Australia
Australia are a bit all over the place this year I’m afraid – a loss to England and a flaky win over Ireland hardly gives you much confidence for a good tri nations.
The reason for this is a bad run of injuries, in the front row, at lock and scrum half, but all over the field really, so there’s no continuity at the moment.
I always rate the Aussies for playing the smartest rugby, but without a decent scrum and lineout it is always going to be a struggle, and loads of juggling around in the line means the potency of player like Copper and Giteau are stifled.
Cooper is their player to watch. I’d say they’ll be competitive with the AB’s but come off second best against the Boks.
New Zealand
The AB’s still look they are in transition at the moment. Their two king pins Carter and McCaw are firing at about 75 % at the moment, and they’ve had a bad run of injuries as well.
They looked good against Ireland and the first test for Wales, but fell off in the second test.
Their backline is razor sharp and they are absolutely ruthless but their scrum is under pressure, in the front row and at lock. Cory Jane is their player of the moment for me.
They are developing a mental block for the Boks that most other teams have for the AB's, and I’d say this is going to be second place for them this year.
South Africa
Finally the Boks – in awesome form last Tri nations, had a poor end of season tour and have looked good against fairly weak opposition in the warms ups.
Good Super 14 performances means their confidence is high, they have very few injuries and don’t know who to leave out at this stage.
The one chink in their armor is the absence of Fourie du Preez, in my opinion the best in the world for the way he reads and controls the game.
But I’d say these Bok’s are up for it, and I think it’ll be two tri’s in a row for them. Man to watch is Pierre Spies for speed and power he’s matchless at the moment.
Photo from:http://www.flickr.com/photos/7142999@N05/3800752605/sizes/o/
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