Bill Clark, John Graham, Waka Nathan, Grizz Wyllie, Graham Mourie, Michael Jones, Josh Kronfeld... when it comes to open-side flankers, the All Blacks have had a few good'uns in the post-war era. Richie McCaw, the current New Zealand captain, sits alongside them in the pantheon and when he wins his 100th Test cap in this weekend's match with France, even the harshest critics of New Zealand rugby should be man enough to bend the knee and bow the head. Picked for the national team after just 17 provincial games for Canterbury, he ruffled a few feathers early on. "You might as well give All Black jerseys to everybody," grumbled Kronfeld at the time. Josh, old bean: you understand infinitely more about this hard old game than those of us who merely pontificate about it, but you got that one horribly wrong.

Taira injury adds to Japan's pain

What is it with the Japanese? Yesterday, ahead of their meeting with Tonga, they saw a fifth member of their squad invalided out of the tournament when the centre Koji Taira gave best to a hamstring injury. He therefore joined his fellow midfielder Yota Imamura, the scrum-half Tomoki Yoshida, the No 8 Ryukoliniasi Holani and the second-row forward Justin Ives (no, he's not really Japanese) in failing to make it through the pool stage. There have been casualties elsewhere – Andrew Sheridan, the outsized England prop, and David Skrela, the French outside-half, being prime examples – but five is going it a bit. Are they the Brave Blossoms, or the Poor Petals? You decide.

Rugby world comes to city's relief

A little good news for sorry, stricken Christchurch – home to the world's best non-international rugby team, but forced off the tournament hosting roster after suffering three serious earthquakes and thousands of aftershocks in the space of 12 catastrophically destructive months. Rugby folk from every last far-flung corner of the union landscape have raised funds for the relief fund, with the total currently standing at something close to £250,000. There have been meaningful contributions from governing bodies in both England and France, while online sporting memorabilia auctions continue to generate much-needed funds. Not that there is much in the way of light at the end of the tunnel: insurance payouts are slow at best and non-existent at worst. Few expect the city to be fully back on its feet this side of 2020.