Craig Dowd played 60 Tests for New Zealand between 1993 and 2000, including in two World Cups, and he was part of the All Blacks team that won their first series in South Africa in 1996. He played for the Blues and Auckland in New Zealand domestic rugby, and for Wasps in England from 2001 to 2005. In 2009, he coached North Harbour in the ITM Cup. More recently has been a SKY Television comments man.
Players who have finally been able to get on a plane and land in Japan will be experiencing somewhat of a sense of relief now that they are there, they are finally part of the Rugby World Cup.
All the build-up, talk and hype is almost completely behind them, and they will all be itching to play. All that pre-tournament carry-on can be a bit much, the players will just be wanting to hear the whistle blow and for the game to get underway.
That's what they will all be hanging out for. It's an exciting time, but once the competition starts and the tournament finds its rhythm, the players will start to settle down and can focus on the job at hand.
For the All Blacks, that first game against South Africa will be a test of how far they have come. The game they drew earlier in the season will be in the back of their minds. But there has been some steady improvement from the All Blacks, especially in the last two Tests against Australia and Tonga.
You talk about peaking in sports and peaking at the right time. You do find you come into form; the trick is to take the confidence that comes with and roll it into the next match.
I think the Test with South Africa will really set up the competition. Whoever wins that game will grow in confidence and kick on; but it will be a tough battle.
Some of the positives from the weekend were that the All Blacks certainly showed they could play at a high tempo and a high pace. They looked really sharp.
The biggest positive was that Tonga brought a rush defence. The All Blacks tested that defence by having their front line take on that defence, but then moved the ball further back through their second line to get room on the outside. When that happens there is a lot of real estate behind and it is very difficult for those defenders to turn and chase.
The value in that was most teams now have a rush defence and that is something the All Blacks are going to have to deal with during the World Cup. Tonga had no answer to the way the All Blacks took them on with that approach.
The All Blacks were able to make a statement. That was what Steve Hansen said ahead of the game and they would have got the attention of the rest of the rugby world as a result.
