Reece fronts up over All Blacks’ cup exit
Sevu Reece doesn’t drop the volume when queried on the All Blacks’ shock loss to England in the World Cup semifinal last year.
Did you watch that painful defeat and, if so, why? It’s always a question worth asking sportsmen and women when emotions aren’t so raw.
Some give the impression they would rather eat dead flies than look at a sudden-death game they lost. It’s too fresh, the memories painful.
Former All Blacks No 8 Wayne Shelford, for example, recently told Stuff he has never bothered to watch the defeat to France in Nantes in 1986.
Not because of the nasty injuries, including a torn scrotum, he accumulated before being forced to retire with concussion. It was because the All Blacks lost 16-3.
So back to Reece, who was on the right wing when the All Blacks were stunned 19-7 by England in Yokohama on October 26.
He went into the semi full of hope and expectation, understandable given the All Blacks had humiliated Ireland 46-14 in their quarterfinal the previous weekend.
Sevu Reece on the All Blacks’ World Cup semifinal loss to England
And England pummelled the All Blacks. Reece hasn’t been afraid to find out why.
‘‘Yeah, I have actually watched the game several times,’’ he admits. ‘‘You shake your head, there are still a lot of ‘what ifs, what ifs’.
‘‘But, you know, it is gone now. They [England] studied us really well, I would say. They shut down everything we had to offer.
‘‘You do learn from that 100 percent. I take that as a great learning experience.’’
At 23, Reece has time on his side. Although his contract with NZ Rugby and the Crusaders expires in 2022, the World Cup in France the following year is likely to be on his list of longterm goals.
Younger players often find it easier to brush aside the disappointment of bombing out at World Cups.
Unlike senior team-mates they don’t yet possess a medical file documenting numerous visits to surgeons, or are concerned about their advancing years jeopardising selection.
Following his return to New Zealand, Reece zoned in on his duties with the Crusaders rather than dwell on the prang in the semi in Japan.
‘‘Everyone is different. I took it as a great learning experience. It was painful losing to England, but you came back to New Zealand and it wasn’t long until we were back into training.
‘‘I sort of put all that behind me; you can’t carry that for too long otherwise you wouldn’t have a clear head for Super Rugby.’’
England coach Eddie Jones devised a strategy to nullify the influence of dual playmakers Richie Mo’unga and Beauden Barrett, using a suffocating defensive line to prevent the ball getting to wings George Bridge and Reece, while the English forwards also produced a cracking performance.
For obvious reasons it wasn’t a memorable night for Kiwi rugby fans.
Yet Reece is adamant that game empowered him to be better.
‘‘I would say I am way more smarter,’’ he says.
‘‘If we come up against a team with that sort of pressure, that line speed, that loves shutting us down you know we now have solutions to deal with that now.’’
Reece will start on the right wing when the Crusaders get their first crack at Super Rugby Aotearoa against the Hurricanes in Wellington tomorrow afternoon.
Until Covid-19 forced the cancellation of Super Rugby there had been no gripes about his form, and spending a couple of months in Japan reinforced why homework on and off the training pitch can be valuable.
‘‘It is just that professionalism, those one percenters. You don’t really think it matters but when it comes to that level, everything counts. Recovery, going back into your books, just learning new moves, the maps and structures you are playing.’’
Although he made a couple of appearances in the midfield for Waikato in 2017, Reece’s seven test appearances – all in his debut international season in 2019 – were on the wing.
There are areas of his game that require polish; he says his kicking requires additional work to compliment his acceleration, footwork and finishing power close to the line.
Asked if his speed was compromised by the national lockdown, he says: ‘‘We will see on Sunday.’’
During lockdown he and flatmate Fetuli Paea, a Crusaders development squad member, did weights in the garage and training drills at a nearby park.
‘‘You shake your head, there are still a lot of ‘what ifs, what ifs’.’’