I had a dream last night. A dream so fanciful, I woke up in a cold sweat terrified that this time, I really had lost my marbles.

So that you can empathise with the acute fears I had for my sanity, I feel compelled to let you in on the rambling thoughts of my dream.

I first dreamt that every northern hemisphere team to visit New Zealand in future would be at full-strength.
 
That bizarre notion then had me dreaming that the tests that took place between these outfits and the All Blacks would be competitive, interesting affairs.

Now if you find all of that as weird as I did, get a load of this I then dreamt that these tests would be played in sunny, smart stadiums which would be full of happy and content fans, so enjoying such quality occasions.

This hallucinating didn't stop there. My dream then turned to the new Super 15 competition where for some crazy reason, I kept dwelling on a tournament that will be played out from beginning to end in 2010 [now get this] without interruption!

This is the stage in my dream where I sat bolt upright, somehow knowing I had to tell my subconscious to stop teasing me further.

So you can imagine my relief at discovering that these extremely odd thoughts had no basis in reality.

I quickly checked the facts. France are sending a sub-standard team to take on the All Blacks in the first test with some sort of a half-hearted promise that some first-choice players will arrive for the second encounter.

We then have the thrilling prospect of hosting that rugby powerhouse, Italy, here to take over where the magic of the French tour leaves off. I can’t wait.

To further douse any false hopes that my dream might have given me, it was again comforting to know that all of these tests will be played at night in the dead of winter, with the first test against the French taking place at arguably the most depressing venue in world rugby, namely Carisbrook, in probably the most gloomy of conditions.

And finally, the last check I needed to do was to verify that indeed, there will be a three week interruption to the new Super 15 format at this time of the year, at precisely the stage that the tournament will be at its most intriguing.

One thing is certain. I never want to have such a tease of a dream again where suchsanity prevailed.

It’s way too cruel to contemplate scenarios that have less chance of happening than hell freezing over.

As a footnote to this week’s blog, I’ve just heard that Richie McCaw is to flag the tests against France and Italy.

It worries me that if McCaw is so obviously running on empty now, how will he be the same formidable player he’s been in the past at World Cup time in 2011?

Your reactions please.