ABs seek balanced response
Sunday ought to be quite illuminating.
Prior to beating South Africa 57-0 at Albany, the All Blacks appeared to be battling this season. Opponents had become increasingly adept at thwarting their method of play while injuries and the like meant some players were becoming regulars before their time.
The result was the sort of indifferent, unconvincing performance that has been a rarity in recent times.
What a difference a walkover makes. Suddenly every player was a world beater and every question about the team’s tactics and execution had been emphatically answered. Take that, all you knockers and sceptics.
Only the Springboks aren’t very good. Actually never mind very good; some might say they aren’t even any good.
Which brings us to Sunday and Argentina. It was only a few weeks back that All Blacks coach Steve Hansen was sparing a thought for the Pumas and saying their ordinary results - in national colours or in the Super Rugby guise of the Jaguares - were almost excusable, when you consider how much travel they endure.
Then they turned around and almost pulled the All Blacks’ pants down in New Plymouth. The final score of 39-22 to New Zealand looks fairly emphatic, except the All Blacks’ performance was anything but.
All Argentina did that night was kick high and rush up on defence and yet New Zealand struggled to combat either.
‘‘They did surprise us in a couple of areas in New Plymouth, I guess, and I thought they played really well and put us under a lot of pressure,’’ All Blacks assistant coach Ian Foster said in Buenos Aires yesterday.
‘‘With 60 minutes gone it was a very, very tight test match, so clearly they got under our skin a little bit and we remember that and it’s meant we’ve got plenty of motivation to prepare thoroughly this week.’’
The All Blacks are doing and saying all the right things about their preparation for Sunday’s clash at Estadio Jose Amalfitani. But it would be natural for the players to want things to come as easy as they did against South Africa.
‘‘We haven’t spoken about our game at Albany, to be fair. That was a different opposition; we’ll probably talk about that more next week, when we prepare for our next test [in Cape Town],’’ said Foster.
‘‘We’ve been able to talk a lot about our New Plymouth game and what went well there and what didn’t go well and that gives us plenty of basis to have a really genuine preparation week this week, because I think we all saw that Argentina played a great game and really had a number of opportunities and did stress us for large parts of it.’’
But, and it’s worth repeating, merely through high balls and defensive linespeed. It was like the British and Irish Lions had never left.
The All Blacks don’t have to win by a big margin on Sunday. But if they’re safe under kicks and can be more accurate with their catch and pass, then that would be more indicative of progress than beating the Springboks was.
After all, this remains a New Zealand team in transition and the coaches are as eager as anyone to see evidence of learning.
Foster was asked about the brand of rugby Argentina are attempting to employ, but his answer was a lot closer to home.
‘‘We’ve been down that same path this year, where you’re wanting to play a game that suits your team but sometimes the risks just don’t quite pay off so the hard part’s getting the balance right.’’
One win over scant opposition doesn’t change that.
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