Tri-Nations Hell in a Cell

International rugby gets a shot of adrenaline this Saturday morning with the start of the Tri-Nations championships.

NZ going for fourth successive title

New Zealand Herald

One team coming off World Cup glory and two with points to prove after freezing on rugby's grandest stage - this a Tri-Nations truly worthy of the name.

Pressure is mounting from all directions on an All Blacks side chasing a record fourth successive title in the annual stoush of the southern hemisphere giants.

The South Africans, who cruised to world champion status last November, are largely intact while Australia have acquired Crusaders icon Robbie Deans as their coach, the man many believe should now be at the New Zealand helm.

But perhaps the greatest challenges for coach Graham Henry comes from within his own All Blacks squad, who have taken on a distinctly inexperienced tinge.

To maintain their winning standards of the past five years will mean handling the heaviest player turnaround of Henry's tenure, his stocks thinned appreciably by the lure of offshore riches.

Read the rest.

A pessimistic "His Bobness" at The Silver Fern thinks "the Boks must be dreaming of All Blacks for breakfast." Give it a read.