Todd can torment Sharks
21 Jun 2011
RYAN VREDE writes celebrating the likely absence of Richie McCaw is foolish when the Crusaders boast a replacement of the calibre of Matt Todd.
McCaw has established himself as the pre-eminent openside in world rugby, and his value, when fully fit and performing at optimal level, cannot be overstated.
He has battled a foot injury throughout the Crusaders’ campaign, and it is likely to be confirmed on Wednesday that he will not recover to face the Sharks in Nelson.
Whatever optimism that stirs must, however, be tempered. Todd has proven himself to be a more than competent deputy and, with referees allowing a far greater breakdown contest than they did in 2010, Todd will be a key player for the seven-time champions on Saturday.
Of the tournament’s openside flankers, only the Force’s David Pocock has pilfered more ball at ruck time than Todd. His work-rate has matched McCaw’s this season, seen by him contesting an average of 13 rucks per match. In addition, his anticipation and timing is superb, evidenced in large part by his low penalty count in relation to the number of times he contests at the breakdown.
The value of an effective and disciplined opensider in a play-off match cannot be overstated. Stifling the opposition’s attacking flow allows you to defend with a set line, making the task of scoring an arduous one.
This is where Todd’s primary value lies. While the trend is for referees to allow a greater contest at the breakdown, it remains difficult to effect turnovers. You only need to reflect on statistics from 2009 that show an average of nine breakdown turnovers per match compared to five under the new law interpretations.
However, in an environment where scoring opportunities will be difficult to craft given the premium placed on defence, a single turnover – from which the Crusaders are masters of capitalising – could be decisive to the outcome.
Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder spoke glowingly of Todd prior to their match against the Stormers in Cape Town in early May. In the build-up Blackadder left one in no doubt about the regard in which the player is held.
‘He is arguably the best openside to come out of our system since Richie,’ he told keo.co.za. ‘For one so young (23) he is already a smart bloke in terms of how he goes about his business.
‘It’s crucial these days for opensides to time their contest well, or they cop some stick from the referees. His timing is excellent; he is rarely not the second arrival, which obviously gives him a better crack at slowing or grabbing the pill.
‘We rate him highly and see him as a natural successor to Richie. Working alongside him [McCaw] everyday he is getting the best schooling around. The benefits of that are already starting to show in the way he has played this season.’
The Sharks will take heart from the fact that Todd had a limited impact when the sides met at Twickenham in March (he made two turnovers and contested 13 rucks). They nullified his potency by consistently crossing the gain-line, and will be determined to replicate that performance this weekend.
Failure to dominate this facet of play will offer Todd the opportunity to significantly dilute their threat.
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22 Jun 2011, 01:37 am
“When Dan Carter kicks off towards the Tongan forwards in the first match of the 2011 Rugby World Cup, an 80-year-old from Whakatane will be watching from a special VIP seat in the stand.
**** Littlejohn is a retired rugby player, a former All Blacks manager, and most notably, the Kiwi co-founder of the Rugby World Cup.
A man who 2011 organiser Martin Snedden sought out as soon as he took up the job.
“His leadership and that of his Australian counterpart [Sir Nicholas Shehadie] is what ultimately in the end made sure that the thing happened,” Snedden said.
“It’s a story that hasn’t really been told much in the public domain, and it was really good to sit down [with him] and hear that.”
Littlejohn, alongside Aussie Sir Nicholas, convinced sceptical European rugby bosses a world cup was a starter in 1985.
After a deciding vote in Paris to establish the tournament, they sealed the deal that led to the famous All Blacks triumph at Eden Park two years later.
Now, in 2011, Littlejohn’s role in Rugby World Cup history affords him a prime seat for the opener on September 9, when he will be surrounded by a crowd three times the size of the 1987 inaugural game.
“It’s coming back to where it started, and I was at the right place at the right time to be part of the beginning,” Littlejohn said.
“We knew it would get bigger, bigger and bigger. And I think it will become even bigger.”
Rugby was the last of the globally recognised sports to organise a world tournament. But in the 24 years since, the Rugby World Cup has grown to become – according to the organisers – the third-largest sporting event on the planet, with 1.65 million tickets on sale this year.
The tournament was a late bloomer because of resistance from the International Rugby Board, which argued it would jeopardise the amateur element of the game.
With New Zealand and Australia pushing for change by making separate proposals to the IRB for a world cup, and later winning support from France, the board cracked in 1984.
The IRB asked for a feasibility study, and Littlejohn’s name was put forward by New Zealand Rugby Union councillor Patrick Gill for the project.
At the time, Littlejohn was All Blacks manager, Bay of Plenty Rugby Union chairman, and an NZRU councillor.
He joined Sir Nicholas as co-chairman of a trans-Tasman organisation to work on a plan.
Once the study was published, the Nick and **** show began.
Littlejohn and Sir Nicholas took the cup concept around the world, pitching it to the opposing British Nations.
“We told them we were very confident that we could run it,” Littlejohn said.
“It was important to make rugby a global game.
“You couldn’t say that you were the best in the world if you had only played in the Six Nations. It had to be the pinnacle of rugby union.”
Littlejohn recruited two English journalists to write about the two colonialists and stir up interest in the Rugby World Cup.
Some felt the tournament should go ahead with or without the northern side, but it never came to that. Australia, New Zealand, and France backed the concept, while Scotland, Ireland, Wales and England were against it.
The big day came in 1985 in Paris, where eight teams, including South Africa, voted, with each nation having two votes.
South Africa backed the idea despite not being able to attend because of apartheid, resulting in a stalemate.
It was a secret vote, but England’s John Kendall-Carpenter confirmed he, too, supported the concept and it is suspected Wales also broke ranks.
“After Sir Nicholas and I had toured the world, we knew that we could get enough support for it to be approved and we also knew that the huge bulk of players throughout the world wanted it.”
The championships were in the bag, and the plans for Australia and New Zealand to host the 1987 games went ahead, two years before the first match.
“We were the catalyst of Rugby World Cup. There would have been a Rugby World Cup eventually, but we ignited the spark,” Littlejohn said. The IRB’s Kendall-Carpenter joined Littlejohn and Sir Nicholas to set the plans in motion.
The next challenge was funding. British sports marketing company West Nally, the tournament’s representatives, made contact with Japanese telecommunications company KDD.
“On a Saturday evening after a test match in Wellington.
I got a phone call to say that Nick was engaged, John was ill and that I had to be in Tokyo on the Monday afternoon,” Littlejohn said.”I flew back to Whakatane and then flew to Auckland to Tokyo for the announcement that they were going to sponsor the tournament.
“KDD became the main sponsor shortly before the games kicked off, giving the cup US$3.25 million, about NZ$7m at the time.
“I’ve often thought they haven’t been given the recognition. It’s probably my only sadness. They made the tournament a success financially.”
The All Blacks went on to win their first and only Rugby World Cup, beating France 29-9 at Eden Park.
“The win was not as uplifting as when the first ball was kicked off. Then we knew the World Cup was here forever and it would never die.”
Littlejohn said co-creating the concept, selling it, and bringing it to life was a huge experience for him.
Organising the event today would have been easier, he said. People are thinking more globally in every sport.
But Snedden disagrees. Introducing the rugby tournament today would have presented more obstacles.
He said the game was amateur and exclusively rugby-focused in the 1980s, whereas now there is a commercial matrix wrapped around it.
New Zealand was stripped from co-hosting the tournament in 2003 because of advertising in stadiums. “If you don’t get things right commercially, you strike disaster.”
Snedden said a global tournament would have been established at some point, but it was fast-tracked by Littlejohn’s work.
“There have been key figures in [Rugby World Cup] as it has gone through each of the four-year cycles and he is up there with all of those people.”
Littlejohn, who still lives in Whakatane, continues to be involved in rugby as the patron of the Bay of Plenty Rugby Union.
And he keeps himself busy by running his own business Littlejohn Machinery.
Naturally, Littlejohn is hoping for a repeat All Blacks victory on home soil, but he said it was not everything.
“What I want to see is the whole country enjoying, watching and participating in the biggest tournament New Zealand has ever had and is ever likely to have,” he said.
22 Jun 2011, 06:14 am
@Black Panther(Black Panther)-101:Nice post.
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