Global Rugby Magazine Issue #5 | Page 12

GLOBAL RUGBY SEPTEMBER IS THE GAP CLOSING ON tHE ALL BLA Scotty Donaldson from Super Rugby Tips The gap between the All Blacks and the rest of the world is closing and the timing is terrible with the Rugby World Cup only one year away. While people like Chris Rattue from the New Zealand Herald suggests that the All Blacks are in crisis, I would like to float the notion that despite many of the All Blacks players getting long in the tooth, it is actually more a case of the other countries improving, while the referees seem to be monitoring and penalising Richie McCaw a lot more these days. 12