World record target in All Blacks' sights

World record target in All Blacks' sights

MARC HINTON - Sunday Star Times

Last updated 05:00 24/10/2010

There was a day not so long ago when an All Black tilt at the Grand Slam would get the pulse racing on its own accord. Sadly familiarity has bred a certain amount of contempt when it comes to the once mythological feat.

So, as we look ahead to the traditional end-of-year tour, starting next Saturday night in Hong Kong, it's not the chance to sweep the four Home Unions that captures the chief interest. In other words, it's not so much wham-bam, thank-you Slam; but ho-hum, are we done?

Let's face it there's a certain feeling of fait accompli about the prospect of tackling the four nations of the UK and Ireland on consecutive Saturdays. Under Graham Henry the All Blacks have already achieved it twice, in 2005 and '08, with only minor discomfort. In fact, in the "Time of Ted" they've yet to lose a test on a November tour.

And given the way they've played this season, and the success they'd had already against much sterner foes, no one surely expects Henry to be denied a hat-trick of the feat only achieved once previously in the long history of the All Blacks.

Times have certainly changed.

But don't despair. This tour is about more than the devalued Slam. Greater things beckon than a feat eroded by repetition.

For starters the entrée is delectable, even if it too is a well-tasted one.

Can New Zealanders ever get sick of beating Australians? It's a rhetorical question, so don't bother answering. Ten in a row could become 20 and it won't get old.

But just in case extra motivation was needed for the year's fourth "Bledisloe", in the neutral territory of Hong Kong, it must have been provided with the steadfast banter coming out of the Wallaby camp. There's clearly a feeling the gap's closing and, ever the optimists, the Australians have been quick to cling to that lifeline as they predict an end to their All Black bogey.

Experienced All Black centre Conrad Smith made it clear that the opening test would see All Black minds concentrated. He even hinted at a certain determination to, if we may use the vernacular, keep the foot on the throat.

"Much has been said about the gains they've made on us in terms of the results this year and there's probably a lot of truth in that, so this one carries a bit of edge," said Smith, practically licking his lips. "Playing them for the fourth time this year, it can be tough to motivate, but there's enough riding on just the fact the results have got closer and closer."

Dan Carter, who'll be back running the show in Hong Kong, said playing - and beating - the Wallabies still meant a lot to the All Blacks.

"You want to beat them," said Carter. "Looking back on the Tri-Nations we weren't as happy with the way we finished... We felt the South Africans and especially the Aussies were analyzing the way we playing and really closed the gap. This is a big game for us."

This tour is also special because of the numbers game. These All Blacks have already won 15 tests on the trot, and they are on the cusp of two magical marks. If they can win in Hong Kong and then at Twickenham they will draw up alongside the 17 achieved by the great All Black and Springbok teams (see grafic). One or two more and they can unify the division, as it were, eclipsing the 18 achieved by Lithuania.

Don't underestimate how much that record will mean to the All Blacks, if they can knock the bugger off. They may not be saying a lot about it, but their chance to etch their names in history will motivate the heck out of this group of achievers.

Other factors add to the tour's interest. The New Zealanders say they won't hold anything back, and that they will tweak their game-plan to keep the chasers honest. How they do that will be intriguing. There's also the Sonny Bill Williams element. Intrigue surrounds his introduction to test rugby.

Plus most of the senior All Blacks are rested and recuperated. The mind boggles over what they could do to the stodgy northerners if they click back into gear. As Smith points out they enjoy touring the UK because it's different and the fans are passionate. These guys take nothing for granted either, and set their own standards, which is why they'll surely chalk up their third, not so grand Slam in five years.

THE TOUR (dates/kickoffs NZ time)

October 30 v Australia Hong Kong 9.30pm
November 7 v England London 3.30am
November 14 v Scotland Edinburgh 6.15am
November 21 v Ireland Dublin 6.30am
November 28 v Wales Cardiff 6.15am 

All Blacks rule world rankings

All Blacks rule world rankings
Stuff
Last updated 08:41 15/09/2010


The All Blacks' unbeaten run through the Tri-Nations has seen them extend their healthy lead at the top of the IRB world rankings.
The latest rankings have been released in the wake of New Zealand's dramatic 23-22 win over Australia in Sydney last Saturday night.
That come from behind victory, New Zealand's 15th consecutive test win, means they now sit 9.21 rating points above second-placed Australia in the latest rankings.
Australia's loss cut their hold on second place to 0.34 points above South Africa.
South Africa's five losses in six Tri-Nations matches saw their rating slip by 4.24 points during the tournament.
The All Blacks increased their rating by 3.09 points and Australia gained 1.15 points to climb above the Boks on the rankings ladder.
It all adds up to a commanding cushion for the All Blacks as they prepare for their end of year tour that includes another clash with Australia in Hong Kong and a Grand Slam attempt against England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales.
IRB World Rankings (last week's position in brackets)
1 (1) New Zealand 94.77
2 (2) Australia 85.56
3 (3) South Africa 85.22
4 (4) France 82.75
5 (5) Ireland 82.03
6 (6) England 81.82
7 (7) Scotland 79.81
8 (8) Argentina 79.70
9 (9) Wales 78.58
10 (10) Fiji 74.39
11 (11) Italy 72.97
12 (12) Samoa 72.74
13 (13) Japan 72.49
14 (14) Canada 69.43
15 (15) USA 67.86
16 (16) Tonga 67.06
17 (17) Georgia 66.38
18 (18) Russia 65.80
19 (19) Romania 65.10
20 (20) Namibia 62.69

IRB bosses take note: top two teams know how game should be played

Spiro Zavos
September 14, 2010
Saturday night's epic Test between the Wallabies and the All Blacks was watched by 70,288 spectators, including several IRB heavyweights, the chairman Bernard Lapasset, vice-chairman Bill Beaumont, chief executive Mike Miller and the boss of the referees, Paddy O'Brien. What they and the vast roaring crowd saw was 21st century rugby at its best.
The Test was everything the World Cup 2007 final between England and South Africa should have been, but was not. That final was a static match where both teams played for field position and penalties. On Saturday night, the ball was in play for long periods, with the All Blacks five times establishing seven phases of play, and the Wallabies once. There were only 33 kicks, and many of them had a scoring intent. There were five scrum resets, 14 lineouts, and 27 turnovers (12 to the Wallabies, 15 to the All Blacks). There was a thrilling unpredictability about the play, which is the glory of rugby.
Australia and New Zealand have led the way (remember the ELVs?) to write a set of laws and a way of interpreting them that allowed for the thrilling spectacle at ANZ Stadium. For years, forces in the IRB resisted these efforts. There is some justice, therefore, that the Wallabies (No.2 in the rankings) and the All Blacks (No.1) lead the world in running rugby.
This season the Wallabies have lost once each to England and the Springboks and three times to the All Blacks. But they have improved significantly. The scrum is much steadier, the lineout is stronger, with several steals against the All Blacks on Saturday night. The defence needs stiffening, with 22 tries leaked in the Tri Nations compared with nine by the All Blacks. And the goal-kicking by Matt Giteau is a moveable feast, with two defeats, to England and the All Blacks, both in Sydney, directly related to misses that should have been converted.
Importantly, the Wallabies have finally established a distinctive and winning pattern to their game. It exploits the width of the field with long, flat passes to the outside backs to create overlaps. This allows the fullback to come into the line out wide, as Kurtley Beale did twice on Saturday, forcing Conrad Smith into two missed tackles. Once the defence is stretched, Giteau and Quade Cooper start to flick inside passes for runners to storm down the unprotected midfield. The All Blacks, playing their midfield driving game, crossed the advantage line 81 per cent of the time compared with the 67 per cent by the Wallabies.

All Blacks pull win 'out of the fire'

By MARC HINTON in Sydney - Stuff
Last updated 06:11 12/09/2010

Graham Henry's first three words at the post-match press conference said it all: "Character, character, character - first, second and third," when the All Blacks coach was asked to sum up his side's latest victory.
It was that all right, the All Blacks forced to dig as deep as they had three weeks earlier in Soweto, maybe more, as they came back from 22-9 down with 20 minutes to play to snatch a 23-22 victory over the Wallabies.

The win saw the All Blacks enter record territory with their 10th straight against the Australians and also saw them complete the first 6-0 Tri-Nations season. But, as in Soweto, it was a close run thing, and needed composure of the highest order.

"I thought the guys got better as the game went on," added Henry. "We were pretty rusty initially. We had a few new guys who hadn't played a lot of test football playing as well and it took them a wee while to settle down.

"But the guys just showed huge character and really hung in there and got better as the game went on and pulled it out of the fire. Beautiful."

Having stormed through their first three games of the Tri-Nations, the All Blacks have had to call on all their intrinsic qualities to topple the Wallabies in Christchurch, the Boks in Soweto and now the Wallabies again at the Olympic venue.

"That's got a lot to do with the composure on the field and the leadership of the senior players, Richie [McCaw] in particular," said the All Blacks coach. "It's hugely pleasing."

Henry felt the key moment of a compelling test came shortly after the third-quarter mark when McCaw elected to take, first, a lineout option and then the scrum one from successive penalties. Eventually the skip himself thundered over off an 8-7 move that worked to precision, even if the Wallabies later complained it had featured an early detachment.

"That was a good decision, and it gave us a bit more momentum," said Henry of a score that saw the All Blacks close to within a half-dozen with still plenty of time left. "We got better as the game went on, we got some go-forward and went through the guts and got in behind them a bit. We had some control for the first time in that last 20."

Henry also had some high praise for stand-in goalkicker Piri Weepu who coolly slotted all five of his shots at goal, which contrasted sharply with Matt Giteau's less than 50 percent record for the Australians.

"He kicked magnificently, and played very well," said Henry. "He's a very special player."

Henry confirmed that hooker Keven Mealamu had suffered a calf muscle tear and would likely be out of rugby for 4-5 weeks. The loss of the in-form hooker after just a dozen minutes was another factor in the All Blacks' shaky first half.

Assistant coach Steve Hansen said the most pleasing aspect of the win for him had been the way the All Blacks had changed their game as they searched for answers with 25 minutes remaining.

"We started to go up the guts a bit and that allowed our forwards to come into the game. We spent a lot of time in the course of the match going from side to side which probably suited the Australian way of defence. Once our forwards came into the game they got excited."

Defensive specialist Wayne Smith also found some fault in the overall performance. "Areas of our game weren't great. As defence coach I felt we were on our heels too much and weren't coming forward. That affected us, as every time they dropped the ball we didn't get benefit because we weren't coming forward."

Hansen felt his forwards had been "scratchy" and gave them 6.5 or 7 out of 10.

But then he made an important point: "We won't remember that in a half-hour or so. We'll just enjoy the win because they're bloody hard to get against Australia and it's important you celebrate your successes."

By the looks of the relieved All Blacks brains trust as they filed back out of the press conference room, it seemed like they fully intended to do that.

Nerveless All Blacks come-from-behind to beat Wallabies

Nerveless All Blacks come-from-behind to beat Wallabies
By MARC HINTON in Sydney - Stuff
Last updated 00:10 12/09/2010


For a team chasing perfection this was far from perfect. But who cared? The All Blacks once again showed that they have nerves of steel and superb mental strength as they kept their remarkable run for 2010 alive.
Only just though, by an almost unbearable one-point margin, 23-22. It took everything they had, and a 17-3 second-half effort that included 14 unanswered points over the final quarter to achieve it. But somehow the New Zealanders found a way to rattle up their ninth straight victory for 2010, and a record 10th on the trot against these Wallabies.
The Australians contributed plenty to a thrilling match, and when they led 22-9 with just 20 minutes to go it looked for all money as though they were about to pull off a remarkable, against-the-odds victory.
But, just as they had done in Soweto, the All Blacks kept their nerve splendidly and never panicked even when they had every right to. Richie McCaw scored a crucial try off a slick scrum move and the superb No 8 Kieran Read put his team in front just seven minutes from the end when he charged over as the New Zealanders finished with a wet sail.
From there McCaw and his men held on over a frantic finale and kept alive their dream of the perfect season. They certainly completed a pretty perfect Tri-Nations, becoming the first side to sweep the board in the six-game series
What a great way it was to celebrate McCaw’s 52nd test as captain (with just six losses), breaking Sean Fitzpatrick's record. The leader was wonderful in the second half and was at the forefront of a remarkable fightback.
It was a poor first 40 minutes from the All Blacks who mixed way too many errors in with their early endeavour. In fact you could make a case that they were a shade lucky to be trailing just 6-14 at the break, Lachie Turner going within inches of adding to the only try of the opening half by Justin Bieber lookalike James O’Connor.
The New Zealanders had showed some early promise, especially whenever they attacked down Israel Dagg's wing, but spent most of the second quarter battening down the hatches on defence. Much of it was self-inflicted stuff too as the Wallabies were gifted a succession of opportunities.
The All Blacks were badly off key, from Aaron Cruden's wonky restarts, to some sloppy passing, to some fairly ragged defence. They were even getting bested at the breakdown. It was supposed to be the Wallabies who were weary, but instead it looked as if McCaw's men were playing their third test in as many weeks.
You expected the adjustment would come in the second half, and it did eventually. Too loose. Too inaccurate for too long. But the charge came just in the nick of time and you have to heap credit at this side's feet for their cool composure.
Dan Carter was missed. Badly. Cruden's kicking game was well short of the mark and for all his courage, he needs to be able to execute in this area. The youngster's restarts were atrocious, his general kicking only marginally better and he hit the depths midway through the second spell when he missed touch off a penalty.
As Henry noted later he would have learned from the experience, but it didn't help the New Zealand cause as they struggled to establish field position for the first 60 minutes.
If this was an experiment for Henry, albeit a forced one, it demonstrated vividly that this young man is not yet up to this level of rugby. Victor Vito was marginally better, but the All Blacks were much better when Jerome Kaino came on. Suddenly the loose trio took command.
The same couldn't be said for Dagg over on the left wing, where the 22-year-old looked every inch a top test performer. Read -- this side's most improved player -- had a highly influential game, too, for the All Blacks to cap a fine campaign.
But most of all this win was satisfying because a class team survived a bad day at the office and still snuck away with a win. Sometimes you just have to take that and smile.
And now the quest will go on. The All Blacks have won 15 tests on the trot. They could become the first team to complete a perfect calendar year in the professional era. The record winning streak of 17 and 18 is now tantalisingly close.
They could do a lot of things if they keep finding ways to win like they did last night.
New Zealand 23 (Kieran Read, Richie McCaw tries; Piri Weepu 3pens, 2cons)
Australia 22 (Adam Ashley-Cooper, James O'Connor tries; Matt Giteau 3pens, Kurtley Beale pens).