Hansen’s sneaky shot at Schmidt
New record Coco’s title
With one line, one wee jibe, All Blacks coach Steve Hansen could perhaps sow seeds of doubt for Irish counterpart Joe Schmidt.
Hansen is the master of controlling the message. As he stepped up for an earlier than usual media appearance to set the tone for New Zealand’s anticipated quarter-final against Ireland this Saturday, Hansen delivered a tactical utterance designed to throw Ireland off their step.
Ireland are one of the more conservative teams in world rugby — their game is based around ball retention, dominating collisions, defensive line speed and controlling territory.
Their one major point of difference, their trump card that creates uncertainty, are Schmidt’s set plays.
Last year in Dublin, Schmidt watched one of these trick moves play out to perfection.
From the lineout, Ireland worked a switch play back to the short side, where they caught the All Blacks napping. Jacob Stockdale had room to move and his perfectly-executed chip and chase try set Ireland on course for their first home victory over the All Blacks.
Afterwards, Schmidt explained he had pinched the move from the Highlanders and also confessed how much time he spent watching the Mitre 10 Cup for ideas.
Clearly, Schmidt had identified the All Blacks’ short side defence from a lineout as an area of weakness.
Ireland picked the opportune time to pull off the move, and Stockdale was good enough to do the rest.
This is one example of Schmidt’s trick plays. Ireland also use Johnny Sexton to target vulnerable ruck defenders by flicking variations of inside balls to his wingers, hoping the pace will catch out forwards.
Planning for these specificallydesigned Schmidt moves in Tokyo this weekend is difficult but the All Blacks are on high alert.
Asked how you counter the unknown, Hansen grabbed his chance to turn the tables and warn Schmidt that his meticulous attention to detail could also backfire.
“We’ve got weakness like everybody else, so you’ve got to have a look at your own weakness as much as anyone else,” Hansen said. “You know Joe does a lot of study, so that can be a strength and a weakness. We might be able to set him up.”
Such a comment is not a throwaway line. Hansen is smarter than that. He knows psychological advantages can be gained from stirring the pot occasionally.
All Blacks midfielder Anton Lienert-Brown, expected to start inside Jack Goodhue against Ireland, was another to note the need to be aware for Ireland’s set moves.
“They’re a quality side, they’re well coached, I’m sure they’ll have plenty of specials up their sleeve and opportunities they’ve seen,” Lienert-Brown said. “It’s always been tough against them, but as a team, we’re in a good place, but we’re going to have to be right near our best this weekend.”
As he has done previously, Hansen challenged Ireland to cope with the pressure of the knockout arena, having never made it beyond the quarter-finals previously.
“I particularly enjoy what we’re going into,” he said. “It’s a big pressure moment and the team that copes with that the best is probably going to come out on top.”
Black Sticks win
The Black Sticks men beat Japan 2-0 in Stratford last night with both goals scored from penalty corners in the final quarter. Nic Woods opened the scoring with 11 minutes remaining and Sam Lane wrapped up the match with 46 seconds left. New Zealand lead the series 2-1, with the fourth and final match to be played tonight Kenyan Brigid Kosgei won the Chicago Marathon yesterday in 2h 14m 04s to break the world record in the event. The 25-year-old Kosgei bested the previous mark of 2h 15m 25s set by Paula Radcliffe in London 16 years ago. She won in Chicago last year in 2h 18m 35s. Ababel Yeshaneh and Gelete Burka, both of Ethiopia, finished second and third. Lawrence Cherono won the men’s race. American teenage sensation Coco Gauff became the youngest player to win a WTA title in 15 years as she beat former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko in the Linz Open final. The 15-year-old Gauff, who started the season ranked well outside the world's top 600, beat Latvia's Ostapenko 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in a topsy-turvy contest. She becomes the youngest WTA singles title holder since Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic claimed her maiden crown in Tashkent at the age of 15 in 2004.