Source: Radio New Zealand
Wales v All Blacks
Kick-off: 4:10am Sunday 23 November
Principality Stadium, Cardiff
Live blog updates on RNZ
Coach Scott Robertson has said that the feeling in the All Black camp is much the same one day on from their 33-19 loss to England. It was the third loss this season in a schedule of 13 tests, and the second by a significant margin following a record defeat to the Springboks during the Rugby Championship.
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The aftermath of the loss to England sees focus now firmly on the issues that have plagued the All Blacks for the past two seasons, most notably their inability to keep teams under pressure in big tests.
“There’s lots of different reasons, but there’s no excuses from us. And we’ve got to be better in some areas so we can finish teams off,” said Robertson this morning.
“Ultimately, we want to be as consistent as we possibly can, that’s what a professional team wants to be, consistent with everything you work with. You’re not going to win every moment in games, but you’ve got to fight your way back into it, through adversity.
“When you it doesn’t quite come all together, you know, that’s the part that hurts. It’s not for lack of care, I’ll put it that way. But it’s definitely frustration that we work so hard to be consistent and that’s the part that gets you.”
Robertson, who came into the All Black job after seven consecutive championship seasons with the Crusaders, acknowledged that ‘test rugby is pretty brutal’.
Caleb Clarke lays during the Scotland v All Blacks test at Murrayfield. www.photosport.nz
“You lose a couple of player each game on average, just through the Ferocity of the match contacts. The recovery part becomes tougher, the travel, everything that comes with it.
“So when you get energy, new faces, new bodies coming in that, that excitement that…it’s a balance. Sometimes you have all the best laid plans of how you’re going to play, then you come off the field in these the medical ward are fuller than you’d expect.”
Steve Borthwick’s England side notably adjusted their game plan throughout Sunday morning’s test, with a heavy reliance on the kicking game of inside back pairing Alex Mitchell and George Ford. Robertson acknowledged that the aerial game was still a work on for New Zealand players, due to the comparative lack of exposure to it in the domestic game here.
English halfback Alex Mitchell. David Rogers/Getty Images
“It’s a crucial part, an important part of the game…we don’t tend to do it so much in Super Rugby. So coming into test rugby, you have got the most accurate kickers in the world and you’ve got incredible aerial catches. We spend a lot of time on it, look, we’ve got to get better laid plans.”
From a wider perspective, Robertson said that new NZ Rugby chairman and former All Black captain David Kirk has been ‘straight up’ with expectations two years out from the next World Cup.
“Look, he’s pretty pragmatic, he tells you how it is. Straight up, as you’d expect. (Also) hugely supportive. He understands good relationships in the group and we welcome him with open arms…he’s been great to us.”
Unsurprisingly, Robertson more or less confirmed there will be wholesale changes to the side for the last test match of the year. They face Wales in Cardiff, with the home team recording their first win in two years over the weekend when they defeated Japan 24-22 thanks to a last play penalty goal.
“There’ll be some fresh, new energy in the group for sure,” said Robertson, who singled out Ruben Love as a player who will likely start this weekend.
“He’s obviously a 15 that can play 10 and he deserves an opportunity.”
– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand