Michael's Opinion on the Rugby

A wins a win - especially against a team that:

• thumped Wales a week earlier
• was playing an All Black team that was a new combination - essentially a trial team
• has a history of being very difficult to beat at home.

And to put things in perspective, Australia fielded a full strength team against a full strength Ireland and beat them by 20 points. New Zealand fields a second string team and against a full strength Ireland and beats them by 10 points.

However, I rate this new Australia team highly - the new coach is getting good performances out of the team and they seem to be a good blend of young talent and experienced hands. They will be difficult to beat twice, let alone three times. And playing South Africa twice in the Republic is never easy.

Just like the past few years, it looks like a tight Tri-Nations - I can't wait.