McCaw: The most complete rugby player in the world

EARLY DAYS and all that but if first impressions count for anything, then New Zealand have set an awesome standard. I was fortunate to be in the Velodrome in Marseille on Saturday where the men in black delivered as clinical a performance as one could expect against respected Six Nations opposition.

Italy basked in the reflected glory of two championship victories over Wales and Scotland in this year’s championship and underlined their credentials further only two weeks ago with a committed and disciplined performance against Ireland in Belfast in a game they should have won.

Yet after only 20 minutes on Saturday, New Zealand had scored 28 unanswered points and the game as a contest was over. Given what happened in the Stade de France only 24 hours earlier, the All Blacks were entitled to have some negative thoughts given the similarities that exist between Italy and Argentina.