Aisle be Back: All Blacks v Ireland

• By Kevin McCarthy 

Thank god for sh#t Richie McCaw,

Most pundits thought about three weeks ago that Sam Cane should not be on the plane to the Northern Hemisphere.

It was, along with the selection of TJ Perenara, evidence of the innate caution of Scott Robertson who had missed a chance to bring through the next generation. After all, the old timers were calling time on their careers in New Zealand.

As I said at the time, it seemed daft to treat the Northern Tour as a development tour. But there you go.

And there is Sam Cane, with that albatross of a red card in the world cup final around his neck, turning in one of his better seasons, game after game. Seemingly unburdened by the captaincy that he never quite occupied comfortably.

Of course, there is a big contingent of loose forwards in the side. Three of whom are on the injured list. Meaning if there was no Sam Cane, there’d be someone having to step up in probably the biggest match of the tour.

Leave it to the SRM then, Amusingly the player who made the observation will be able to watch from the bench. Peter O’Mahony also has lost a short lived captaincy.

Enjoy your 20 minutes, pal.

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My head will explode if I  have to read another opinion piece saying the aura of the All Blacks has gone.

It is firstly the sort of lazy cliché that rugby writers reach for to explain what they can’t be bothered finding out more about.

The aura is apparently that mystical power of the All Blacks to intimidate their opponents into being beaten before the match.

Once the aura has gone, it doesn’t come back.

Well let me tell you I’ve watched  the All Blacks for nigh on 50 years – and some of those teams were pretty short of aura. There have been times when the team has stitched together golden eras, but pretty much New Zealand always turn out a competitive side with some of the best in the world in certain positions.

If people choose to bestow that with some mysticism, then so be it, But as the Irish would say, In Yer Head.

Right now, world rugby is at a peak of competitiveness, with the North in the ascendant. Thanks to significant underlying trends, not some voodoo.

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A shout out for Grant Nisbett, clocking up his 350^th game that he’s called.

That’s a lot of rugby watching and understanding from Nisbo, in a very public arena.

People do tend to get foaming at the mouth over some commentators. We all have our favourites,

But Nisbo seems immune to that, part of a long line of memorable commentators.

If you pick apart a commentary, who but those who do it really know what it’s like and what it demands?

So, 350 calls is quite the thing.

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LIVE on Sky Sport – Saturday 9 November:  All Blacks vs Ireland, 9.10AM (NZST). Highlights available on NZR+ and All Blacks YouTube.

All Blacks match-day 23 (caps in brackets)

1.    Tamaiti Williams (16)
2.    Asafo Aumua (17)
3.    Tyrel Lomax (41)
4.    Scott Barrett (77) (Captain)
5.    Tupou Vaa’i (35)
6.    Wallace Sititi (7)
7.    Sam Cane (102)
8.    Ardie Savea (91) (Vice-Captain)
9.    Cortez Ratima (9)
10.  Damian McKenzie (58)
11.  Caleb Clarke (26)
12.  Jordie Barrett (66) (Vice-Captain)
13.  Rieko Ioane (78)
14.  Mark Tele’a (17)
15.  Will Jordan (38)

16.  George Bell (2)
17. Ofa Tu’ungafasi (65)
18. Pasilio Tosi (5)
19. Patrick Tuipulotu (48)
20. Samipeni Finau (6)
21. Cam Roigard (7)
22. Anton Lienert-Brown (81)
23. Stephen Perofeta (6)

Unavailable due to injury: Codie Taylor (concussion), Beauden Barrett (concussion), Ethan Blackadder (calf), Luke Jacobson (fractured thumb) and Dalton Papali’i (upper hamstring)