2.00pm - By ALAN PERROTT
The warm afterglow of smashing the world champion English in Dunedin will be doing All Black coach Graham Henry no favours as the second test approaches say experts.
Henry's biggest challenge this week is to set his players up for a repeat performance, according to sports psychologist Professor Gary Hermansson.
"For the first test there would have been apprehension, tension and the desire to prove something. Henry could combine all that with everything that has happened over the last 12 months with the World Cup, change of coach and new players.
"The question is whether the team feels their point has been proved and whether that tension is still there. It is always far harder to drive yourself on from a point of satisfaction than it is from a point of hunger."
The Massey University-based psychologist for the New Zealand Olympic and Commonwealth Games teams said the roles will be reversed at Eden Park on Saturday night.
"England will be the unknown this time. They have made a lot of changes and we still don't know if they are a good side to compete against because their performance was so uncompetitive. If they come out strongly and we are not prepared for it, the All Blacks will be in a bit of trouble."
Professor Hermansson said the All Black emphasis should be on the performance required to win rather than getting a result: "That's a challenge for every athlete, and particularly hard for elite athletes where results mean so much."
Dr Ken Hodge from Otago University suspected the English may have taken too much heart from British media criticisms of Super 12 rugby and their victory at Wellington's Cake Tin last year.
"Remember they took us on with only 13 players in Wellington and still beat us, then they would have seen some ineffective play from the New Zealand Super 12 sides, so they may take us a little lightly. It doesn't take much at this level to be off your game."
But he said the newer All Blacks risk complacency themselves if they felt beating the English was easier than expected.
"This time they will be facing some new English players with hardly any test experience who will be trying to strike a claim of their own and playing out of their skins. But we haven't beaten them for a while and they are world champions to boot, so a clean sweep would taste pretty good."
All Blacks test and Tri Nations schedule/scoreboard
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