Hansen slams his sloppy All Blacks

COACH WORRIED BOKS COULD TAKE ADVANTAGE

The All Blacks may have made a perfect start to the Rugby Championship, but they have only briefly looked like world champions, leaving coach Steve Hansen unimpressed as they prepare to face arch-rivals South Africa next weekend.

After struggling to put away Argentina on Saturday, they will find the Springboks better equipped to cash in on their high error rate.

The Springboks are also unbeaten, although after being held to a 23-23 draw against Australia in Perth on Saturday, they lie second at the halfway stage of the competition behind the All Blacks, who have a 100% record.

Add a drawn series against the British and Irish Lions into the mix and the result is an All Blacks side that this year has slipped too easily between the sublime and the ridiculous.

After struggling for 50 minutes to get on top of Argentina in New Plymouth, before winning 39-22, Hansen was blunt in his assessment.

“We’ve just got to get better,” he said when questioned about the high error rate their high-paced game produces.

The All Blacks outscored Los Pumas by six tries to one, but with three of the tries coming in a late 24-point burst after they trailed 22-15 with 30 minutes left.

There is no doubting the All Blacks’ ability to score when their high-risk, high-tempo approach pays off as evidenced by their 19 tries so far in their three Rugby Championship matches.

The All Blacks were at their best in the first 50 minutes of the opening championship match against Australia when they piled on 54 points in what Hansen described as “probably as good rugby as you will see”.

But the remainder of that match was “ugly”, in Hansen’s view.

The Argentina game proved costly for the All Blacks with prop Joe Moody dislocating a shoulder and unlikely to play again this season. – AFP