Vito: Georgia will bring it by the bucketload

LONDON: New Zealand are looking forward to a tough physical confrontation when they play Georgia in their third Rugby World Cup pool match in Cardiff on Friday.

A second-string All Blacks side overwhelmed Namibia 5814 after the first-choice side beat Argentina 26-16 in their opening Pool C game, but the defending champions have not played as efficiently as they had hoped.

“We haven’t really fronted (up) physically as much as we needed to in the past couple of games,” flanker Victor Vito told a news conference on Monday.

“With the Georgians and the way they play they are going to present us with a great opportunity to bring out those aspects and for us to front (up) physically with a pack that isn’t going to take a backward step.

“That’s what we’ll look to bring on Friday and that’s what the Georgians will bring in bucketloads.”

The intense competition for starting spots within the talented New Zealand squad is another factor integral to keeping the All Blacks at the peak of their powers.

“Competition is something we’ve had to deal with in this team positionally for quite a bit,” Vito said. “The coaches may name a team, but that doesn’t mean that the other guys have got their heads down.

“Conversely, when those guys come on, they need to make sure they don’t have a brain explosion because they don’t know their roles. Competition is a really good thing in this team, it pushes us right to the edge.”

New Zealand arrived in Cardiff on Saturday when Wales pulled off their epic victory over hosts England at Twickenham. “It was quite tough to get some sleep here the first night, but it was good for the town and good for Wales,” flanker Jerome Kaino said. – Reuters