1
The unacceptable facet of All Blacks play Sam Cane pinpoints as the first priority
By AAP
New Zealand captain Sam Cane believes there is "not a whole lot" they need to improve to get back into top form after four losses in their last five Tests.
Their recent run has left the team under fire back home with their 2023 Rugby World Cup preparations under a cloud.
Ireland's historic 2-1 series win in New Zealand last month put head coach Ian Foster under enormous pressure but it was his assistants John Plumtree and Brad Mooar who got the boot and were replaced by forwards coach Jason Ryan.
Any immediate improvement will be tested by world champions South Africa in the opening match of the Rugby Championship that will be played at altitude in Nelspruit on Saturday.
"It may seem like there's a lot to fix from the outside but in camp we have some clear focuses and often when you get those big things right a lot of the smaller things that may seem like issues sort themselves out," Cane told reporters on Tuesday.
"It's important that we don't focus on all these things going wrong because the truth is there aren't a whole lot. With top teams, it is small margins in games.
"In the last Test (against Ireland) we lost by 10 points (32-22) but we let them score two rolling maul tries, which for an All Black pack is something we don't see as acceptable. Fix that and it is one big thing we have sorted out."
New Zealand play their first Test in South Africa since 2018 and for some of the touring All Blacks it will be a new experience to face the Boks in their own backyard.
"It's been a long time since we have been here. It is one of the things you took for granted when we were doing it twice a year. There are a few boys who are in South Africa for the first time," Cane added.
"They (the Boks) have an incredible amount of depth in their squad. We know what to expect, a confrontational, physical battle.
"Big men coming around the corner, cleaning hard, and then the skill in the midfield and the backs. It's up there with the best in the world. They are the full package."
The teams will also clash in a second Rugby Championship encounter in Johannesburg on August 13.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Borthwick is supposed to be the archetypical conservative coach, the guy that might not deliver a sparkling, high-risk attacking style, but whose teams execute the basics flawlessly. And that's OK, because it can be really hard to beat teams that are rock solid and consistent in the rugby equivalent of "blocking and tackling".
But this is why the performance against NZ is hard to defend. You can forgive a conservative, back-to-basics team for failing to score tons of tries, because teams like that make up for it with reliability in the simple things. They can defend well, apply territorial pressure, win the set piece battles, and take their scoring chances with metronomic goal kicking, maul tries and pick-and-go goal line attacks.
The reason why the English rugby administrators should be on high alert is not that the English team looked unable to score tries, but that they were repeatedly unable to close out a game by executing basic, coachable skills. Regardless of how they got to the point of being in control of their destiny, they did get to that point. All that was needed was to be world class at things that require more training than talent. But that training was apparently missing, and the finger has to point at the coach.
Borthwick has been in the job for nearly two years, a period that includes two 6N programs and an RWC campaign. So where are the solid foundations that he has been building?
Go to commentsI think they just need to judge better when it's on and when it's not. If there is a disjointed chase and WJ has a forward in front of him and some space to work with then he should have a crack every time.
If the chase is perfect and the defence is numbered up then it needs to get sent back. From memory they have not really developed a plan for what to do if they take the ball on/in the 22 with a good chase and no counter attacking opportunity.
Go to comments