ABs cake baked — just the icing needed
AUCKLAND: All Blacks coach Steve Hansen says their thumping victory in the Bledisloe Cup decider has both answered — and created — questions as they get set to name their World Cup squad.
New Zealand bounced back from a record defeat in game one at Perth with a resounding 360 victory over the Wallabies in Auckland on Saturday night.
Many players shone for the All Blacks at Eden Park and Hansen believed that could be viewed in two ways.
‘‘A few people really put their hand up last night and where we had question marks, we no longer have question marks,’’ he said yesterday.
In other ways, it makes it a bit tougher, too.
‘‘Every time you name the team somebody misses out and it’s the end of their dream and this is a pretty big one, going to the World Cup.’’
Those decisions were imminent, after confirmation from Hansen the squad for the tournament would be named in Auckland on August 28.
He also confirmed the World Cup prospects of Richie Mo’unga, who came off in the second half on Saturday night with a shoulder injury, were more than likely not under threat.
Hansen said the first fiveeighth would be sore for ‘‘a couple of weeks’’ and may miss the September 7 clash against Tonga in Hamilton, but explained it was not a long term issue.
Following such a dominant display against the Wallabies, he said they now had just a handful of spots to finalise.
‘‘Joe public could pick a large majority of the team because it’s obvious who should be in.
‘‘When it comes down to the last six, seven players and the combinations you want, that’s when you get the robust discussions and that’s what you should have.
‘‘We’ll have plenty of discussions between now and [the announcement] but a lot of the robust ones have been had.
‘‘We’ve baked a lot of the cake and now it’s about in getting it out of the oven and putting a bit of icing on it.’’
Saturday night’s win eased nerves for a lot of New Zealand rugby fans, who were left fretting after a poor performance led to a 21point loss in the first Bledisloe match.
Hansen said the clinical display was significant with the World Cup opener just five weeks away.
‘‘[It’s] massive, really, because everyone externally was starting to get a bit shaky and starting to question whether the coaches still had it and the players still had it.
‘‘To come out with real intent . . . our nation can now breathe slightly easier and we can all carry on working away to what we’re trying to work to.
‘‘What [the public angst] does do is it keeps you honest. The day New Zealand rugby doesn’t have the external scrutiny like it does is the day the game is not where it was.
‘‘It’s because people care and they have high expectations and