All Blacks rout not good for rugby

USA 14 New Zealand 104.

Let’s be honest, even a full strength US team was always going to struggle against the All Blacks in the “1874 Cup” in Washington at the weekend. So a fixture, played outside the November test window, which meant that the Americans could not select their overseas-based players, was always going to be a stretch.

What resulted was a scoreline that does little for New Zealand, nothing for US rugby and is positively damaging to the credibility of international rugby as a whole.

And now the All Blacks move on to Cardiff – to take on another team depleted both by injury and by non-availability thanks to the game again being played outside the international window.

While I am sure that Wales will not concede 100 points, they are nevertheless on a hiding to nothing and the only people who will be satisfied following Saturday’s fixture will be the WRU accountants.

Total Flanker – the older I get, the better I was