in the 32-12 victory.
The All Blacks' coaches had been criticised in some quarters
this week for living in the past and one player who was
particularly under pressure was the evergreen 29-year-old Mils
Muliaina.
He had played just once in three months but Henry believed that he
had close to his best match in his 84-Test career last night.
"Milsy was having doubts when he got all those injuries during the Super 14 and was worried about his future. I haven't seen him play better for the All Blacks, so he is feeling very proud and very relieved that he's still got it," Henry said.
"Everyone else believed in him but he was outstanding."
Israel Dagg had put the heat on Muliaina in the first two Tests of the season. The young Hawke's Bay fullback was outstanding against Ireland and Wales but against the Springboks experience was required.
Indeed Henry gave special praise to all of his old guard last night.
"I thought Kevvy [Mealamu] played exceptionally well, Woody (Tony Woodcock) had one of his best Test matches in a long time, and Brad Thorn, he just gets better with age... he was superb and got his hands on the ball so often."
"The old guard all came up really well. The skipper sets the standard and he played exceptionally well again, and Dan [Carter] ran the ship superbly. The experienced guys really set the foundation, but the other guys helped immensely."
If Muliaina was feeling the pressure at fullback the same could be said for Steve Hansen, the All Blacks' forwards coach.
The South African line-out dominated the All Blacks' set-piece in 2009 but the tables were turned in resounding fashion last night. A return of 10/10 is unheard of against Victor Matfield and they even managed to pinch two throws.
So when Henry gave Hansen a hug at the end of the match, for the whole rugby world to see, it was clearly a man-love gesture for a job well done.
"I just thought it as an outstanding forward performance, and Steve is responsible for those gentlemen. He should feel very proud of what he achieves and I just wanted to let him know that so I gave him a cuddle. He didn't reciprocate."
