Whitelock: You have to embrace the pressure
Last-test syndrome can often be a very real issue for the All Blacks as minds inevitably turn to the looming summer break, the beach, the barbie and the chance to wind down and recover from the excruciatingly long rugby year.
But this week another factor looms larger for Ian Foster’s men as they spend their final week of 2020 in Australia ahead of their TriNations closer against Argentina in Newcastle on Saturday night.
This week the abject fear of losing three tests in a row might just counterbalance any dangers lurking in minds wandering off ahead of schedule. That’s certainly the feeling among a group who say their back-to-back defeats against theWallabies and Pumas have them fully focused on closing out a challenging year with a degree of style.
‘‘It is a very real challenge,’’ said 121-test lock SamWhitelock of the potential ‘‘minds on the beach’’ factor that usually comes into play at the end of November tours north. ‘‘Being away [in Australia] for a few weeks, it’s been a hard few weeks, but it’s actually been enjoyable. I’ve got to know a few of the new boys even better, and even some of the guys I’ve known for a long time, to really understand what makes them tick.
‘‘Where we’ve got to use that is to work out if someone is probably drifting towards a week or two weeks’ time and pull them back into where they need to be right now.’’
The New Zealanders have no excuse not to be fully on the job on Saturday night in Newcastle. They can still win the Tri-Nations title with a full quota of points, and, more importantly, they find themselves painted into that most un-All Black or corners, facing a third test defeat on the trot that would threaten to derail this new coaching group before they’ve barely got going.
The last time the All Blacks dropped three tests on the bounce was all the way back in 1998 when they lost an unthinkable five in a row under John Hart to a combination of the Wallabies and Springboks. Hart survived that because of the credit he’d built up in 1996 and ’97, but Foster might find himself in amuch tighter spot.
‘‘As All Blacks we always put ourselves under immense pressure, whether we’re playing well, whether we’ve just won, lost or drawn, whether we’ve gone a couple in a row or lost two in a row,’’ said Whitelock. ‘‘ You have to embrace the pressure,’’ adds Whitelock.
The All Blacks have five days to refind themselves.