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After just squeaking into the Major League Soccer postseason, the Seattle Sounders FC now find themselves just two games away from a first-ever berth in the MLS Cup Final.Standing in its way is a visiting Colorado Rapids team on Tuesday that put together a memorable regular season finishing in second place in the Western Conference after missing the playoffs for the past two seasons.Colorado has gained some deserved notoriety as far as being the best defensive team in our league this year, Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer said of a Rapids team that allowed just 32 goals in 34 regular season games. But they also have some attacking weapons so we cant forget about that.That stout Colorado defense was dealt a blow over the international break when U.S. international goalkeeper Tim Howard went down with an adductor injury in the 2-1 World Cup qualifying loss to Mexico.The injury means Zac MacMath will step into the lineup. MacMath started the first 16 games of the season prior to Howards arrival so it wont be too much of an eye-opening experience for him. In those 16 games, Colorado went 9-2-5 as the Rapids burst out of the gate to open the campaign.Im very excited to start again. After the front half of the season I had, its just another great opportunity to show off my skills in the postseason, said MacMath, according to the clubs website.Ive never had a playoff game before so Im excited about it. Im ready for it and hopefully we can get the (win).While the Rapids will be without Howard, Seattle will likely be without MLS Rookie of the Year Jordan Morris, who tweaked a hamstring in the previous round against FC Dallas. Hes been participating in training but is doubtful for at least the first leg in Seattle on Tuesday night.After a season full of turmoil in Seattle that has never failed to make the playoffs, Schmetzer has come in and righted the ship after taking over from former coach Sigi Schmid.Colorado won both regular-season meetings but the sides havent faced each other since May and theres been a lot changed since then.We dont like to change too much to the other teams, said Schmetzer of taking on a good Colorado side. Obviously there are subtle tactics that you use to try and gain an advantage but were trying to get our team right and firing on all cylinders and doing what we do best that puts to bed some of the questions you might have if you havent played against a team since May. Cheap Vapormax 2019 .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. 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But the impact of the bench and the class of the All Blacks to weather the storm and come through was quite pleasing to see.I enjoyed the game and it was great to see someone like Julian Savea find some form again. Once again Beauden Barrett was a class act and Ryan Crotty had a great game. Ben Smith just keeps on producing.Argentina were always going to target the All Blacks up front. They are big and strong and pride themselves on their set-piece. They like it in close and I think the frustrating thing for Aaron Smith was that they targeted in and around the fringes and they picked him out a few times.Really, running at Aaron Smith is something that should never happen in a game, you should always protect your half-back around those areas. But they certainly got through which means they broke some tackles.And when TJ Perenara came on for Smith he showed that he is as strong as many forwards. He can weather that sort of close quarter battle, hes a nuggety; a very powerful half-back. It was probably better suited for Perenara against the Pumas and if you get an opportunity in that environment, and they are few and far between, you take them with two hands.I always felt he was No.2 and he has had a great year and his form towards the end of Super Rugby was outstanding. It did seem when the side was first selected that Tawera Kerr-Barlow was favoured ahead of him, but I would have picked Perenara to be clearly the No.2 and he certainly proved it at the weekend.The planning that is going on in and around talent identification and bringing players through is a science in itself, but I think the All Blacks coaches are proving theyve got a really good grasp on not just the All Blacks in 2016 and looking at 2017, they are looking for the next World Cup and probably beyond which is something that has never really happened before.If you look at yesteryear and the way things used to work, youd get an All Blacks coach come in probably for a tenure of four years and then you would change him. There was always a call for his head and someone else to take over if you go through the Grizz Wyllies, the John Harts, the Laurie Mains. You can go all the way back for decades when there was always the case of: Who is the next All Blacks coach going to be?Now its more business orientated and if you look at Steve Hansen he is like a CEO with deputies around him. That means his job is not under threat and hes clearly developing. This goes as far back as Graham Henry because Henry always advocated helping to develop his deputies.He did that with Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith and it created a situation where any one of those three coaches could have been the All Blacks coach. Henry made everyone take ownership of that role and now Steve Hansen has carried on that momentum. It just seems to be a really professional way of running a sports team.Look at every other country. Michael Cheika has just come in after Ewen McKenzie. You can look at the woes of the South Africa coaches they have had over the last 10 years.New Zealand, by comparison, has got stability and business is good and growing. The structture in and around the management, and while nothing is perfect, it is as close to perfect as you can get.ddddddddddddThe New Zealand rugby public also seems much more attuned to what is going on, especially when you compare the All Blacks with the Warriors who now have another new coach. What the All Blacks have is something the rest of the world will be obviously jealous of: leadership.Its good management, professionalism and this goes right up to Steve Tew, the chief executive of New Zealand Rugby. He should take a real bow over whats been created with the on-field performance because at the end of the day hes the CEO and he has so much trust in Steve Hansen who is delivering on every front.Those guys are going to work with no monkeys on their backs, theyve got a clear job in hand and theyre developing deputies. Theyre actually thriving.It is a sport, but if this was business they could be described as raking in the profits because of the development they are doing in the form of players.So far as South Africa this weekend is concerned I dont know if we can expect much more than what we have already seen out of South Africa. Theyve got some injury woes and in the locking department they are two players out already. And Willem Alberts coming in, he is the sort of crash-and-bash player, the arm wrestle-type rugby player and thats what South Africa will look at.They will see what Argentina did and where they can put some pressure on the All Blacks. They will try and replicate that because it is, and always has been, a good part of their game. That arm wrestle type rugby is what theyre good at and Argentina showed theres a fat mans track right down the middle and if you can crack that and create something off it you can find holes in the All Blacks defence.They always rise to the play the All Blacks; theyre our greatest foe. Were going to get a Springboks team that will believe they can beat the All Blacks because unlike Argentina, there is no monkey on their backs. Theyve beaten the All Blacks time and time again over the years, although it hasnt been in recent years, but theyll be wanting to chance their arm and do their best.Ultimately, though, I think the All Blacks have got way too much firepower and they know what the Springboks will deliver and they will have done work on where Argentina exposed them.Its one thing analysing how the All Blacks got exposed last week but its another thing expecting the All Blacks to run out and let those sorts of errors occur again. They will have been well and truly addressed now and if youre looking one week behind it is too late in the All Blacks environment.One final point regarding the Chiefs post-season dramas, I think as a parent if there is any lesson that came out of that I sat my 16-year-old boy down and showed him exactly what could happen. I think if every parent in New Zealand could take some lessons out of it and pass that knowledge on then that is the only way we are going to change the culture in our community.It is a community issue, not just a rugby isolated issue, and I think whenever something bad goes on thats the best time to learn and pass on to those who are in the best position to learn. ' ' '