Obviously, tries are still very much a going concern but, as the Tri-Nations demonstrated, they’re two-a-penny these days, and a haul of three won’t necessarily see off the top opponents.
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Real Info Portal » Paul Ackford: England take note as All Blacks …
.New Zealand continued its unbeaten tour of the northern hemisphere with a comprehensive 39-12 win over France on Sunday morning (AEDT) thanks to its commitment to a running style of rugby.
The All Blacks, having already seen off Wales (19-12), Italy (20-6) and England (19-6) without really hitting second gear, showed a welcome willingness to spurn the aerial ping-pong that has marked many games of late.
In return, their sure-handedness in the offload and ability to turn the slightest mistake by the French into an attacking opportunity made for some often breath-taking rugby that resulted in five tries. .
The visitors overcame a nervous opening 10 minutes to score five-pointers through Sitiveni Sivivatu, Mils Muliaina, Jerome Kaino, Cory Jane and Conrad Smith, with the exceptional Dan Carter booting an additional 14 points.
But the All Blacks came firing back, Yannick Jauzion hauling down Ma’a Nonu within striking distance of the French line but Sitivatu skipped through the threadbare defence after quick ball from the resulting ruck.
A tremendous shunt from the French pack at the first scrum on New Zealand ball saw the visiting front row buckle and pop under pressure, and Dupuy made no mistake from 35 metres after three minutes.
Carter converted and was then on hand to produce a potential try-saving tackle on Fabien Barcella after Jauzion had exploited a huge hole in midfield.
The Stade Francais scrum-half added to his tally when flanker Kaino released his binding from another scrum under enormous pressure.
Dupuy kicked his second penalty on the quarter-hour mark after Julien Bonnaire had been obstructed at an attacking line-out to pull the score back to 7-6.
But after a bad tactical choice by Dupuy, Cowan spread the ball wide in the New Zealand 22m area, the speeding Sivivatu turning provider by drawing Vincent Clerc and offloading to full-back Muliaina for an easy try.
France had a lucky break when Trinh-Duc’s clearing kick from the restart was charged down by Jimmy Cowan, but the All Black scrum-half just failed to ground the ball.
Tom Donnelly then spilled the ball over the line after Nonu gathered Carter’s clever chip and fed a galloping Kieran Read.
Carter missed the conversion but grabbed a 29th minute penalty when Jauzion failed to roll away after tackling the dangerous-looking Nonu.
The French front-five crumbled in the ensuing scrum, Kaino touching down amid a mass of bodies for a try Carter converted.
The French front-five crumbled in the ensuing scrum, Kaino touching down amid a mass of bodies for a try Carter converted.
Carter, who was part of Perpignan’s Top 14-winning side last season, then enjoyed an impressive cameo for a full 10 minutes, giving a textbook demonstration on why many consider himself the world’s best rugby player, mixing solid defence with deft handling touches and chips.
Dupuy missed two pots at goal early in the second-half either side of a successful Carter effort and French heads went down. Carter converted.
Jane scored the All Blacks’ fourth try in the 61st minute, finding himself in space down the right flank and gathering his own chip over Traille to touch down.
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Smith rubbed French noses in it when he skipped down the blindside unmolested for a try Carter also converted as tempers frayed between a well-beaten home side and an All Blacks team that now play the Barbarians in London next week
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The Bledisloe Cup clash looks like bucking the recent alarming trend of boring test rugby and being an open spectacle given the attitudes of opposing coaches Graham Henry and Robbie Deans as they enter tonight’s must-win match.
In the wake of a Tri-Nations that has been dominated by South Africa’s successful kick-and-chase approach, Henry said rugby as a product needed a spectacle at ANZ Stadium.
He also urged rugby’s powerbrokers to address the rules that have allowed the match to evolve into a kick-fest, believing the game was struggling as a product at present. He suggested better policing of the breakdowns might be a way to encourage more open play rather than just concentrating on eliminating too much kicking from the game. .
“I don’t think either side is going to play totally conservatively unless they are able to and also prevail which is unlikely,” said Deans.
But Deans did say the desperate nature of both his Wallabies and All Blacks should mean for a more open match than the three games that have been played in South Africa in recent weeks.
“Both sides are at the point where we both want to stay alive in the competition and anything other than the right result probably won’t be enough to achieve that.”
Bledisloe Cup clashes have a history of being humdingers and with the Wallabies needing a win to stay alive in both competitions and the All Blacks just a victory away from securing the Bledisloe for another year and getting back into the Tri-Nations hunt, the stakes are high.
“Under that circumstance the teams will probably be more prepared to take a risk.
New Zealander Deans, who has won the Bledisloe Cup as a player and as an assistant coach to John Mitchell with the All Blacks, now finds himself plotting an Australian coup.
That’s even forgetting the pressure that is one both high-profile coaching staffs given their predicaments of staring at a hat-trick of losses.
“You look at the way the All Blacks go about their work and it’s evident what the Bledisloe Cup means to them.
To him, it’s what it’s all about and he says he’s thriving on an annual challenge that he believes is only bettered by the four-yearly quest for the World Cup. It will never come easy for that reason,” he said of a four-match system that requires Australia to win the next three contests to lift the giant cup. It will never come easy for that reason,” he said of a four-match system that requires Australia to win the next three contests to lift the giant cup.
. This competition that we play in is fantastic because you play two of the best brands in the game – the Springboks and the All Blacks – routinely
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A desire to retain all three All Blacks coaches was a major factor in re-signing them as soon as possible.
Graham Henry, Wayne Smith and Steve Hansen were re-appointed to their roles earlier today in a decision that will take them through to the World Cup in New Zealand and extend their involvement with the All Blacks to eight years.
“As a group, they are greater than the parts if you like and we didn’t want to run the risk of losing one of them through the course of the year which is always a possibility,” he said.
NZRU Chairman Jock Hobbs said today that their strength was as a group and overseas interest meant the rugby union was keen to secure their collective services through to the next World Cup.
”Graham, Wayne and Steve are outstanding coaches.
The reselection process had been closed and the NZRU had been focused on securing the triumvirate through to 2011, he said. They are totally committed to New Zealand rugby and have become an important part of the wider organisation. They have a formidable record and we hold them in very high regard.
Since taking up their roles, the All Blacks have also defended the Bledisloe Cup in five successive seasons, won the Tri Nations four times, achieved a clean-sweep of the British and Irish Lions in 2005, and won two Grand Slams in 2005 and 2008.”
In their time as coaches, the All Blacks have won 57 out of 66 Test matches, a winning record of 86 percent.
Hobbs said the decision was made on the eve of the first test-loss against France but they had withheld the announcement until now. They have lost only once in Europe in their tenure, in the Rugby World Cup 2007 quarterfinal to France, and just twice in New Zealand, in 2008 to South Africa and last month to France in Dunedin.
“We don’t make these very important decisions based on one test match or indeed a series,” he said.
He denied that criticism of the All Blacks recent performances in the Iveco Series had influenced the timing of the announcement.”
Hobbs rubbished claims there were no other options, pointing to the fact that three NZ Super 14 franchises had made the finals this year.
“This is a reflection of the high regard we hold them in and the confidence that we have in them.
Henry, who was first appointed to the role in 2004, said that after losing the World Cup he had not thought they would retain their jobs. He also mentioned the success of Dave Rennie with the New Zealand Under 20s and coaches such as Warren Gatland overseas.