All Blacks’ whet appetite for World Cup with Italy mauling

ROME: Steve Hansen warned that New Zealand have whet their appetite ahead of their tilt at a third straight Rugby World Cup title next year after capping their northern hemisphere tour with a 66-3 rout of Italy in Rome.

“It has been a great tour for us,” said 59-year-old Hansen after the All Blacks got ten tries past the Italians in the Stadio Olimpico.

“People might think that’s a weird comment when we’ve just lost a game but there’s been plenty of gifts.”

The world champions scraped a 16-15 win over England in Twickenham followed by a 16-9 loss to Ireland in Dublin before arriving in Italy.

“We played England in the rain. They couldn’t have got better conditions to play us in, they had a 15-point head start and we came back and won that game.

“I think we showed a lot of mental fortitude and calmness that was a real test for the leadership group and they came through well.

“So I think the northern tour has been great for us.

“I know that it will make us a little hungrier,” continued Hansen, who led New Zealand to the last world title in 2015.

“It’s always good if you go to the table hungry you get to eat a bit more than you normally would with your fork.

“You won’t win the World Cup unless you’re hungry and can deal with the pressure.”

After captain Kieran Read led the mythical haka, the All Blacks took nine minutes to clock up their first points with TJ Perenara’s try.

Conor O’Shea’s side reacted, with Tommaso Allan’s penalty kick making it 3-5 after 13 minutes. — AFP