With nine changes to the starting side and Sam Cane returning as captain Chereè Kinnear and Liam Napier take a look at what it'll take for the All Blacks to finish on a high against Uruguay in Lyon. Video / NZ Herald
By Liam Napier in Lyon
In an appetiser week such as this, where the All Blacks should comfortably devour a tier two nation, talk of standards emanates. Ian Foster’s men are 80 minutes from moving through their courses to qualify for the World Cup quarter-finals, andin doing so reach the minimum standard demanded from the All Blacks at this pinnacle tournament.
The ridiculous nature of this World Cup’s lopsided draw paves a ruthless knockout path where two of the world’s four best teams will be sent home.
With that juncture on the horizon, 10 days away, there’s an inherent danger, acknowledged by experienced All Blacks prop Ofa Tu’ungafasi, that complacency allows the subconscious to drift beyond the task at hand.
“For as long as I’ve been playing one of the toughest challenges is preparing for a team you know will be easy to overcome,” Tu’ungafasi said on the eve of the All Blacks’ final pool match against Uruguay in Lyon. “When that happens you tend to leave stones unturned or take it easy in some areas. For as long as I’ve been in this environment it’s about our standards. That’s what’s important to us no matter who we play.”
At a delicate stage when it is imperative the All Blacks continue to grow their game, particularly their set piece and breakdown pressure points, resting influential starters such as Ardie Savea, Aaron Smith, Rieko Ioane and Brodie Retallick to usher in nine starting changes sends conflicting messages that risks compromising performance.
Uruguay, after their 16-point defeat to a second-string French side, could well prove more competitive than the All Blacks’ 96-17 romp over Italy. The South Americans promise to bring an impassioned breakdown challenge and have a genuine crack with ball in hand.
The reality, though, is no matter the scoreline the All Blacks must hold themselves to account.
Aaron Smith dives in to score against Italy. Photo / Photosport
All Blacks coach Ian Foster recognises cultivating the necessary tension is vastly easier when genuine jeopardy exists.
“We’re at our best when we’re on edge,” Foster said. “Sometimes our opponent puts us on edge. Sometimes the situation puts you on edge. At all times your own internal standards have to be the edge that really matters the most. That’s where we’re attempting to get to as a team. It’s about us living up to the things we say we want to do.”
Assessing the All Blacks’ World Cup trajectory isn’t straightforward to this point.
Improvements are widely evident, standards are lifting, but the calibre of opposition mitigates anyone overstating their prospects.
Clearly, the All Blacks are a vastly more potent, lethal, and efficient beast with Jordie Barrett and Shannon Frizell in their starting team. Sam Cane and Tyrel Lomax’s promotions for Uruguay should further raise the bar too.
Turning the microscope inwards during their Bordeaux camp, where tensions flared on the training field, brought rewards for the All Blacks. The scrum and lineout were weapons against Italy. And in a flashback to the All Blacks of old, the counterattack flicked the switch to feast on turnover possession.
The All Blacks are not the same side that lost the tournament-opening match to France. Yet they haven’t been tested since – and likely won’t, not to a quarter-final standard – by Uruguay. A sense of unknown therefore lingers.
While external doubt persists, All Blacks hooker Codie Taylor projects the brewing internal belief.
“Against France we had our opportunities and did let ourselves down at times in that game,” Taylor reflects. “Since then we’ve had the two games and the bye week where we really looked at ourselves and the areas we can be better at. That’s really helped us.
“We’re not going to get another game like last week in terms of the score. The boys were right on for Italy. Leading into the backend of this competition it’s obvious playoff footy is not going to be like that. I’m confident we’re trending in the right direction and there’s things in our game we’re working on to be able to front up.”
What All Blacks can achieve v Uruguay
Despite this week’s prevalent rotation, Foster knows his best team. The All Blacks know their game, too. They know when they lay a go-forward platform and generate rapid ruck ball, opposition struggle to live with them.
Maintaining those standards against Uruguay is all they can achieve this week. Do that, and the margin of victory will speak for itself.
With Ireland and Scotland, Italy and France, to complete pool play this weekend and determine quarter-final permutations, the All Blacks undoubtedly have one eye on next week. How they mentally manage that dynamic will be telling.
“You have brief moments when you think about a quarter-final and what that might look like but we can’t look past Uruguay,” Taylor said. “If we go to a quarter-final I don’t really care who we play. It’s a quarter-final you’ve got to front no matter what. Whatever that looks like we’ll embrace the challenge, all going well.”
Secure a bonus point victory to guarantee progression to the knockouts, and there will be no need to manufacture the requisite edge for the main meal that awaits.
How to follow the action
For live commentary of All Blacks v Uruguay, join Elliott Smith on Newstalk ZB, Gold Sport and iHeartRadio.
You can watch the game on Sky Sport 1 and live streaming on Sky Sport Now; an alternative commentary option from the Alternative Commentary Collective is available on iHeartRadio, Hauraki and Sky Sport 9.
