Start key area ABs want to improve
FOR 50 minutes last weekend, the All Blacks crashed and bashed without much reward so their immediate goal for tonight’s second test against France is twofold — to start better and to be more direct up front.
The pack’s approach after the break was about going through the French rather than around them, and that is what provided the space for the likes of Codie Taylor, Ryan Crotty, Damian McKenzie and Ngani Laumape to create havoc in the wide channels.
In Wellington, the onus will be on the forwards to do that from the start and a big factor in their favour, apart from coming off a 5211 victory, is the fact that all 23 players will be better used to the unique physical demands of test rugby.
‘‘If you look at the first 50odd minutes there were some pretty
big collisions there and we didn’t get what we wanted out of it so that’s the key area we want to improve — the start,’’ Sam Whitelock said yesterday in blustery conditions after his team’s captain’s run at Westpac Stadium.
‘‘If we start really well, hope
fully it will give us the opportunity to put in a complete performance rather than waiting until late in the game like we did last week.’’
With fellow All Black captains Sam Cane and his younger brother, Luke, in the team, Whitelock is not short of leader ship options, and he said having regular skipper Kieran Read in camp as he recovers from his back surgery was a bonus rather than a burden.
‘‘It’s great having Reado, a great captain in his own right, here,’’ Whitelock, who did well to get through 80 minutes of rugby at Eden Park last weekend despite a lack of recent game time, said.
‘‘You can delegate stuff to him and he can have a quiet word if he sees something you don’t.’’
Conditions are again likely to be ideal for the test as the All Blacks aim to finetune their game plan with an identical matchday 23.
Should Steve Hansen’s men get the start they want, it is difficult to see how the French can stay with them after last week’s demoralising collapse. — NZME