FILLING THE VOID

Everyone could see the All Blacks were going to hit the wall at the end of 2015. They were going to lose arguably the two greatest players in All Blacks history – Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter.

Those two were retiring from test rugby as were four other legends of the game – Ma'a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Tony Woodcock and Keven Mealamu.

They were known collectively as the 'Golden Generation', all of them had been great All Blacks, having done great things.

All of them had been heavily involved in delivering the most successful decade of results which saw the All Blacks win 90 per cent of their tests between 2008 and 2015.

All of them would be in the frame to be considered the best in their respective positions – not just best All Blacks, but best the world had known.

Certainly McCaw and Carter would make any all time greatest player XV and Nonu and Smith would be in the frame.

Between them they had in excess of 800 caps – five of them were centurions and Smith signed off with 94 appearances.

And it was the experience and leadership brought by those players that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was fearful of losing.

Hansen had come to realise in his long exposure to international rugby that leadership was so often