It only took one small tug on the jersey within the first 90 seconds of the match for Bakkies Botha to lose his rag & give Jimmy Cowan a blind Liverpool kiss.
 

I'm tipping the All Blacks to have a bit too much desire at Eden Park for the Boks & a narrow 6 point victory.  Saying that this test definitely fits the bill for the emotional hedge strategy I've previously outlined.
 
Given the likely closeness of the struggle & the possibility of wet weather I can't see either team getting out beyond a 12 point margin so I am going to take a slice of the All Blacks to win by 12 & under at $2-70 & also the Springboks to win by 12 & under at $3-40.  About evenly weighted to take that emotional hedge into account!

Nothing sums up the rivalry & the intensity of this weekend's test better than the clash between the respective hardmen of the two packs.  Both players pride themself on physicality & let their actions (both seen & unseen) on the park do their talking.
 
That's why its a bit of surprise to see an interview with Thorn feature as part of the pre-match build up.  As usual while all the talk centres around the stars like Carter, McCaw, Steyn & Burger we all know it will be the actions from the men in the engine room who will decide the outcome of this test.

Will the Springbok jinx at Eden Park be put to bed this weekend?  The Boks haven't won there since 1937 & will be very keen to put an end to that record on the ground that will probably host a semi final between the two teams in next year's World Cup.  1937 was also the last time a Japie side won 2 tests in a row in NZ & this has already been talked about as the goal for this year's side.
 
Meanwhile the All Blacks have not lost to anyone at Eden Park for 16 years & will be desperate to beat the Boks after being swept by them last year.
 
So how much does history stand for & what are the crucial areas of Saturday's clash ........

The All Black team has been named for the scrap with the Boks at the Garden of Eden this weekend.  Henry & Co have not sprung any surprises sticking to the core players that performed well for them in the 2nd half of last year & with big match experience.
 
Mils, Jane, Rocket Man, Smith C, Nonu, Carter, Cowan, Read, McCaw, Kaino, Donnelly, Thorn, Woodcock, Franks O & Mealamu.
 
Reserves:- Flynn, Franks B, Whitelock S, Messam, Weepu, Cruden, Kahui.
 

Now that the phoney war called the Steinlager Series is over, the so-called Three Wise Men have once again surprised by dropping four players from that squad & recalling some players they seemed to have publicly ruled out in the past.  So with out going through the full squad .....
 
The winners are .... Rene Ranger, Liam Messam, Sam Whitelock, John Afoa & Corey Flynn - I would also add Benson Stanley to that group as well.
 
The losers are .... Zac Guildford, Adam Thomson, Neemia Tialata & Aled de Malmanche - to that group you can add Luke McAlister & Hosea Gear as well.

The TAB have opened the book on this year's NPC & may have been influenced by the Sonny Bill Williams factor in announcing Canterbury as favourites at a rather short price of $2-50.
 

The breath testing of spectators at a schoolboy match between Christ's College & Christchurch Boys High seems a bit over the top to me!
 
We know that the modern Y or Z or whatever they are Generation struggles to handle their grog & that Cantabs are not the most civilised or rational mob but surely an old boy is allowed a snifter or 2 before he watches his old 1st XV play.  Another example of the fun police out of control.

What's the old adage about not changing a winning team?  Dare I mention Graham Henry & the word rotation in the same sentence but there are 7 changes to the All Black starting XV for this week's second test in the Tron.
 
To be fair some of these were enforced by injury with Mils replacing Dagg, Kahui replacing Conrad Smith & Tom Donnelly returning to replace Boric.  Amongst the unenforced changes both the Franks brothers have been replaced by Woodcock (reward for his showing last week?) & Tialata.  The other two changes are the merry-go-round at blindside with Kaino returning & Zac Guildford replacing the Rocket Man on the left wing.

Congratulations to the NZ U20 side on beating the Junior Convicts by a whopping 62 to 17 in Argentina to win the World Cup.
 
Why is it we dominate this tournament as we used to do with the U19 & U21 versions yet we don't seem to have a system that turns these man/boy rugby machines into the polished article at the top level? 
 
Sure I know it has produced many All Blacks but they don't seem to mature into great sides as players fall by the wayside & leave for the richer pastures of the north.
 
One definitely to watch out for amongst this current crop is the openside Sean Polwart who plays for Auckland University & has benefited from my coaching.