Of all the assembly lines in all the world, there is none to compare with New Zealand’s mass production of Test wings. New models are superseded with a frequency which leaves the rest of the planet in a permanent state of alarm.
Only an All Black like Julian Savea can reel off a strike rate second to none and find himself replaced in his prime by a succession of younger challengers, from Nehe Milner-Skudder to Waisea Naholo. No wonder that another, Charles Piutau, opted instead for the largest pot of gold, all £950,000 worth of it as offered by Bristol from next season.
When it ...