Blacks counting cost of replacing the perfect 10

FOR all the talents at the disposal of New Zealand coach Graeme Henry, you’d be tempted to bet he may have cast an envious eye south to Wellington this week and wished he had the half-back headaches Declan Kidney says he has been grappling with.

Henry must prepare the All Blacks for their quarter-final against Argentina in Auckland on Sunday with a nation of rugby-mad Kiwis still reeling from the news that fly-half hero Dan Carter will play no further part for the hosts at this World Cup.

Doubts about the hosts’ prospects of a first win in this tournament since the inaugural tournament, also on home soil, in 1987 have started to creep in now their superman at No.10 has fallen by the wayside, laid low with a training-ground groin injury.

The angst, though, is as much about a lack of faith in Carter’s immediate and inexperienced replacement, Colin Slade, and the remarkable lack of depth in the position for the best rugby team on the planet and questions have been raised about why no back-up had been groomed to stand-in for the Canterbury superstar.

Compare and contrast with Ireland.

If O’Gara, who Kidney has chosen to start the crucial World Cup quarter-final against Wales in Wellington on Saturday morning, was to be ruled out of the World Cup tomorrow, there would be no hand-wringing about the quality of his replacement.

As frustrating as it can be to listen to Kidney extolling the virtues of his two fly-halves, never once, seemingly, talking about one without reference to the other, the Ireland head coach deserves kudos for pursuing a twin-track policy at fly-half.

He has done the same at scrum-half, too, and his choice of Conor Murray, Isaac Boss and Eoin Reddan as half-backs for the World Cup squad gave him the luxury of omitting his Grand Slam-winning No.9 Tomás O’Leary when form and fitness became an issue.

And the horses for courses approach at out-half over the last 18 months has helped develop the unquestionable talent of the younger Sexton whilst at the same time rejuvenating the career of the veteran O’Gara.

“I always knew the combinations of guys who had finished at the end of last season, that would be a bit of a help, but it’s very difficult for me to do that because what Eoin or Isaac and Jonathan can bring to it as well is very strong,” Kidney said Wednesday, having picked Murray and O’Gara to start against the Welsh.

“They all bring their own bits to it and I suppose it’s unconventional to have different half-backs at different times but it depends on how you look at that. Is that an area of strength or is it something you hide away from and put your eggs all into one basket?

“When they’ve been on the pitch they’ve all brought their own strengths. When Jonathan came on the last day, Italy were attacking strongly and he was hugely strong for us in defence in that last 10 minutes. That was something he brought to it and finished the game off really well.

“Eoin came in and he robbed two great balls for us in the last few minutes so leaving them out isn’t the easiest thing in the world either and that’s why I took a bit of time to select it.

“But Conor and Ronan had gone quite well for us too, earlier on, so I just think we’re in a lucky situation.”

A situation that makes for lively selection debate over both positions before every Test match, among team management, pundits and fans alike.

All of us weigh up the merits of either fly-half, their relative kicking abilities, game management, willingness to run the ball and defensive strengths, scouring the memory banks for indicators about either player’s suitability for a certain match. And each time we play this game, the more difficult it gets to find daylight between them on those fly-half facets.

So while we all envy the majesty of Dan Carter in full flow in an All Blacks jersey, perhaps we should be more grateful that Kidney is choosing to make the hard calls each week between O’Gara and Sexton.