The drums have started beating in New Zealand for All Blacks great Richie McCaw to yield his cherished No.7 jersey to Sam Cane, the tyro who ransacked Ireland in Saturday’s 60-0 rugby demolition.
The 20-year-old Cane was a standout performer among a host of new generation All Blacks who annihilated the Irish in a marked improvement from their narrow 22-19 win the previous week.
“We’ve got some talent in the side that can do damage to a lot of teams,” coach Steve Hansen said as he reviewed the record 60-point victory in the third and final Test.
“We’ve introduced a whole group of young men into the All Black jersey and by and large we’d say we’ve been very happy with the way they’ve performed.
“We’re a new team that’s hit the road and hit the road reasonably well. We’re not the finished article and we’ll stay humble. We’ll stay with our feet on the floor and we’ll keep working hard and try and get better.”
From the starting line-up that beat France in the World Cup final eight months ago only seven started against Ireland on Saturday.
Dan Carter, Kieran Read, Cory Jane and Richard Kahui, are on the injured roster and will cause selection problems for Hansen when all but Kahui return to duty before the Rugby Championship.
There is intrigue around the loose forwards, locks and almost the entire backline for the upcoming Tests against South Africa, Australia and Argentina in the series that replaces the former Tri-Nations.
With McCaw shifted to the boot of the scrum for the Ireland Test to cover for Read, Cane sparkled as the openside flanker in only his second outing.
His tackling and turnover rate was reminiscent of a young McCaw and his support play netted him two tries.
McCaw’s Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder and former All Blacks hero Michael Jones have both spoken in favour of New Zealand’s centurion openside flanker now moving to the blindside.
“I think that will definitely happen over time,” Blackadder told the Sunday Star-Times.
“He’s got the ability to be like a Michael Jones. With the way Richie plays, he’s more and more used to playing the role of a six or eight.”
Hansen was less certain, saying Cane’s outstanding performance made it easier to manage the 31-year-old McCaw “who is the best number seven in the world and we’ve got someone now that might allow us to make sure he’s around for a lot longer.”