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I saw a great quote yesterday – The All Blacks have never won a Rugby World Cup outside of Auckland!
That gave me such comfort… maybe we can beat them on our home turf of Twickenham.
But you have to admit they do have a tendency to choke. More comfort? Not when you realise that they usually had a tendency to choke against Les Bleus, and they have definitely put that one behind them.
Who will they play next – probably a team that they have played before in recent history.
I said last week after watching them beat Tonga that they looked like a team that had just been going to training and playing touch footy.
That might have been the case, because I think they spent their time in the pool games, experimenting with moves and combinations. They had that luxury, not being in a pool like ours.
But against the French, they turned on a masterclass. Their running lines were mostly dead straight, while in defence they got on the inside shoulder and forced the French to drift. The French tried to play with their usual unpredictability, but the All Blacks just turned out the lights!
New Zealand’s wing Julian Savea runs to score during the quarter final match of the 2015 Rugby World Cup. (AFP PHOTO/GABRIEL BOUYS)
How do you counter that? With direct defence, getting off the line and cutting down their insider runners – posting defensive people on both sides of the breakdown to counter changes of direction and adding numbers to the breakdown. Grinding, hard defence – it’s the only answer. Foraging and competing and making them work on the edges of correctness, and working to force turnovers and advantages and penalties.
They scored a couple in broken play after the French had put multiple phases together, then made one little mistake which was punished with prejudice.
I didn’t bother to get up for the first half, just watched the last 35 minutes, but at the 60 they just put their foot on the French throat and cruised home and it was amazing how the French heads and shoulders dropped and how they capitulated.
I can’t see the stronger teams falling for that. You can’t bully your way to a finals victory, but whoever is going to beat them will have to be up to the task.
You expect most teams to tire in the last 20, but the All Blacks just powered on and got stronger. Anyone who is going to beat them has to be at least as good at finishing, and most likely better.
I can’t wait for the final.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.