Thursday, October 25, 2012
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Agonising tension until final whistle
Usually Mt Eden looks to ease quietly towards thoughts of sleep on a Sunday night and the start to the working week.
But a year ago, the suburb was in a frenzy. All points led to Eden Park as the All Blacks waited their chance to emulate their predecessors from 1987.
It was the nation's greatest rugby inquiry since the All Blacks were pipped by illness and a dropped goal in extra time in South Africa in 1995.
Most of the worry from two months before had dissipated. In that time the All Blacks were beaten by the Springboks and Wallabies in their final two tests leading into the tournament. They were chilling blows but gave the coaches all the ingredients they needed to keep the side on task.
The All Blacks breezed through pool play, tightened at quarter-final time against Argentina and slammed their foot down hard on the Wallabies in the semifinal.
One more win, one victory stood between the class of 2011 emulating the 1987 Hall of Famers. Coach Graham Henry was interviewed before the decider against France and told the audience that success would mean "peace, internal peace".
His insides and those in the huge crowd who packed into the stadium did not stop churning until referee Craig Joubert blew a halt, with the All Blacks a golden point ahead at 8-7.
For 33 minutes, the All Blacks fought to hold that precarious lead, avoiding Joubert's wrath for most of that time though they had to dodge one bullet when Francois Trinh-Duc pushed a long-range penalty wide.
Captain Richie McCaw and centre Conrad Smith heard the final hooter and implored replacement halfback Andy Ellis to kick the ball out.
Before he could, Joubert blew a penalty and after a double check the game was done; Ellis booted the ball deep into the throng in the grandstand - the pain of five previous World Cup campaigns dissolved.
The ache of those tournaments ebbed away while the relief flowed through the All Blacks and their coaching staff. It had been way too close. The artery-tightening pressure of the Webb Ellis Cup duel, the expectation of the nation, the wounds of history and French bravery had weighed down the All Blacks.
They had beaten France 37-17 in pool play before France then lost to Tonga. But in the weird mix of qualifying and French rugby, that did not matter as they brought a resolve which had been missing from their previous work.
Four of the All Blacks' starting side - Israel Dagg, Aaron Cruden, Sam Whitelock and Owen Franks - were not alive when New Zealand won the inaugural tournament in 1987. Even for those who watched that match, that triumph seemed to be in some distant age.
There was emotion and torment welling long before kickoff. A pack of former greats breathed their thoughts to global television audiences. Men like Sean Fitzpatrick, Michael Lynagh, Francois Pienaar, George Gregan, Phil Kearns, John Eales, Rod Kafer, Greg Martin and Agustin Pichot delivered their last theories.
McCaw came on to the track 40 minutes before kickoff, testing his foot injury which had reduced his training impact and been a well-hidden secret.
Brad Thorn looked even more stern before his final test, perhaps remembering his time at the 2003 event, as injured teammates Daniel Carter, Mils Muliaina and Colin Slade sat uncertainly in their seats.
Referee Joubert brushed away some moisture round his eyes as the national anthems boomed out before the French advanced in arrowhead formation towards the All Black haka.
Bluff, double-bluff or a real sign of intent? We soon found out.
France arrived 90 minutes before the start, bristling at being seen as making up the numbers for this seventh global title decider. On the evidence of their scratchy pool play then fortune to beat Wales who had captain Sam Warburton sent off, most pundits dismissed France as a real threat. They had played particularly well to beat England but little more. There was dissension in the ranks about coach Marc Lievremont, but that sort of chatter seems to accompany every French side.
Apart from the debut 1987 festival, the history of World Cup finals tells us there is little in these contests.
The All Blacks destroyed France 29-9 that day, they beat them by the same margin in pool play and many thought a similar margin was possible in the 2011 decider.
The tournament had shown a divide in the teams' talent and application but finals tended to narrow some of those differences.
Early nerves were on show with Morgan Parra kicking out on the full and the All Blacks losing their first lineout. The strain was everywhere, there was an edge to the crowd's encouragement and both sets of coaches were agitated.
That tension stayed until Joubert's final blast on his whistle and McCaw could sink to his knees in relief as his busted foot couldn't cope with much more. "We've won. I should be happy. All I feel is relief," he says in his book. "It's finished. I can stop. I don't have to do this anymore."
Now the All Blacks have to turn their attention to winning a World Cup offshore, with that target already taking a little shape as coach Steve Hansen prepares to take his unbeaten squad to the UK and Europe.
Sunday, September 30, 2012
All Blacks: McCaw and Hansen hail victory
Richie McCaw says the All Blacks have finally delivered a performance worthy of a world champion side.
The All Blacks captain was full of praise for the manner in which they clinched the Rugby Championship with a 54-15 victory Argentina today.
It has been a long time coming - eight tests this year since New Zealand won the World Cup - but McCaw and coach Steve Hansen were understandably elated by the win in front of 50,000 at Ciudad de La Plata stadium.
"It's probably one of our best performances of the season,'' he said. "When we started out four or six weeks ago, the goal was to put last year behind us. We've got the tag of world champions and we needed to play like them. to secure the Rugby Championship was obviously the big goal and it's nice to be able to do that, but I think tonight to put out that performance, it's something the guys are pretty happy with.
"It's nice obviously scoreboard wise but it's the manner in which we did it which is so satisfying. There's a happy bunch [of players] down there.''
Argentina tried to play more of an expansive game than they did in their Wellington defeat three weeks ago, but they were blown away by the All Blacks.
They were beaten all over the park, but particularly in the forwards, who haven't been up to par in recent weeks, and the rewards came in the form of seven tries, three to Cory Jane, two to Julian Savea, and one each for Ma'a Nonu and Aaron Smith.
The set pieces were solid, the ruck cleanouts effective. The fast men appreciated the quick ball and looked a different class to their Argentine counterparts.
The Pumas scored first through halfback Martin Landajo but Aaron Smith replied for the All Blacks and it was virtually one-way traffic after that.
Jane clinched his third try a minute before fulltime.
Having put the pressure on his forwards to up the ante, Hansen was happy with the response.
"We're very satisfied by winning the Rugby Championship but also about the way we played,'' he said. "We train all week to do things with purpose and accuracy in our execution and by and large tonight we achieved that. I'd also like to pay credit to Argentina, who came to play rugby. When you get two sides who want to play footy, you get a game like we got tonight.
"I don't think anyone who anyone who wouldn't have enjoyed the occasion. I think the Argentine fans would be disappointed that they weren't closer on the scoreboard but they should be thoroughly proud of their team because they never gave up at any stage and were playing just as hard at the end as they were in the beginning.
"The cleanout was the big area we were disappointed with after the South African test and tonight they were spot on. I thought we played pretty well in that area. There's still parts of our game that we've got to work on. We can pat ourselves on the back and enjoy the moment but there's still areas to improve one and one of them is the delivery and connection between the forwards and backs. The first two lineouts I think we struggled to do that and that's platforms we didn't have to attack off. Once we worked into the game and got our composure and dealt with what was happening to interfere with the calmness and clarity inside their brains we linked up and did score some great tries. To be able to attack like that you've got to have a platform to attack off so the forwards can be very proud.''
Lock Luke Romano and centre Conrad Smith left the field in the first half with cuts to their faces and didn't return, but the injuries aren't thought to be serious.
The All Blacks leave for Johannesburg tomorrow (Mon) for a dead rubber against South Africa.
New Zealand 54 (Cory Jane 3, Julian Savea 2, Aaron Smith, Ma'a Nonu tries; Dan Carter 3 con, 2 pen, Aaron Cruden 2 con, pen) Argentina 15 (Martin Landajo, Gonzalo Camacho tries; Juan Martin Hernandez pen, con) HT: 32-8.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Monday, June 25, 2012
//Getty Images
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Dominant NZ humiliate Ireland
Sportal.co.nz - (23/06/2012)
The All Blacks have slammed shut the international window with a dominant 60-0 victory, and a 3-0
Steinlager Series sweep, against a disappointing Ireland on Saturday.
Having been tested by a resurgent Irish outfit last weekend, coach Steve Hansen's men were back to their best in front of a capacity crowd at Hamilton's Waikato Stadium.Steinlager Series sweep, against a disappointing Ireland on Saturday.
And it was the local boys who responded, with Chiefs star Sonny Bill Williams crossing twice while Liam Messam also scored a try for the hosts.
A lack of ball control hurt Ireland from then on and their confidence subsequently subsided. Any opportunities to mount attacks were thwarted either by a strong line defence or multiple handling errors.
Tackling was also an issue for the Irish, allowing Williams and Liam Messam to score tries thanks to multiple missed tackles en route to the line as the Irish conceded their highest margin of defeat to the All Blacks - surpassing the hosts' 59-6 victory in 1992.
The result was also the third time in 27 Tests - the first time since 1924 - where the Irish failed to score a point in a Test match against the All Blacks.
It was another local lad that perhaps had the biggest impact, albeit in a 25-minute cameo. Starting in Dan Carter's absence, Aaron Cruden showed all of his strength, vision and innovation before limping off after 25 minutes.
It was enough time for him to showcase his skill, however, including two superb offloads to give Sam Cane his first Test try from his maiden start as well as Williams' opening try.
The dominance didn't end after Cruden's departure as Ben Smith got in on the action with a 35m effort made all the more enjoyable by Conrad Smith, whose unselfishness allowed the Highlanders utility to score his first international try.
The floodgates continued to pour for the hosts when Cane scored his second and Adam Thomson notched his sixth Test try to extend the hosts' lead to 60-0, a perfect way to end what had been a dominant night for the hosts.
Nobody left Waikato Stadium, with all 25,000-plus staying to gift the side a standing ovation - they had witnessed something spectacular.
All Blacks 60 (Sonny Bill Williams 2, Sam Cane 2, Ben Smith, Hosea Gear, Liam Messam, Israel Dagg, Adam Thomson tries; Aaron Cruden 2 con, Israel Dagg con, Beauden Barrett 3 con, pen) Ireland 0. HT: 29-0.
Monday, January 2, 2012
2011 in review: All Blacks show Wallabies new World Cup maxim
James Mortimer - (22/12/2011)
Coming into the World Cup, the most intrigue beyond the host nation’s ability to break a 20-year losing drought, would be how team’s tactics would shift in a tournament that had proven – from an All Blacks perspective at least – notoriously difficult to win.
Every stone had been unturned by the All Blacks for over two decades, but the reality is that specific tournaments throughout revealed World Cup truisms that have become unbreakable tenets eventual winners have had to heed.
By and large.
Key moments defined each World Cup.
In 1991 it was proven the importance of shifting and altering tactics, even if ironically it wasn’t shown in any conventional terms, as it came from the loser of the second quadrennial tournament’s final.
The Wallabies, a burgeoning power that benefitted from a tough examination from the Irish to down the All Blacks in the semi-final, faced host's England in the final.
Yet despite showing their stoic forward game was hard to beat, grinding down all in Europe to win that season’s Five Nations, they played into the Wallabies hands by playing expansively, an approach that the Australians were far more adept at applying.
Had England tied the World Champions-elect down up front, the Northern Hemisphere could have claimed their first global title 12 years earlier.
World Cup maxim number one – Always rely on what you know best.
In 1995 the All Blacks could have won the tournament, but on this occasion two new laws were introduced to the World Cup list of commandments.
The first was one was revealed with growing power as South Africans began to embrace the World Cup despite the old ghosts of apartheid, and hit a compelling crescendo prior to the final, when the Madiba, Nelson Mandela, came out in a Springboks jersey and committed an gesture that many believed was the single most prudent act to unite the ‘Rainbow Nation’.
World Cup maxim number two – Home support can make you nearly unbeatable.
This was proven this year, as the moniker of the 'Stadium of Four Million' came to life in a manner that would have exceeded the wildest dreams of the pioneers of New Zealand’s bid, men such as Jock Hobbs and the tournament’s Field General Martin Sneddon.
Such support could paradoxically have been the undermining factor behind previous World Cup bids, as this can amount to a stifling amount of pressure, but there was little doubt that the All Blacks had points in the bank every time they ran out onto the field.
Even that fearsome changeling that is Les Bleus couldn’t break that support on the glorious day in October.
Back to South Africa, the All Blacks also learned to their peril that no matter how destructive your primary weapon is – a.k.a. Jonah Lomu – any offensive system no matter how awesome can be shut down.
The Springboks didn’t just use the emotion of a nation to win their maiden World Cup, they shut down New Zealand’s primary source of power, and ultimately you need more than one bullet to win the Webb Ellis Cup.
Even if that bullet was 1.96m and still over 120kg when lean.
World Cup maxim number three – Always have a plan B.
A further three emerged in 1999, as the French epitomised a host of clichés that would earn the direst wrath of any coach.
The most prudent is that it takes 80 minutes to win a test match, not 44, the same time that Jonah Lomu scored his 15th and final try in his World Cup career (a record that still stands today) to give the All Blacks a comfortable 24-10 lead over France in that World Cup’s semi-final.
The French then scored 33 unanswered points in just 28 minutes to stun the All Blacks 43-31.
Were the All Blacks complacent, or casting their eyes to the final?
World Cup maxim number four – Don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched.
The Wallabies provided another, with one of the most balanced World Cup teams on display in history going all the way, even if we were denied the purist’s final between New Zealand and Australia in the penultimate year before the rare close of a millennium.
Yet if the tarot card reading of that potential matchup was predicted, the most recent trans-Tasman match, the Wallabies biggest ever win, 28-7 over the All Blacks (in Sydney prior to the 1999 World Cup), would have had John Eales troops bullish.
It didn’t matter if Australia was slicing up a (according to the Emerald Isle' media at the time) one-dimensional Ireland via their backline, silencing the crowd with beating Wales in their own backyard, or taking on the Springboks during a high stakes kicking duel.
Equilibrium and poise would describe a team that may have still had something of an Achilles heel up front, but never was it pounced on by the opposition while the Wallaby strengths such as a glamour backline and plenty of rugby smarts won them their second crown.
World Cup maxim number five – Make sure you have more than one winning hand.
The English and Springboks both revealed what appeared to be the most elementary of World Cup winning personalities.
The blueprint under Sir Clive Woodward was so beautiful in it’s simplicity that many of the Red Rose fraternity’s frustration have come from the inability to achieve it since.
Jake White and John Smit didn’t stride into France like some unbeatable colossus, and surely it was some form of rugby heresy that a team that had 'sacrificed' the Tri Nations to win the World Cup could etch themselves as two-time holders.
But it was a World Cup winning approach, and bearing loose resemblance to the machine of England it emerged.
Added with some cunning interplay thanks to Eddie Jones, the compelling and lethal aerial attack led by the peerless Victor Matfield, and the hard nosed captaincy of John Smit backed by the most experienced South African test team of all time, the South Africans won title number two.
World Cup maxim number six – Experience counts in the cauldron.
Pragmatism, the ability to win ugly, and all other unattractive labels assist in narrowing the fine line between success and failure, and to borrow to quote every rugby coach, lowering the percentages in rugby basics such as ruling the ruck count and taking your set pieces will always help you win.
World Cup / Rugby / Sport / Life / etc maxim number one – Do the basics well.
The All Blacks class of 2011 brought all of these characteristics to the table, and added with the obvious aid of form and a strong statistical record over eight years, were as well equipped as possible to win the World Cup.
Factors such as Richie McCaw’s foot or the Plague like "Ring a Ring o' Roses" ailment struck upon the All Blacks first five-eighths have been well discussed.
At the semi-final, the All Blacks defeated one maxim, punished the Wallabies for not following one, while creating a new etching on the stone of World Cup law, although it is one that is so rudimentary it almost seems embarrassing to say it aloud.
Australia appeared to have made a conscious decision to follow a World Cup lesson and play a safe game with as little risk as possible, but erred in not scripting to another, as one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the game went into their shell to ensure that few errors – dare I say it, another chestnut – to minimise risk of losing the game.
Was not the first maxim to rely on what you know best?
Such is the pressure of test rugby, let alone World Cups (and notwithstanding any sport in existence), that many a team has tried to not lose a game.
Often the more prudent plan is to win a match.
However the All Blacks created the most Jurassic aphorism of all.
World Cup winning maxim seven – Je ne sais quoi?
I don’t know what?
That intangible quality…
Personally I still haven’t grasped what exactly the All Blacks did when they defeated France 8-7 to win their second World Cup.
All the above boxes were ticked.
Their belief lay rooted in the first law, playing to what they knew best, while having home support, a plan B, they didn’t count their chickens before they were hatched, they had more than one winning hand, they had experience that counted in the cauldron, they did the basics well, while they had something that we else we just couldn’t define.
How apt we label that with the haunting elegance of the French language.
Pressure (and fear perhaps of that awful word choke) drove the All Blacks to conquer the world and prove correct many of the natural laws that have helped many a team and nation win a World Championship.
Fascination, even with a 46-month wait, comes with predicting how such theories play out as England gears up for World Cup number eight.
Coming into the World Cup, the most intrigue beyond the host nation’s ability to break a 20-year losing drought, would be how team’s tactics would shift in a tournament that had proven – from an All Blacks perspective at least – notoriously difficult to win.
Every stone had been unturned by the All Blacks for over two decades, but the reality is that specific tournaments throughout revealed World Cup truisms that have become unbreakable tenets eventual winners have had to heed.
By and large.
Key moments defined each World Cup.
In 1991 it was proven the importance of shifting and altering tactics, even if ironically it wasn’t shown in any conventional terms, as it came from the loser of the second quadrennial tournament’s final.
The Wallabies, a burgeoning power that benefitted from a tough examination from the Irish to down the All Blacks in the semi-final, faced host's England in the final.
Yet despite showing their stoic forward game was hard to beat, grinding down all in Europe to win that season’s Five Nations, they played into the Wallabies hands by playing expansively, an approach that the Australians were far more adept at applying.
Had England tied the World Champions-elect down up front, the Northern Hemisphere could have claimed their first global title 12 years earlier.
World Cup maxim number one – Always rely on what you know best.
In 1995 the All Blacks could have won the tournament, but on this occasion two new laws were introduced to the World Cup list of commandments.
The first was one was revealed with growing power as South Africans began to embrace the World Cup despite the old ghosts of apartheid, and hit a compelling crescendo prior to the final, when the Madiba, Nelson Mandela, came out in a Springboks jersey and committed an gesture that many believed was the single most prudent act to unite the ‘Rainbow Nation’.
World Cup maxim number two – Home support can make you nearly unbeatable.
This was proven this year, as the moniker of the 'Stadium of Four Million' came to life in a manner that would have exceeded the wildest dreams of the pioneers of New Zealand’s bid, men such as Jock Hobbs and the tournament’s Field General Martin Sneddon.
Such support could paradoxically have been the undermining factor behind previous World Cup bids, as this can amount to a stifling amount of pressure, but there was little doubt that the All Blacks had points in the bank every time they ran out onto the field.
Even that fearsome changeling that is Les Bleus couldn’t break that support on the glorious day in October.
Back to South Africa, the All Blacks also learned to their peril that no matter how destructive your primary weapon is – a.k.a. Jonah Lomu – any offensive system no matter how awesome can be shut down.
The Springboks didn’t just use the emotion of a nation to win their maiden World Cup, they shut down New Zealand’s primary source of power, and ultimately you need more than one bullet to win the Webb Ellis Cup.
Even if that bullet was 1.96m and still over 120kg when lean.
World Cup maxim number three – Always have a plan B.
A further three emerged in 1999, as the French epitomised a host of clichés that would earn the direst wrath of any coach.
The most prudent is that it takes 80 minutes to win a test match, not 44, the same time that Jonah Lomu scored his 15th and final try in his World Cup career (a record that still stands today) to give the All Blacks a comfortable 24-10 lead over France in that World Cup’s semi-final.
The French then scored 33 unanswered points in just 28 minutes to stun the All Blacks 43-31.
Were the All Blacks complacent, or casting their eyes to the final?
World Cup maxim number four – Don’t count your chickens until they’re hatched.
The Wallabies provided another, with one of the most balanced World Cup teams on display in history going all the way, even if we were denied the purist’s final between New Zealand and Australia in the penultimate year before the rare close of a millennium.
Yet if the tarot card reading of that potential matchup was predicted, the most recent trans-Tasman match, the Wallabies biggest ever win, 28-7 over the All Blacks (in Sydney prior to the 1999 World Cup), would have had John Eales troops bullish.
It didn’t matter if Australia was slicing up a (according to the Emerald Isle' media at the time) one-dimensional Ireland via their backline, silencing the crowd with beating Wales in their own backyard, or taking on the Springboks during a high stakes kicking duel.
Equilibrium and poise would describe a team that may have still had something of an Achilles heel up front, but never was it pounced on by the opposition while the Wallaby strengths such as a glamour backline and plenty of rugby smarts won them their second crown.
World Cup maxim number five – Make sure you have more than one winning hand.
The English and Springboks both revealed what appeared to be the most elementary of World Cup winning personalities.
The blueprint under Sir Clive Woodward was so beautiful in it’s simplicity that many of the Red Rose fraternity’s frustration have come from the inability to achieve it since.
Jake White and John Smit didn’t stride into France like some unbeatable colossus, and surely it was some form of rugby heresy that a team that had 'sacrificed' the Tri Nations to win the World Cup could etch themselves as two-time holders.
But it was a World Cup winning approach, and bearing loose resemblance to the machine of England it emerged.
Added with some cunning interplay thanks to Eddie Jones, the compelling and lethal aerial attack led by the peerless Victor Matfield, and the hard nosed captaincy of John Smit backed by the most experienced South African test team of all time, the South Africans won title number two.
World Cup maxim number six – Experience counts in the cauldron.
Pragmatism, the ability to win ugly, and all other unattractive labels assist in narrowing the fine line between success and failure, and to borrow to quote every rugby coach, lowering the percentages in rugby basics such as ruling the ruck count and taking your set pieces will always help you win.
World Cup / Rugby / Sport / Life / etc maxim number one – Do the basics well.
The All Blacks class of 2011 brought all of these characteristics to the table, and added with the obvious aid of form and a strong statistical record over eight years, were as well equipped as possible to win the World Cup.
Factors such as Richie McCaw’s foot or the Plague like "Ring a Ring o' Roses" ailment struck upon the All Blacks first five-eighths have been well discussed.
At the semi-final, the All Blacks defeated one maxim, punished the Wallabies for not following one, while creating a new etching on the stone of World Cup law, although it is one that is so rudimentary it almost seems embarrassing to say it aloud.
Australia appeared to have made a conscious decision to follow a World Cup lesson and play a safe game with as little risk as possible, but erred in not scripting to another, as one of the most dangerous attacking teams in the game went into their shell to ensure that few errors – dare I say it, another chestnut – to minimise risk of losing the game.
Was not the first maxim to rely on what you know best?
Such is the pressure of test rugby, let alone World Cups (and notwithstanding any sport in existence), that many a team has tried to not lose a game.
Often the more prudent plan is to win a match.
However the All Blacks created the most Jurassic aphorism of all.
World Cup winning maxim seven – Je ne sais quoi?
I don’t know what?
That intangible quality…
Personally I still haven’t grasped what exactly the All Blacks did when they defeated France 8-7 to win their second World Cup.
All the above boxes were ticked.
Their belief lay rooted in the first law, playing to what they knew best, while having home support, a plan B, they didn’t count their chickens before they were hatched, they had more than one winning hand, they had experience that counted in the cauldron, they did the basics well, while they had something that we else we just couldn’t define.
How apt we label that with the haunting elegance of the French language.
Pressure (and fear perhaps of that awful word choke) drove the All Blacks to conquer the world and prove correct many of the natural laws that have helped many a team and nation win a World Championship.
Fascination, even with a 46-month wait, comes with predicting how such theories play out as England gears up for World Cup number eight.
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