I'm all for a level of rotation, it's critical to building depth and in-team competition. I'm not for wholesale disruption.
The 3 wise men have been given 4 decent test matches in the whole of 2011 to prepare for the RWC and they should get 1 more big challenge in pool play against France before knockout time. There is no more space for learning or developing.
The first 2 big tests this year have seen a reasonably high level of rotation, the 3rd will hit the disruptive category, meaning the 4th and final prep game will also see high levels of change. Oh.... then it's RWC time.
The McCaw and Carter show are not burned, in fact they need game time. Both suffered injuries this year taking them out of action for considerable periods during the Super 15. Carter missed 7 rounds of the comp and Richie missed 10 rounds. Then there's Mils who missed 6 rounds, and wasn't involved in the finals series. Sivivatu missed 4 rounds and also didn't play in the finals series. Kieran Read, Owen Franks and Brad Thorn are all workhorses who could genuinely use a week off.
Half the guys staying home should be on the plane.
This is not with any disrespect to the players heading to South Africa as there are only a couple of very small pockets with 'second string' feel about them. This is a competitive side that will come home with a win.
All I know is that to enjoy the privilege of holding the Webb Ellis trophy aloft there are 3 must win games in a row, probably all against teams that have the power to upset on their day. Disrupted teams struggle to achieve this feat.
For 3 guys who do such an awesome coaching job, I still can't believe they made such a fundamental error in judgement last time, and now are still pushing those same boundaries. This is one of those times that I sure hope I'm proved wrong.
Here are the 24 players on-route to South Africa for game 5 of the Trinations series, of which 22 will of course play:
Forwards:
John Afoa,
Wyatt Crockett,
Ben Franks,
Jarrad Hoeata,
Andrew Hore,
Jerome Kaino,
Keven Mealamu,
Liam Messam,
Adam Thomson,
Samuel Whitelock,
Ali Williams,
Tony Woodcock,
Victor Vito.
Backs:
Jimmy Cowan,
Israel Dagg,
Andy Ellis,
Hosea Gear,
Zac Guildford,
Richard Kahui,
Cory Jane,
Ma'a Nonu,
Colin Slade,
Isaia Toeava,
Piri Weepu,
Sonny Bill Williams
Wrapped in sugar coated cotton wool:
Richie McCaw,
Owen Franks,
Brad Thorn,
Kieran Read,
Dan Carter,
Conrad Smith,
Mils Muliaina,
Sitiveni Sivivatu