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Back to the shiny, black and trophy-laden rugby desk this week where we are wrapping up our code coverage for this year with a little review of the recent Rugby Championship and some very early and unnecessary World Cup hype.

As is old news by now, the mighty All Blacks have won yet another Rugby Championship with a game in hand, turning last weekend’s trip to South Africa from an epic title decider into another dead rubber. Now I should be more excited, even over the moon at winning our third consecutive Rugby Championship, but I couldn’t help but become a little bit bored with the All Blacks having become so predictably dominant recently. It is a bit cheeky to suggest that a tournament involving the other top 3 ranked teams is a walk in the park but the statistics would suggest that this is definitely the case. As I write this before the final game in Johannesburg, we may well have lost that one. But, at the moment, the record books indicate that in the 15 previous matches in the Championship since 2012, the All Blacks have played 15, won 14, drawn 1, and lost 0. Just give us the World Cup now and save us the trip ...

I will admit that the results this year look easier and more comfortable on paper than it actually was in reality on the field. South Africa managed to push us all the way in Wellington a few weeks ago with the game finishing 14–10 and that 12–12 draw in the opening game against the Wallabies in Sydney, the game that broke our record-equalling test-winning streak, could have easily gone their way.

But we always find a way to win, so given the form of the All Blacks since the last World Cup it would be hard to realistically imagine any other result apart from them defending their title. However, the final in London is still over a year away so who knows what disasters might befall the team between now and then. We all remember the injury crisis of 2011 with our number 10s dropping like flies, leading to Stephen Donald being called back from his whitebaiting trip to win us the Cup with his penalty goal. Sounds like an inspirational plot from a made-for-TV movie …

In an attempt to mitigate the chances of injuries affecting the World Cup, the 2015 edition of the Rugby Championship will have a shortened, three-week format with the teams only meeting once. The All Blacks and Argentina drew the short straws and have to play two of their games away from home. This could give the other teams a small glimmer of hope at winning the “tournament,” which would give them a big boost of confidence ahead of the World Cup. If we are going to lose some games and pick up some injuries then hopefully it happens in these games rather than in England when it really matters.

I can see Steve Hansen using these three games as a time to experiment with his team and being happy to concede this rather inconsequential battle for a better chance at winning the war come next October. Although, if everyone stays fit, I can’t imagine there being too many new faces coming into the squad between now and next year. The Sonny Bill factor does make the midfield selection area an interesting one to watch but expect a pretty predictable line up for our first game against Argentina at Wembley Stadium next September.

It’s hard to find some decent opposition these days

The first of the losers this season are the mercurial South Africans, who struggled to limp past Argentina but then gave us our biggest challenge. It is hard to find many positives to say about the Springboks who play a boring but brutal style of rugby and rely far too much on their kickers and the borderline criminal tactics of their genetically modified forward pack. Of course, the ‘Boks will be quietly confident of their chances at the World Cup even though an easy run through the group means that they are likely to run into Australia or England in the quarterfinals. They have an experienced but aging squad, and with several of them likely to retire after the tournament, they will be keen to go out on a high note. South Africa remain as our closest challengers on the field.

Australia have not been particularly impressive so far this season. The Wallabies will be looking forward to the All Blacks’ return trip to Brisbane for the dead-rubber Bledisloe Cup fixture on 18 October. It will act as some encouragement before the Aussies head out on their European tour. They need to steady their ship because after the 51–20 thrashing that we dealt to them at Eden Park, they have looked pretty shaky and unconvincing. However, I have a feeling that things should all come together for them at the World Cup next year, although they do have, arguably, the most challenging of groups to get through, with hosts England, Wales and Fiji to contend with. Even though South Africa have provided the All Blacks with our most challenging tests, recently and historically, a victory over Australia still remains worth more – emotionally, at least – than a victory over anyone else.

Despite losing all their games, Argentina have improved with some close results, finishing within seven points of Australia and South Africa and not getting absolutely blown away by the All Blacks. The experience gained by the Pumas in the Rugby Championship is starting to show and they will be looking forward to facing up to the All Blacks again as they are in our pretty easy group, along with Tonga, Georgia and Namibia. The way the draw is structured and likely to play out should see the Los Pumas into a semi-final at least. Anything less than that will be a little disappointing seeing as they have been holding their own against the world’s top three ranked nations. They need to send a few more players over here to play regularly in Super Rugby to give them more top level experience.