A lot of the older Ferners out there will have similar memories to me when it comes to the current All Blacks, and their 2007 form, when the forward pack is easily the best in the world, and the back line is not.  The title at the moment would go to the Wobbly back line, who are scoring some lovely tries from set pieces, and look like a back line should - penetrative and dangerous.

Memories from the early eighties though, when the All Black's had a pack that would smash all and sundry, and a back line that was again, second by a long way to our cobbers from across the ditch.

That team from the eighties though, did have a back line that would score tries too, and by the end of the decade it was pretty good in fact - the Kirwan's and Green's and Terry Wright's all scoring bucket loads of tries.  It was also helmed by one of the best tens to have graced a rugby jersey too, Grant Fox.

So there are many similarities between now and then, perhaps not a direct parallel between the two backlines, the current mob can at times look like a late eighties lineup, and at times even worse than that early 80's kick and clap version!  On the other hand, they can look pretty good too, but that has been well missing during the 2007 season...

The main 'all over again-ness though', is the forward pack, as mentioned above.

We have got the worlds best front row, as we did in 1987.  Sean Fitzpatrick, book ended by Steve McDowell and John Drake made a front three that stood up to, and beat, all that the world could offer.  McDowell and Fitzpatrick both went on to become great of the All Black game, and Drake, who retired the year after the World Cup was an immovable object in the set pieces.  The lock pairing was not to shabby either, Murray Pierce and Gary Whetton.  Both among the worlds best at the time, and in combination with that front row, part of a tight five that was unbeatable.

But it was in the loose forwards, then as now, where we had the edge.  Michael Jones, Alan Whetton and Buck Shelford formed a combination that rivals the one running out today in black.  These three, as the three today, formed a trio was complimentary in every way.  You had the fetcher, the worker and the ball carrier.  Jones being the fetcher, who also was a brilliant ball carrying link man (as the game of the day demanded), the hard yards man in Shelford, and the tidier, the man in the right place at the right time, Whetton.  Those three roles are filled today by (respectively), McCaw, Collins and So'oilao.

The pack of 1987 was filled with players who are now recognised as greats, as many of the current pack will be too, especially if a certain trophy is bought back from France in a few months time.  Mealamu and Oliver will join Fitzy at the podium finishers for the title of best ever All Black hooker (fighting for bronze and silver though).  Hayman will cement the 'best ever' three jersey, and Woodock will be a serious contender for the loosehead spot.  Jack, Williams and Robinson will join the heavyweight locks headed by Pierce and Whetton, and the loose trio, well, they are already pretty close to the 1987 trio.

There are a couple of major difference though, in this day and age, unlike in 1987, all the players are known quantities, and it is known how good this forward pack is.  In 1987, that forward pack caught the world by surprise, so there will be no surprises this year, but the work will still be done.

The second difference, squads and subs.  In 1987, in the major matches, the forward pack played eighty minutes each match.  The team ran onto the field, and stayed there until they had to be carried off.  These days with subs, your pack goes harder for longer (a bit like Viagra), you have a 22 versus 22 situation, as opposed to 15 on 15 of years gone by.

So, surprise or not, if our forward pack can do the business, 20 years on, we should get the same result, deja vu all over again, and another World Cup win.

A functioning back line will just add the icing to the cake.

The 1987 World Cup winning forward pack.
1 Steve McDowell (Auckland), 2 Sean Fitzpatrick (Auckland), 3 John Drake (Auckland), 4 Murray Pierce (Wellington), 5 Gary Whetton (Auckland), 6 Alan Whetton (Auckland), 7 Michael Jones (Auckland), 8 Buck Shelford (North Harbour).