THE BEST TEAM in the world, but even their head coach understands that there is a question to be answered by this All Blacks side.
“It’s something we’re really looking forward to because it’s going to tell us a lot about ourselves and where we are heading,” said Steve Hansen of tomorrow’s decisive Test again the Lions at Eden Park [KO 8.35am Irish time, Sky Sports].
The All Blacks arrive at training in Trust Arena this week. David Davies
David Davies
Losing Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Ben Franks and Keven Mealamu after the 2015 World Cup was always going to be a major challenge for New Zealand, even if Hansen and his coaches had been planning for it.
The loss of leadership with the retirement or departure abroad of those players meant new leaders would have to complete their emergence and the signs in 2016 were positive.
The likes of Kieran Read, Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Ryan Crotty, Dane Coles and Ben Smith became the key influences in the Kiwis’ leadership group.
The All Blacks swept all before them, whitewashing Wales in the three-test series last June, before recording a further seven consecutive victories over Australia, South Africa and Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
When Ireland beat them in Chicago in November, however, questions were asked about how good those Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas teams really were.
Having dispatched Italy in November too, the All Blacks completed their 2016 schedule by inching past France in Paris on a 24-19 scoreline.
Samoa provided little resistance in their first Test of 2017 and the Lions were beaten 30-15 in the opening fixture of this series two weekends ago, but last weekend saw a second defeat for this group of All Blacks.
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Kieran Read and his squad will be confident of bouncing back. David Davies
David Davies
“It’s not the first time we’ve lost,” said Hansen. “I’ve read a lot of stories this week – you’d think the All Blacks had never lost a game and that the sky’s falling in.”
Indeed, the reaction in some quarters has been a little hysterical but the loss to the Lions – even with 14 men – will have hurt the pride of these All Blacks. They will be determined to demonstrate that the blip was only due to Sonny Bill Williams’ red card.
The Kiwis will feel that they should still have won last weekend even with 14 men and they did control the game very well at times after losing their towering centre.
But Hansen will have wondered whether the leadership was strong enough in difficult circumstances and with the Lions delivering a late revival.
It’s worth remembering that fullback Smith, hooker Coles, the blockbusting Williams and centre Crotty – still an underrated influence – are now missing from this series, leaving less experienced players filling in in those positions, with the prodigal 20-year-old Jordie Barrett at 15 tomorrow.
“Look, you can look at some of the leaders that we’ve lost since 2015 but, jeez, we’re a year and a half on from there,” said openside Cane when asked about the All Blacks’ leadership. “Some of the guys that played in that World Cup are a lot better leaders themselves now than they were then.
“They’ll step up and fill those roles and the leadership group is tipping along, there’s still heaps of room for improvement and growth but the guys are leading really well, not just with their voice and instruction but with the way they’re playing first and foremost.”
It’s also interesting to note that Hansen was going out of his way to insist that there was no real pressure on his team before this final Test against the Lions.
The All Blacks remain the best in the world. Dan Sheridan / INPHO
Dan Sheridan / INPHO / INPHO
To hear the All Blacks coach speak about being happy with losing if it meant learning was a little jarring.
“If we’re not good enough to win the game, then hopefully we’ll learn something and that will be good,” said Hansen. “If we are good enough, then we’ll learn something and that will be good.
“Every week we’re expected to win and win well. You’ve got to walk towards it and at the end of the day, life tells you we’re only playing a game.
“Real pressure is when you spend half an hour giving someone CPR and trying to save their life and when that doesn’t work telling their children or their father or their mother that ‘Sorry, we haven’t been able to save them’.
“That’s real pressure. We’re just playing a game of rugby.”
At times in New Zealand, it doesn’t quite feel like just a game of rugby – even if Hansen’s point is valid and timely.
Eden Park, where the All Blacks last lost in 1994, should provide some additional confidence for the hosts tomorrow, although even in this aspect Hansen was keen to talk things down.
He claims he doesn’t go along with the theory that the Auckland venue gives the All Blacks a 10-point advantage and he doesn’t agree with the ‘fortress’ tag.
“It’s been painted that by history, I guess, because we keep winning there,” he said. “If you keep winning, people have to start to explain that so they start calling it a ‘fortress,’ but it’s just a rugby ground.
“The pitch is the same size and I don’t think the Lions will be sitting there thinking it’s a fortress, they’ll be saying to themselves that they’ve got an opportunity and, funnily enough, it’s the same opportunity we’ve got.
The All Blacks train under a rainbow in Auckland. David Davies
David Davies
“If the scoreboard pops up and it’s 10-0 when we run out, we’ll take it but I don’t think it will.”
Hansen might acknowledge that tomorrow will tell the All Blacks a lot about themselves and where they are heading in the next few years, but it would still be a surprise if the scoreboard doesn’t tell the story of a Kiwi win on a 10-point margin or more.
If that is not the case, then the real questions will begin to be asked in New Zealand.
No pressure, of course.
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This game is a major test of the mental mettle of these All Blacks
Murray Kinsella reports from Auckland
THE BEST TEAM in the world, but even their head coach understands that there is a question to be answered by this All Blacks side.
“It’s something we’re really looking forward to because it’s going to tell us a lot about ourselves and where we are heading,” said Steve Hansen of tomorrow’s decisive Test again the Lions at Eden Park [KO 8.35am Irish time, Sky Sports].
Losing Richie McCaw, Dan Carter, Ma’a Nonu, Conrad Smith, Ben Franks and Keven Mealamu after the 2015 World Cup was always going to be a major challenge for New Zealand, even if Hansen and his coaches had been planning for it.
The loss of leadership with the retirement or departure abroad of those players meant new leaders would have to complete their emergence and the signs in 2016 were positive.
The likes of Kieran Read, Sam Cane, Brodie Retallick, Sam Whitelock, Beauden Barrett, Aaron Smith, Ryan Crotty, Dane Coles and Ben Smith became the key influences in the Kiwis’ leadership group.
The All Blacks swept all before them, whitewashing Wales in the three-test series last June, before recording a further seven consecutive victories over Australia, South Africa and Argentina in the Rugby Championship.
When Ireland beat them in Chicago in November, however, questions were asked about how good those Wallabies, Springboks and Pumas teams really were.
The All Blacks bounced back against Joe Schmidt’s side in Dublin a fortnight later, of course, having been stung by what Hansen has since admitted was their own creeping complacency, an ‘attitudinal problem’.
Having dispatched Italy in November too, the All Blacks completed their 2016 schedule by inching past France in Paris on a 24-19 scoreline.
Samoa provided little resistance in their first Test of 2017 and the Lions were beaten 30-15 in the opening fixture of this series two weekends ago, but last weekend saw a second defeat for this group of All Blacks.
“It’s not the first time we’ve lost,” said Hansen. “I’ve read a lot of stories this week – you’d think the All Blacks had never lost a game and that the sky’s falling in.”
Indeed, the reaction in some quarters has been a little hysterical but the loss to the Lions – even with 14 men – will have hurt the pride of these All Blacks. They will be determined to demonstrate that the blip was only due to Sonny Bill Williams’ red card.
The Kiwis will feel that they should still have won last weekend even with 14 men and they did control the game very well at times after losing their towering centre.
But Hansen will have wondered whether the leadership was strong enough in difficult circumstances and with the Lions delivering a late revival.
It’s worth remembering that fullback Smith, hooker Coles, the blockbusting Williams and centre Crotty – still an underrated influence – are now missing from this series, leaving less experienced players filling in in those positions, with the prodigal 20-year-old Jordie Barrett at 15 tomorrow.
“Look, you can look at some of the leaders that we’ve lost since 2015 but, jeez, we’re a year and a half on from there,” said openside Cane when asked about the All Blacks’ leadership. “Some of the guys that played in that World Cup are a lot better leaders themselves now than they were then.
“They’ll step up and fill those roles and the leadership group is tipping along, there’s still heaps of room for improvement and growth but the guys are leading really well, not just with their voice and instruction but with the way they’re playing first and foremost.”
It’s also interesting to note that Hansen was going out of his way to insist that there was no real pressure on his team before this final Test against the Lions.
To hear the All Blacks coach speak about being happy with losing if it meant learning was a little jarring.
“If we’re not good enough to win the game, then hopefully we’ll learn something and that will be good,” said Hansen. “If we are good enough, then we’ll learn something and that will be good.
“Every week we’re expected to win and win well. You’ve got to walk towards it and at the end of the day, life tells you we’re only playing a game.
“Real pressure is when you spend half an hour giving someone CPR and trying to save their life and when that doesn’t work telling their children or their father or their mother that ‘Sorry, we haven’t been able to save them’.
“That’s real pressure. We’re just playing a game of rugby.”
At times in New Zealand, it doesn’t quite feel like just a game of rugby – even if Hansen’s point is valid and timely.
Eden Park, where the All Blacks last lost in 1994, should provide some additional confidence for the hosts tomorrow, although even in this aspect Hansen was keen to talk things down.
He claims he doesn’t go along with the theory that the Auckland venue gives the All Blacks a 10-point advantage and he doesn’t agree with the ‘fortress’ tag.
“It’s been painted that by history, I guess, because we keep winning there,” he said. “If you keep winning, people have to start to explain that so they start calling it a ‘fortress,’ but it’s just a rugby ground.
“The pitch is the same size and I don’t think the Lions will be sitting there thinking it’s a fortress, they’ll be saying to themselves that they’ve got an opportunity and, funnily enough, it’s the same opportunity we’ve got.
“If the scoreboard pops up and it’s 10-0 when we run out, we’ll take it but I don’t think it will.”
Hansen might acknowledge that tomorrow will tell the All Blacks a lot about themselves and where they are heading in the next few years, but it would still be a surprise if the scoreboard doesn’t tell the story of a Kiwi win on a 10-point margin or more.
If that is not the case, then the real questions will begin to be asked in New Zealand.
No pressure, of course.
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