There hasn't been much mystery about the next All Blacks captain in recent years. The last appointment that had genuine intrigue was Tana Umaga in 2004.
He was the initial choice to lead the team when Graham Henry took over after the failed World Cup campaign in 2003.
Reuben Thorne had been captain at the tournament, a role he had held since 2002, but was far from a popular choice.
Henry had hinted that he wasn't a huge fan of Thorne as player or captain when he first came into the job but didn't allude to who he had his eye on.
So come late May when the first squad was picked, there was no inside knowledge as to who was going to be captain: there was no obvious candidate that everyone knew made sense.
Umaga wasn't a shock or a random choice, but he was by no means long destined for the role with everyone aware it would most likely be his.
But since Umaga, there has been a careful and deliberate succession plan which has meant the future has been mapped out.
Richie McCaw was identified as Umaga's successor in 2004 and was even given the test against Wales that year to lead the team. He had another test as captain in 2005 against Ireland in Dublin and so when Umaga retired after that tour, McCaw took over with his appointment never in dispute or remotely questioned.
He was 26 in 2006 and so it wasn't until 2012 as he approached his 30s that the All Blacks felt they needed to develop his successor – which was Kieran Read.
He captained the team nine times between 2012 and 2015 and so there was no doubt about who was going to be skipper in 2016 when McCaw retired.
But here we are now in 2020 and the picture is not so obvious about who will captain the All Blacks this year and presumably beyond.
Esta historia es de la edición Issue 204 , February - March 2020 de NZ Rugby World.
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Esta historia es de la edición Issue 204 , February - March 2020 de NZ Rugby World.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.
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RUGBY ROYALTY
FRANS STEYN’S IMPACT AT LAST YEAR’S WORLD CUP ADDED MORE PRESTIGE TO A DECORATED CAREER THAT ISN’T OVER YET. CRAIG LEWIS FROM SA RUGBY MAGAZINE REPORTS.
WINGING IT FOR LONGER
TYPICALLY POWER WINGS DON'T LAST LONG IN THE ALL BLACKS. BUT CALEB CLARKE AND RIEKO IOANE ARE HOPING TO BUCK THE TREND.
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WOW FACTOR
SCOTT ROBERTSON IS UNORTHODOX BUT HE'S ALSO BRILLIANT AND WANTS A JOB WITH THE BRITISH & IRISH LIONS.
RUGBY REBORN
COVID BROUGHT ECONOMIC CARNAGE IN 2020 BUT RATHER THAN BEING SEEN AS A WRECKER OF FORTUNES, THE PANDEMIC WAS ACTUALLY A GIANT BLESSING.
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THE UNPRECEDENTED CONDITIONS OF 2020 SAW THE INTERNATIONAL CALENDAR HASTILY REDRAWN AND IN A UNIQUE TWIST FOR THE PROFESSIONAL AGE, THE ALL BLACKS PLAYED FOUR CONSECUTIVE TESTS AGAINST AUSTRALIA.
PACIFIC POWER HOUSE
FIJI HAVE NEVER QUITE BEEN ABLE TO FULFIL THEIR ENORMOUS POTENTIAL. BUT THEY MIGHT NOW FOLLOWING THE APPOINTMENT OF VERN COTTER AS HEAD COACH.
THE PEOPLE'S CHAMPION
ON AND OFF THE FIELD, SPRINGBOKS WING CHESLIN KOLBE CONTINUES TO MAKE AN INSPIRATIONAL IMPACT.
DEFENCE FORCE ONE
THE BLUES WERE A RADICALLY DIFFERENT TEAM IN 2020 AND MUCH OF THAT WAS DUE TO THEIR VASTLY IMPROVED WORK ON DEFENCE.
