Talking Points | infonews.co.nz New Zealand News

A number of coaches have parted company from the teams which bowed out of RWC 2011, with some high-profile names among those who will be seeking to ply their trade elsewhere after the early exit from the tournament. Contracts expired for Italy's Nick Mallett and Japan's John Kirwan, Russia head coach Nikolay Nerush resigned and South Africa's Peter de Villiers immediately fell on his sword after the loss to Australia, only to apparently pull himself off it again 24 hours later. Martin Johnson faces intense scrutiny over his future as England manager after their ill-fated World Cup, while Marc Lièvremont may be looking forward to removing himself from the media glare when he quits as France coach at the end of the tournament. Those responsible for filling the vacancies will not have overlooked the fact that three of the four head semi-finalists' coaches are New Zealanders: Warren Gatland for Wales, Robbie Deans for Australia and Graham Henry for the All Blacks. Magic ingredient What is less obvious is the magic ingredient these Kiwis possess that has made them so much more successful at RWC 2011. Argentina captain Felipe Contepomi may have put his finger on it when he described the style of the All Blacks, who had just eliminated his team on Sunday night: "They play a very simple game, but what they do is they do it very well." Another common characteristic of the 'Eden Park Three' is their very noticeable confidence in young talent. When Gatland named his team to face Ireland in Wellington last weekend, many Wales fans were alarmed that 56-Test playmaker James Hook had been left on the bench, while Stephen Jones, who in the pool stage had become Wales' most capped player after 102 Tests, was not even in the match 22. Instead, 24-year-old Rhys Priestland was chosen at fly half for just his ninth Test cap. Captain Sam Warburton had only turned 23 a few days before the match, while 19-year-old winger George North was making full back Leigh Halfpenny feel an old head at 22. Selection dilemma Meanwhile, Ireland coach Declan Kidney resolved his main selection dilemma by giving the number 10 shirt to 34-year-old Ronan O'Gara for his 116th Test for his country, ahead of 26-year-old Jonathan Sexton, whom many believe would have been better equipped to unlock the resolute Wales defence. Similarly, fellow losers England opted for Jonny Wilkinson (32 years, 90 Tests for England) at fly half instead of Toby Flood (26 years, 45 Tests). Other Johnson selection decisions came down in favour of the older player: Steve Thompson (33, 72 Tests) at hooker instead of Dylan Hartley (25, 33 Tests), Tom Palmer (32, 32 Tests) in the second row ahead of Courtney Lawes (22, 12 Tests) and Nick Easter (33, 46 Tests) at number 8 instead of James Haskell (26, 41 Tests). During his four years as the Wallabies head coach, Deans has shown a desire to blood promising players early and regularly and it is no surprise that his squad is the youngest in the tournament. In the run-up to RWC, he relieved 28-year-old Rocky Elsom of his captaincy duties in favour of James Horwill, two years his junior and with less than half as many caps. James O'Connor, who kicked the winning penalty against the Springboks, has managed to amass 34 caps despite only being 21. Six of the eight forwards who started Sunday's quarter-final against the Springboks were no older than 28, while only two of the seven backs were older than 23. Most experienced To counter the Wallabies' youthful bravado South Africa rolled out the most experienced team in World Cup history, with 836 caps between them. To the chagrin of many pundits, John Smit (33, 110 Tests) held his place at hooker ahead of Bismarck du Plessis (27, 41 Tests). Four of the front five were 30 or older, while five of the seven backs were 27 or older. Although injuries have skewed many of Henry's selections, he did suggest he was not about to allow sentimentality or seniority come into the equation when he promoted Israel Dagg (23, 10 Tests) ahead of Mils Muliaina (31, 99 Tests) for the full back position. Similarly, in the second row, he chose Sam Whitelock (23 last Wednesday, 22 Tests) ahead of Ali Williams (30, 70 Tests). So it would seem clear that the motto of these three Kiwi coaches is: if you are good enough, you are old enough. Just how good that is will be revealed come 23 October.