What a difference 12 months can have on our great game of Rugby. It is interesting to see how teams are rebuilding towards the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
The Springboks, with amazing talent, will have to replace quite a few greats of their game before the next three years come. Victor Matfield, to name just one, is probably the world's best lock, but won't be around in 2011.
The Boks, though, will still have great backs with Habana, De Villiers, and the likes, with plenty of time left in their careers. New Zealand have suffered quite a drain of great talent to Europe since 2007, although many of those players will also be over the hill when the Web Ellis Trophy is up for grabs again.
However, it is hard to see the modern All Blacks being a real threat without Carter and McCaw. Many of their supporters will be hoping those two players will be fit in three years' time.
Quite possibly the biggest problem for New Zealand is the fact they let, by far and away, their best coach move across the ditch to coach the Wallabies.
Robbie Deans must be the world's best rugby coach at the moment, and with a young vibrant team of new Wallabies, must surely be rubbing his hands together with the prospects on offer to him over the next three years.
Having Deans at the helm can only help the Wallabies overcome the odds to win a World Cup on New Zealand soil, where the All Blacks' record is nothing short of astounding.
A great bonus for Deans is the youth of the new-look Wallabies. In last week's game against the AB's in Sydney, the average age of the Aussies was under 25.
When many thought the Wallabies would melt after the Kiwis hit the lead early in the second half, the young players (without their regular Captain) stood up and took charge.
Horwell, Barnes, Giteau, Burgess, and company were simply outstanding. The pressure they applied to the All Blacks forced mistakes and self-doubt rarely seen by a New Zealand team.
A lot of time will pass between now and 2011 but one thing is for sure: Deans will have a lot of time to graft and mold a terrific young team in the Wallabies as he did with the Crusaders.
More youth will be available to him by then—Lote Tuqiri's cousin played for the under-20 Wallabies and is being touted as the next Lomu, and many of Australia's great Rugby League backs are more and more showing signs of wanting to become dual internationals.
The player drain from Rugby to League has turned around, and the young rugby stars are staying in their own code. Suddenly, Australia have a bank of wealth to choose from and an incredible coach to mold them. They will, in my mind, go into the 2011 World Cup as favourites unless something extraordinary happens.
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