ABs expect ferocity up front
Franks says Pumas pack will be firing after win in Aussie
Containing an Argentine pack buoyed with confidence and enjoying their best Rugby Championship was the task the All Blacks were focusing on while preparing for Sunday’s (NZT) test in Buenos Aires.
Adding to the requirements of the All Blacks was the need to put their last loss to South Africa behind them.
Tighthead prop Owen Franks said the forward contest with South Africa had been what the side were expecting and the scrum battle had been “fairly even”. But there had been some things to work on.
While they enjoyed a wealth of possession there were areas where ball had been dropped and they were not as accurate as they could have been and that had affected the performance overall, he said.
The post-game review had been honest and had highlighted obvious issues.
“It’s always good to get the review out of the way so you know what your focuses are going through the week and you can move on from the last game good or bad — you know what your purpose is at training and what to get better at,” he said.
Franks also spoke about why he had specialised as a tighthead prop. He said he had swapped around a little earlier in his career between tighthead and loosehead but when becoming a fulltime player he made the decision to stick to one position.
“That was purely because I didn’t want to be the guy who got swapped over, it’s so tough to do,” he said.
The choice for tighthead was down to the fact it suited him better and it was probably a little more technical than loosehead.
“You have to be right on where looseheads get away a little more with just brute strength and more of an attacking mindset. Both have their challenges but I enjoy the challenge of tighthead a little more,” he said.
Franks said scrum coach Mike Cron likened the difference between the two roles as being asked to throw the ball with your right hand and then being asked to throw the same distance with your left.
It was completely different and he took his hat off to any prop that could do it.
Franks said he never disrespected the Argentine scrum because there were times when they didn’t look so dominant and then the next game they could be worldbeaters. Mick Cleary
The hunting down of the All Blacks as the game’s pre-eminent side began in earnest for one of their own this week as John Mitchell started his tenure as the England defence coach with a full-on session at Clifton College.
The New Zealander’s methods are designed to hit the mark “of being the best within a year’s time”, if the World Cup is to be won in Japan.
Mitchell pledged to “roll up his sleeves” with immediate effect so as to bring the necessary zeal and cohesion to an England defence who have struggled during a poor run of five losses in six matches.
There is little doubt that England need to raise their game if they are to compete with the All Blacks, who, Mitchell believes, have set a “come and get us” challenge to opponents.
The 54-year-old, who was assistant coach to Clive Woodward for three years, revealed that he never thought he would be back with England but that it was “as special now as it was then, and warms the heart to be back”.
Mitchell, with a long and varied CV, one not without its hiccups and bust-ups, stated that it was quite normal for an assistant coach to challenge his boss (Eddie Jones) and indicated that he, himself, felt a more rounded individual than when he was first involved in coaching in his mid-30s when sparks would fly.
“I’ve seen the movie a few times; made lots of mistakes,” said Mitchell. “I am very comfortable in my own skin in where I am at and what I’ve got to do.
“I really believe that England can get better and be the best within a year’s time. I really do believe that.
“Why? Because of what I’ve seen in the past. They [the All Blacks] are outstanding, but I guess what gives us all life is that it is a World Cup year and a World Cup does close the gap.
“It’s knockout rugby and you just need to focus on being the better team yourself. New Zealand have set the benchmark and sent out the
“That happened to me so I’ll always treat them with the same amount of respect.
“As far as I’m concerned, going into this week they’ve got the best scrum in the world, that’s the ability they have to be able to turn it on,” he said.
Lock Scott Barrett said in the last test with Argentina in Nelson there was a good performance across the park but this time around it would be a different challenge with the Pumas at home.
“They’ll be fired up and they are a skilful team with a good forward pack so it’s going to be a big challenge and we’ve got to prepare for that,” he said.
Barrett said he was expecting to signal to all of us — ‘you come and get us’.”
Mitchell, a captain of the Waikato side in the early 1990s that featured Warren Gatland, never played a test for the All Blacks, although he did lead the midweek side six times on tour.
He went on to be head coach of
study the Argentine win over Australia in the next few days, especially in his areas of concern, the lineouts, scrums and forward play generally.
Lock Tomas Lavanini was a physical player who had a good work rate and against Australia had pulled off a key tackle at a vital stage of the game to help them win while locking partner Guido Petti was a good lineout forward and leader and the All Blacks would be looking to contain them.
Because of the athleticism of their forwards they were able to get high in the air at lineouts, especially on defence.
“They’re throwing guys out of their hands and getting real high, so we’ve the All Blacks through to the 2003 World Cup after his initial stint with England, losing to Jones’s Australia in the semifinals.
There have been posts at Wasps, Sale Sharks, Super Rugby sides, the United States and, latterly, the Bulls in Pretoria, with the Rugby Football Union having to pay £200,000 as compensation to buy him out of that contract.
Mitchell brushed aside concerns that he would be a commuter coach in that his family home is in Natal, revealing that “I will be here more than in Durban”, locating himself in the Twickenham area initially, with a view to finding a more permanent base there in the new year.
His contract is for 12 months, the first he has had as an understudy since his early appointments, but he has no issue with being a subordinate to Jones.
“I’ve got an enormous amount of respect for the way Eddie goes about things and who wouldn’t want to work underneath him?” said Mitchell.
“Selection is the boss’s job, the head coach’s prerogative. I am very impressed with our processes to challenge people. It creates good debate.
“If you don’t have that kind of environment, how can you make someone better? A lot of us 50-yearold coaches in the world wouldn’t be around if we didn’t look to evolve and get better.”
Asked about his reputation, Mitchell said: “It’s funny the perception you create and I sometimes laugh at the perception. For some reason, some people see that as the reality, and it’s not. I don’t sweat about the small things, I fully enjoy what I do and I am very much at peace at what I do.”
As far as I’m concerned, going into this week they’ve got the best scrum in the world, that’s the ability they have to be able to turn it on. All Blacks prop Owen Franks
got a few ways around trying to manipulate that without giving too many secrets away.”
Having a week off after the loss to South Africa meant there was time to stew over the outcome while there was also a bit of “a little bit of an extra knot in the gut” to get back on track and get a win, he said.
“At the same time you’ve got to put that behind you and focus on what’s ahead,” he said.
Franks said the side would need to work hard on their defence because Argentina had the ability to make things come off as a result of good offloads and good support play while Barrett said discipline would be important as well.