Taking New Zealand’s pulse on the eve of the knockout stages, it is not difficult to discern the growing palpitations. Just when the country had stopped grieving over the loss of Dan Carter and started turning ‘Do it for Dan’ into a national rallying cry, it is now being infected with high anxiety over Richie McCaw’s dodgy right foot.
Listening to All Blacks coach Graham Henry concede for the first time what a huge mental and physical challenge it will now be for McCaw just to make it through this tournament because of his persistent, debilitating foot injury, you could hear the alarm bells ringing from Whangarei to Invercargill about old Captain Fantastic’s plight.
Losing one of their game’s pillars in Carter might have been unfortunate; losing the other would be unthinkable.
So while there is plenty for the hosts to agonise over, at least there is one thing nobody here seems to feel the need to fret about. And that’s Argentina.
Henry unwittingly gave the game away when asked whether his injured flyers, Israel Dagg and Richard Kahui, would be fit for the semi-finals.
telegraph.co.uk